The Massive 11 page 5 splash by Declan Shalvey
Artist: Declan Shalvey (All)
11 Comments - 407 Views - 9 Likes
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DescriptionMy first Declan Shalvey published piece and what a piece! 🙂From a story aptly titled "Megalodon" from the Brian Wood's "The Massive" series published by Dark Horse. Wood is a writer whose work I follow closely. Anything he writes I will read and most likely enjoy. The Massive was a sort of ecological thriller with touches of other genres I will not disclose to avoid spoiling. Most of the art was done by the competent Garry Brown with some fill ins or arcs drawn by artists like Declan, a brilliant artist and storyteller. I must say that I have a love-hate relationship with sharks, especially the potentially dangerous ones. Love because they are simply beautiful and fascinating creatures. Hate because Jaws (especially a scene from Jaws 2 which I obviously watched at too young an age and bits of the final scene of Jaws 1 that I probably have never seen complete) completely twisted my emotional approach to them. What should have been a healthy fascination became fear and terror. The child swimming uneasy in even a deep (closed) swimming pool? That was me ^^. So as a good masochist, I continue to watch documentaries and sharky horror movies to play on that fear/fascination. But I digress. Now about the art. If you love sharks, what's not to love here? A megalodon surrounded by respectful white sharks whose size it completely dwarfs? Even if you don't care for sharks, it's still a powerful drawing with a lot of artistic merits. I LOVE how Declan made the megalodon looks super ancient. The scars on his skin, the missing bits from his fins...It's also probably one of the pages I own with the most inks on it. The teeth ratio is also probably the highest and I own quite few Venom pieces ^^ I love how we get a sense of the deep sea at the bottom, getting lighter as we go up the page. That was masterfully designed by Declan with great use of negative space and light reflecting on the sharks themselves. The brushy strokes work so well here in defining the sea environment.Which feels really cold just looking at this page. Just a great title splash (...) by a master storyteller. (And it works soooo well/much more in glorious b&w but then again isn't that a truism to say this on this site?). Social/Sharing |
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Nick-le-Fou !!
Member Since 2016
1 - Posted on 3/13/2021
An awesome page that I remember vividly (and that stood out for all the reasons you mentioned within in the issue) by an awesome artist. Huge congrats!!!
Ruben DaCollector 
Member Since 2008
1 - Posted on 3/13/2021
Artistically speaking, my favourite part is the drybrush at the top. But I am a lifelong lover of sharks and this page probably holds the record for "Most Sharks Ever Drawn on a Single Comic Book Page", so that's even better. Declan had to "rough up" the Megalodon, because it's a prehistoric creature that shouldn't exist, and yet, there it is!
F M
Member Since 2005
1 - Posted on 3/13/2021
Ruben DaCollector wrote:
Artistically speaking, my favourite part is the drybrush at the top. But I am a lifelong lover of sharks and this page probably holds the record for "Most Sharks Ever Drawn on a Single Comic Book Page", so that's even better. Declan had to "rough up" the Megalodon, because it's a prehistoric creature that shouldn't exist, and yet, there it is!
"This page probably holds the record for "Most Sharks Ever Drawn on a Single Comic Book Page".
So what you are saying it's that it's HISTORIC?
Gasp!
James S
Member Since 2017
2 - Posted on 3/13/2021
I hope there are no tornados close by or we are about to enter a low budget horror film!
Jason Hussa
Member Since 2017
1 - Posted on 3/13/2021
Wow, Fred... I am amazed at this.. No, not by the art... by the fact that I wasn't the only one to fear for my life in an enclosed swimming pool because of JAWS... :)
The art is gorgeous and amazing, too, of course, and my first thought upon seeing it was of the bone-chilling cold that seeps into you when you hold your breath and try to see how far you can swim down, deeper and deeper into blackness... Cold, like the tendrils of the water itself, trying by any means or avenue available to get into the safe pockets of air in your lungs... Brrr.
So yeah, thanks, Fred. No swimming pools for me for the next stretch here.
(Great piece! :) )
Ruben DaCollector
Member Since 2008
2 - Posted on 3/14/2021
Jason Hussa wrote:
Wow, Fred... I am amazed at this.. No, not by the art... by the fact that I wasn't the only one to fear for my life in an enclosed swimming pool because of JAWS... :)
The art is gorgeous and amazing, too, of course, and my first thought upon seeing it was of the bone-chilling cold that seeps into you when you hold your breath and try to see how far you can swim down, deeper and deeper into blackness... Cold, like the tendrils of the water itself, trying by any means or avenue available to get into the safe pockets of air in your lungs... Brrr.
So yeah, thanks, Fred. No swimming pools for me for the next stretch here.
(Great piece! :) )
I just had to comment again to say BEST...ANALOGY...EVER! I could feel the tension building as you described that single breath swim attempt, Jason!
J H
Member Since 2019
2 - Posted on 3/13/2021
We're gonna need a bigger page...Shalvey's so consistent on light source through all his shading and tricks, it really deepens the image so well, and sets a great POV. I really like this one. Little know shark "fact": They love it when you tickle them under the chin. In a little (never) used Latin dialect, Shark loosely translates to Puppy of the Sea. Congrats!
Bill J
Member Since 2009
1 - Posted on 3/14/2021
Absolutely breathtaking splash! Love the lighting and the sense of depth created by the sharks getting smaller and smaller in the distance, which makes the Megalodon even more mega! Great score!
Eurion Kemish
Member Since 2012
1 - Posted on 3/22/2021
Great page from a great series! And the sharks make it even better! I think you described the page and the art perfectly, great addition! :-)
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