Ma, Simon :: Comic Art

Jacob Kurtz – Sean Phillips (LICAF 2024, Part 7)

Artist: Sean Phillips (All)

2 Comments - 109 Views - 2 Likes

Jacob Kurtz – Sean Phillips (LICAF 2024, Part 7) Comic Art

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Sean Phillips at LICAF 2024

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Parker convention drawing – Sean Phillips (LICAF 2024, Part 6)

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Criminal 7 – page 8 (LICAF 2024, Part 8)

Artwork Details

Title:	Jacob Kurtz – Sean Phillips (LICAF 2024, Part 7)
Artist:	Sean Phillips (All)
Media Type:	Paint - Watercolor
Art Type:	Illustration
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	109
Likes on CAF:	2 3
Comments:	2
Added to Site:	10/3/2024
Comic Art Archive:

Description

[continued from the previous post]

Whilst SP was drawing the picture I managed to ask him a number of questions about his work that I had on my mind. These were his answers: the main character in Night Fever is not, in spite of what I thought, visually based on Archie Goodwin; the character of Hal Crane is visually based on Sean Philllips’ first employer/mentor who was someone called Ken Howard, who did not live to see himself in the comic; the work that SP is most proud of/happiest with is The Fade-Out; he has no regrets about selling any of his artwork, although he feels a slight pang about those early painted Star Wars covers he did for Dark Horse which he let go, but otherwise he said he still had these (as he patted the two hardcovers that were then on the table); after all, he draws 200+ pages of comics every year which amounts to literally 1000s of pages during his 44-year career and he would have no room for storage; and finally, yes, he is working on a new Criminal story which should be out in the new year to coincide with the Amazon Prime series, at which point he woke his phone and scrolled to a mock-up of the cover for the new title which featured on the cover Ellie, Jacob, and Tracy. When I remarked to SP that there were still people queuing for something signed from his son at the table next to him whereas the queue for him had dried up, he rejoined, “He’s the future”. After this mini-interview he agreed to have his photo taken, and the icing on the cake was when the red-shirted convention volunteer overseeing the signing read my mind and offered to take a selfie of us together. I don’t think I would have been more starstruck if I had just met Keanu Reeves or Tom Hanks. I realise now that after that I should then have joined the queue for the books I had just had signed countersigned by Jacob who was on the table next to us as he had coloured all of them but all I did was snatch a photo of him. I think I was too drunk with elation. If I had travelled all that distance and ended up with just that experience I would have gone home happy. As it was there was a strange, almost surreal epilogue.

When I was in the process of booking accommodation for my trip I had in the end plumped for the hotel on the hill in the centre of Bowness. One of the reasons that swayed me was that even though it was slightly more costly than an Airbnb the price of breakfast was included. This meant that I could relive my schooldays from over 40 years ago when I would not spend the dinner money I had been given on frivolous non-essentials like a hot meal midway through the schoolday but I could instead use that money to buy the more important things in life. Like comics. That worked out well because it afforded me my first proper meeting, brief though it was, at breakfast with SP when I was not sure I would get another chance over the entire weekend.

The hotel where I was staying might be called one of the festival hubs as it was decorated not only with banners for the festival, posters featuring artwork by many of the attendees but was also the venue for the Saturday night social events: karaoke, live music, live stand-up comedy, and a pub quiz sponsored by Viz Comic. For those who are unfamiliar with Viz Comic it is a British institution that originated in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne (where Sting hails from) around about 40 years ago. It parodies children’s humorous anthology comics. It satirises them because it is an adult comic full of scatological humour, sexual innuendo, and unexpurgated profanity. It is hilarious. To give you a flavour of its humour, it was the first publication that printed in its section devoted to Top Tips (I think they are known as Life Hacks in the US), “Save money on expensive personalised number plates. Instead change your name by deed poll to your existing car licence plate.” That is one of the more repeatable gags.

As the hour approached for the pub quiz I wondered if I could drag myself out of bed after a tiring day and descend three flights of stairs to get to the events room. I did, and as I was on my own I joined a team consisting of a red-shirted twenty-something convention volunteer and his father, Nathan. Shortly afterwards we welcomed someone else to make up the full complement for a team. This person was also someone flying solo and their name was Andy, and when he introduced himself I thought he would give us the edge: he was from Newcastle and he was a regular Viz Comic reader. Not only that, he had attended the Viz Comic panel discussion that had taken place earlier in the evening, and which had promised every attendee would leave with a piece of Viz-related original art. This was something that I had considered going to but it clashed with a career-spanning Sean Phillips interview at another location. Andy said he had come away with an original drawing of Johnny Fartpants, and the rest of us nodded our approval.

[continued in following post]

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	Simon Ma ( 2 ) Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	April 2013
Last Login:	September 2025
Country:	UNITED KINGDOM
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artless artmore
Member Since 2013

Posted on 10/4/2024

Awesome and subtle portrait of one of my favorite characters in the Criminalverse!

Simon Ma
Member Since 2013

Posted on 10/4/2024

artless artmore wrote:

Awesome and subtle portrait of one of my favorite characters in the Criminalverse!

Totally agree, and mine too. Jacob is what you might call a “relatable observer”, even if some of his, err, “romantic” decisions leave a lot to be desired.

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