This is my Weekly Design Inspiration, this is a space where I share some design work that has either inspired me or caught my attention for its execution or concept. The things I feature on here can include (but not limited to) branding, web design, app design, illustration, typography, video games or anything that shows creativity in a unique way.
When thinking of iconic comic book titles you would typically go to the likes of Marvel or DC, but there are other comic book publishers out there creating interesting and alternative characters and stories. The likes of Dark Horse Comics, who have published such original titles as The American, The Mask and Sin City is one of these publishers. Possibly one of their most notable and iconic publications is Hellboy, a dark and creepy world where folklore and demons carve out the narrative. The brilliant mind and artist behind Hellboy is Mike Mignola, who not only created Hellboy but has written most of the comics since its inception in 1993. Mignola has also been involved in the creation of both of the Hellboy feature films and is currently working on the upcoming 2019 reboot. With the trailer for the reboot just around the corner (as of writing this it's scheduled for release tomorrow) I thought I would take a look at the work of the mind that brought us the Right Hand Of Doom.
Mignolas's style is unmistakable, refreshing and original, it's a stark contrast to that of popular comic book styles, the likes of Jack Kirby for example (however, you can see clear influences of Kirby in Mignola's work). It balances a mixture of elements that all come together to make this style so unique. The use of heavy shadows and large blocks of colour make compositions more considered and add intensity to the characters in frame. This, along with a limited colour pallet, where typically the backgrounds are dark or muted, with a bright contrasting colour for the featured characters makes frames have a certain hierarchy to them (this is evidently clear in Hellboy comics where Hellboy is bright red on an often dark background). Mignola often uses a strand of light or smoke behind the feature piece to help silhouette a pose or action. These light strands are jagged and angular and often flow from the top right of the page down to the bottom left diagonally, this creates a path for the eye to follow through the piece. Mignola's artwork almost looks as though he is carving the subjects from the shadows, sort of like drawing in reverse where you would have a black canvas and use colour to create light. He uses little to no gradients or shading and instead opts for solid shapes to show areas of light or shadow, this is partly what creates the iconic angular style associated with Mignola's work.
Mignola manages to do so much with so little, he knows where the detail is needed and where a few lines will do. It's an amazing thing to achieve and seems to come effortlessly to Mike. You can look at any Mignola piece and see that he has considered where the detail is required and where less is more. Often Mignola has the scene and feature characters blend into the background shadow and loose detail the further you move down the page, which in a way, binds the whole piece together compositionally. He also builds compositions in an interesting manor, typically with the lead character centred and with objects and creatures surrounding in different depths, which is common practice for comic book covers, but what makes Mignola's unique is, again, the muted tones, large block colours and restricted detail as opposed to bright colours and heavy detail which is often present in comic covers.
What got me (and probably a large portion of fans) interested in Mike and his work was the Hellboy series. I have always been interested in comic books and the big names from Marvel including X-Men, Spider-man and Captain America but what intrigued me about Hellboy was that this was a 'hero' whose actually a devil, how does that work? Just the premise of a demon fighting monsters on behalf of a secret government organisation is crazy and caught my attention. When you read a Hellboy comic it's like nothing you've ever read before, here's a wise cracking demon fighting creatures derived from folklore with a giant stone hand, it's bonkers! This crazy world, which is so vastly different (in both narrative and aesthetics) from anything I had ever read in more traditional comic books, is what got me hooked. These comic books aren't necessarily about being able to relate to the hero and seeing yourself in them, or about someone who had super powers bestowed upon them and doing good, instead, it's about a demon who defeats demons and the interesting stories/folklore surrounding these demons. You definitely can read more into Hellboy's past and his struggles to come to terms with who he really is, you don't necessarily need to empathize with Hellboy because he's different from everyone else (in fact most people in the comic books treat him as if he's a normal human) you can instead see his internal struggle through the carefully written back stories.
Obviously most peoples exposure to Hellboy is from the feature films directed by Guillermo del Toro staring Ron Perlman. I loved these films (the first one more so than the second) both for the interesting adaptation of the comics and the way that Del Toro brought his own style in line with that of Mignola's. Both of these creators have distinctive styles which lend themselves to a creature ridden world full of prosthetics, costumes, makeup, props and sets which were gelled together seamlessly to create something special. Along with the casting of Perlman as Hellboy (one of the best casting choices of all time in my opinion, seriously, who else could pull off that iconic brow and chin?) this makes for a great comic book film that didn't conform to stereotypical superhero tropes and was better for it. This is why i'm seriously looking forward to the reboot, although Del Toro isn't involved this time around, I'm sure the production team, along with Mignola's input (although apparently limited), will create something refreshing in a world saturated in comic book movies. This as well as an R rating could create something we haven't yet seen from this world and could make for a real cult classic.
Hellboy is by far Mignola's most prominent creation but it's not the only iconic work that he has been involved with. While researching for this blog I found out that Mignola has been involved in a handful of films and animations that I loved growing up. I was unaware until recently that Mike was production designer for the Disney classic Atlantis: The Lost Empire, which was a film I had on video and watched the hell out of when I was a child. Looking back on this you can really see how the style of this film is in line with that of Mignola's, the highly exaggerated and angled body shapes, the industrial gritty look of the machinery and the overall darker tone than that of the other Disney films of that era points to Mignola's work. Having learnt that Mignola had such a strong influence on a film I loved so much as a child and then going on to become a fan of his comic work as a young adult feels fitting and as if it has all come full circle. Mignola also worked as a concept artist for another film I used to love, Blade II (which funnily enough was also directed by Del Toro and has Ron Perlman in). Looking back at this film, it hasn't aged well, but it was an age where comic films were still emerging and finding their feet on the big screen, so is maybe forgivable. Something that is undeniable is the creative input the concept artists (including Mignola) had on this film.
Overall, Mike Mignola is an artist who has captured my interest because he is willing to do things differently, both when story telling and illustrating. His work has helped inspire me when inking and to think about detail; when and where it is necessary or unnecessary. His is a style that is not easily replicated and so synonymous with his creations that the characters themselves almost only fit in a Mignola style. That is a feet that most comic artist don't achieve. And finally, as mentioned before, I'm really looking forward to seeing more from the upcoming Hellboy film and will post the trailer here once it's released!
Update: Having watched this trailer I'm a little dubious, as this isn't quite what I had envisioned for an R rated Hellboy film. I feel as though they are trying to make it a bit more like the humour and style of Guardians Of The Galaxy as opposed to something more like Dredd (which is what I was thinking this might be similar in tone to). Perhaps this is just the trailer being wacky to grab attention and then the film itself might have a slightly darker tone and will deliver on the creatures and world, which currently look very interesting. I haven't lost all hope in this film and I'm still very much looking forward to it, but this trailer has slightly put me on the back foot...
Honorable Mentions
As part of my Weekly Design Inspiration I also like to share some bits and pieces that I have seen which have inspired me in the last week. I have captioned each image with some info and relevant links so you can find out more.
BAM Animation is a fairly young Youtube channel created by two animators that work in the industry, Brent Noll and Maximus Pauson. They take on different elements of character design or animation and break it down into easy to follow steps and give useful tips along the way. I'm looking forward to seeing where this channel goes in the future.
Abduzeedo is a website that posts design articles and blogs about all things design. Recently they have rebranded and it looks pretty clean. The website has maintained its clean and crisp look while updating a few visuals and features. They will be uploading more of the design process in the coming weeks, which I'm looking forward to seeing.
Timber is an illustrator I have been following for a while and helped inspire some of my early illustration work. I love his woodcut style and the themes he illustrates are right up my street.
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