Get down to your local comic book emporium today, Wednesday, April 13 to pick up the third and last installment of the Siege of Paris story in Brian Wood’s Northlanders with art by Simon Gane. Pictured above is a character sketch of Mads from the book, as posted on Simon’s Blog along with many other lovely sketches from three different projects. Sorry, Simon, but you can’t tell me that the 70s detective/assassin lookin’ dude is based on anyone but John Thaw in The Sweeney.
UPDATE(S): Simon got in touch. He claims that the character in question was meant to represent Danny Greene filtered through Mel Gibson. I don’t buy it.
Also: I’m a complete loser and forget to plug Charles Hatfield’s loving appraisal of Simon’s work – especially on Northlanders – that he has up on the Panelists site. I had the tab open and waiting for me and everything. Better late then never. The point I perceive that he made, which I greatly appreciate, is that the Siege of Paris work is the most directly and purely Simon Gane comics that we’ve gotten recently. It’s a big step forward from his early punk zines, it’s far away from his more polished commercial work and it is not lost in the formal abstraction on view in the Paris book or the Sap t-shirt from Wow Cool from a few years ago (nothing at all against them, have you seen Simon’s landscape sketches?). It is pure and honest Simon Gane art where he is at now, and totally recognizable as his work. And it is so damn good. I can’t wait to see what is coming next.
But, wait! There’s more! Everything’s coming up Simon Gane this week. Go check out this great gallery of Simon’s art for Andi Watson’s Paris graphic novel over at Space in Text.
