José Villarrubia perspective on comic book colouring

José Villarrubia, from his wikipedia entry

Mid 2000s, Paul Pope's Batman Year 100 popped into my life. And in turn, so did José Villarrubia work. José is a fantastic colourist and whenever I see a comic with his name attached I pay attention. José has the rare and under-appreciated ability to take a black and white drawing, apply a mixture of colours that enhance, compliment, and ultimately understand the emotion behind the piece.

Batman Year 100 by Paul Pope and coloured by José Villarrubia.
(Photo taken by my mobile phone on a overcast day). 

Adam Strange issue 5 (Wednesday Comics) by Paul Pope and coloured by José Villarrubia

Recently, due to the work-home orders affecting my home town, I have been diving back into my comic collection and watching the plethora of YouTube videos on comics. A video by Comic Tropes references José Villarrubia work and this in turn focused my attention on his Facebook page (From a colorist's perspective) where José posts the art of coloring and how modern reprints are destroying original comics artistic appeal and intention. (Images from José Villarrubia Facebook page - go visit!)

I've written on comic colouring before, (but I don't remember exactly when, given I last really wrote for this blog 10 years ago!), about how I detested the modern comic reprints of Red Sonja. I dislike the addition of new shading to create a 3d rendered drawing, the eye sore popping of too bright colours, and just...well it's hard to put the full feeling into words. Luckily I hunted down the original prints of Red Sonja by Frank Thorne.

Reprint on left, with digital shading added, day glow colours added.
On the right, original printing of Red Sonja #10, printed 1978
(photo taken by my mobile phone on a overcast day). 

José Villarrubia post many Conan images and points out the failings of modern colouring, the erasure of women artists work, and how to properly re-colour a comic book. Can I say it enough, check his Facebook page (sign-in first)!

I love this re-coloured image by José Villarrubia, showcasing his talent on how to properly colour an old issue for re-printing. Wicked!

On left is the original colouring. On the right is José Villarrubia's re-colouring.

And lastly I love this image of Batman on the bat-bike. Kick ass!

Batman Year 100, issue #3, by Paul Pope and coloured by José Villarrubia.
(Photo taken by my mobile phone on a overcast day). 

Shredder on Tinder? Would you swipe right?

Shredder is a total chad, no?

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Guest contributor: We Heart Ninjas

WeHeartNinjas offers clothing print designs, accessories, stickers, and more. 

Makes great gifts for kids and adults who love ninjas (and not always Teenage mutant ninja turtles, no offense!). 

Visit the We Heart Ninjas Redbubble store or the TeePublic store.

Black and White Sunday: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is hitting Canadian Netflix next week. Cowabunga! 

I remember when the cartoon hit the airwaves, I was disappointed with the turtles wearing different coloured headbands (eye-bands?) and I also didn't like the Michelangelo lacking his nun-chucks. My disappointment was later alleviated with the release of the first movie where Mikey's nun-chucks were back. 

Below are some wicked black and white drawings from the issue #1 way back in 1984 and late 80's. Because the images were black and white, you had to rely on the dialogue and weapons to figure out who was who. 

(Unless noted, all art by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird).

Remember this scene? In issue #4, Splinter is caputured by Baxter Stockman's mouser robots. Raph is distraught! This scene was adapted to the big screen when Splinter is captured by the Foot Clan.

via GIPHY

Remains of the Shredder (first death, issue #1, 1984)

By Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird

Just some cool action shots!

Swagger!

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Issue 21 (1989), the second time Oroku Saki (The Shredder) died. Great issue!

Art by Kevin Eastman and Jim Lawson

Issue 32, a fun one by Mark Bode, inked by Kevin Eastman and Eric Talbot

Back to issue 1, the alpha and omega turtles!

Guest contributor: We Heart Ninjas

WeHeartNinjas offers clothing print designs, accessories, stickers, and more. 

Makes great gifts for kids and adults who love ninjas (and not always Teenage mutant ninja turtles, no offense!). 

Visit the We Heart Ninjas Redbubble store or the TeePublic store.

Bruce Lee's Self Defense Techniques

** Note: another article transplanted to here, even though it's not comic related, I liked it and wanted to post it somewhere. **

I was digging through my bookshelf yesterday and came across Bruce Lee's Fighting Method: Self-Defense Techniques. It was printed posthumously around 1976, but the photos date to 1966. It has a variety of techniques to help defend oneself. I've taken the liberty of scanning a few that highlight the destructive nature of Bruce Lee's Self Defense.

Defense from a Bear Hug

Punch the groin

Defense from headlock

Punch the groin

Defense from Front Punch

Kick the groin

Defense from Front Kick

Kick. The. Groin.

Defense from Weapon Attack

Toe. To. The. Groin.

Defense From Sitting Position

Having a cup of tea - Bam! Punch to the groin!

Defense from Front Grab

To the groin!

Defense from Multiple Attackers

Groin!

Defense from Multiple Attackers Alternative

Devastating

Moral of the Story: Don't ever mess with Bruce Lee or any of his disciples. Ever.

More Comix 365 articles:  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Special

Kato the Green Hornet

Darwyn Cooke pre Parker and Watchmen

Darwyn Cooke wasn't one of my favorite artists until I stumbled upon his Eisner award winning one shot 'Batman/Spirit'. His artwork is both retro and contemporary. He draws with bold lines and is able to create great atmospheric scenes. He is also draws Wonder Woman taller than Superman.

On the DVD 'The New Frontier' Cooke mentions that this depiction of Wonder Woman has earned him both praise and scorn. I think it's funny, and really, she is an Amazonian Princess after all! Anyway, once again enough chatter - onward artward!

New Frontier

Catwoman Pin Up from Solo: Darwyn Cooke

Wonder Woman, back cover New Frontier

Batman, from Batman/Spirit

Wolverine and Doop vs pink lady!

Spider-Man versus The Vulture

Establishing shot from interior of Selina's Big Score

Free Comic Book Day cover

Batman vs Superman from New Frontier

Solo Interior art

Batman vs. The Hulk

I have some neat books (at least in my opinion), so I thought I would take a moment to share them with any readers that stumble upon my blog.

Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk - a paperback comic

By Lein Wein, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, and Dick Giordana Published: 1981