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Partly cloudyMagazine
The big picture: comics are a serious business
Conrad Astley9/12/2005
An exhibition in a new gallery puts the focus on three of Manchester's leading illustrators. Conrad Astley took a look.
THEIR work has graced the covers of publications ranging from
Cosmopolitan to Marvel Comics, but you've probably never heard
their names before.
Now, an exhibition is putting the spotlight on three of
Manchester's unsung design talents.
The Three Illustrators exhibition is running at Head Space, a new
gallery set up in the basement of Smithfield Buildings, Tib
Street.
All of the artists involved started out as illustrators, but some
evolved to work on album covers, art posters, videos, logos and
fashion shoots.
Swinton-born John Royle is quickly becoming a well-known figure in
the comics scene, despite his passion for the world of superheroes
originally being met with disapproval.
His formal training went as far as doing a BTEC in illustration at
Salford College, but his art teachers did not encourage his
long-held fascination.
Instead, he developed his own style by studying the pages of his
comic collection, sending his work off to publishers and attending
conventions, and was eventually chosen to illustrate Marvel UK's
Knights of Pendragon series.
He has since worked on Marvel and DC titles including Wolverine,
Excalibur, Star Trek - Starfleet Academy and Ultra-Force.
Things are continuing to look good for John, as he has since
illustrated a graphic novel by comic book legend Stan Lee - the
creator of Spiderman, Fantastic Four, and X-Men - and has a number
of other strips coming out including a new story appearing in The
Sunday Times.
Stan Chow's introduction into the world of art was different to
that of many illustrators.
The artist said at the age of four, he discovered a discreet video
hidden in his father's bedroom - and was inspired to sketch the
female form.
He has now moved on from that, having since studied art in
Manchester and Lyon, and has worked as an illustrator and graphic
designer since 1994.
He started out as a fashion illustrator and his work has appeared
in Cosmopolitan, The Sunday Times, and The Independent.
In true fashion industry style, he has agents in London, Paris and
New York, and is now developing a range of bags and brollies for
Harrods, but he has also designed record sleeves for Badly Drawn
Boy's Twisted Nerve Records, and has illustrated a series of
children's books called Eddie the Pigeon, and covers for Penguin
Books.
Another artist to be featured in the exhibition is Paula McNamara,
whose work is heavily influenced by Art Deco, Parisian poster
designer Toulouse Lautrec, and the Vogue covers of the 1920s.
Her work has been used to illustrate Elle magazine, and the stylish
set of drawings on display at the Northern Quarter have been used
to introduce fashions from this year's Autumn-Winter
collection.
The Three Illustrators exhibition runs until January
31.
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