Art For Art’s Sake #245: Liam Sharp’s Conan And Other Stories
by Richard Bruton
Time to have a little wander around the comics world of art. It’s a wonderful world most of the time and it’s down to all of us to make it better. Welcome to Art For Art’s Sake.
This week we end with some unseen Liam Sharp. But we begin, right here, right now, with this…
Paul Rainey – ‘James Nesbitt!’
Perfect Trajectory Maggie and Hopey – Jamie Hernandez – a Gosh! London limited print, 2016
Jonathan Edwards – always adore Jonathan E’s landscape artwork, the way he captures places and people so beautifully… this one’s “A greengrocer barge in Venice. Watercolour. Finished 4 years ago today.” This and many other equally gorgeous works available as prints in his store.Still available as a print here.
Darryl Cunningham – recent page…
Art Adams – Man-Thing
Great Mark Buckingham Mr. Mxyzptlk page, from Superman: American Alien #3
Marguerite Sauvage – Buffy print
Bob Layton –
Kevin Maguire – Super Friends time…
Tom McWeeney – Spidey et al
Leo Baxendale – who else could it possibly be? Art from 1961
Eduardo Risso – WW
Otto Schmidt – WW
Michael Kaluta – The Shadow
Paul Pope – Spidey
Babs Tarr – Scarlet Witch
Art Spiegelman –
And finally, the great Liam Sharp posted this:
“That time I got to do illustrations for a Sherlock Holmes story with Bill Sienkiewicz – my pencils, his inks, my colors – for Madefire. This was only ever published digitally, but I still hope that one day it sees traditional print!”
But did you know that wasn’t the only brilliant bit of Liam that you might have missed?
Can you imagine what the world would be like, how much better it would have been if Liam Sharp, with that absolutely gorgeous linework and detail, would have been let loose on Conan?
Well, you sort of don’t have to… here’s Liam with the tale…
“For reasons beyond the control of myself and the publisher I am no longer doing a 48 page ‘Savage Sword of Conan’ story, in black and white magazine format with a painted cover, which I also scripted. Once again that long imagined dream remains elusive. I was hoping to make it a career highlight, with art as detailed as Barry Smith’s astonishing ‘Red Nails’ – a personal fav and inspiration.
I still hope that one day we can make it happen, but for now – onward to new things, and moving my next big project forward a few months. I’m still excited about what the future brings and can’t wait to get cracking on it after X-O Manowar, which still has one issue to go. Some things are just not meant to be. One curious consolation – every time a possible Conan story has come my way, something else amazing happens instead… Last time it was Wonder Woman, which changed my life forever!
For a taste of what might have been, here’s the one thing I started drawing, alongside these pages from other books I’ve done, which serve as examples of the kind of direction I intended to take…
The publisher is as sorry as I am, but sometimes things just don’t work out. I’ve waited 40 years to draw the barbarian in a strip form. I think I can wait a little longer. Onwards!”
Yes, what an incredible thing that would have been. However, you can still get hold of them in Liam’s Encore: Silver, the second volume of his art books. And while you’re at it, do yourself a favour and get the Bronze and Gold editions of Encore as well! Go to his website or enquire at info@sharpy.net.
Anyway… here’s a bit of Conan, Red Sonja, Knights of Pendragon, Liam Sharp style…
