I admit at times I’m guilty of this as well. As a storytelling reviewer I tend to focus on the writing. If you’ve read my reviews I only on occasion mention the quality of the artwork. What I don’t acknowledge often enough, and I’ve been trying to pay closer attention to it in recent months, is that the colorist is part of art team on a comic book. Maybe it’s because my coloring is just “flats” that its the second easiest part of my own comic work. (The easiest is the lettering, but I don’t put a lot of effort into that beyond the letter layout thanks to the nature of my current stuff. By the way, speaking of members of the creative team who goes unappreciated….)
A recent posting by colorist Jordie Bellaire about how she was treated by an unnamed convention led to Twitter blowing up with the hashtag #coloristappreciationday. As tonight’s article link demonstrates the comic community, both artists and fans, decided that acknowledging colorists as an important part of the color team was long overdue. As the article notes, colorists can’t resell their work and aren’t as sought after as artists. There aren’t that many “big name” colorists out there. If you want to know how they add to a piece, pick up an old black & white copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and compare it to the excellent coloring job on IDW’s “Color Classics” reprints. Surprisingly big difference, isn’t it?
Related articles
- Con snubs colorists, colorist pride stands strong (comicsbeat.com)
- Colorist Available (skottieyoung.com)
- In Your Face Jam – The Best Colorists of 2012 (comicbookresources.com)
- “Colorists are the Unknown Amazing Backup Singer who Makes Every Track Awesome” (newsarama.com)
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