StarBulletin.com

Eye of realism


By

POSTED: Sunday, January 11, 2009

How would common, everyday people live in a world with superheroes and supervillains?

Fourteen years ago the creative team of Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross attempted to answer that with a limited series titled “;Marvels.”; Stories and characters, from the 1940s to early '70s and already well known to fans of the Marvel Universe, were seen through the eyes of Phil Sheldon, a New York newspaper photographer and adept documentor of the costumed characters.

“;Marvels”; became a fan and critics' favorite, distinguished by Ross' painterly, photorealistic illustrations, a style that would make his career.

Marvel Comics is revisiting the hectic life of photographer Sheldon in the series “;Marvels: Eye of the Camera.”; Two of the six issues have already been released.

Busiek is back as writer, but the artwork comes courtesy of Jay Anacleto, who won an Eisner industry award in 1999 for his evocative, detailed pencil work on the Image Comics fantasy title “;Aria.”;

“;Eye of the Camera”; so far has a retired Sheldon getting back into the journalism game as a freelancer but finding the world has grown more complicated. His personal life gets complicated as well when he finds he has lung cancer. Despite upcoming chemotherapy sessions and the growing concerns of his wife and children, Sheldon has a renewed sense of purpose. He now wants to show through his photography that despite the calamitous super-battles happening all around him, the world needs heroes like Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and Captain America.

Anacleto's textured illustrative technique gives the characters in “;Eye of the Camera”; a palpable weight and realism.

ANACLETO is part of a select group of talented comic-book artists from the Philippines, one of a long line of illustrators who've worked in the U.S. market for many years.

Corresponding via e-mail from his Manila home, Jay (real first name Efren) Anacleto wrote that “;Aria”; was his big break, after doing part-time ink-and-pencil work for the now-defunct Entity Comics, “;a few years after I finished dental school.”;

“;When I first became an avid comic-book reader with the X-Men titles back in college, the first Filipino artist that I became familiar with was Whilce Portacio. After I got into the industry, I started learning about all the other Filipino artists who have been in the industry since the '70s—guys like Rudy Nebres, Alex Nino, Nestor Redondo and Tony DeZuniga. ... Guys like me, Leinil Yu, Wilson Tortosa, Carlo Pagulayan, Gerry Alanguilan, Philip Tan, among others, (are) continuing what Filipino artists have started decades ago.”;

It was Anacleto's part-time work that drew the attention of established artist Jae Lee, who was in the Philippines for a book signing. Lee took Anacleto's portfolio back to the U.S., where Portacio helped Anacleto get in touch with “;Aria”; co-creator Brian Haberlin.

Haberlin was also Anacleto's colorist on “;Aria,”; and the working relationship continues with the new “;Marvels”; title. (Anacleto's work also stands up well in black and white, as shown by the “;Aria”; and “;Marvels”; variant editions that have been published in B&W, showing his detailed work more clearly.)

Anacleto said he was initially wary of taking on “;Eye of the Camera”; because he knew fans of the original would have high expectations. “;I knew that any sequel will always be compared to it, being the groundbreaking (graphic) novel that it was in terms of story and art.”;

But Busiek, the original writer, is on board, along with co-writer Roger Stern and editor Tom Breevort, “;and they have all been tremendous in helping out re-creating and continuing the 'Marvels' story,”; he said.

Anacleto works on the project from home. “;Working here in the Philippines mainly means that I can work at home with my two dogs and old cat named Spencer,”; Anacleto wrote. “;Everything goes via the Internet. Me, the writers, the editor and the colorist correspond via e-mail, and I send them scans of the finished pencils. Since the setting for the story is in the U.S., mainly New York, I do need tons of reference, particularly for the backgrounds, buildings and streets and the like. ...

...”;With regards to my style, I do everything with pencils,”; he said. “;I usually use three grades: HB, B and 2B. I like to be meticulous and do highly detailed drawings, which unfortunately, much to the dismay of my editors, means slow, ha ha. But I feel that the extra effort I put in the artwork, including the backgrounds, helps to complement the story, be it creating a mood or just helping me to accurately portray the scene with or without dialogue.”;

It's been some time since Anacleto has been featured on a major comic-book project. Here's hoping that after “;Marvels: Eye of the Camera”; is finished, it won't be another several years before we have the pleasure of seeing his work again.