iFanboy Upstarts: Craig Cermak

For some comic creators it takes years to get noticed, but for others popularity comes pretty quick. For artist Craig Cermak, he earned a prestigious Russ Manning Award For Promising Newcomer just three professional issues into his career — and he was only 22. It’s not a bad way to start off your career, and not a bad criteria for being an iFanboy Upstart.

When a teenage Craig Cermak decided he wanted to work in comics, he knew right where to turn: the Kubert School. Studying under such greats as Andy, Adam and Joe Kubert, Cermak got an authentic and unbridled education in what is required of artists in comics and what he needed to learn to get there. After graduating from the New Jersey-based school in 2011, Cermak relocated to Illinois and began his trajectory into comics.He illustrated the a small-press book called Veritas, a webcomic called The Vitruvian Underground, and picked up coloring work for the series The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury. It was there that he met writer Brandon Thomas, who turned out to be an ideal conduit to get his samples in front of major publishers — and that he did, securing his first pro gig drawing Voltron: Year One. That book, which launched earlier this year, showed the then-22 year old as more than a fresh faced newbie; instead he had practiced illustration ability and a keen and straight-forward storytelling sense. His honest illustrative ability shown through on this Voltron prequel, earning the admiration of publisher Nick Barrucci who quickly went to work thinking of what the artist could do next. That next project, as announced last week, is collaborating with Garth Ennis on a crime book called Red Team.

From Voltron to Garth Ennis in under a  year? Not bad, and Cermak is still essentially a rookie. Here’s a sample of some of his Voltron: Year One work, alongside commissions, webcomics and some sample pages he’s done for the Big Two. Let us know what you think about where this artist could go next.

Comments

  1. I know this guy from following Ramon Villabolos who is a great artist in his own right. Vitruvian underground has some great concepts and designs. Shame it didn’t get the funding to get off the ground.

  2. Just from the fact that he drew the whole Batman cast in new-52 outfits but kept Red Robin in his old one, I know Craig has a lot of good taste in what he draws. 🙂

    Great work all around. Love his Batman pencils.

  3. Nice stuff. Love the joker in suspenders.

  4. I like the colored work but his pencils and inked stuff are my favorite.

  5. Dig that Mad Men piece