Some people wait around for the next big thing in comics to grab ahold of them, while others see comic creators begin their rise on indie series and smaller company-owned titles. It took Frank Miller years to become an overnight success in Daredevil, and Jim Lee spent years toiling away before he ever touched down on Uncanny X-Men. Who could be next?
Francesco Francavilla has quitely become one of the most versatile creators in comics today — and one of the fastest. Currently balancing books at both Marvel (Black Panther: Man Without Fear) and DC (Detective Comics), Francavilla also carries on a creative online presence participating in ComicTwart.com as well as his own Pulp Sunday website. Although he's best known as a penciller and inker, Francavilla is also known to letter and color his own work; and his old-style comic strip pin-ups (like the Captain America and Jonah Hex pieces below) show he knows how to tell a story. Francavilla's written his own work on the indie scene, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him get a shot doing the same at DC or Marvel — if he wants it.
Francavilla got his start in 2006 on the indie series The Black Coat: Call To Arms, and writer/artist (and expert talent finder) Rick Remender saw his potential early on and had him do work in Sea of Red and Fear Agent. After that he worked on the Boom! series Left On Mission before getting picked by Dynamite to lead up the art on a new Zorro series in 2008. In 2010 he did the Wildstorm series Garrison before signing on to do double-time at both Marvel and DC.
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I’d love to see him on Wednesday Comics with those big wide open panels. Maybe a Sandman Mystery Theatre revival too.
You’d be nuts not to pick up a sketchbook of his from his site. One if the best bangs for your bucks no doubt.
Damn iphone keypad. *of
@RolandofGilead Francavilla would be incredible in Wednesday comics! His art is perfect for newsprint paper.
DC needs to sign him to an exclusive fast!!
dunno if i’d consider Fancavilla an “upstart” since he is drawing one of the biggest books DC has, but he’s is definitely fantastic and im glad he’s finally getting the exposure he deserves. i LOVE his work on Detective Comics
Yeah he’s been getting a ton of work….so not sure if ‘upstart’ is a good term here.
But hey it’s more excuses to see these incredible drawings. That one with Superman should be like, a movie poster.
I love his work on Detective Comics and I’m glad to hear he’s also teaming up with Scott Snyder again on the new Swamp Thing.
His work on Detective was good but brought down by the colors. The over-used reds, yellows, and pinks drive me nuts.
he’s probably one of my top 5 favorite artists. He just has such a unique voice and i love how he’s modernizes classic styles. I don’t know if i’d call him an upstart though..he’s been around for a while…
Italians do it better!
I kill a ton of time at work on his website. Even his warm up drawings feel like a complete story.That Hex comic strip is a great example of how strong his story skills are. Great color choices too.
I think his single best panel is from about 4 or 5 months ago Black Panther, it was him in the rain, just a stunning drawing, I can’t remember which issue it was though. I think I made it my pick of the week!
@AmirCat AGREED! Don’t let this one slip away!
Love his black panther and detective work
@TheNextChampion I agree about that Superman piece, that would be a cool teaser poster for the Superman movie.
@RolandofGilead
http://www.francescofrancavilla.com/gallery/images/sandman_low.jpg
And boom goes the dynamite.
His art is almost always my computer backgrounds these days.
@Tork
That’s what I’m talkin about!
Love the Daleks. And the subtltey of the bird piece is just amazing. He’s doing some great stuff on Black Panther.
Met him in KC this year at Planet comicon. He took the time to talk to me about his Detective run and was very excited for future issues. I picked up some sketch books and he put a free Batman sketch in the back. He is a Classy guy and I support everything he puts out. Go get the new Black Panther series.
@mattfox7669 We met him for the first time this year at Comic-Con. He literally could not have been nicer. His wife too.
Francavilla is a bit like the indie band that got popular. I used to love his stuff on twart and now every tom, dick and douche seems to like him … kind of makes me want to hate him. Not really but, you know
Love Francesco’s stuff! First noticed him on comictwart.com. He’s still great. 🙂
i have to add, what i really love about Francavilla’s work are his posters, design and comic strips like the Cap and Hex shown above. He can really say a lot in very small spaces. I think i prefer that stuff to his sequential pages. i just love his color palettes as well. I wish more creators took ownership of the entire pencils/inks/colors/letters process like he does.
From the first sketch I saw from Francesco I knew he would make it big one day.
I was wondering where that second sketch is from with the ant-like creatures in it? The Capt. and the Superman are amazing as is the rest of the drawings. I read an article from a guy that enjoyed his The Black Coat run/series?, but have never seen any of those–it must be a small printing and hard to find as it flew under most comic readers radar (mine included).