iFanboy Upstarts: Konstantin Novosadov

Comic writers and artists are able to transport readers to various worlds, times and even realities – all with only a pencil, a brush or perhaps a simple desktop computer. Thanks to the internet, comic creators from all over the world are able to do work on American comics, the same way American comic creators are branching out all over the world. But this week’s iFanboy Upstart comes from the most unlikeliest of places: Siberia.

Discovered by Who Is Jake Ellis? scribe Nathan Edmondson, artist Konstantin Novosadov is an enterprising Russian talent who’s been attempting to break into the comic industry for years. Doing smaller work for European publishers and fly-by-night American outfits, his upcoming series The Dream Merchant at Image with Edmondson will be his first proper comic debut, American or otherwise.

But Novasadov isn’t a rookie. The Siberian-based artist has worked for two years as a freelancer, and before that worked in the Russian animation industry. Working almost exclusively with digital tools, Novasadov’s been able to branch outside of Russia thanks to heavy use of Google Translate.

Carrying influences spreading from Guy Davis to Gustave Dore, Novosadov is a distinctly different breed of artist than what you’d normally expect breaking in; already keenly aware of his style and able to use it in a variety of scenarios. Although not much of his work is available outside of Russia, we’ve pulled together some various samples found online to get a better idea, starting with his cover to The Dream Merchant #1.