Some people will do anything to break into comics. Some break in by working as assistants to others, some by becoming editors, and some even by working in the mailroom (just ask Chris Claremont!) But this week’s iFanboy Upstart did it by taking a new route: coloring.
Mitch Gerads didn’t plan to start comics by coloring. After working on his self-published series Johnny Recon with writer Scott Dillon in 2009, Gerads got his first paid work doing colors on the Boom!/Stan Lee title Starborn over artist Khary Randolph. While working away on that, Gerads partnered up with the enterprising artist blogging group ComicTWART and found his linework on the virtual desks of comic editors across the world. After doing a couple covers for Boom!/Lee’s other title Soldier Zero, Gerads branched out to Doctor Who over at IDW and even a series of unique gigs for Adult Swim and the cereal company Malt-o-Meal. While those latter two projects didn’t get much traction, all of these brought him to the attention of fellow up-and-coming comics creator Nathan Edmondson.
Touching upon their shared love of special forces and espionage, Edmondson and Gerads created the spec ops Image series The Activity. The series, which is well into its second year, proved to be a coming out party for Gerads and has seen him hone his work by leaps and bounds over each issue. In addition to The Activity, Gerads has snuck in time to work on Jim Henson’s The Storyteller anthology as well as a short for Bandette and some great commission work that has popped up online.
Here is a sample of Gerads’s most recent pages from The Activity, as well as other odds and ends from the course of his career — including that cereal work.
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Wow! Love those images. It’s great to see him drawing something other than The Activity, as much as I enjoy that book.
Mitch is fantastic. I saw his original art at Fables Con, and as awesome as The Activity pages are in print, the original art is just mind-blowing.
I was at Fables Con as well and got to see that art, simply beautiful. I got the first two trades of the Activity at that con and just love that it’s just a strait forward modern military comic. Great stuff, and you know this guy will have a long career in comics.
This is impressive stuff! His ComicTwart stuff was always among my favorites. I really miss that website.
He’s great. Him & Edmonson are great on activity.
I would love to see Gerads on Brian Wood’s The Massive!
He can pull off SAGA if ever Fiona Staples quits. Hope not though.
Can anyone tell me what comic the drawing of Cap tying his boot is from? I’m hoping it’s an actual story.
Or the one of Cap with his shield and M4. Also, does Cap’s shield have a name?
Halik: Those Captain America pieces aren’t from comics, just one-off illustrations Gerads did.
That Venom piece is fucking cherry. Also can someone please tell me that Matadori is something I can buy from somewhere.