iFanboy Upstarts: Rem Broo

Conventions may be the staple of comic book community, but being unconventional is the best way for a comic artist to break in.

German artist Rem Broo (born Remus Brezeanu) is currently riding high after his formal print comics debut in the apocalyptic buddy comedy miniseries The End Times of Bram & Ben, which although co-written by James Asmus (Gambit, Thief of Thieves, Quantum & Woody) became best known for Broo’s crazy but composed linework. Broo earned a coveted Russ Manning nomination for that work, and he’s rumored to be busily working on his follow-up. But this overnight success isn’t so overnight.

Broo went to college in Germany to be an architect, and had a successful career doing that until in 2008 he decided to change paths. Broo took his drafting table and leapt into the world of illustration, doing work for magazines and children’s books along with animation work. In 2010 Remus began his slow climb into comics by illustrating the webcomic Socialfist, an interesting dark comedy featuring a group of Russian communists who end up at odds with an American superhero team. After that Broo did a series of small shorts and some pitches for various companies before striking up a relationship with Asmus in 2011 resulting in The End Times of Bram & Ben which finally debuted in January 2013.

The details of what Broo is working on next is currently under wraps, but with his style — think Rob Guillory meets a young Seth Fisher — I could easily imagine him doing a major creator-owned work or even possibly adapting for a superhero story. What do you think?