• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Spotlight on Phil Hester

Started by Elijya,

14 posts in this topic

Elijya

Elijya

Posted
Posted

Let’s talk about Phil Hester.

 

Many of you may know Phil Hester as the artist for the first 40 or so issues of DC’s current Green Arrow series, or from his work penciling some of Kevin Smith’s Clerks comics. He’s also done work on Nightwing, Marvel Team-Up, and the current Ant-Man series with Robert Kirkman. But I was pleased to discover that his writing talents go so far as to surpass his drawing talent. He specializes in trippy-cool, loosely sci-fi independent miniseries, twisted fairy tales, and short stories that make for incredible reads and some of the freshest ideas on the market. Personally, it is a crime that he has yet to receive higher recognition for his contributions, and I want to amend that, so I'd to tell you about a few of his works. Any comic fan looking for more outside the standard superhero fare would be doing themselves a disservice by not checking at least one of these books out.

 

“I have never been quite so uplifted and quite so terrified at the same time. I've said it once and I've said it again, Phil Hester is too damn good of an artist to be this good of a writer as well, and I hope that the reason he isn't doing more writing for the big two is because he doesn't want to, because for someone not to have picked up on this talent would be a terrible indictment of the state of talent scouting in this industry.” – Randy Lander, The Forth Rail

 

 

Hester’s short stories are regular additions to the vastly underrated anthology series Negative Burn, currently being published by Image, with a “Best of” trade available. An anthology book entitled “Oversight” (an unfortunately perfect adjective to describe Mr. Hester) was also released last year, collecting the best of Phil’s independent short stories from the past 15 years.

 

 

Oversight_TP.jpg

 

 

The Atheist is Antoine Sharpe, a government agent so skeptical and quick on his feet, he makes Scully from the X-Files looked like a paranoid schizophrenic. And that’s his job. Antoine spends his days debunking ghost stories, revealing cult leaders and TV Psychics, and solving the unsolvable,. Because like his nickname suggests, he believes there is a logical explanation for everything, and he always finds it. But it’s going to be a bit troublesome to come up with an explanation for why the souls of the dead, grown bored of waiting in the afterlife for the rapture, have decided to come back. Murderers, rapists, and scum, from throughout all history, begin emerging into the healthier younger bodies of those who are still living. And time is running out as more and more of the dead seem to take over every day, and Antoine Sharpe may find himself truly questioning his logical convictions for the first time.

 

Written by Phil Hester with art by John McCrea (Hitman). The book has unfortunately been plagued with delays, but the first three issues so far are excellent.

 

“The first issue of The Atheist could be used as part of a class on how to write first issues.” – The Forth Rail

 

read the first three pages of The Atheist #1 here

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/elijya/random/05469338229_1_P1.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/elijya/random/05469338229_1_P2.gif

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/elijya/random/05469338229_1_P3.gif

05469338229_1.gif

 

 

Coffin tells the tale of scientist Dr. Ashtar Ahmad who is so devoted to his work, he neglects even his family. He has developed a material dense enough, that not even souls can escape it, and crafted a prototype suit, which could theoretically contain an individual for all eternity if they died while sealed inside it. His employers, doubting his loyalty, send for him to be eliminated, but not before Ashtar can make it inside of his suit. He survives, but now that he is trapped within his creation, he must endeavor to protect the things he never reached out to when he could. Available in trade from Oni

 

17762432781_1.gif

17762432781_1_P1.gif

 

 

 

I like to describe Deep Sleeper, in brief, as kind of like the Matrix, except it's about Dreams instead of computers, and it's actually really, really good. It is the story of one Cole Gibson, a frustrated out of work writer who one day finds that his latest story may in fact be true. A series of events leads him to discover that he is able to walk through the world of dreams when he sleeps, seeing sights and performing feats he never thought possible. But those who wish to abuse the unique powers he possesses on the dream plane have lured him there, and what sinister (or benevolent?) plans they have remains to be seen, as do the choices Cole makes when his own body is stolen. Art by Mike Huddleston 10/10 from The Fourth Rail. Available in trade from Image

 

23543939030_1.gif

23543214743_2_P2.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Darrell F

Darrell F

Posted
Posted
Never cared for Nightwing, but the first Hester piece I saw (and bid on) was a Batman & Robin cover. I'll post it here tonight.

 

Did you win it? If so, is it for sale? 893scratchchin-thumb.gif

 

and there is always his Green Arrow

 

Phil-Hester-GA.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Elijya

Elijya

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I own a half dozen Hester pages, mainly from GA. When I met him this past summer at SD, I wouldn't take his Wretch cover away from him

 

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/elijya/sketchbook/OAGASpeedy.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/elijya/sketchbook/OAGABCHester.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/elijya/sketchbook/OAPulse12coverprelimGA36p19.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Go to topic listing