The holidays are a time to give unique gifts to those you love. When you buy from an artist, it’s like a gift that keeps giving, because you get something for a friend, and you support someone’s hard work and artistic talent. In the spirit of the season, here’s a list of five independent comics artists whose products make awesome gifts for the holidays.
Tess Fowler:
Tess Fowler is the artist for Rat Queens from Image Comics, originally beginning on the Braga special, and now she is working as the regular series artist. She has proven her love for the characters, and it really comes through in her artwork. She has also done cover art for series like Codename Baboushka and Young Terrorists. Many of her original pages and sketches can be found on her Storenvy page.
Fowler works with traditional ink and paper, and her work is incredible and delightfully expressive, reminiscent of your wildest Dungeons and Dragons imaginations. I love the Rat Queens series so much, and personally bought two original pages from her that I couldn’t be happier with. I highly recommend her art. Her work is perfect for the fantasy fanatic in your life.
You can visit her website here and follow her on Twitter here.
[This page, from RQ13, is available on her Storenvy. Just click the image to follow the link.]
Kelly and Nicole Matthews:
Kelly and Nicole Matthews, also known as KickingShoes, are twin sisters who ink and color pages together for comics like Archaia’s Toil and Trouble, about the witches of Macbeth. They have also done work for Filthy Figments, and draw some awesome fanart for fandoms like SPN and the Avengers.
They have a Storenvy page where you can find acrylic charms and original and fandom art prints. They also have a TeePublic store with more of their adorable creature designs. They are fairly new to the independent comics scene, but their work is charming and whimsical- definitely worth checking out.
Their tumblr, along with a gallery of their fanart and original art, can be found here. You can follow their Twitter account here.
[This print is available on their Storenvy. Just click the image to follow the link.]
Matt Cummings:
Next up on the list is Matt Cummings, the artist of comics like Battle Dog and Power Up from Boom Studios. His art style is expressive and adorable, and you can’t help but smile when you see his work. There’s a wonderful, vivid quality to the characters he draws, and his artwork includes some fanart of video game characters as well as anime-inspired work.
He has a Society6 page where you can purchase his prints, as well as shirts, canvas prints, and other products featuring his work. You can find his website here and his Twitter here.
[This print is available at his Society6 store. Just click the image to follow the link.]
Paulina Ganucheau:
Paulina Ganucheau is a rising talent who does the artwork for Dark Horse’s newest magical girl team, Zodiac Starforce. Her art is evocative of the shoujo style with a western cartoony twist. It is bright and vibrant, and perfect for fans of Sailor Moon and senshi-style.
You can find her work for purchase in a variety of places, such as on her TeePublic page, her Society6 page, and her Inprnt page. If you know someone who is a fan of the magical girl genre, her work would make a perfect gift.
Paulina also has a tumblr website and a Twitter page.
[This print is available in her Inprnt page. Just click the image to follow the link.]
Jen Bartel:
Rounding off this list is Jen Bartel, who does comic book illustration, with work including covers for IDW’s Jem and the Holograms series. She focuses on drawing formidable women and fantastical pieces that utilize vibrant color palettes to capture the eye.
Her art prints are available on her Inprnt store, and include Marvel characters, Harry Potter characters, beautiful creatures, and many more. Her piece “Canes Venatici” is available from Light Gray Art Lab online as well.
Bartel’s work exudes power and beauty, and her variety of character prints are sure to please people with many varied fandom interests. More examples of her work can be found on her website. Jen Bartel is also on Twitter.
[This Storm print is available from her Inprnt page. Just click the image to follow the link.]
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So, there you have it! Five incredible independent comic artists whose work is sure to please fans and make wonderful gifts for the holidays. So what are you waiting for? Get gift-giving!
