Comics really caught my eye when I stumbled upon the Archie TMNT Adventure Books when I was approximately 7 years old. In the late ’80s, I was introduced to the more mature Eastman and Laird Mirage TMNT line of comics as well as Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man, X-Men, X-Force, etc. It was around this time that I began following artists such as Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, Erik Larsen, and Sam Kieth, to name a few.
The Amazing Spider-Man #316 really impacted me with Todd’s work. I already loved Todd as an artist, but his Venom creation was great. It is, to this day, one of my all-time favorite comic covers. In the early ’90s, the Image revolution hit, and I was hooked on the eye-popping artwork that leaped off the page and the highly saturated colors. Image really gave their competitors a run for their money, and I was buying their books hand over fist. These guys really made me want to attempt to mimic their artwork, and during this time, I was introduced to even more outstanding newcomers under the Image banner. Also, during this time period, I noticed Chaos Comics and a few other indie comic publishers like Parody Press and Dark Horse, which were really great. Their books still inspire me to this day, as well as a few new indie books like Dan Mendoza’s Zombie Tramp and Izik Bell and Alexa Lo’s Metal Shade.
Check out Dustin on:
- Twitter and Instagram: @havoc200322
- DeviantArt: Dustin Tyree
- Email: havoc200322@yahoo.com
