Review of Carbon Based

There are artists that are good, and there are artists that are great.

Lewis Larosa is Great, no question about it, his artwork has redefined the nature of comics and visual storytelling for many years, and I was more than interested to find out more about how he came up with the distinctive styles that he’s known for.

The book is split into several different comics, each one with notes on where the ideas and art direction came from and how it influenced the end result.  Ranging from Punisher MAX to the Valiant lines, X-0 Manowar, Bloodshot, H.A.R.D. Corps, to

What I most enjoyed about this are the parts where it’s Larosa himself making comments on what he was drawing and why he was drawing it that way, from the concept sketches for many of the characters, to the pages where he first used different perspectives or materials to see what effect they would have. 

If I’m honest, as much as the artwork is (and has always been) superb, I’d wanted to see more of Larosa’s thoughts on what he was doing at that time, though I do understand that commenting on something that was twenty years ago may not be as clear in the mind as what you were doing last week. Towards the end, the book is more stacks of stunning artwork than the thoughts behind it, and while it will be ever evocative, I wanted more than a trip down memory lane.  The commentary on Punisher MAX, and how he framed the images, the shadows, the impression that he wanted Frank to leave, all of it just excellent.

This is not to say that the thoughts and opinions given weren’t fascinating, because they were, I just wanted more of them.

Thanks to Oni Press for the Free ARC, my views are my own, no incentive offered or accepted.