IT’S DEBATABLE WHETHER or not a comic can be considered a piece of fine art. What is not in contention, however, is whether a comic book illustrator can also be a fine artist, because Simon Davis is living proof that it’s possible to be a master of both art forms.
A member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the East London-based artist spends half his time wowing the art establishment with his contemporary oil portraits, while the remainder of his working hours are spent creating pictures in gouache for fans of Britain’s cult sci-fi comic book, 2000ad, most notably on the Slaine and Sinister Dexter strips.
But don’t expect the cartoonish superhero figures, neon colour palettes and surrealist, he brings the folk horror story to life with dark, disquieting and painterly spreads, usually of foreboding forests interspersed with close-up, graphic faces. Yet, all painted by hand, it remains a traditional process.
