MY COLLECTION #28

This is page one of a set of six pages of original art that I acquired directly from Mr. Navarro when we were both employed as staff storyboard artists on the short-lived “Stripperella” animated TV series for Nickelodeon (Pop Tunes). I traded 6 pages of my own original artwork from issues of Catwoman and Batman for these pages which first saw print (I assume but am not sure) in Sonambulo v.1 #3, in a story called “Carnival of Souls”. They were reprinted as chapter 4 of the graphic novel in “Sonambulo in Sleep of the Just: The Collected Cases”.

 “Carnival of Souls” page 18

This graphic strategy (white dots on a black horizon to symbolize a vast panorama) is re-used on the top of this page; As on page 17, the black land is separated from the sky by white cloud shapes.

I’d like to return to the subject of line, both white and black, in the high-contrast art style attempted by Rafael Navarro. Ideally all forms should be described by juxtaposing shapes; any use of line is to considered cheating. Since Mr. Navarro is not a perfectionist, he cheats all over the place. An audience-member’s patience with this sort of thing is satisfied by his or her pleasure in the overall effect. In the case of these pages, I decree that the charm of the artwork’s clunky dynamism overcomes its lack of rigor.