THE ABSENCE

Martin Stiff was Art Director for Titan Book; he was also creator, writer and artist on his self-published, and now critically acclaimed, comic, The Absence. Martin left Titan on Friday last week and, as has become a bit of Titan tradition, the many varied and talented artists he worked with were encouraged to do a bit of artwork for him as a leaving present.

I chose to do a homage to The Absence - a pin-up if you will. I was aiming for a moody shot of the central character looking whistful on the downs of Southern England, where the comic is set. I also wanted to try my hand at doing clouds in pen and ink. For that I borrowed heavily from my fav artist, Berni Wrightson, and a recnt discovery for me, Franklin Booth, an amazing pen & ink illustrator from the early 20th Century.

By the way, he doesn't have a beard. To find out what that's all about you have to read the comic. If you've not seen The Absence, check out Martin's website:

http://absencecomic.blogspot.com/