Rafael Kayanan

Rafael Kayanan seemed to be following in Pat Broderick's footsteps when I first noticed his art.  In the early 80's, Raf took over the pencilling duties on the Fury of Firestorm when Broderick left, and again in the late 80's, he replaced Broderick on Captain Atom.  However, it was his work on the sequel to the classic Conan story, "Red Nails", in Savage Sword of Conan that really turned my head.  The most striking thing about that work is the attention to detail in not only the human figures but in the backgrounds as well -- something that brings to mind Barry Windsor-Smith's stunning work on "Red Nails".  However, I feel that Raf is an excellent artist in his own right.  Though it's apparent that Windsor-Smith's work on the character was a major inspiration on Raf's Conan, Raf is by no means merely imitating him.  I've heard that Raf is interested in computer generated artwork, but he's still picking up pencilling jobs.  He did a nice job on the latest incarnation of Turok and has been doing a great job pencilling the last issues of Amazing Spider-Man.  I can't wait to see what he does next!

• Savage Sword of Conan #211 p.12:  This is probably my second most favorite page from this particular storyline (the editor snatched my favorite!).  This page exhibits all the reasons I like Raf's art.  The human figures are appealingly drawn, there's detail in the weaponry (check out the sheath to Conan's sword), and it almost seems like every single leaf and piece of detritus on the forest floor has been illustrated!  Very few comic book artists can even attempt this kind of work, but as you can see here, Raf's results are stunning.  (Inks: Rafael Kayanan)
• Savage Sword of Conan #211 p.6:  Here's another example of Raf's attention to detail.  You can almost feel the tall grass brushing against your legs and hear the squeal of the boar that Conan is hunting.  Now this is "virtual reality".  (Inks: Rafael Kayanan)
• Savage Sword of Conan #213 p.22:  Conan can be a pretty bloodthirsty guy as is shown here.  In an echo of the bloody battle in part two of Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith's adaptation of "Red Nails", here we see Conan and his antagonist, Aondo, both totally drenched in blood.  It's amazing how vivid the imagery is without resorting to any excessive gore.  (Inks: Rafael Kayanan)