Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Steve "The Dude" Rude
Where do I start.
I have not always been a die hard fan of The Dude.
I have always known of his amazing talent though.
For some reason I never got into Nexus in the heyday.
So The Dude was under my comic radar for years. Then I was at Cactus Con 07 and I met The Dude. He was so awesome and so was his wife. I got a few things from them.
Later when I was at another dealers table I got the old Steve Rude Sketchbook.
Wow. I had no idea what an artist he was till I got that book.
In alot of ways he is my model for what I strive to be. It is because of The Dude that I am now completley relearning how to draw. From scratch. Throwing out years of gobbled gook. I am going back to the basics with life drawing and lots of good instruction from Loomis and Hamm.
I also seem to be able to notice more things now thanks to The Dude.
He is influenced by alot of the same artists that I love. Jack Kirby, Alex Toth,Doug Wildey, John Romita and Andrew Loomis.
Did I mention that he paints? Amazingly well I might add!!
Steve strives to be a better artist with each application. His dedication is amazing.
So when he started NEXUS with writer Mike Baron he decided to do cover paintings. They are all amazing and get better with each issue. Unfortunatley for now NEXUS has had its run.
They went from Capitol Comics to FIRST then to Darkhorse. At Darkhorse the sales just weren't high enough to continue publishing the book. I have no idea why! The books are amazing. I want to blame the speculator market and the me too hotshot artist books. Does anyone care about either of those now? Probably not.
Steve us also not one to buckle to trends and I for one am glad. I want him to be that same level of class and artistry that we have all come to know and love.
He also did a great down to earth superhero book at Darkhorse with writer and inker Gary Martin.
THE MOTH!
Pure fun and again amazing art. Great storytelling and fantastic characters.
Again it didn't sell as well as Darkhorse would have liked.
Steve and his Wife decided to self publish. That was the birth of RUDE DUDE Productions.
There he could re-launch NEXUS, The Moth, and a new anthology book.
We got the NEXUS! Space Opera. Amazing! Go read it now!
Unfortunatley the industry does not care about artist's who can draw really well and tell amazing stories.
Rude Dude Productions for now has closed shop.
I wish The Dude the best. I want more MOTH!
He is still painting and doing commissions. Check out his book!
Steve Rude Artist in Motion.
Probably some of the best money you will ever spend if you are an artist.
So if you are looking for amazing stories with artwork that will blow you away then look no further. Run don't walk to get some Steve Rude comics.
I recommend The Moth trade and check out NEXUS! You wont be sorry. He also did a few books for Marvel and DC.
Check out his website www.steverude.com
and by all means check out the amazing deals at his online store www.steverudeart.com
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I all sorts of following you now!
ReplyDeleteHey Hey Mr Clay! Thanks!
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