Firestorm #18 art in close-up

Time for the second edition of what I plan to be a regular (weekly) feature, where I take a closer look at one of the pages from my original art collection. This week it's:

Firestorm #18
Page 15
Pencils - Patrick Olliffe
Inks - Simon Coleby
Letters - Pat Brosseau
Colours - Paul Mounts
Writer - Stuart Moore

Quick summary: Firestorm has flown to STAR Labs. In the process of having some tests done, one of the workers turned in to an OMAC, cue chaos. Firestorm turns the nanotec into water, inadvertantly killing the host. Also, one of the workers had miniaturised his wife, "Nanette", and was communicating with her via his laptop.

Now you're caught up, let's start off with the full page.


First thing of note, unlike last week's piece, the black panel boarders were added by the colourist, not the inker. Also unlike last week, there is not a whole heap of shading added by the colourist. Really cool page layout too, allowing for input from all the main characters along the bottom. It's more striking than it would've been if it was all put in a single panel. I got this page for $9.95US, I have no idea how, I guess no Firestorm fans were watching eBay that week.

Panel 1:


The previous page had the OMAC charging Jason as he was zapped, so here is where the OMAC shell breaks down. Nice colouring job on the OMAC, though it does smother some really fine cross-hatching, particularly on the head. I like how the inker did a really heavy outline on Firestorm's boot to give it seperation.

Panel 2:


Nice to see the penciller re-drew the boot in the foreground rather than doing a paste-up or tracing. Pat Olliffe really gave things a great sense of movement. Also note the now-deceased OMAC host falls with his arms in the same position they were previous panel.

Panel 3:


Lots happening here. Note the guy with the laptop, Olliffe draws attention to him effectively, with only 4 empahsis lines above his head. Cool detail on the main subject's lab coat. Small amount of whiteout used under the vertical lines on his right shoulder. The lack of background draws in the moment nicely.

Panels 4 & 5:


Excellent facial expressions with a minimum of bother. Note the strands of hair shooting off from the goatee on the guy in panel 5, nice unneccessary detail.

Panels 6 & 7:


You can really see how much the colourist adds to make the flame hair look good. Jason's face is way too red though. Interesting to note how in places the art hints at shapes, without actually filling them out completely. Note the round lenses on the guys goggles in panel 7- we only get the top of a circle, rather than a full one you might expect.