Sean Phillips is a UK comics artist and illustrator known for his comics work and covers for titles like Fatale, Hellblazer, Criminal, Incognito, Marvel Zombies, and many others. He has worked for most of the major comics publishers in the US and UK, as well as for illustration clients like Twentieth Century Fox, Sony, Maxim and Island Records.
Phillips commands a wonderfully graphic style, with strong spotted blacks and bold use of negative space in his compositions. He can also render in a very finished style and works in a variety of mediums, including digital, and watercolor.
I particularly admire his work, and notably his covers, for Fatale, the supernatural crime series published by Image Comics, in which collaborates with writer Ed Brubaker. Phillips’ noir sensibilities are perfect for the series. He also shows his admiration for the wonderfully lurid pulp artists of the past in a number of his covers for Hellblazer and other titles.
He also sneaks in a sly sense of humor at times, zeroing in on one of my favorites in his take on Hellblazer’s John Constantine as a version of Steve Ditko-era Dr. Strange.
Phillips’ website has galleries of his work in several categories, including illustration and gallery paintings. You can find more, along with work in progress and detail crops, on his blog.
In addition, you can find his original art for sale on Splash Page. UK readers can order his titles directly from his Amazon.uk store. Those of us in the US can just do a general Amazon search for his work, including the collection, The Art of Sean Phillips. (Or better yet, ask for his titles at your local comic book shop.) You can also find his blow up collection on Lulu.
