Contents Ó Copyright & ä 2008 By The Inkwell Awards
Inkwell Logo ã Copyright &ä 2008 Dan Panosian
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BOB ALMOND
Founder and Treasurer of the Inkwell Awards.

Bob has been a comic book fan since elementary school and that will never change.  After graduating with a BFA in illustration at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 1990, Bob advanced to the professional status of an ink artist in '92 cutting his teeth on WARLOCK & THE INFINITY WATCH for two years for Marvel Comics.  This led to an unbroken stint with Marvel for the next ten years, culminating with his three year run with Priest and Sal Velluto on the critically-acclaimed BLACK PANTHER series, leading to his winning of two Squiddies awards and an Ooks award for 'Best/Favorite inker'.   

With projects at numerous publishers over the years like DC, Malibu, Wildstorm, Penny-Farthing Press, Acclaim, Harris and A First Salvo among others,  Bob returned to Marvel in 2007 for ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST-QUASAR.   In the last few years Bob had noticed that the credit usually designated to inkers was not as prevalent as it used to be and with the craft often misunderstood to begin with, especially with the onset of 'digital inking'  he began writing his 'Inkblots' column in SKETCH MAGAZINE in 2007 in order to educate, discuss shop talk, and share his career experiences and the history of the medium.  

This ultimately led to the formation of The Inkwell Awards in 2008 in his column which subsequently sprouted into what you see here today thanks especially to SKETCH editor Bill Nichols, Tim Townsend, Jimmy Tournas, and Daniel Best, the invaluable support of Adam Hughes and Mike Marts, as well as a legion of contributers and ink artists Bob is proud to know and associate with.

Adam Hughes
Committee Member

Adam doesn't really draw guns; nor does he draw a bead on people or draw attention by then drawing their blood. He DOES, however, draw the pretty girls.  Adam is known by his trademark "AH!" symbol and stylized renderings of women, including super heroines, damsels in distress, and figures in fantasy. He is considered part of the new generation of "Good Girl" artists rendering naturalistic depictions of characters from comics and pop culture.

Adam began his professional career in 1987 at age 19, with such jobs as penciling the first issue of Adventure Publications' DEATH HAWK, plus interiors & covers for Comico Comics' MAZE AGENCY. In 1989,Adam began his first mainstream work on DC Comics' JUSTICE LEAGUE series. Later at DC, Adam produced some of his most acclaimed work drawing memorable covers for WONDER WOMAN and CATWOMAN.

In addition to his contributions to DC Comics,Adam worked with DarkHorse (GHOST, STAR WARS), Top Cow (TOMB RAIDER),Black   Bull(GATECRASHER), Marvel (X-MEN CLASSICS), Harris Comics (VAMPIRELLA) and Wildstorm (GEN13).



Michael Marts
Committee Member

Mike Marts, currently DC Comics' Senior Editor in charge of the Batman family of titles, got his start in the comic industry as an assistant editor for Marvel Comics in 1993. After assisting on such titles as Iron Man, Fantastic Four and War Machine for a few years, Mike went on to a brief stint in Wizard Magazine's promotions department and eventually became an editor for Acclaim Comics in 1997. At Acclaim, Mike helmed titles like Shadowman, X-O Manowar and Armorines, and also edited several of their video game strategy guides. In 1999, Mike received the call to come back to Marvel Comics, where he spent seven years working on the X-Men family of comics, including Uncanny X-Men, Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men, Grant Morrison's New X-Men, Wolverine and Origin. Then in 2006, Mike "switched sides" and went to work for DC Comics, where he currently acts as senior editor on Batman, Detective Comics, Legion of Super-Heroes and others. Mike and his wife live in New Jersey.

Bob with Joe Sinnott at "Boston Comic Book Spectacular"


Daniel Best
Committee Member

Danny first started reading comics books at a very early age and was entranced by the colour of them. Later he discovered the joys of line art via Australian reprints of Marvel, Charlton and DC, reprints which were almost always black and white and always featured several stories per issue. He then discovered books on a whole and with that came the discovery that he can both read rapidly and retain what he's read, skills which come in very handy. He works as a journalist and part time for the South Australian Government in downtown Adelaide.

In his time he's worked as a producer and announcer for radio for the ABC in Australia, plus some television research work and has written for a number of magazines over the years, mainly for music magazines. In 2002 he decided that he wanted a career change and turned his skills towards writing about comic books and creators. He started his first web-site, www.adelaidecomicsandbooks.com, with an interview with the legendary Gene Colan and hasn't looked back. Since then he's interviewed a number of famous and not so famous comic book creators, written a number of articles and has managed to get a few books out in between. He now writes on both his main site and his blog (ohdannyboy.blogspot.com) and doesn't shy away from controversy, as evidenced by the recent Ageism In Comic Books article and the excellent Vinnie Colletta interview that was handed to him for transcribing, editing and posting.   This work has led him to discover original art and currently he has a sizable collection consisting of rare works by Norm Breyfogle, Jim Mooney, Alan Kupperberg, Alex Toth and many more.

His first full book (as opposed to helping people with research and uncredited writing) was the Andru & Esposito: Partners For Life biography.  His second is the currently unpublished biography of Jim Mooney. He's currently finishing up another book and 2008 will see him hopefully knock out at least two more, if not more.   He is also working with another industry legend, artist Alan Weiss, on a creator owned character for publisher First Salvo.  In what little spare time he finds he also assists artists with promoting themselves and selling their artwork on-line, although he's quick to add that he is not an agent and generally refuses payment.  Currently he hosts and maintains Norm Breyfogle's on-line forum along with the official web-sites for Alan Kupperberg, Dave Simons and Brian Postman.  He also moderates the Yahoo mailing lists for Jim Mooney and Andru/Esposito.
Jim Tournas
Committee Member

For over 25 years in film and television as a Background/Stunt Coordinator, Stuntman, including 11 seasons on "Unsolved Mysteries", Jim carried a passion for drawing and inking comics.  After a long time of corresponding with Will Eisner he was hooked. 

Jim started by inking posters and you can see an example of this on Ron Dante of the Archie's website where Jim's artwork for an Archie's poster is prominently featured.  From there he progressed to providing inks to covers and pin-ups for various independent books, to inking regularly. Some of the books he has inked on include Full Moon Craze, Shylock 3, Epoch, Wild Boys, The Expendable One and his own creation Gumshoe due out in late 2008.

Jim is also the moderator for "The Inkwell" a Yahoo group founded by inker Chuck Gibson.   The Inkwell is a group for fledgling and professional inkers who pool their information to better themselves as well to teach.



Jimmy's Cat "EVE"


Bob Almond
Michael Marts
Image Pencilled by J. Calafiore
Daniel Best
Adam Hughes
Bill Nichols
Past Committee Member 2008

As Editor of Sketch Magazine, Bill welcomes the chance to educate and help other pros to pass along their hard-earned knowledge of All Things Comic Book. Bill has inked for Knight Press (StormQuest, Blood and Roses, Dead Kid Adventures), Caliber Press (Raven Chronicles, LegendLore, Magus) and others.

Bill Nichols
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An appreciation and recognition for the craft and artists of comic book inking

Tim Townsend
Past Committee Member 2008


WHO I AM

I was born in Peoria, Illinois in January of 1970. I was adopted at birth and immediately moved to Cape Coral, Florida. I’ve been in Florida for most of my life since, currently Orlando.

My very first exposure to comics thus, comic art, was when I was 4. My dad took me by a 7-11 and I noticed a comic book rack filled with those plastic bagged 3-packs. I took my chances and ended up with an old Charlton E-MAN comic by Joe Staton. I thought it was pretty cool but what really lit my candle was the 7 page ROG 2000 back-up story by John Byrne. This was one of John's earliest gigs'. I honestly don’t know what it was but I was literally hooked on John's art from the moment my young eyes beheld it. Even at that early stage of his career his work had something special in it that just grabbed me. It might as well have been heroin. I was hooked. From that moment on I decided I wanted to draw. Not only that but I wanted to draw comic books like John Byrne! I began collecting comics to find more and more inspiration. Some other early memories are of P.Craig Russel's KILLRAVEN work, Jack Kirby's classic MARVEL stuff via pocket comics and trade paperbacks, Steve Ditko's Doctor Strange and Spider-Man, Frazetta and, VERY importantly, John Buscema's HOW TO DRAW COMIC THE MARVEL way. Once I eventually got my hands on that treasure I was off to the races. I still have my original 1st printing hard-back. All the pages are embossed from years of me sitting there with a pencil and tracing paper, going over each and every detail of each and every page. Yeah, I started out tracing.....how ironic.

MY INFLUENCES

I won’t say John Byrne, I won’t say John Byrne. Ok....other influences are Michael Golden, Walt Simonson, Bill Sienkiewicz, Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Joe Madureira, Chris Bachalo, Ashley Wood, George Bridgman, Jeffrey Jones, Barry Windsor Smith, Mike Mignola, Windsor McKay, Bruce Timm, Arthur Adams, Terry Austin, Scott Williams........I could go on for hours.  In the early part of my career I’d have to say that my biggest influences were Dan Panosian and Art Thibert. Dan is the guy who got me my assistant gig and the one who really trained me. Arty was there as well showing me the ropes. The three of us shared an office for a while and I would just sit there in the corner at my table and TRY to do as I was told. Two better teachers a fledgling inker couldn't hope for.

At this point in the game, I think my biggest inspirations are Scott Williams (the one and true king!), Klaus Janson (still beyond my abilities), John Dell (pure butta'), Joe Weems (pure fun), and Al Williamson (pure freedom). I pride myself at this point on not being tied down to one style. I rarely ink two different artists exactly the same way. I like to be as versatile as possible but there are still some things I can’t do as well as others. I’m influenced by a wide array of people. Some of this inspiration finds its way in to my work while the other feeds my hunger.

MY ADVICE

Go to college, get an education, and learn how to draw. Don't put all your eggs in this basket because, chances are, you wont make it. That's the cold, hard fact of the matter. Have an education to fall back on, a Plan B if-you-will. If you're insane enough to pursue it further, be prepared for a lot of criticism and LISTEN TO IT! Keep your ego in check and realize that no one cares who you are, only what you can do. This market has a surplus of talent and a shortage of projects. You're going to be competing with seasoned pros', some who have been doing this for decades, for the same jobs. You must be better or at least more marketable.

Inkers especially need to be on their toes. Learn what the heck inking is. Learn how to draw. Anyone who thinks inking is a job for failed pencillers or an easier route to go hasn't got a clue and probably won't have a prayer.

It's a tough business to be in. I suppose if you have what it takes; you're insane to begin with and will probably do your own thing no matter what I say. Go with that.


Tim Townsend