The Artist's Experience: From Brotherman to Batman
"As a kid in the 1980s, I loved that nearly every comic published by Marvel and DC Comics was different from the rest. When I began to draw and study art, I realized that the unique energy of each comic was due to the specific style of the artist."—Shawn Martinbrough, Curator/Artist/Writer
Every comic book page is comprised of a group of panels that tell a story. Sequential storytelling is the art of telling a narrative using a series of panels. How artists interpret that story—the journey from sketch, to pencil, to ink—is as distinct as a fingerprint. Every artist follows a script created by the writer, but every comic book artist approaches storytelling with their own singular style.
The Artist's Experience: From Brotherman to Batman is a celebration of the work of 20 Black sequential artists from across the comic book spectrum. The exhibition is also an exploration of art styles—from independent artists like Dawud Anyabwile, creator of Brotherman, the oldest, independently published Black comic in the country, to Denys Cowan, Milestone Media co-founder and legendary Batman illustrator for DC Comics. From brush and ink on paper to stylus and tablet, from a strict six-panel structure to actively working against the confines of framing, from pencilers to illustrators to letterers—this exhibition enters into a diverse landscape of the artists practices, revealing what brings joy to their craft in their own words.
FEATURED ARTISTS
Denys Cowan
Darryl Banks
Eric Battle
Chuck Collins
Jerry Craft
Tim Fielder
N. Steven Harris
Micheline Hess
Jamal Igle
John Jennings
Ken Lashly
Shawn Martinbrough
Alitha Martinez
Jamar Nicholas
Khary Randolph
Afua Richardson
Robyn Smith
Marcus Williams
Ronald Wimberly
Toy collection courtesy of David Betancourt, a three-time Eisner Award nominee and expert on comic book culture. Curated by Shawn Martinbrough. Created by Shawn Martinbrough and Karama Horne.
This exhibition was made possible by the community built during Creative Seedlings, a Phillips@THEARC program in partnership with Hilton George, founder of Blerdcon.
IMAGES: Dawud Anyabwile, Brian McGee, Brotherman Dictator Of Discipline, 2009, Digital art; Denys Cowan, Malcolm Jones, Detective Comics #600, 1989, Pencil and ink with digital color
About Shawn Martinbrough
Shawn Martinbrough is the author of How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling by Penguin Random House and an Eisner Award-nominated artist whose comic book projects include: Batman: Detective Comics, Luke Cage Noir, The Black Panther: Man Without Fear, and Hellboy. He is also a Vanity Fair contributor.
Martinbrough is a co-author of Judge Kim and the Kids' Court by Simon & Schuster and the artist of Like Lava in My Veins, the 2024 NAACP Image Award-nominated, best-selling kid's book written by Derrick D. Barnes and published by Nancy Paulsen Books/ Penguin Kids. Martinbrough is the writer of Red Hood: The Hill for DC Comics and is currently illustrating an adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys for Dark Horse Comics, with screenwriter Marc Bernardin.
Phillips@THEARC
The Phillips Collection's workshop and gallery at the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) provides a space to view, discuss, make, and exhibit art. Our programs are co-created with our partners and participants to encourage authentic community dialogue, community planning, and community action. Our work is about making friends, sustaining relationships, and bringing joy.
