Sample Sequentials: Marco D. Carillo

I hope some of our previous posts have helped you develop an appreciation for the work of Hypersmash artists, Scott Arnold and Jeremiah Goldson. Now I wanted to introduce you to the wonderfully talented individual in charge of Battle Team Omega, Marco D. Carillo!

I have been unbelievably lucky in my choice of artists and collaborators. Not only are Scott, Jeremiah, and Marco all tremendously creative, skilled, and enthusiastic but they’re also really good people – very pleasant guys who are easy to work with. (Oh -- and I am also happy to report that Scott Arnold has moved on to big things since we published our book together, contributing to "L'il Depressed Boy" from Image Comics! Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy!)

Battle Team Omega has been a project that has run into multiple developmental setbacks. Jason Hoagland, Fabio Nahon, and Nel Angeiras all produced some excellent art before they each chose to step away from the project for varying reasons. But I feel confident that Marco is the man to help this comic see the light of day! His character designs and layouts look great, and I’m excited at the amount of progress he’s made so far!

Over the next few months, I hope to share some of the work he's been cranking out on Battle Team Omega. But to satisfy everyone’s curiosity and to provide a quick blast of instant gratification, here are a couple of pieces from his portfolio just to give you a taste of his awesome style.

For a full overview of Marco’s work, please check out his sites:

http://mdavidct.com/page1.aspx

http://mdavidct.deviantart.com/

To start things off, here are some character studies (click on the pics to make them bigger):

I'm sure you guys recognize a couple of familiar faces, right?

I think it's great that the characters in these studies aren't stuck in the typical, boring action poses, flexing their muscles. The sketches are very expressive, and the characters carry a lot of personality. Very, very cool.
Okay, let's check out some examples of Marco’s sequentials! First, a two-page story written by Craig McCutcheon called "Date Night?":


Man, I seriously love those pages! A lot of artists enjoy doing pin-ups and sketches, but the ability to tell a story is critical when you are trying to create a comic book. You can see from the sequentials in this post that Marco definitely has the chops to get the job done!

Here is an excerpt from a story called "Kill That!!"



(You know, I feel bad for those cowboys every time I read those pages...)

And finally, here's one of Marco's coolest original creations in action, Niebla Roja!



Niebla Roja is a seriously rockin' character -- I really need to see if I can talk Marco into letting me write a Niebla Roja story for him someday! (And there is plenty more Niebla Roja supplementary material on Marco's sites, so remember to click and check them out!)
One of the things I am always looking for when I recruit an artist to work on my books is their sense of total control. They can draw action scenes, but can they do quiet scenes? Facial expressions? Civilians? Backgrounds? A lot of artists try to work around their limitations in order to hide their weaknesses. But Marco (like Scott and Jeremiah) has a complete set of skills. Impressive.

It's a pleasure working with Marco, and I can't wait to see the pages he puts together for our comic! Make sure to stay tuned!