Guest Artist Gallery: Michel Fiffe

It's been an eternity, but finally, another installment of that beloved feature, Guest Artist Gallery (of the Gods). Up to bat this time-- Michel Fiffe brings his inky blacks and sensuous lines to his depiction of the primordial embodiment of Darkness, Erebus!



Confession time here: Even though Erebus is mentioned in Hesiod's Theogony (the ancient text which I used as the main basis for the story of Zeus: King of the Gods) I did not depict him. D'oh! Son of Kaos, brother to Nyx (the night), I plum just left him out in order to get to the "fun stuff" (Titans, Cycopes, Olympians) that much quicker. Luckily Mr. Fiffe is here to shed some light (ha!) on this (in my little corner of the Grecian universe) sadly neglected mythological personage. Well, not entirely neglected: Erebus features rather prominently in Olympians Book 4, Hades: The Wealthy One (which I am working on right now) but as a non-personified section of the Underworld. Its roots as a god of living darkness get nary a mention, except for here, in Mr. Fiffe's awesome illustration.


Michel Fiffe is a very busy man. One half of the creative duo behind Image Comics Brawl (alongside previous Guest Artist Gallerier Dean Haspiel) he has also brought his wonderfully delirious sensibilities to the magic-realism drama Zegas and the stream-of-consciousness non-continuity strip Fut Miso, both available for free at the web-comic collective Act-i-Vate. Go read them!

In addition to his wonderful comics, Mr. Fiffe is also the editor, contributor and all-around main creative force behind the ongoing Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies, a collection of Indy cartoonists' takes on Erik Larsen's famed creation (even I'll be contributing a page! I'm drawing it now! Honest!).

I would be remiss if I did not mention Mr. Fiffe's other passion, as (in his words) "interviewer of some of the world's raddest cartoonists". There is a term we use in comics, that of an "artist's artist"-- basically the sort of cartoonist who is so good that their fanbase is comprised, in large part, of other professional cartoonists who want to be half as good. Through methods both mysterious and arcane, Mr. Fiffe somehow gets a hold of these modern Titans and gets them to spill their secrets. Any fan of comics should give his interviews a hearty perusing.

Finally, I invite you all to check out this interview of the interviewer himself at the Graphic NYC blog. Aside form the insight into the artist that is Fiffe, there are several way-cool Seth Kushner photos of Fiffe at his other job, making awesome puppets. Where does he find the time!?!


(he really shouldn't have posted this on Facebook where I could find it)


Can you draw, paint, operate a camera, sculpt, etc.? Have a desire to capture the essence of your favorite figure from Greek myth and see it pictured here on this site? Send me a scan of your work, a few words about yourself and the piece, and I'll put it up!