Most comic books come across as pictures with words. What’s happening in the art itself is usually the most important part as you can tell what’s happening or is going to happen along with the mood of those on the page. But every once in a great while, a comic book comes along that breaks that barrier and reminds us that there is more to it then just a well received image. Jonathan Hickman’s four part mini-series, “Pax Romana” released through Image Comics is an excellent example of this kind of style as it’s chock full of words with a very unique blend of art as its background.

The story of Pax Romana is interesting to say the least. The concept is based around the later part of the 21st Century. Science has reached a whole new peak allowing human life to be greatly extended to upwards of 200 years. The Catholic Church still stands strong as a major religion and has been secretly funding scientific developments for most of history in hopes of bring about a greater change. The discovery of time travel by some of these religiously funded scientists have opened a path into the past for the Catholic Church to go back in time and fix some of the greatest struggles and conflicts that they have caused and have lead to a generally bleaker future. But can it really be that simple?

The art style has a very water color feel to it, making it more subtly and easier to take in with all of the text written over it. Lines are often neglected for style purpose with vague backgrounds that seem to look more like colored space than a town or desert. It’s as if the emotion of the specific area is represented through the chosen color and all secondary imagery has been replaced with it to keep the focus on the story and those in its direct context rather than leaving you searching for hidden details. You can clearly tell the time of day and weather behind each page as the color blends through the environment and into the characters themselves.

With Pax Romana being two out of four issues deep already, it will be interesting to see how Jonathan Hickman finishes the series up. Will there be more to it down the line? Will his latests book “A Red Mass For Mars” further bring his style of inking into a more mainstream approach or will this be the type of style that stays mainly in the indie category of comic books? It all depends on reader response and as we know, the readers cast their votes with their money, so head to your local comic book store and check out Image Comics series Pax Romana written and drawn by Jonathan Hickman.

Related Business Directory Categories:

• Books and Literature
• Animation
• Humor

Whether you’ve decided to get your first tattoo or you’re going to add another one to your growing collection, you still need to spend plenty of time determining what you want to place on your body and where. While tattoos aren’t necessarily forever anymore, it’s not worth all the trouble you’ll face having it removed. It just takes a little bit of planning on your end to make sure that you’re getting exactly what you’re looking for out of your tattoo design and placement.

The first step is always to decide what you’re looking for in a tattoo. If you know exactly what you want for a design, this part of the process is pretty much complete. You should take the design and place it on your desk or wall. Somewhere that you’ll be able to see it on a daily basis or more to make sure it’s exactly what you want. Many recommend that you wait six months or longer before actually getting the design tattooed on to your body, but it’s really up to you as to how long you should wait before you know that it’s the right one for you.

If you’ve already settled on a design or if you need help with it, your next step would be to find the right tattoo parlor. You never want to cheap out on this part of the process because this is the person that will be affixing the image you’ve chosen onto your skin. That doesn’t mean that you should default to the highest price, but there is no reason whatsoever for you to pick the cheapest. You’ll want to see some of the artists work to get a better feel for the style they can add to your design. While some of you may just want your design traced directly on to your body, your tattoo artist is there to help you better flesh out your design and even make it more unique. Knowing their style and skill level will give you a better idea of what their variation on your design will look like.

Many people rush right in to the chair with the desire to get their design placed on them. Considering that the time spent with the artist off of the chair is included into the total price of the tattoo, go over your design in full detail with them and ask them any questions you would like. Once that needle is to your skin, it becomes fairly difficult to fix something right then and there. Don’t feel embarrassed if the artist spent a good deal of time on the design and it still didn’t come out the way you wanted. You are the customer and this isn’t as simple as purchasing a t-shirt. Before you make a commitment of this magnitude, you should make sure you love the design on its own, the artists style, and the artists version of your design or you will surely regret it.

Related Business Directory Categories:

• Graphic Design
• Art News
• Art Blogs