Thank The Heavens! By Ciro Astarita

Author/Artist Name

Ciro AstaritaFollow

Files

Academic Level at Time of Creation

Senior

Date of Creation

Fall 11-15-2024

Artist Statement

‘Thank The Heaven’s Issue 1: Plate of Bones’ is an issue of a comic I have created inspired by the older style of weekly publications such as that of Casper The Friendly Ghost or Archie that people would buy at newsstands. This comic is set in Europe in a vaguely distant time period and inspired by my background as an Italian American. My work aims to combine the best of both worlds of physical and digital art by blending traditional art methods, primarily illustration in the form of comics, with the ease and convenience that technology and digital tools allow for in layout design and storyboarding. When creating this comic book, i used varying lineweight with little to no value to create a stark, attention grabbing aesthetic. this work is 15 pages for a total of ninety-four panels all hand-drawn with pencil on paper, inked, scanned, and layed out digitally. This was influenced by traditional inking techniques of the past. There was also a careful attention to detail in the rhythm and flow of the panels with an emphasis on consistency and structuring the comic using hierarchy. Some of the artists that inspired this work include Italian comic artists Angela and Luciana Giussani, the creators of the Italian black comic ‘Diabolik’ and comic book artists and writers Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons, creators of the comics 300 and Watchmen respectively. When creating the designs of these characters, I looked to ancient greek and roman sculpture and tried to replicate that stoic style often featured in those timeless works of art. This is paired with biblical motifs within the narrative and framing of certain scenes.

Advisor/Mentor

Jim Bryant

Description

This part of the 'The Last Crusade' BA/BS exhibition was created by me, Ciro Astarita and is titled 'Thank The Heavens!' It is the first issue of a comic book I created inspired by influences and experiences of my life as an Italian American. In my display, I had the cover art design on 11x17in matte paper mounted on foamcore. I also included all the spreads of the comic book totaling to 15 complete pages. The spreads were on 11x17in and 22x17in matte paper mounted on foamcore.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Astarita, Ciro, "Thank The Heavens! By Ciro Astarita" (2024). B.A./B.S. Practicum Group Exhibit (ART 499). 76.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art499/76