This week's pick:


Tuesday, February 2, 2010

TORPEDO by Francesco Francavilla

Torpedo 1916 by Francesco Francavilla
- Click on the image for a bigger view -

As Mike said, we deal with one of the most iconic characters drawn bymasters like Bernet and Toth, so, once again, I had to go the extra mile to pay tribute to these great artists.
I had 3 ideas for this, and I went for the quickest (HA!).

I like to title this: "My First Fedora" :)
Hope you guys dig it.

Cheers,
Francesco

Edit 2: just posted a second Torpedo concept over @ Pulp Sunday
Edit: I added the inks below, for those who prefer the B/W only :)
Again click on the image for a closer look.

Torpedo 1916 by Francesco Francavilla

17 comments:

ANDY KUHN said...

good one francesco. smart idea, and beautiful execution.

Mitch Gerads said...

I don't know how anyone's going to beat this one. I love everything about it, Francesco!

Nathan Fairbairn said...

Gorgeous! Great take on the character! Way to go all out on this one. My hat is off to you! Get it? See what I did there? My hat ...

... ahem.

This is an excellent illustration.

Mike Hawthorne said...

GODDAMN! "TORPEDO 1916"!!!??! Fuck, that's damned brilliant! I mean, besides the art. The art is amazing, and fucking awesome! The cobblestone ground in perspective, the fact that even as a kid it LOOKS like Luca, everything is beautifully drawn! BUT, for me, what makes it special is the story telling. The hat, the sling shot in his pocket, the smirk, the splash of water leading the eye to the mother and child (showing us what maybe Luca is lacking, or where began) then to the cop who's hands lead us to his face, then back to the shop keeper...

Ok, fuckit', I'm gonna stop now. It's perfect, Amico! I tip my hat to you :)

Bravo!

Mike

Dan McDaid said...

You clever, clever bastard. :)

Craig Zablo said...

I was about to tell you how impressed I was with the piece and then I read Mike Hawthorne's summary and decided that he summed it up best, "It's perfect".

Francesco Francavilla said...

Thank you, Andy :)
Mitch: HA! I have been beat already by the previous 2 and I am sure more beating is on the way ;) Thank you :)
Thanks for the hat, Nathan, that means a lot, especially from the guy who chose the subject of this week :)
Mike: oh crap, now you made me blush, happy? ;) I didn't plan most of those things but I am quite happy they worked out :) Thank you so much for the sweeet comment :)
Dan: I left adult Luca to you tough guys ;) Thank you :)
Craig: good thing Mike help you out, Craig :) Thank you :)

I wish I had time this week to do the other two pieces. Maybe one more...

Cheers,
Francesco

Nathan Fairbairn said...

Beauty. I gotta say I prefer the black and white version here.

Doc Shaner said...

I love the stories of young Luca, and this is perfect. Great colors, fantastic inks! And I would definitely read this story with you on board.

Francesco Francavilla said...

Thank you, Nathan :) I was undecided on which I liked it better too, hence me posting both versions :)
Thanks, Evan: I can't recall right now, but there have been any tales of young Luca from Abuli and Bernet?

Definitely interested in developing a short story on the FIRST FEDORA concept :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Nathan Fairbairn said...

There've been a couple of stories of a young Luca (maybe 13 years old?) -- fresh off the boat from the old country. He shines shoes for awhile until he gets around to killing a cop and stealing his gun.

It's a sweet coming-of-age tale!

Later he uses the gun to kill some crooks he robs a bank with. It's practically a Disney flick.

Francesco Francavilla said...

HA! I guess I didn't invent anything then ;) I have a couple of Torpedo books (Italian version) with me here in US but I couldn't recall if I have ever seen any story with young Luca.
You are right, nathan, definitely Disney material ;)

Cheers,
Francesco

Ron Salas said...

I've already said this but this is awesome, Francesco! Great colour pallette in the final piece but I almost prefer the b&W version just for the crispness of the B&W contrast. Beautiful drawing.

Francesco Francavilla said...

Thank you, Ron :D
Even if I was planning to color this since the beginning, I put extra care in the B/W rendition since Bernet is such a master of it and I wanted this to work fine also without colors. Glad to hear I succeded :)

Everyone, feel free to check my other sketch/idea for this jam over at my Pulp Sunday blog (link on your right side bar)

Cheers,
Francesco

Javier Mesón said...

Hello, very good version of Torpedo Francesco. I would like to recommend the website that I have on the character. You find all the information of the authors, interviews and edits. Greetings.

http://toccatayfuga.blogspot.com/

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