Illustrated classics by scratchboard artist Scott McKowen

September 26, 2007 2:07 PM

Scratchboard artist Scott McKowen was a successful designer of theater posters when Marvel Comics hired him to create the covers for Neil Gaiman's 1602. He recently completed new covers and illustrations for old classics like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Surprisingly, he has no entry at Wikipedia.
posted by jstruan (13 comments total)

NOT NOTABLE
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:19 PM on September 26, 2007

(I'm kidding. Jeeze.)
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:20 PM on September 26, 2007

I like the art, reminds me of some of Barry Moser's or Chris Van Allsburg's stuff. I had not heard of this "1602" by Gaiman as I am pretty out of touch with comics these days, but it may be worth checking out.
posted by marxchivist at 2:24 PM on September 26, 2007

1602 is fantastic, for fans of the Marvel pantheon. All the classic Marvel heroes, but in Elizabethan England for some reason (not provided until the end of the series). Entertaining & funny. And thanks for the links, jstruan, I knew on some level I liked the covers for 1602 but a greater exploration of McKowen's art is in order.
posted by jonson at 2:46 PM on September 26, 2007

Not notable! I nearly dropped $50 on a bunch of old books I already had when I saw his covers.
posted by jstruan at 2:51 PM on September 26, 2007

He's kidding. Jeeze!
posted by jonson at 3:12 PM on September 26, 2007

Very nice: McKowen vs. Escher.
posted by cenoxo at 3:45 PM on September 26, 2007

I never related the covers of 1602 to the cover of Going Postal before this, but now it seems obvious.

I like this guy's work.
posted by Tuwa at 5:45 PM on September 26, 2007

These are really cool - they look just like etchings (which I guess makes sense, considering the medium).
posted by OverlappingElvis at 5:57 PM on September 26, 2007

Scratchboard -- hah! That's a medium for losers who can't handle pen 'n' ink. I'll take the amazing Franklin Booth anyday...
posted by Bron at 7:32 PM on September 26, 2007

I love his version of Alice. Although I'm disappointed that he dresses her in typical Disney Alice blue.
posted by Xere at 10:45 PM on September 26, 2007

He's also drawn the liveliest Heidi I've ever seen.
posted by Xere at 10:46 PM on September 26, 2007

Scratchboard -- hah! That's a medium for losers who can't handle pen 'n' ink.

No, it's for those of us who can't handle wood engravings.

Franklin Booth is still amazing, though..
posted by pernoctalian at 5:19 AM on September 27, 2007