This month, we’re going to have an elaborate run of looks at the best of 2014 and what we’re excited about for 2015. To kick that all off, we’ll have a week of some of our favorite creators sharing their thoughts on the year to date as well as what they’re looking forward to in 2015.
Today, we asked “what creator do you think we’ll see make a huge leap in 2015?” This could be a newcomer who is going to blow minds, or a creator who will be taking their work up another notch. Here are the creators’ thoughts, and look for more tomorrow.
I can’t wait for people to see what Andrew MacLean has coming up. His Head Lopper is so much crazy fun. He’s going to be doing some amazing things this year.
Josh Williamson (Birthright, Nailbiter)
I’m so outside the loop right now… You have to understand…I live in a cave deep in the woods… I never know what’s going on, or who are the hot new creators. So for me…it’s all guess work. Basically…I suck at creative predictions. You never know who is waiting in the wings just waiting to take that leap. I feel like Ryan Ferrier is a creator who will get out there more next year. Same with Dennis Culver, Donny Cates and Christopher Sebela.
David Walker is someone people should be paying more attention to. His work on Shaft will kick ass and hopefully it will create a lot of opportunities for him.
Dustin Nguyen has always been one of my favorite artists but I think his Image book Descender with Jeff Lemire next year will be a huge, and will blow people away, pushing Dustin to another level.
Joshua Hale Fialkov (The Bunker)
Joshua Williamson. We’ve been friends for years, and now I get the pleasure of seeing everyone catching on to the amazing things he’s been doing since he started. Between GHOSTED, BIRTHRIGHT, and NAILBITER, he’s got one of the strongest, most singular voices in comics, and the best is yet to come.
Ryan Browne (God Hates Astronauts)
Aaron Conley can draw like a monster. Sabretooth Swordsmen was crazy as hell and I think it’s only a matter of time before Aaron draws his way into the hearts and minds of the American people.
Justin Jordan (Deep State, The Legend of Luther Strode)
Hmmmm. Probably Ed Brisson. He’s had a lot of good comics in the past, but his new book from Boom!, Cluster, looks so killer. I think this year is going to be Ed’s year.
Frank Barbiere (Five Ghosts, Solar)
I think 2015 is all going to be about Ryan Ferrier and Fabian Rangel. They’re great writers who are poised to make a huge impact. I know they’ve both got exciting stuff coming and they’ll be household names before we know it.
Joe Eisma (Morning Glories)
Michael Moreci.
Robert Wilson IV (Knuckleheads)
I think this will finally be the year that comics readers will really discover Andrew MacLean, he’s so good and has such a distinct voice. I also think people will really be taken off guard by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro’s BITCH PLANET. It’s so daring and angry. It will punch people in the gut. It will offend some people who need to be offended.
There is a lot to look forward to next year. James Harren and John Arcudi are launching an Image book RUMBLE ( I think it actually starts December) and I think it’s going to be my favourite book of 2015, I could watch Harren draw monsters fighting all day everyday. I think Adam Gorham (Who drew the most recent issue of ZERO) is really going to break out in a big way. His work on ZERO #12 has been universally praised and I’m expecting huge things from him in 2015. Brian Level (Inker of Lazarus) Is just about ready to pop, he’s had a few covers with Valiant but I am expecting a big year from him a lot of people are going to be enjoying his work.
Continued belowJoe Keatinge (Shutter)
Yeah, so Ben Dewey. Between Tooth and Claw + Tragedy Series, I’m expecting this guy will take a major leap forward. He certainly deserves to. The work he’s doing right now seems like its coming from someone with a decades old career under their belt, but his craft is just that strong. I really believe in this guy, as a reader and supporter I’m all in with this dude.
Matthew Rosenberg (12 Reasons to Die)
For writers – I would hope that Frank Barbiere finally gets the respect he deserves for the amount of solid work he is putting out. Curt Pires, Fabian Rangel Jr., Ryan Ferrier, and Patrick Kindlon will all be putting out enough awesome work that a ,to of people should notice.
For artists – Ariela Kristantina is on the verge of being a superstar for sure. Artyom Trakhanov, Ramon Villalobos, Josh Hood, Yasmin Liang, and Tyler Boss should all be grabbing a lot of attention from anyone who likes beautiful comics.
Declan Shalvey (Injection)
Luca Pizarri, Stacey Lee and Erica Henderson. On the cusp of great stuff; I can feel it.
Chris Ross (Top Shelf’s Director of Digital Publishing)
I think Lemire’s projects that he’s announced for the last few months are going to bare some amazing fruit next year, alongside his ROUGHNECKS—it’s always especially nice to to see a fantastically talented guy create some many prolific and wonderful things. I’m always fantastically into whatever Top Shelf alums are up to—Venditti always kills it, alongside Van Jensen. MARCH BOOK TWO will make some waves and be an important book for us, and I think the industry as a whole. Always looking forward to seeing Ray Fawkes’ work, especially when I’m working on it. Looking forward to Chris Sheridan’s MOTORCYCLE SAMURAI in print.
Natalie Nourigat (Home is Where the Internet Is)
Isabel Greenberg is already very successful, but I think even more people in the States will be talking about her in 2015.
Sebastian Girner (Editor of Deadly Class, Drifter, Low, and many others)
I think Robbi Rodriguez is going to blow some shit up with SpiderGwen, and I can’t wait to see it.
And if anyone out there doesn’t consider James Harren to be Top of the Pops yet (which is crazy) then Rumble will cement him as on the best artists working today.
I’d also keep an eye on Space Mullet’s Daniel Warren Johnson, tons of energy and talent there, waiting to be tapped.
Jay Faerber (Copperhead)
There’s an artist named Ilias Kyriazis who not many people are aware of yet. That’s going to change in 2015. His stuff is big and bold and expressive and unique. You’ve been warned.
Matthew Wilson (The Wicked + The Divine, Thor)
This might be a bit self serving since I work with him at the moment, but I think Russell Dauterman will be on everyone’s radar in ’15. I know he’s already established a good sized fan base, but his work on the new volume of Thor this year will gain him a much bigger following. Technically he’ll have a few issues of Thor out by the end of ’14, and get some attention this year, but I think those issues will make people pay attention to everything he does next year.
Brenden Fletcher (Gotham Academy, Batgirl)
Annie Wu
Andy Belanger
Irene Koh
Sarah Stone
Paul Allor (GI Joe, TMNT)
I’m gonna exclude people I’m working with, or this would just be a list of their names. And since you say “creator,” I’m going to try to stick to just one person from each discipline. So, for writers, I’d say Ryan Ferrier, first and foremost. He’s going to be one of the biggest names in the industry in a few years, and I think 2015 is when a lot more people will start to pick up on that fact.
On the art side: every single time I see something from Ben Bates, it’s a couple levels up from his already amazing work. I think he’s poised to break out in a big way. And for coloring, Marissa Louise will be making a huge leap both in comics and in taking over the world.
Continued belowTim Gibson (Moth City)
I reckon they’ve already taken a few leaps in their careers, but I’m very excited to see more of Kathryn and Stuart Immonen’s work on ‘Russian Olive’. My word that looks good.
Riley Rossmo’s (with awesome colours by Ivan Plascecia) artwork on ‘Rasputin’ also looks like a big creative leap from my first experience of his work on ‘Green Wake’. Big things expected for that guy.
Curt Pires (POP)
Last year I said myself, and I could say it again, it’d still be true–but I’m not going to, I want to shine the spotlight elsewhere. Ryan Ferrier is gonna have a big year. He’s a friend and I’ve known about all this stuff he’s doing for a while, so it’s been fun to watch the fire start to burn, to rise. I think Matthew Rosenberg is gonna have a big year too. He’s got a voice like no one else in comics, and I think he’d going to catch on.
Ales Kot (Zero)
Every single one, hopefully. I’m especially looking forward to Chip Zdarsky explaining duck corkscrew vaginas in Howard the Duck.
Ed Brisson (Sheltered)
It’s a tie between Ryan Ferrier and Curt Pires. They’ve both been self publishing work for the past couple years and the industry seems to have finally taken notice. Ryan managed to get some heat from “D4VE” (Monkey Brain) this past year and Curt broke out with “POP” (Dark Horse). I know that both have several projects scheduled from 2015 and I think that they’re finally going to start getting the attention they so rightly deserve.
