I’m getting pretty good at the click bait thing, right? If you thought you were going to get me to talk shit on artists, you’re wrong! This post is all about the love.

You all know I could gush about my collaborators and fill up several posts, but this one is going to be about some my favorite artists I don’t work with on the regular.

JAKE PARKER

Okay, so right out of the gate, I’m breaking my own rule. I have worked with Jake, but he’s done such a wide variety stuff I had to highlight him first! This guy is special. I mean, on all fronts, he’s a just a special person. There’s no one else like him.

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Jake for more years than I can actually recall now and he’s simply one of my favorite human beings on planet earth. He’s an amazing friend, teacher, supporter, father, husband, and of course storyteller/artist. Years ago, he came up with a pun-y word and as a result invented a little thing called INKTOBER. He’s got an awesome YouTube Channel, a Podcast and so much more. Oh, I almost forgot, he’s also a co-founder of the online art school SVS (School of Visual Storytelling.)

MRJAKEPARKER.COM

KHARY RANDOLPH

This guy is a friend of 20 years and has been inspiring me through all of them. We’re the same age and came up together but I still look UP to him. One of the most talented cartoonists I know and has been tearing it up in the world of comics and animation for decades. He and Joanne Starer have Substack for their Glass Eye Studios. Check them out!

GLASS EYE STUDIOS

RACHELE ARAGNO

Well, damn. I’m breaking my own rule again. I worked with Rachele on an Untold Tales of I Hate Fairyland this past year and it was great. She is an outstanding cartoonist in Italy and publishes graphic novels with BAO (my Italian publisher/family.) After working with her on our IHF story, I instantly wanted to start building a longer project for us to collaborate on. When we started talking about our favorite books, comics, and movies, we realized we share our favorite novel The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gamain. We don’t have any dates yet, but there will be a project with Rachele in the future!

RACHELE'S INSTAGRAM

ERIC CANETE

What can I say about this fucking asshole? Kidding, of course, he’s super nice and sweet and handsome and…ugh. Adam Hughes once told me “You know you’ve figured out how to make good art when everyone starts telling you that you make them sick, that you’re an asshole or that they hate you." He’s not wrong. The artists I admire most cause such strong emotions that it’s hard to determine if I love or hate them for being so talented.

To put it simply, Eric is a genius. His knowledge and understanding of illustration and visual narrative runs so deep that it’s hard to comprehend. Eric is the reason I do daily sketches. He used to do these 90 minute masterpieces that were impossibly good. His daily pieces in the early 2000’s were basically college for me. I printed them out and put them in a binder and soaked them and cried. Lots of crying.

ERICCANETE.COM

Well, there you have it. A look at a few artists that have touched my life in one way or another and helped grow as a cartoonist and person.

Stupid Fresh Mess

F**K You And Your Art...