Twin PIX: The Art of Simo

It’s always an honour to be asked to supply an introduction for a book, and I was more than excited to write one for Simo (aka Martin Simpson)’s new collection of illustrations, Pix. I first became aware of Martin’s work when I stumbled upon a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for his one-man anthology, Misc. and I’ve been a fan ever since.

Martin’s artwork sometimes looks like a mash up of elements from great cartoonists of the past like Basil Wolverton and Ken Reid, and the trippy sci-fi visions of European masters like Moebius, Bilal and Caza. But it emerges looking electric, fresh and modern. His is a unique voice in the crowded area of small press comics and his inevitable superstardom is surely already overdue.

From my introduction:

“Simo’s art looks quite alien; it has a plastic, three-dimensional, almost tactile quality. Everything contoured with multiple ridges and folds, like plasticine fresh out of its packet, his characters wrapped in cables or bandages; with a predominant palette of viridian green and glowing golden browns reinforcing his beguilingly grotesque artwork. Everything at once dramatically backlit and ultra-realistically rendered, and yet charmingly cartoony.”

His storytelling skills are constantly improving as his comics gradually increase in length; his forthcoming Norse mythology saga, Nord, will be his longest yet. Announcements are due soon. Martin is a creator that you really should be following, if you’re not already. He’s on twitter here. 

If all this piques your interest, then I’d suggest running along to Simo’s Etsy shop to order a copy of Pix, and while you’re there, to take a look at some of the other fabulous things he’s got on offer.

You should also visit Martin’s official website here.