Deep diving into Greg Smallwood's Moon Knight artwork

John R. Parker for ComicsAlliance:

Greg Smallwood is one of the most fascinating artists to have emerged in the last five years. His breakout book Dream Thief showcased his innovative approach to page design, classic figure work, and the clever incorporation of sound effects and simple iconography into his layouts.

Smallwood’s initial run on the character last year was my first exposure to his work. From the first panel you could tell it was going to be something special and it completely lived up to my hopes and expectations. I’ve always considered his work, along with other artists like David Aja and JH Williams III, to be some of the most creative artists in comics today, specifically with their use of the page, the panels/gutters (or lack of) and, as this article mentions, negative space.

One of the most interesting pieces of this article discusses the lettering of each issue, done by VC’s Cory Petit, where Smallwood hands off the art without any sort of direction for the speech bubbles should lay. It’s a testament to not only Smallwood’s skill in laying out the pages but also to Petit’s ability to understand and complement Smallwood’s art perfectly. The current run of Moon Knight is excellent, front to back.