If you’re a long time Spider-Man fan like me, the words “clone saga” might raise your blood pressure a bit or cause that funny twitch in your eye to come back. As much respect as I have for the creators on that particular story arc in the mid 1990’s, I have to admit that it drove me away from comics for a short time. I dunno, it was just… wrong… It wasn’t the Spider-Man I grew up with and wasn’t a change I was enjoying. I can say it was a “short time” thanks to writer Kurt Busiek and artist Pat Olliffe and and a book called “Untold Tales of Spider-Man.” Boy, that book felt… right. And Pat’s artwork captured the spirit of the fun ol’ web-head that I knew and loved perfectly. Because of that book, I credit Kurt and Pat with getting me to read comics again. Let’s talk more about Pat!
Artist Spotlight #8: Pat Olliffe
Pat Olliffe has been drawing funny books for folks like Marvel and DC for a long time. In addition to Untold Tales of Spider-Man, Pat has worked on Thor, Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel Team-Up, Namor, JSA: Classified, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, and the beloved Spider-Girl among many others. His latest project, Rough Riders, is an awesome steampunk-y romp of a book and you should definitely check it out!
I first got to know Pat because he worked on a comic for Marvel in the early 2000s called “The Call.” Marvel was making a big push for it and I ended up working on a video game adaptation for the property. The Call turned out to be short-lived and the game never saw the light of day, but when I met Pat at a convention in Philadelphia, we got to commiserate about it.
Later when I was working on the digital version of Marvel:The Trading Card Game, we needed comic book artists to help us create new content. I gave Pat a call and we got the chance to work together for the first time. Pat’s always been an awesome artist and a lot of fun to work with – he just ‘gets it’ and is nothing short of a consummate pro.
When I started working on Super Powered Smash Masters with all its superhero goodness, I knew I needed to contact Pat again. And so here we are! From our vast roster of heroes, Pat chose to design and illustrate the park-ranger-gone-wild (literally), Wilder Ness!
Wilder Ness spent so much time outdoors that this deranged ranger is now as feral as the wild beasts she used to serve and protect. As a result, she has some useful abilities that let her take down other heroes that are still stuck in a world full of technology and confusing gadgets.
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UPDATE: Be sure to check out Pat’s run on DC’s Hawkman, starting THIS MONTH in issue #14.
Smash ya’ later!
-Ben
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