A Tale of Two Renato's

One of the biggest revelations I made while catching up on my books (I know I keep mentioning this, but it really is quite a feat for me) was that two of my favorite unknown artists of the moment are Renato Arlem and Renato Guedes (who both happen to be hispanic).

Guedes doesn't come as a shock to me as he did a few great issues of Superman this year filling in for Pete Woods. So it wasn't surprising to me that I would love his Supergirl. What I was most surprised about was how much like a real girl his Supergirl looked like. She wasn't the same old tired, thin, anorexic looking Supergirl. She was a healthy looking girl... which was refreshing to see in this day and age. It really was the first issue of Supergirl I felt comfortable leaving on the coffee table, and not having to worry that my daughter (who loves Supergirl) would feel like she has to be super thin. Besides the whole body type I loved everything about Guedes art. His strong storytelling, the emotions on the characters faces, the detail in the background, and how realistic everything seemed. Very strong effort. I'm sad to see him exiting this title so soon. As much as I love Drew Johnson's work (great WW run a few years back), I would have enjoyed seeing more of Guedes on Supergirl. I can't wait to see what DC has in store for him. Hopefully it's some more Super-books.

Renato Arlem on the other hand has a very different style. One I would compare to Alex Maleev. He has a great gritty, urban, realistic style. Anyone who has heard me rave about Maleev knows I think he is a comic art god. So to put Arlem right up there with him is saying a lot. I had absolutely no intention of buying the new Uncle Sam and The Freedom Fighters mini-series. Then I saw a few sample pages of Arlem's art and quickly changed my mind. Arlem was very impressive on the relaunch of X-Force. Unfortunately that only lasted a few issues. Then he was great on Hawkgirl, which I can say I only bought for his pencils. Kendra Saunders never looked better. I had no idea he was tackling US&FF so when I saw his art I was excited to pick this book up. It definitely did not disappoint. He truly has mastered this new style of comic art and taken it to the next level. He has definitely become a must buy for me. I only wish DC wisened up and had him on a true urban city title. Placing him on a Nightwing or Batman would send his career through the stratosphere as well as elevating the look of the character for years. I think he can have the same type of impact for one of the Batbooks that Maleev had with Daredevil... who knows it could work.

DC if you are listening get these guys on major books. Give them major heroes. Characters they can make a difference with... these guys both are the real deal.