dustin nguyen

From October 1950, when the very first installments of Peanuts was published, every single installment of the strip was drawn by Charles M. Schulz's own hand, and the only variations in the style of the characters' depictions came organically through the evolution of Schulz's own drawing style. Even when the characters have appeared outside their home strip, in various animated specials or in the Dell or Boom comic books, the animators and artists have closely aped Schulz's style. That's what makes Boom Studios' new Peanuts: A Tribute to Charles M. Schulz so compelling. It's difficult to imagine what any other artist's version of the iconic characters might look like, but this book is full of them, and being faced with these characters divorced from their creator's designs is fascinating and at times even disconcerting. It's hard to look at the realistic image of Charlie Brown by Ryan Sook on the cover of the book, staring into the eyes of the "real" Charlie Brown, and not be a little freaked out, isn't it?

In his career in comics, Jeff Lemire hasn't shied away from building worlds. Essex County, Sweet Tooth, Trillium, and even his work at Valiant Comics have all presented readers with fully realized, fleshed-out settings. But Descender, Lemire's Image Comics science fiction series with painted art by Dustin Nguyen, may be his most ambitious project. The series focuses on a child-like robot in a war-torn galaxy full of mistrust and betrayal. It wrapped up its first six-issue arc last week, so we talked to Lemire about his plans for the next arc, the mystery behind the destructive force known as the Harvesters, and his influences. We also touched on his new series, Plutona, which steers back to the superhero genre.

Not everyone can make it to San Diego Comic-Con to see what's happening in person, but ComicsAlliance has you covered! We know that it's not just about the news that comes out of the biggest con of the year --- it's also about seeing the booths, checking out new collectibles, and putting faces to names of your favorite creators. Thankfully talented photographer Pat Loika is on hand to document as much as he can for your enjoyment. Scroll down for some exceptional photography of the people, places, and things that SDCC has to offer. Sore feet, aching back, and claustrophobia not included.

Created by Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff, Poison Ivy first graced the comic page back in the historic year of 1966, when The Sound of Music won Best Picture and England somehow won the World Cup. Her first appearance was in Detective Comics #181, and since then the character has remained a constant thorn in the Dark Knight's side.

One of the highlights of last weekend's Emerald City Comic-Con in Seattle for me was a secluded spot in the basement of the convention center that was absolutely packed with Lego. Not just people selling Lego, but some extraordinary structural works built entirely out of Lego, including giant superhero heads and an entire city overrun with heroes and villains. But the standout, spread across several tables, was a Lego tribute to David Petersen's Mouse Guard, with little custom mouse minifigs going on quests, setting off to sea, and sneaking around a terrifying giant owl. It's easy to see how David Petersen's wonderful world of tiny epic adventures could inspire such a vast undertaking. Petersen's work is gorgeous, and the wonder that infuses it carries through into the work being done by other authors in Archaia's Legends of the Guard stories. We have a preview of the second issue, featuring contributions from Kyla Vanderklugt, Dustin Nguyen, C.M. Galdre, and Nicole Gustafsson. These are stories that can delight young minds just as easily as a room full of Lego!

We make a regular practice at ComicsAlliance of spotlighting particular artists or specific bodies of work, as well as the special qualities of comic book storytelling, but because cartoonists, illustrators and their fans share countless numbers of great pinups, fan art and other illustrations on sites like Flickr, Tumblr, DeviantArt and seemingly infinite art blogs that we’ve created Best Art Ever (This Week), a weekly depository for just some of the pieces of especially compelling artwork that we come across in our regular travels across the Web. Some of it’s new, some of it’s old, some of it’s created by working professionals, some of it’s created by future stars, some of it’s created by talented fans, and some of it’s endearingly silly. All of it is awesome.

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of David Petersen's beloved series Mouse Guard, a new collection of short stories set in the Mouse Guard world is about to debut. With stories from creators as varied as Mark Buckingham, Becky Cloonan, and Dustin Nguyen, the four part Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard Vol. 3 begins in March.

Hollywood just can't keep its grubby little hands off of our stuff. Last week it was announced that Sony Pictures snapped up the rights to Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen's Descender well before the book's March publication, a practice becoming more common. This type of announcement may cause consternation among some, but you have to take it on a case-by-case basis: If anything Mark Millar writes gets a deal before publication, please, be offended; in all other circumstances, reserve judgment until a "professional" receives an advance copy and dictates your opinion to you. (This is my new persona: hated.) Descender, on its way from Image in March, is epic, intelligent, and full of heart, and it looks like Sony was right on the money for once.

Boom Studios has a reputation in the comics industry for publishing an increasingly diverse group of books and creators. This commitment to diversity in genre and people is reflected in an all-new initiative the publisher announced today in Previews with a letter from founder Ross Richie. While 2015 is the 10th anniversary of Boom, the publisher wants to talk about what's next rather than what's come before. They call this discussion of the future Push Comics Forward and they don't want it to be only about Boom. Push Comics Forward is Boom's way of focusing on the ongoing conversation about diversity and the future of the industry. To learn more about this initiative and what to expect from Boom for the next ten years and beyond, we spoke with Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon.

The Image Comics slate for 2015 is something of an embarrassment of riches, with new work coming from some of the most exciting creators in North American comics, including those who've been building their fan bases with acclaimed work at Marvel and DC Comics for several years. Among those who'll be creating original work for the first time in a long time is Dustin Nguyen, who's been one of DC's most reliably great artists of the decade. Known for his fantastic chibi book Li'l Gotham, beautiful backups in Superman Unchained and all sorts of striking work in the Batman line, Nguyen's inkwash and watercolor technique has sort of typecast him as a go-to cute and/or gothic artist. But those who've followed his career closely know that Nguyen is passionate about science fiction. He's worked on DC's Justice League Beyond and his own Wildstorm creation Manifest Eternity, but what's likely to be the cartoonist's biggest impact in the genre he loves so much is Descender, his new Image monthly with Jeff Lemire.