If you missed the last one…
Rafael Kayanan, like Alfred Alcala and Alex Nino, was born in the Philippines. One of his American inspirations was Barry Windsor-Smith. This will be no surprise to anyone seeing his artwork for the first time. Marvel must have been very excited to have him draw Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Adventurer and Conan the Savage between 1993-1996. Here is the pulse-pounding excitement Sword & Sorcery fans crave.
But to write him off as a Windsor-Smith clone is foolhardy. Much of the power of his black & white work is more than a feel of BWS. He has the intense blacks that early BWS never had. This may have come from studying the Filipino masters like Alcala, Nester Redondo as well as Americans like Berni Wrightson (a master of atmosphere) and muscularity from Neal Adams (a master of active figures).
Rafael Kayanan is also a martial artist in the Filipino style known as the Sayoc Kali system. This knowledge of fighting can only be a boon to an artist creating such active artwork.
Savage Sword of Conan
Conan the Savage
Wow! I was no longer actively buying comics by the time Kayanan came along. This is the first I’ve seen of his work. Yes, reminiscent of Barry Windsor-Smith, but still unmistakably fresh and new. I may have to hunt down his work!