Art For Art’s Sake # 92: A Mystery Wrapped In An Enigma

by Richard Bruton

Art For Art’s Sake, bringing you a fresh batch of great looking artwork from the world of comics week in and week out. This week, all the lovely looking stuff, plus an extended gaze (lovingly) at Duncan Fegredo… well, we gaze lovingly at his artwork at least…

Okay then, let’s kick off this week’s artistic wonder shall we? We’re Comicon, this is Art For Art’s Sake…

Darryl Cunningham –

Alan Davis –

Adrian Alphona – Strange Academy 7

Gleb Malnikov – James Bond #11 (Dynamite)

Jenny Frison‘s cover to Catwoman #27

Cliff Chiang with a delightful Lois Lane –

Magik by Peach Momoko

Mitch Gerads – some incredible covers (and interiors) on Mister Miracle – this was the cover to Mister Miracle #5

Nick Derrington doing the web-slinger

Ted McKeever on a long-forgotten yet quite fun Vertigo tale – The Extremist

Some typically stunning Alex Toth –

A little Bill Sienkiewicz X-Men concept art –

And a Bill Sienkievicz version of Stan Sakai‘s Usagi Yojimbo –

Two beauties from Kevin Wada – Doctor Strange…

… and Agent Peggy Carter and Howard Stark –

And finally for this week – Duncan Fegredo and particularly his Enigma artwork. I was re-reading this the other week and it’s one of those series that absolutely stands the test of time.

When it was published in 1993 with the launch of DC’s much-missed Vertigo imprint, it was a major moment for both writer Peter Milligan and, in particular, artist Duncan Fegredo.

This was, as far as I recall, only Fegredo’s fifth comic, his career up until this point consisted of Repossession Blues (with Dave Thorpe, Heartbreak Hotel, 1987–1988), two strips in Crisis – New Statesmen (with John Smith, Crisis #7–8, 1988) and Third World War: Liat’s Law (with Pat Mills and Alan Mitchell, in Crisis 19 and 26, 1989), with his first US artwork being for the three issues of Grant Morrison‘s revamp of Kid Eternity in 1991.

Now, although Fegredo’s artwork on Kid Eternity was great – I vividly recall loving the triptych of covers for that one – it wasn’t quite the wow moment, neither story nor art were as perfect as what would be Fegredo’s next DC work, the aforementioned Enigma, eight issues of vaguely superheroic adventures, but far more all about sexual confusion and the connections between fiction and reality.

As I recall at the time, it wasn’t best received. But over the years it’s grown in popularity and I’d definitely recommend you first enjoy some of Fegredo’s magnificently done artwork and then head out to get yourself a copy.

And of course, Fegredo’s gone on since then to deliver some great artwork for comics as disparate as Hellboy, Batman, Aliens, Jay & Silent Bob, The Dreaming, and Spider-Man. But here’s some of that early work on Enigma I love so much…

Begiining with a brilliant set of covers (with the metallic ink that was everywhere back then!)

And similarly good looking on the inside…

There are plans for a 2021 release (December 2021 at the moment) of a definitive edition of Enigma from Berger Books/Dark Horse as well, packed full of remastered artwork and plenty of extras…

So, just to compare… here’s the introduction of The Enigma in the original and the definitive version…