Feb 2020 Riley Rossmo Gems

As far as I can remember, I had never even heard of Riley Rossmo a year ago. The first exposure I had to his work was Martian Manhunter #1 (the current 12-issue maxi-series that just concluded). I instantly knew I liked his style and knew I’d be in for a great run on this particular comic.

Rossmo’s art was unusually prolific in my February comic purchases, which is making him my unexpected comic creator hero of the month.

1. Wonder Woman #750

  • Technically this came out nearer the end of January, but I was horrendously late picking this up, so I personally didn’t get my copy, the last one available, until February. Of the many really great stories in that issue, there was a really funny story with Hippolyta featuring Rossmo’s art.

2. Crimes of Passion #1

  • This is another anthology title, which just came out last Wednesday. One of the stories is a great solo Wildcat adventure. After recently having been reading the old 40’s Sensation Comics here on the DC streaming service, which include regular Wildcat backup stories, I became interested in the weirdly stylized portrayals he had in that old comic. Rossmo’s art is not identical to those, but his style has a similarity in tone to them that I really liked. I would absolutely subscribe to a Wildcat series with Riley Rossmo art.

3. Martian Manhunter #12

  • This issue, the final one in this maxi-series also came out last Wednesday. This is the series that made me a fan of Rossmo’s art. His visuals are perfect for the eerie psionic conflicts and shapeshifting elements that colored this amazing story. I will miss this comic immensely and I vow to turn up my nose at any future renditions of Detective Diane Meade that do not have that beehive hair.

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Anyhow. This thread is just me holding the torch up for one of my new favorite artists and I hope to see a lot more from him.

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And now it looks like he is getting a story in Flash #750, which comes out February 26th.

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If you want to read more of his work, he was also the main artist for James Tynion IV’s Constantine: The Hellblazer series, drew Batman/The Shadow written by Scott Snyder and Steve Orlando, and I believe he was also the main artist for the Batman/Detective/Nightwing event “Night of the Monster Men.”

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Nice! I have read none of those. I will look into them. Thanks a ton for the recommendations.

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rossmo’s one of my all time favorites!

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His work on Batman/The Shadow was quite nice, and is probably my favorite of his output so far.

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I haven’t ever said I’d recommend a whole page of listings. I will say that here.