Click on image to see it full-size.
I’ve been friends with Mark A. Nelson for several years now, had him as a special guest at multiple Dallas conventions, but before I knew him I was a fan of his incredible work on the original Dark Horse ALIENS comic books in the mid-1980s. Mark’s work on those books alone is has been studied and highly praised for decades by fans and industry professionals. In additional to his masterful illustration work, both in comics and roleplaying game art, as well as video game concept art, Nelson has also spent many years teaching art and “world building” when it comes to graphic storytelling. His newest project is a passion project that’s been in the works for years now, titled THUNDER HUNTERS, which Mark wrote, penciled, inked and colored… it’s ALL him, and it’s being released by way of crowd-funding on ZOOP. Within the first day of launch, it’s already hit its initial goal, but we still want to spread the word on it, as I’ve seen these pages in person, and they’re breathtaking, seriously some of the best graphic novel artwork I’ve ever seen in my life, and a story and characters that doesn’t feel like something you’ve seen 1000 times before.
My buddy Bill Cox of ComicArtFans.com recently did a two-hour career retrospective interview with Mark on his Comic Art Live YouTube channel (you may have seen me host interviews for the Comic Art Live online art conventions). I wanted to not only share info on the book here on Bigfanboy.com, but also share Bill’s wonderful interview, which you can watch below. Please take a look at THUNDER HUNTERS by clicking the link here, and check out some of the incredible artwork below. It’s not often I recommend crowdfunded projects for comics on here, but this is one I definitely don’t want folks to miss.
Official description of THUNDER HUNTERS:
Artist and adventurer J.V. Holbrook has traversed and recorded the natural history of an uncharted planet. Thunder Hunters is the unique, culminated cross section of his sketches, journal entries, sequential stories, and portraits of inhabitants and the expansive Vermillion Sands region. It showcases his attention to detail and love of his newly explored alien domain, revealing a never before seen world of myth, culture, landscape and wildlife.
Click on image to see it full-size.
Click on image to see it full-size.
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
