First Prog: 1360
Latest Prog: 1956
First Meg: 246 (new material); 218 (on Metro Dredd reprints)
Latest Meg: 382
Total appearances: 91
-including 15 epsiodes
of Metro Dredd reprinted in the Megazine, but not a handful of Metro Dredds
that weren’t
(and I bet my count here is a little low as I didn't pay proper attention to colourists way back when I first started compiling the list. Sorry, colourists!)
(and I bet my count here is a little low as I didn't pay proper attention to colourists way back when I first started compiling the list. Sorry, colourists!)
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| Words by Matt Smith (I think) Art by Inaki Miranda |
Colour credits:
Judge Dredd
Road Warrior
Dead Signal
The 86ers
Judge Anderson
Sinister Dexter
Havn - just started in the Meg the day after I posted this!
Havn - just started in the Meg the day after I posted this!
Various one-offs and
Thr3llers
Notable characteristics:
Obviously there are
exceptions in her work, but there’s an awful lot of indigo and violet, and
indeed some deep reds and pinks. She also often adds a sheen to everything that
puts me in mind of animated films more than comics, and it’s no bad thing.
Often adds depth, for one thing.
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| Child-friendly ultra violence, with an anime sheen Art by Inaki Miranda; Context by Gordon Rennie |
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| Reassuring deep blue Art by Jesus Redondo; Words by Robert Murphy |
On Eva:
Eva came to the House
of Tharg in a package deal with artist (and, I believe, life partner) Inaki
Miranda. Their work together is pretty darned glorious, and although I can see
why Tharg hasn’t used Miranda too often – his style skews quite a bit to the
younger end of 2000AD’s core readership, and his exaggerated version of Dredd
in particular feels very young – de la Cruz had picked up steady work paired
with a range of artists (chiefly PJ Holden), and bringing her own recognisable
colouring style along.
It’s very rich, is
what it is. Sumptuous. Lends itself to epic grandeur, summed up by her work –
with Miranda, not coincidentally I’m sure - on one of the best of Tharg’s
Thr3llers, the Ghostship Mathematica:
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| Sophisticated anime; grogeous layers of green slime on the ship there. Art by Inaki Miranda; Words by David Baillie |
But before that there
was Dredd, with a high-profile job doing the Dredd cartoon strip that ran in
Metro back when the idea of a free daily newspaper on the tube was a novelty.
Working on actual
Judge Dredd in the Megazine was a definite step up for all concerned, and de la
Cruz soon found herself as one of Tharg’s go-to colourists for a wide range of
jobs.
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| Dig that crazy lilac! |
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| Between the artist and colourist, that's some funky work getting the relflection / see-through trick going with the windows. Did you know, this is an exmaple of quanutm mechanics in action? Artby Inaki Miranda; Words by Gordon Rennie |
I’m no expert on
coloring -I can barely open up a file in
Photoshop, let alone do anything to an image – but I do find de la Cruz’s style
much more noticeable than, say, Gary Caldwell. She really seems to go for it with
the mood stuff, and isn’t afraid to let the colours dominate the way a scene
feels, letting lighting dictate the colour of clothes, buildings and such.
She’s also pretty big
on bright lights unapologetically being bright lights.
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| I love HQ scenes with loads of strip lights. I'm old fashioned enough that it still reads as well futuristic. Art by Inaki Miranda; Words by Gordon Rennie |
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| If you can look past the extraordinary volley of blood and brains, those are some BRIGHT lights. Art by Leigh Gallagher; Words by Al Ewing |
Her work with Miranda does have a very particular quality that isn't quite the same when she's colouring other folks. Mostly she seems to play it starighter, with less of the cartoon shine. But there's always that commitment to enhancing the mood by emphasiing one hue over all others.
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| Why yes, the colour for murder and protistution IS red. Art by Vince Locke; Words by John Wagner |
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| If there's one way to try to sum up Dead Signal, it's that the protagioist uses the brioghtest possible pink ray gun. Art by PJ Holden; Words by Al Ewing |
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| More but darker red for impending death by giant missiles Art by PJ Holden; Context by Arthur Wyatt |
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| Modern comedy noir is, by contrast, black, yellow and orange Art by Patrick Goddard; Words by Dan Abnett |
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| F;ashbacks to the Acadmey of law are grey. OBVS. Art by Steve Yeowell; Words by Alan Grant |
More on Eva de la Cruz:
-the link still exists, anyway, althoguh the site itself might be defunct now?
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| A meta-colouring joke, in which the protagonists go back home from yellow/orange hues to de la Cruz's preferred blue. Art by Patrick Goddard; Words by Dan Abnett |
Personal favourites:
Judge Dredd: Dog Soldiers; The Family Man
Road Warrior
Dead Signal
Thatrg’s Thrillers: Ghostship Mathematica; Rewind
Tales from the Black Museum:
Dead Man’s Gun
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