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Kodansha has released a teaser for their NYCC panel with artwork by Tomer Hanuka and it’s…awesome. Here’s the panel teaser: The Biggest Attack on Titan Manga Announcement Ever | New York Comic Con 2015: The Biggest Attack on Titan Manga Announcement Ever Thu. October 8| 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM | Room 1A18 Kodansha Comics, […]

These days, rarely do I look at an illustrator’s portfolio and outright gasp.  It’s not that I’m necessarily jaded– I recognize and appreciate all the great art that comics illustrators put out every week.  However, it takes a lot more than it used to to truly astound me.

Tomer Hanuka’s portfolio astounds me.

On July 17th, San Francisco’s White Walls Gallery will pay tribute to Tomer by presenting ‘The Art of The Divine,’ an exhibition centered around Hanuka’s new graphic novel collaboration with writer Boaz Lavie and his twin brother and fellow illustrator Asaf Hanuka.   The comic will be released by First Second on July 14th and will explore themes of religion and war using a low fantasy premise.  The story focuses on Mark, a military veteran who’s pulled back into the fray when his former comrade Jason comes knocking.  They end up in Quanlom, an obscure South-East Asian country that is being ripped apart by a civil war led by ten year old twins with magic powers and an army of soldiers dressed like gods.

The exhibition will feature over 30 pieces, including layouts, pencils, concept art, and finalized pages.  Chris Jalufka of Evil Tender will curate the exhibit and hopes that it will elucidate the comic book production process to attendees.

Tomer Hanuka’s use of color is outstanding.  His use of understated pastels mixed with highly saturated colors for emphasis adds an incredibly effecting element to his impressively detailed linework.  His work on The Divine elevates our sense of reality without fully removing us from it, seamlessly mixing the quotidian with the fantastic to create a stark contrast between the world we know and the one that is just beyond our field of vision.

Twin brothers Asaf and Tomer Hanuka have been making vividly arresting comics for quite a while. Together they produced the award-nominated Bipolar. Separately, Tomer is known his covers for Vertigo and illustration for The New Yorker, the NY Times and many other places. Asaf illustrated Pizzeria Kamikaze, written by Etger Keret (and the basis of the film Wristcutters) and the ongoing webcomic The Realist.

And they have a new graphic novel coming out from First Second next July: The Divine, written by Israeli writer/filmmaker Boaz Lavie (“The Lake”). It’s a story dragged from today’s headlines. Former military man Mike is leading a boring civilian existence when his army buddy Jason invites him to take on what seems like easy money: a covert but lucrative contract  job in an obscure South-Asian country called Quanlom, which is being torn apart by civil war.

What seems like a simple job turns into a nightmare, as Quanlom’s civil war turns out to be led by 1o-year-old twins with seemingly supernatural powers. Throw in an army of godlike soldiers and a dragon and you have one weird war tale. According to the blurb, it’s ” a fast-paced, brutal, and breathlessly beautiful portrait of a world where ancient powers vie with modern warfare and nobody escapes unscathed.”

I’m a long time fan of the Hanukas striking imagery and morbid imaginations. This sound like a perfect outlet for their vision.

Compressed visual narratives are Tomer Hanuka’s stock-in-trade. He s an illustrator by occupation, but his book covers, comics and editorial renderings transcend that title. In Overkill, he’s selected some of his most vividly drawn and intensely colorful work, juxtaposing intense imagery with a truly unique palette. Hanuka is the winner of gold medals from the Society of Illustrators and the Society of Publication designers, and has been featured in numerous magazines. In 2008, a book cover he created won the British Design Museum award as part of the Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions. His image was used for the cover of the bestselling survey Juxtapoz Illustration. Not to be contained by the print medium, this versatile artist also contributed art to the Oscar nominated, Golden Globe winning animated documentary Waltz With Bashir. Tomer Hanuka lives in New York.

Get this book on Amazon and help out Rabbleboy.com : Overkill: Tomer Hanuka

• Hardcover: 104 pages
• Publisher: Gingko Press (September 16, 2011)
• Language: English

Check out Tomer’s web site at thanuka.com

via Alex Segura, a DVD cover for the great episode where “goatee” and “Evil Spock” became forever synonymous.

While we’re at it…here’s Hanuka’s sketches for an illustration in the New Yorker accompanying a review of…SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK

AND for added fun, go read “The Dirties” from MEATHAUS by Tomer and brother Asaf.

Tomer Hanuka, twin brother of illustrator Asaf Hanuka. There is A LOT of talent in those genes! 

the realist: week 40

Asaf Hanuka reflects on being a twin. His brother is artist Tomer Hanuka.

At it’s center is Isaac Sidel, a brainy Manhattan detective, and a gritty mix of characters bringing to life the five boroughs of New York City and its many dissonant sub-cultures. It’s about family and tribal allegiances and how the bonds that tie can, in an instant, turn into people trying to slit each other’s throats. It is a universe riddled with risk and betrayal as everyone desperately tries to master the art of simply staying alive.

Also noted on the blog, Asaf has won the Society of Illustrators Gold Medal for his webcomic, The Realist.