Mike Allred, One Of Comics' Most Dynamic Artists

The new season of "iZombie" is currently airing on the CW, and it has a hardcore fanbase who love its mix of mystery and the supernatural. 

It doesn't have too much in common with the Vertigo Comics series it's based on – other than involving a young woman in her 20s who becomes a self-aware zombie – but the opening credits match the pop art style from that title. Mike Allred – whose art is easily recognized by comic book fans – worked on all 28 issues. 

Allred's style looks very much like it came out of the Silver Age (not unlike that of the late Darwyn Cooke). A great example of that is his variant cover for the recent 1000th issue of "Action Comics" which celebrates Superman's Silver Age adventures. 

Action Comics 1000 (Allred Variant)

Action Comics 1000 (Allred Variant)

Allred burst onto the scene in 1992 with a miniseries starring a character he created, "Madman." Allred did an ongoing series for Dark Horse two years later. His first work for Vertigo was on one issue of "Sandman" in 1993. 

aHR0cDovL3d3dy5uZXdzYXJhbWEuY29tL2ltYWdlcy9pLzAwMC8xNjEvMDc2L2kwMi9NQURNQU5TcGlyYWxQb3N0ZXJfV2ViTW9jay5qcGc=.jpg

Allred moved into mainstream comics in 1996 with "Untold Tales of Spider-Man" annual, and then in 2001 with his work on "X-Force" (later "X-Statix"). But it wasn't until this decade and the "FF" spinoff title in 2013 that he became a regular artist for the "big two" (this was three years after he launched "iZombie" for Vertigo, co-created with writer Chris Roberson).  

iZombieV1_5500b5284729a6.89683501.jpg

Allred is perhaps best known lately for his work on "Silver Surfer" with writer Dan Slott, a new take on the character reminiscent of "Doctor Who." 

silver-surfer-ending.jpg

He also contributed some very memorable cover art for the "Batman '66" title (based on the Adam West TV series) which ran for three years starting in 2013.

GalleryComics_1920x1080_20141224_BM_66_Cv18_5489e36b387ab4.80085984.jpg

Allred's work continues to be in high demand, so there's sure to be a lot more to look forward to from him in the years to come (perhaps a revival of "iZombie" one of these days?)