| Sara Pichelli | |
|---|---|
 Pichelli atSpecial Edition NYC in Manhattan, 2014 | |
| Born | (1983-04-15)15 April 1983 (age 42) Porto Sant'Elpidio, Italy |
Notable works | Runaways,X-Men: Pixie Strikes Back,Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man,Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, |
| Awards | 2011Eagle Awards for Favorite Newcomer Artist |
Sara Pichelli (born 15 April 1983) is an Italiancomics artist best known for co-creating and first illustrating theMiles Morales version ofUltimate Spider-Man. She started her career in animation and entered the comic book industry working forIDW Publishing before joiningMarvel Comics in 2008 after being discovered in an international talent search. Pichelli worked on several Marvel titles, such asNamora and was then hired as the main artist on the second volume ofUltimate Comics: Spider-Man, which premiered in September 2011. Pichelli won a 2011Eagle Awards for Favorite Newcomer Artist.
Pichelli was born inPorto Sant'Elpidio, Italy. She began her career in animation, working as a storyboard artist, animator and character designer. She said of this work, "It wasn't really for me. I felt like a tiny cog in a machine."[1] She started working in the comic book industry after meeting comics artistDavid Messina. Prior to that, she was not particularly interested in comics and preferred animated films andanime.[1] She worked as a layout assistant for Messina and worked on such titles as theStar Trek comic book series produced byIDW Publishing,[2] including such editions asStar Trek: Countdown andStar Trek: Nero.[3] In 2008 she submitted her work to the Chesterquest international talent search and was named one of the finalists byMarvel Comics editorC. B. Cebulski, which led to her working for Marvel. She illustrates for Marvel from her home inRome.[1]
Pichelli started working for Marvel Comics in 2008[2] with the limited seriesNYX: No Way Home,[4][5] followed by a brief run onRunaways with writerKathryn Immonen in 2009.[5][6] She worked with Immonen again on theX-Men: Pixie Strikes Backlimited series, released in December 2009, which focused on theX-Men characterPixie.[7] Pichelli provided art for one storyline in theI Am An Avenger anthology series, which ran from 2010 to 2011,[1] then joined the team working onUltimate Comics: Spider-Man starting with the October 2010 issue #15.[8] After that series ended, Pichelli contributed to the 2011 limited seriesUltimate Fallout, where she illustrated the first image of theSpider-Man character as portrayed byMiles Morales in theUltimate Marvel universe.[5][9] Pichelli took on regular art duties on the relaunchedUltimate Comics: Spider-Man with Morales as the protagonist, starting in September 2011.[10]
In August 2018, Pichelli and writerDan Slott launched a newFantastic Four series.[11]
Pichelli uses aCintiq 12wx graphic tablet. When illustratingUltimate Comics: Spider-Man,[9] she added morescreentones to her illustrations to give what she called "a more 'pop' feeling to the book", as she believed it would be more fitting to that series.[12]
In creating the visual look of characters, Pichelli approaches the design by giving thought to the characters' personalities, including the background that may have influenced them, and the distinctive traits that the characters exhibit, such as the clothing they wear, their body language and expressions. She followed this approach when creating Miles Morales.[13]
There are three or four artists we've got at Marvel who are really starting to pop and sizzle and define a new look and style that's distinctly their own. We look at these people as being the next generation of Marvel superstars, and I think Sara is clearly one of them. Her stuff is bubbly and fun and alive and energetic and exciting. It has all the best traits and qualities of humanity and engagingness [that] I'd want in a Marvel artist.
Pichelli won a 2011Eagle Award for Favorite Newcomer Artist,[14] over fellow nomineesRafael Albuquerque,Fiona Staples,Sean Murphy andBryan Lee O'Malley.[15] Marvel Comics senior editor Mark Paniccia said of Pichelli: "Every time I see new pages from Sara she continues to grow as an artist. She's amazing now and I can't imagine where she'll be a year from now."[5] Marvel Comics editorTom Brevoort called her "a real breakout talent" and "a top talent primed to explode in a major way".[1] David Brothers ofComicsAlliance praised her attention to detail and said he particularly likes the way Pichelli draws hair, facial expressions and body language: "The first two add a lot to the atmosphere of the comics she draws, and the third cranks her storytelling up to another level."[4]IGN writer Jesse Schedeen called Pichelli's art inUltimate Fallout "energetic, cinematic, and just flamboyant enough to offer a change of pace from the rest of theUltimate Fallout stories".[16]
Pichelli lives inRome,Italy.[17]
Welcome back, Fantastic Four! A video on Thursday about some of Marvel Entertainment's upcoming comics included a silhouetted image of the Fantastic Four, signaling their return to a monthly series beginning in August. The series will be written by Dan Slott and drawn by Sara Pichelli.
