Will Eisner - always first for me, I simply have to have everything I can get on him that includes graphic novels, textbooks, and his biography. The guy has completely shaped the way I read comics.

Yoshihiro Tatsumi - he's just in the past few years been translated but his stuff has just blown me away. His stuff is an alternative manga genre called Gekiga, and it's just pure poetry, dark and abysmal, but poetry still. Yet again an author I must have everything on.

Art Spiegelman - most people think of MAUS when his name comes up, and there's good reasoning for that its a spectacular graphic novel, but it is a work that's very atypical in comparison to his other stuff. Art Spiegelman is an incredibly experimental artist, and the stuff he does (Breakdown or In the Shadow of No towers are best examples) just blow my mind when considering the potential of comics.

Chris Ware - His book, Jimmy Corrigan Smartest Kid in the World, might still very well be the only true graphic NOVEL out there, at least that I've come across. Very avante-garde like Spiegelman (in fact he got his start in Spiegelman's magazine) and deeply moving emotionally. Also his panel layouts are just stunningly complex.

Daniel Clowes - First thing I read by him was Ghost World and wasn't terribly impressed, but then I read David Boring and loved him. Clowes has a very dry wit which is hysterical to me, but he also knows how to be a story focused. I just recently read his new book Wilson and it was awesome!

Adrian Tomine - I lied, this guy has a great graphic novel as well "Shortcomings." He is also helped translate Tatsumi's work for which i am ever grateful. His story's have slow and silent move to them, but you really get wrapped up into it.

Hernandez bros - now I'm partial to Gilbert but nonetheless Jaime is also a great artist. I love how there work flies through different periods of time without ever breaking continuity. I also think its great that they purposely create incredibly sexual women, but then make them more human than anybody else in the work.

Simon Bisley probably more than anyone else. phillipe druillet. a few others.
also been getting interested in classical art too, espcially the demons and angels type paintings that have like a million unique figures. that stuff amazes me. also really liking Gustave Dore. he was an engraver from France in the 1800's and illustraed alot of classics. He did some illustrations for "Paradise Lost" and they were so striking that i had to go out and buy the book.

PIT_FACE
Simon Bisley probably more than anyone else. phillipe druillet. a few others.
also been getting interested in classical art too, espcially the demons and angels type paintings that have like a million unique figures. that stuff amazes me. also really liking Gustave Dore. he was an engraver from France in the 1800's and illustraed alot of classics. He did some illustrations for "Paradise Lost" and they were so striking that i had to go out and buy the book.

If you like the plates he did for "Paradise Lost", you should definitely check out the ones he did for Dante's "Divine Comedy" if you haven't already. It's equally intense, especially for the "Inferno" segment.

My Dore book is an omnibus that collects highlights from his various illustration gigs. It includes his stuff from "Don Quixote", "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen", "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner", "Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales", and numerous others. It's interesting to see Dore attempt to shift his engraving style to match the tone of the subject matter.

Air Raid Robertson

PIT_FACE
Simon Bisley probably more than anyone else. phillipe druillet. a few others.
also been getting interested in classical art too, espcially the demons and angels type paintings that have like a million unique figures. that stuff amazes me. also really liking Gustave Dore. he was an engraver from France in the 1800's and illustraed alot of classics. He did some illustrations for "Paradise Lost" and they were so striking that i had to go out and buy the book.

If you like the plates he did for "Paradise Lost", you should definitely check out the ones he did for Dante's "Divine Comedy" if you haven't already. It's equally intense, especially for the "Inferno" segment.

My Dore book is an omnibus that collects highlights from his various illustration gigs. It includes his stuff from "Don Quixote", "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen", "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner", "Grimm Brothers Fairy Tales", and numerous others. It's interesting to see Dore attempt to shift his engraving style to match the tone of the subject matter.

oh yeah, ive seen a few of those too! i was torn between buying paradise lost or the divine comedy. your right though, it is interesting to see him shift subject matter. i have "the dore gallery: his 120 greatest illustrations" and it covers alot of different stories that he illustrated. so you get to see him go from "puss in boots" to the "holy bible". im thinking about going back to barnes and nobles soon to pick up a few other of his books i saw there. there's a large one that compiles his work from the bible that i really wanna get my hands on.

LMP/nnnnn etc on deviantart is influencing me lately because she has a charming retro meets anime style and her art got me into bloody stuff. c:

Junko Mizuno , Alphonse Mucha [en.wikipedia.org] and the Dadaists and Surrealists, for various reasons.

And let's not forget all the people in my classes who are better than me because I want to kick their asses so bad.

Junji Ito for his realism and creative bodyhorror.

Salvador Dali for his surrealism and bold style.

Satoshi Kon for his expressive faces and use of shadow.

Brom, Lockwood, CLAMP, Kubo Tite...three of my best friends on Gaia...oh dear there's quite a lot. x__x

Amusingly enough my art style seems to be all of those in a blender set to puree o_o