I always loved his crazy ink style, and he had some really whacked out ideas for technology and human relationships. THB especially had so much neat stuff inside it that it blew my mind. It's a weird mixture of Burroughs, Kafka, and David Lynch. Or something. And his take on Batman was just beautiful. There's a languid grace and compressed energy in all his drawings that I would love to emulate.
Yeah, Paul Pope is amazing. I would suggest skipping his big art book, though. Paul Pope loves Paul Pope and it really shines through in his long, expansive essays.
Egomania is unfortunately a trait common to many artists, but I try to separate out my admiration for skill from my personal opinion of said artist's character. There are quite a few people whose work is amazing but who are total a~&%@&#s, and I don't generally hold it against them. I mean, Mr. Logue is insufferable in person but his writing is top-notch. ;)
Yeah, definitely. I'm not even sure if he would be a jerk if you met him, it just really shines through that he thinks pretty highly of himself and his view of comics. But he makes smart, hip science fiction comics, is an amazing artist and has an incredible work ethic.
I guess if anyone has a right to be an egomaniac, it's Paul Pope.