I first discovered Samnee’s art in his collaboration with Greg Rucka on Queen & Country, and met him at the Heroes Convention in Charlotte, NC, where I bought both a commission sketch and a copy of his and Ande Parks’ Capote in Kansas, which I later used in teaching English 102 classes (for these and others, check out the Chris Samnee Amazon listing).

It’s easy to point out the number of things I like about Samnee’s art…his proficiency in chiaroscuro, his realistic proportions, his use of negative space, his skill at drawing clothing, his ability to represent action in static images…but I think what I like most about him is that he seems to like what I like (seriously…who would even think to draw the Greg Sanders / Saunders version of the Vigilante, that classic Prairie Troubadour turned superhero riding a motorcycle straight out of the golden age?). Above all, I think we share the same favorite artist: Alex Toth. And if he’s not Samnee’s favorite, then he was at least an influence.

You can read Samnee’s work in Queen & Country, and again with Rucka in the superhero/spy DC series Checkmate, but what I want to bring you today are some of my favorite sketches from Samnee’s blog, where he regularly updates with new art and behind the scenes glimpses of his process. I’m limiting my choices here to those that are secret agent-related, but the blog contains a plethora of beautiful drawings in numerous genres.

Click on each picture to see the original blog posting from which I took the sketch.

Nick Fury

Zephyr and Casanova

Madmoiselle Marie

Bad Samaritan wardrobe design

Sidney Bristow

Queen & Country cast