Book Review

WINGS OF TWILIGHT: THE ART OF MICHAEL KALUTA from NBM Publishing
© 2001 Michael Kaluta

WINGS OF TWILIGHT: THE ART OF MICHAEL KALUTA

By: Arnold T. Blumberg
Date: Monday, July 16, 2001

Art collections are almost review-proof; you either like the person's work or you don't, and if you do, chances are that owning a handsome hardcover gallery of their work will please you. Still, it is possible to design these books poorly, or skip eras of a person's career and thus give an incomplete picture of their evolution as an artist. You can see these shortcoming in many art collections, but fortunately, WINGS OF TWILIGHT doesn't suffer from them. If there's anything wrong with the book, it's the use of some very wide-ranging categories to organize the material.

Michael Kaluta is an accomplished illustrator, and his work runs the range from comic books to Tolkien. He's worked extensively for DC Comics in the past, and also dipped his toes in the Marvel pool by working on STARSTRUCK for their Epic Illustrated line. In WINGS OF TWILIGHT, we are welcomed in for a brief look at the many moods of Kaluta, and the work is indeed impressive. Dubbed an 'antiquarian-futurist' by THE WORLD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COMICS, Kaluta has an intriguing tendency to blend a mechanical sensibility with more organic components. It's not exactly as bioelectronic in nature as H.R. Giger, but it is a challenging mix. This aspect of his work is most obvious in his illustrations for a special edition of the classic SF story, METROPOLIS.

Where Kaluta appears to be most at home, however, is in the realm of pure fantasy. His women are breath-taking, his heroes larger than life, and his composition otherworldy, recalling both a time long past and one as yet unknown. His color choices are on the whole muted and earthy in tone, but occasionally a bold red or sun-bright yellow shines through to accent the scene. Dragons in flight, winged angels wheeling in ancient skies, noble elves drawing an arrow against a dangerous foe they're all here, with pencil sketches, concept drawings, and minimal accompanying text to carry you through the loosely arranged sections devoted to vague topics like "Shadows," "Fantasy," and "Heroes."

For fans who may only know Kaluta from his DC Comics ouput, or for those who never knew he once illustrated such legendary fictional heroes as The Shadow or Prince Valiant, WINGS OF TWILIGHT is a suitable introduction to the man and his body of work. For someone who's always wanted to own a high-quality compendium of Michael Kaluta's art, this should fit the bill nicely.