Photos show the people behind the cartoons

Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Home News

Photographer Greg Preston sits before an exhibition of his photography.

By Becky Bosshart (contact)

Friday, Nov. 21, 2008 | midnight

Las Vegas photographer Greg Preston captured the artists who penned such iconic cartoon characters as the Road Runner and Daredevil. And in their cluttered, eccentric studios, these famed creators look like regular people.

Preston shot about 100 cartoonists, comic book artists and animators for his book "The Artist Within," published in 2007 by Dark Horse Books. Twenty-five of his black and white prints are displayed in the Summerlin Library gallery until Jan. 11.

The hard bound book is in its second printing and has attracted eyes from outside the comic book realm, which isn't bad for his first collection. Preston said it was an honor to photograph those who are rarely seen by their fans.

"They were always very grateful and really sweet," Preston said while arranging the photographs for his exhibit.

Preston photographed Academy Award-winning director Chuck Jones hunched over a large desk in his wood-paneled office. The cartoonist died in 2002. Jones is known for creating Wile E. Coyote from a line in Mark Twain's "Roughing It." A Mark Twain book is part of his desk clutter. A portrait of the great Western writer in the back of the room looks over Jones' shoulder.

Fans will notice details like these, Preston said. Such as in the portrait of Al Hirschfeld in his Upper West Side studio.

"He's sitting in his barber chair," Preston said. "Fans would know that as his chair, where he created all his work."

Hirschfeld, a legendary Broadway playbill illustrator, died in 2003 at the age of 99.

Preston's portrait of "Sin City" creator Frank Miller has a touch of the noir. A soft light filters in through a milk-glass window, which illuminates Miller's profile as he stands over his drafting table. There is a semi-automatic pistol on the table near his drawings.

Preston, a life-long valley resident, has worked as an advertising photographer for the last 20 years. At one time he dreamed of drawing comics. That desire matured into this 13-year project. It was Preston's long-term commitment that attracted the attention of Dark Horse, which publishes comics and fine art books.

"Because Preston had been working on it for so long, he was able to capture images of some people who had passed on, such as Jack Kirby and Alex Toth," said Rob Simpson, senior books editor for M Press and Dark Horse Books. "So we knew there would be a lot of interest from fans."

Kirby created or contributed to hundred of characters, including the X-Men and The Fantastic Four. Toth worked with DC Comics and Hanna-Barbera.

Preston, 48, recently returned from New York City, where he photographed artists Al Jaffee and Ron English. These artists will appear in his next book, "Behind the Lines." It will be shot digitally with toned back color. See the exhibit, and you'll get a peak behind the lines. About half of the pictures are from the new book. He anticipates the new book will be out in 2010.

Becky Bosshart can be reached at 990-7748 or becky.bosshart@hbcpub.com.