The Artwork of Ben Oliver – From Hitman to Batwing

I’ve never been much of a comic book fan. Sure, there’s been the odd character over the years that’s piqued my interest (such as Batman) but often times I just find the characters too silly or outlandish. Having said that, I can still appreciate good art, and the works of Ben Oliver definitely meet my criteria.

Ben Oliver is a British comic book artist who’s worked on everything from Batman to Judge Dredd, and most recently… Hitman. I first heard about Ben a few weeks ago after IO Interactive released a promotional video featuring Ben’s work. I loved the imagery so much that I wanted to share a few of his recent pieces with you. He has a very distinct style, and one that I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

Ben Oliver

Agent 47… the type of man that you definitely don’t want to mess with. I like what Ben has done with the character. The use of deep shadows and subdued colors matches Agent 47’s personality perfectly. If you’re interested in seeing more of Ben’s work featuring our bald headed friend, check out the Benjamin Travis ICA File.

I feel like this would make a fantastic tattoo. I don’t know why Batwoman is beating up electric eels, but I’m sure she has her reasons. On a somewhat related note, I can’t help think about a certain other eel video every time I see eels. If you’ve ever seen it, you know exactly the one that I’m talking about. 🙁

Here’s the first version of this image, with the awesome air-brushed looking Batwing creeping our friend here, and then there’s this…

Though I prefer the first one, I certainly wouldn’t want to walk into a back alley and find that spray-painted on the wall. No wonder the dog is going crazy – there’s a giant Virgin Mary-esque blood stain of Batwing looming over it. It’s a miracle this guy isn’t freaking out just a bit more.

Ben hasn’t been posted a lot of his work lately, but if you’re interested in seeing more he does have pieces from previous years up on his personal blog. I’m hoping that he starts posting more of his work, and in particular, more pieces from Hitman: Absolution. If Ben ever decided to release a Hitman comic book, it would probably be the one comic related thing that interests me enough to part ways with some of my hard earned dough.