When Comic Drawings Get Gory

I once had to draw a panel where a man hit a zombie with a rifle. The script said that the man had to swing the rifle as if it were a baseball bat, and that the zombie had to go down to the floor, unconscious.

Besides picking an effective camera angle for the reader to understand exactly what was going on, I added gore to the drawing to entertain the reader, AND make the knock out even more believable.

The writer and editor were surprised by my take and liked it, but a few people didn't, thinking that it was too "gory". Nevertheless, the drawing was approved and went onto print. You may see it below.

Unless you are drawing comics for children, if the story allows for it, gore is a valid and powerful ally for artists to make their drawings stand out, catch the reader's attention, and make the comic more entertaining.

Another example of gore can be found in the "Old Man Logan" story by Mark Millar (writer) and Steve McNiven (penciler), with Dexter Vines (inker) and Morry Hollowell (colorist), from Wolverine vol.3 (starts at #66).

Intended for mature readers, "Old Man Logan" tells the story of a potential future where most super heroes are dead, and Logan (Wolverine) is retired from fighting villains after a very serious and shocking incident that affected him deeply.

Although some of the gore in "Old Man Logan" may seem unnecessary, or exaggerated, the creative team does an overall magnificent job in all aspects, including the gory scenes. In the example below, the grand daughter of Spider-Man, beheads the new Kingpin. Now, that's gory! 

Only until recently comics started showing actual killings, and death, mostly because earlier comics were meant for younger audiences. Well, that younger audience grew up and is the current comic book audience. As adults, they're entertained by mature subjects, including violence. So if the story allows for it, draw gory drawings. Just don't push the envelope too hard, or you may have to redo those panels.