There is method to my madness of naming my major influences: I don't want us to remake what they've made, I don't want to copy them, nor even pay homage, I just want to acknowledge that these guys (and ladies) are the people who are currently at the top of their game and so they form the big meaty river which we're attempting to hurl ourselves into without getting lost in the flow.
Chester Brown does great characters. But I think his real gift is his storytelling, his sense of truth, his fearlessness about subject material (his last book Paying for It was his years long journey as a john, renting hookers), his ability to show willies and fannies without blushing and actually making them look better than they do in reality and his drawing. Ah, his drawing. Super simple lines, much much leaner than Burns more elaborate line work and all dedicated to affecting the mind of the audience and moving the story on in a neutral, almost documentary way. His drawing is superb but he doesn't over sell himself. He would be easier to animate.
Chester's storytelling comes to the fore in his most well known work, Louis Reil. It's precise, economical and devastating. Funny, well, no, not really. A little in parts. And there is a scene where a guy is being executed which for some reason, possibly the guy's vacant stupidity, is very funny. However, it's the storytelling which inspired me and the search for a balanced truth in his writing through solid research.
Article about Paying for It: http://techland.time.com/2011/05/27/emanata-chester-brown-pays-for-sex/
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