Benjamin (Zhang Bin) (Person) - Comic Vine

Origin

 
More commonly known as just Benjamin, (also known as Bin Zhang and Benjamin Zhang Bin) has developed a vibrant painted style of sequential art that has become popular among anime and manga fans.

Working from Beijing, his work has been promoted through post cards, prints and posters at conventions.  Unlike most manga and manhua which is black & white, Benjamin's work consistants of brightly coloured paintings.  This unusual style has brought his to be compared and compiled with popular artists such as Korean video game designer, Hyung-Tek Kim.  As such, it takes him considerably longer to produce a volume of work ready for publication.  It has been rumoured that Orange has taken three years to produce. 
  

Manhua

Benjamin's first work to be published in the West is a title called Orange.  Originally released through the French publishing house Xiao Pan, Orange was available with both Enlgish and Chinese.  TokyoPop has since published Orange to an English reading market.   
 
The bright and energetic paintings gave a realistic appearance to the human characters.  The creator-owned & produced story revolved around every-day themes in a dramatic setting, as the eponymous character grew tired of the emptiness of modern day life and tried to commit suicide.  Benjmain's painted-style allowed him to purposefully blur the appearance of the mysterious saviour character of Dashu, adding to the energy and anonimity of the character.  However, while many critics have praised the beautiful artowrk, they have dimissed the plot as being soft; relying too heavily on the visual aesthetics to carry the story.  
 
Harder to find is Flash.  It is a hardback cover collection of artwork
  

Marvel

Most of Benjamin's work revolves around young people in their late-teens to mid-twenties.  The combination of subject matter and the passionate style has brought Benjamin work with Marvel comics.  He now provides painted covers for Marvel, including variant covers for the newest New Mutants volume.   
 
Benjamin's rising popularity in the West has even led to him attending the New York Comic Con in 2009 courtesy of Patrick Abry of Xiao Pan.