Redartz: Good day to you, and welcome! Today we present a challenge for you. I was recently looking over some favorite comics featuring some exemplary artwork, and the question occured to me: What is the crowning achievement in artwork for your favorite comic artists? In other words, if you could only pick one single comic to showcase the talents of a given artist, what book would that be and why?
It's a double bonus topic, because it gives us the chance to both discuss the artistic merit of some fine comics and also to leaf through some books just looking for examples! And though there are so many artists to work with, no limits will be set today- all companies, all genres, all eras.. Aaaaand, as this could get rather lengthy as a post (I could talk about artists all day), I'll limit my selections to three. Here they are...
John Byrne: Marvel Team-Up 79
I'll preface this with a salute to the obvious influence of inker Terry Austin. Our focus today is on the pencillers, who basically design the page and determine the flow of the story. But in all cases, the inker has huge influence over the finished quality of the work.
As for John Byrne, he offers countless candidates for a 'best work'. So picking just one is nigh impossible; but I went with a personal favorite, MTU 79. Starting with this incredible opening splash page, the whole book is a showpiece of spectacular composition, gorgeous detail and dramatically portrayed action. Everything he draws just looks...right. From the close-ups of Mary Jane's eye to the stunning full page of Sonja leaping into action, literally every panel is a visual feast for any comic art aficionado.
Ross Andru: Amazing Spider-man 136
Like Byrne, Ross has quite a few fine artistic 'performances'. But in his case, my choice was easier. ASM 136 is a classic, giving us Andru's first go at the Goblin. And he aces it. The facial close up in the third page shown below is excellent. And that spectacular double page spread is fantastic; Gobby almost literally flies off the page.
Equally important, this issue shows Andru's talent for architectural drawing. His rendering of the church below is truly striking, and shows his attention to accurate detail. T
Then there's that great page with the explosion in Peter Parker's aparment. The characters' expressions on this page are perfect, and the dramatic impact of the explosion is palpable. In short, this particular comic really displays Andru's strongest traits, and came immediately to my mind upon considering today's question.
Marshall Rogers: Detective Comics 475
Marshall, in this case, is the beneficiary of the talents of inker Terry Austin; as integral is those talents were for Byrne in the above example. But Marshall Rogers was a master storyteller too, as seen in the pages below. The sequence illustrating Silver St. Cloud takes a challenging subject- basically a monologue- and plays it out into a varied series of panels, with varying viewpoints, which serves to maintain the reader's interest.
It's effective, as is the panel progression showing the grisly effect of the Joker's gas upon his victim. And that iconic page depicting the Joker's entrance- absolutely perfect. The Joker is portrayed perfectly, both physically and by personality.
And like Andru, Rogers showed his bountiful skills at cityscapes. This splash page intro is stunningly detailed. What a poster this page would make...
So, those three books are the ones I'd pick to represent Byrne, Andru and Rogers in a Comic Art Hall of Fame. But somehow I just can't leave it at that, so here's a few other 'quick picks':
Carl Barks: "A Christmas for Shacktown" (Walt Disney's Christmas Parade 2)
Keith Giffen: "Within the Darkness" (Legion of Superheroes 293)
Joe Staton: "There Shall Come a Gathering" (Showcase 100)
Walter Simonson: X-Men and Teen Titans
All right, it's time you all had a turn. What do you think of these selections? What other artists (and there are COUNTLESS) come to your mind, and what comics best exemplify their talents? Have at it, friends...
66 comments:
Great topic Red!
Your choices are great examples of the penciler's talents. Your first 2 artists were the first 2 that popped into my head also, great minds...
John Byrne- Whoa, soooo hard to pick just 1. His style changed over the years and when some people say his "old" stuff is better I think they're referring to Byrne/Austin as a team. Fantastic Four #243. Everyone vs. Galactus. Love every panel especially when Galactus falls into the building, you actually feel the weight of it.
Marshall Rogers- Detective Comics #479. Love the use of so many horizontal panels giving us a wide screen effect. Batman and Clayface never looked better.
George Perez-Avengers #200. Great storytelling by the artist, you practically don't need any words. There's a shot with the Scarlet Witch facing a Knight on horseback that's fantastic!
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez- All-New Collectors' Edition C54. Starting with the cover and just keeps getting better. So many large panels and splashes, eye candy thru out.
I'll add more as I think of them.
Ok. I'll bite, starting with the easy ones.
For John Buscema, everyone knows about Silver Surfer #4 but I also like Avengers #84.
For Steranko, Captain America #110.
But, as I'm a spider at heart, I'd nominate some some Romita and Ditko Issues.
For Ditko, ASM #33 and lifting that big pile of machinery.
For Romita, I have a soft spot for ASM #48 with Kraven and the second Vulture.
And if you insist on Gil Kane, I'll go for ASM #121, although it's hard to tell whether the mood in that issue is down to great artwork or great writing.
Shall I say, a Super topic today?
Barry Smith - Red Nails. It's been reprinted a few times, but it originally saw print in the B&W magazine Savage Tales, issues 2 and 3.
Neal Adams - How do you choose? But I'll go with X-Men 58. The first several pages are a tour de force in action, anatomy, layout, you name it...
Don Heck - Avengers 19. The issue introduces the Swordsman, and contains some great action scenes. Heck always drew a beautiful Wanda, and a regal Captain America. I love that issue.
John Buscema - I agree with Dangermash that Silver Surfer 4 is the obvious choice. I'll additionally offer "The Tower of the Elephant" from Savage Sword 24. I've always had a soft spot for Avengers 56.
Gil Kane did a masterful job on the introduction of Morbius in Amazing Spider-Man 101.
George Perez - So many to choose from... so I'll just offer X-Men Annual 3 on my way out the door.
Doug
I forgot to mention John Byrne. His work in the Savage Land story that ran through X-Men 114-116 was outstanding. Storm has never been sexier, nor has Sauron been more menacing. Some great panels in that arc, and of course that 2-page splash with Wolverine launching himself at Sauron - wow...
Doug
Wow! Great topic ... and terrific responses. Every time I think I've come up with a response in my mind, someone else beat me to it! I agree with every selection above!!!
I'll try to come up with some different ones:
1) Gene Day - Master of Kung Fu #115: His layout composition, attention to detail, mastery of anatomy and fight scenes, shadows ... just incredible stuff.
2) Doug Wildey - Jonny Quest Classics #s 1-3 from Comico: Anyone who is a fan of Jonny Quest will love this, but I think any fan of the genre of comics will have a new appreciation of both artist and characters coming together for perfection. These are full comic book interpretations of classic JQ episodes. The POV of each scene is an animator's storyboard come to life! Truly great stuff! (For new material, Jonny Quest #1 from Comico is Doug Wildey perfection in a new story.) In all of these examples, the story/art is so good, you can hear the Hoyt Curtain music and original JQ cast voices in your head.) I would gladly pay full price for an Omnibus of this wonderful JQ collection of Comico stories!
3) Steve Rude - Nexus #45 from First Comics: It's extremely hard to narrow down a 'best of' from Steve Rude, but this issue is such comedy/adventure perfection in a crossover event of Nexus and the Badger (from Nexus #s 45-50) that it has to be my selection. Rude has such a wonderful artistic style, pretty much unlike any other. He has a great feel for character design, subtle humor, full-on hysterical humor and all-out action! This is one for the ages!
Runner-up: Any issue of Grimjack by Tim Truman, but I'll narrow it down to Grimjack: Killer Instinct 6-issue mini-series. Great stuff for its moody settings and characters.
First, I'll add my own entries for a few artists that have already been mentioned, when I can pick just one thing. I find that an impossible task for many though, like John Buscema, Neal Adams, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez (PBHN), Joe Staton, Marshall Rogers (I'd pick his entire run on Detective, but he also did gorgeous work on those few issues of Mr. Miracle from the late 1970s as well), George Perez (although Doug's suggestion of X-men Annual #3 is quite a strong contender for me) or Walt Simonson (much as I love X-men & New Teen Titans, his work on Manhunter, Metal Men #45-49, Starslammers or any number of issues in his Thor run is better).
John Byrne - my favorite artist, and this almost falls into the can't-pick-just-one category, but I have to say, Batman and Captain America is probably his masterpiece and magnum opus. By the way, Red, MTU #79 is a good choice - it's my favorite single issue of that series.
Gil Kane - another one of my favorites, and another tough choice, but I think his work on the Starhawks comic strip is just a cut above the rest.
Some others:
1) Michael Golden - Micronauts #1 (with able inking by Josef Rubinstein); that's an amazing first issue in any case, as on less than 20 pages, Mantlo introduced all of the main characters and set up the story, and the action never stops. And Golden, of course, was up to the task - every single panel in that story is lovely to look at, and they all flow together like a movie.
2) Trevor von Eeden - Batman Annual #8; masterful work by this outstanding yet oft-overlooked artist.
3) Howard Chaykin - Marvel Premiere #32 (Monark Starstalker); this may be kind of sentimental pick for me, but that is such a beautifully drawn story with wonderful panel-to-panel design.
You all are doing a terrific job of filling our Comic Art Hall of Fame so far! Many thanks...
Killraven- That FF Galactus story is a fine choice! Byrne had quite a few excellent FF issues, and that one was aces. And I do remember that Rogers Clayface issue; did that have Giordano inks?
dangermash- can't disagree with your Spidey picks. ASM 33 may truly be the apex of Ditko's run on the book. And that's saying something. As for Big John, you and Doug named Surfer 4 and that's hard to dispute, as are the Avengers issues mentioned.
Doug- Those are some excellent picks. "Red Nails" would be my pick for Barry as well. It's a masterpiece, in b/w or color.
Disneymarvel- glad you mentioned Doug Wildey. Those Quest Classics you named were gems, and sported some beautiful covers as well. And thanks for bringing up some indies; haven't read Nexus but will have to hunt down that issue and try it...
Edo -
Batman and Captain America is such a fun story - great suggestion!
Doug
"Which INCREDIBLE HULK issue during Herb Trimpe's run do you suppose HB is going to submit?"
Oh, it's a tough one, fellas, a tough one.
'Cause a) Herb's style tended to change frequently and dramatically; b) His "look" tended to be easily overpowered by strong inkers (sometimes to his benefit, w/out a doubt); and c) heeeeee wasn't always the most consistent in product quality. "Rushed job" REALLY showed up on the page w/ Herb, especially late in his run.
All that being said, I am once AGAIN going to go with Incredible Hulk #111. "Shanghai'ed In Space". 'Cause I'm pretty sure it could be the first issue where sitll-rookie-ish penciler Herb was allowed free reign (without the inks or close guidance of Marie or John Severin) to just visually let loose with a full-out action story. Wildly unconventional panel layouts; terrific, creative POV shots; great cinematic sequences (particularly a whole row of panels w/ the Hulk struggling through a firing starship engine)-- it reflects the joy this young artist was experiencing in drawing stuff he LOVED. And I'll stick with it even through some its flaws-- notably that it was in the midst of Herb's "forehead crease instead of eyes" phase; and there are instances where his perpetual trouble with scale sneaked in. . .
Best visuals overall, though, is probably going to be issue #150, with John Severin's strong inks making the book a bit of an unknown masterpiece, IMO. But it is indeed a team effort. And Herb always maintained that he LOVED how John S made him look.
Other particularly strong issues artistically? (Incredible Hulk, that is--) #'s 118, 122, 136, 154-156, 162, 170, and I would give a nod to 188 as a late, better effort. This is all COMPLETELY off the top of my head, mind you. Geeze, I haven't had these out in years.
I. . . I may break down and pull out a longbox or two later on. . .
HB
Woo boy what a topic today!
Awright, I'll go for a different take on John Byrne's output, namely his work on the iconic Days of Future Past storyline in The Uncanny X-Men, issues #141-142. This was influential in many ways, eventually inspiring a Days of Future past X-Men movie.
For Big John Buscema, I have several issues of his run on Conan with Roy Thomas and Ernie Chan, just before the 100th issue culminating in the death of Belit. While not considered the finest of his work, the artwork is gorgeous, especially with Ernie Chan on inks. I have an old tattered copy of the Savage Sword of Conan issue #41, the adaptation of the Conan the Buccaneer story. Even better artwork in some ways in black and white, inked by the late great Tony DeZuniga.
As for Gil Kane, yeah his Spidey run in issues #121-122 are memorable, but I loved his earlier work on reinventing Green Lantern too!
- Mike 'uses his astral self to defeat quarantine' from Trinidad & Tobago.
Right then, let's see...
Sal Buscema. Avengers #71. The 1st Squadron Sinister.
John Buscema. Sub-Mariner #8. Subby vs The Thing.
Neal Adams. Avengers #93. Ant-Man enters the Vision.
Gil Kane. Marvel Premiere #1. Him relaunched as Warlock.
Herb Trimpe. Marvel Spotlight #12. The 1st Son of Satan.
Barry Smith. Savage Tales #2. Red Nails.
John Byrne. Iron Fist #4. Danny vs Radion.
Steve Ditko. Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1. The 1st Sinister Six.
Craig Russell. Amazing Adventures #32. Killraven and The Monsters of the Mind Machine.
Frank Robbins. The Shadow #7. Night of the Beast.
At the risk of being awkward, I'm going to include a few collections, because the "single issue" is specific to US comics; nothing against them, but some of my fave artists worked in more episodic formats that don't work so well with the ground rules here.
Jean Giraud - Nez Casse, one of his Blueberry westerns.
And - because he's two artists (ok, maybe I am cheating a bit there) - Moebius' Arzach. If pushed, the third part (with the double spread of the main character flying on a pterodactyl over a weird alien army). Amazing inks and colour.
Jack Kirby - a real tough one to decide. Obviously he did he did his best stuff at DC in the earl 70s (*pauses to duck*) so New Gods #7, "The Pact" probably, but on another day I might go for OMAC #2 because its such a brilliant done-in-one.
Frank Bellamy (possibly not well known round these parts?) - Heros the Spartan. Full colour historical series from the early 60s by a British artist who was a big influence on all sorts of people from Barry Smith to Walt Simonson. Phenomenal.
And on the subject of Forest Gate's finest, Bashful Barry - "Song of the Red Sonja" has it over "Red Nails" imo.
Kevin O'Neill - League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (vol 2) #1 - distinctive artwork like no-one else, I absolutely love this issue.
Gene Colan (with Tom Palmer, natch) - another tough one like Kirby because he did so much... Doctor Strange #13. Possibly my fave single Marvel issue of the 70s. Who else could have drawn a story like that?
Thats probabl enough for now, but with no Sienkiewicz, Corben or Wood yet, like HB I might well return after further consideration...
-sean
Shadow #7? Dunno about Frank Robbins, but nice curveball from Steve who Does Comics there.
-sean
Those display cases in our Hall are filling up nicely...
Edo- yes, for many artists it's practically impossible to pick just one (say, that might make a good jingle for potato chips). Perhaps it comes down to picking a personal favorite among the best of the best.
Good call on Perez and X-Men Annual 3. Every page is a beaut.
HB- our resident Hulk expert doesn't disappoint us! Any suggestions of Sal Buscema?
Mike TnT- good to hear from you! Nice mention of Kane's Green Lantern work. Nice, clean and stylish...
Steve DC- a fine list. The Submariner/Thing battle issue was a classic; great cover too. And Adams on Avengers 93? Another nomination hard to dispute. Then you also brought up Spider-man Annual 1; perhaps the greatest single comic ever published (imho). Between that and ASM 33: a toss-up.
Sean- your collection selection is aok! Thanks for adding some international flavor to our little museum. Afraid you're right regarding Frank Bellamy, at least speaking for myself. Not familiar, but will definitely remedy that ignorance...
Redartz, if you're interested, the publishers of the collected Heros the Spartan have some great sample pages on their site. Well worth a look -
https://bookpalace.com/acatalog/info_HTS.html
They're charging WAY too much for the last copies now its out of print though, and it was already pricey enough beforehand. Sadly, thats the only edition EVER since the original hard to find comics (which probably goes a long way to explaining why he's not one of the more well known comic artists these days).
-sean
PS Actually Red, thinking about it, the best place to check out Frank Bellamy's work is probably Alan Davis' website -
https://www.alandavis-comicart.com/FBellamy-.html
(click on "Eagle" or "Fraser" first - you won't regret it)
-sean
Red - wonderful question! Charlie, being Charlie, will start with the mirthful, gorgeous, chauvinistic, suspenseful, and / or patriotic Golden Age favs:
Jack Cole - Police Comics #44
Reed Crandall Blackhawk #71 (Gorgeous)
Will Eisner - the 12/1/2940 Sunday Section
Lou Fine Hit Comics #5
Jack Kirby (and Simon) - Boy Commandos #9
Mac Raboy - Master Comics #27
Sean- thanks for posting those links. That is some magnificent artwork. Bellamy seems a master of lighting, composition and the technique of pointillism. Downloaded a couple samples to my tablet...
Hey Charlie, any chance you could say which Spirit story's in that Sunday section?
Somewhat surprisingly it doesn't seem very easy to look them up by the date on Google (even trying Dec 1st, as well as Jan 12...)
-sean
PS Good to hear you got something out of the links Redartz.
-sean
@Red (and heck, anyone else-!)-- The puzzle of trying to narrow down a Best Issue for Sal B came to mind almost the second I read the topic of the post, yup. Sal is probably my favorite artist-- but for subtler reasons than his level of wizardry with a pencil and brush (pen?). Plus, good grief, has anyone DRAWN more than Sal over the decades?? Jack Kirby, possibly-- but that might be about it. . . ! Who can remember specific issue numbers in that sea of product??
With that in mind, though, I can offer a couple of arcs where I think he absolutely shined (shone?), along with inkers that one wouldn't ordinarily associate with Sal's clean, sharp style. The first is the DEFENDERS run, during Gerber's stint, where Sal was making the absolutely whacked-out "Headmen" arc seem perfectly normal and reasonable and understandable-- particularly in the issues inked by Klaus Janson.
His "best" work for me, though, came in Inredible Hulk #'s 301-309 (the end of Sal's 10-year stint with ol' Greenskin), which was the first main chunk of the "Crossroads" arc, once the Savage/Mindless Hulk was banished from earth. We really saw Sal pushing himself artistically, working outside of his habitual comfort-zone, creating alien landscapes with much greater detail and texture than we'd ever seen from him-- even to my untrained eye, the shift was impressive. And Gerry Talaoc's rather gritty inks did a lot to maintain that feeling of otherwhere-ness throughout that run (IIRC, Talaoc ended up taking on the penciling chores for the end of the arc--). I wish I like the arc itself better-- because the art was stronger than the story and setting, IMO. . . and I wouldn't be surprised if Sal's leaving the book had something to do with the fact that Bill Mantlo effectively killed the Hulk as a person, leaving a raging husk of a creature, and Sal of course had imbued the Hulk with astonishing humanity (in two books!) for over a decade.
Heh-- ALWAYS able to work a Hulk-editorial into the conversation-!
HB
Hi Sean,
I picked The Spirit section 12/1/40 as a bit of a lark! It's going for a cool $3,000 below. But I've got all the Spirit Archives attributed to him (not his shop) and a bunch of the Warren reprints. The man was a story-writing and artistic genius for sure.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Spirit-Section-comic-12-1-1940-CGC-VF-Will-Eisner-Rare-Spanking-cover-December-/392659202890
Man, I lurk so much, but I have gotta join in the fun on this one! Y'all have named a lot of the same stories I'd name (Red Nails for BWS, 'Tec 475 for Marshall Rogers, George Perez' X-Men Annual #3, Michael Golden Micronauts #1, Howard Chaykin's Monark Starstalker, Gil Kane Marvel Premiere #1, and, yeah, include me in on Frank Robbin's Shadow #7 "Night of the Beast"!)
For Byrne, I'd have to pick Marvel Preview #11's Star-Lord saga.
My favorite Ross Andru was in Giant-Size Spider-Man #2 when Spidey teamed up with Shang Chi. Makes me think Al Milgrom was Andru's perfect inker!
Adams' Batman #251 "Joker's Five Way Revenge" is his masterpiece imho.
For Our Pal Sal I'd pick Captain America and the Falcon #156. That Cap vs Cap battle can't be topped for me!
Some of my favorite artists I haven't seen mentioned yet (or I overlooked 'em, sorry)...
Jim Starlin's Strange Tales #178 still blows my mind
For Bernie Wrightson it's "Jenifer" in Creepy #63 for me.
For Mike Kaluta, I figured I'd pick an issue of The Shadow (they're all amazing!), but his Carson of Venus back-ups in DC's Korak are even MORE amazing, especially the back-up in Korak #54!
Mike Ploog's Planet of the Apes work is best known and fantastic, but his work on Monster of Frankenstein #2 is mind-boggling!
Rich Buckler and Klaus Janson on Deathlok in Astonishing Tales #33 set the standard for how to do appropriately gritty comics.
Gray Morrow's Rose and Thorn back-up in Lois Land #111 is one of the coolest things ever and my favorite work of his.
Dave Cockrum's Giant-Size X-Men #1! C'mon! :D (His pairing with Bob Layton on X-Men #105 is a veeery close second!)
My favorite Frank Brunner is Doctor Strange #1. He pulled out all the stops on that one!
I'll stop with one more because I love this topic and could go on forever, but Tim Conrad's work with Roy Thomas on their adaptation of REH's Almuric in Epic Illustrated (collected into a graphic novel, so can I cheat and count it as one story?) just slayed me. Pulpy, arty, and modern (for the time) all at once.
Dang, I'll have to wait a while and steal this for a post over on DotGk! Y'all stay safe and thanks for the super-fun topic!
Groove -
Why did you have to bring up Jenifer?? Now I'll have nightmares again!!
Ditto on Ploog. That PotA stuff is gold.
For Gray Morrow, how about Man-Thing's debut from Savage Tales #1?
For Dave Cockrum, I really enjoy X-Men #s 102-103 with the Juggernaut and Black Tom Cassidy.
Love reading everyone's suggestions!
Doug
Ah right Charlie, that explains it - stupid me, I assumed 2049 was a typo for 1949. (;
Now you mention it, I do recall you going on about the Spirit spanking cover before at SteveDoesComics. Personally - and perhaps not sharing your... uh, specialized interest there - I much prefer Eisner's post-war work on the Spirit.
The two part Bring In Sand Saref is probably the high point of the series for me.
HB, on who did the most comic pages over the years fwiw Jim Shooter once claimed in a mid 80s Bullpen Bulletins editorial that it was commonly accepted among old skool comic biz types that the record was held by *drum roll* Vince Colletta.
Mostly done pre-60s apparently.
-sean
HB- ah, good call on those Defenders issues. Crazy stuff, but lots of fun, and as you noted, Janson's inks finished it off nicely. Also, thanks for filling me in on so much Hulk data! I stopped reading the book after about 1979, and so missed a great deal.
Charlie- so glad you gave us some Golden age representatives. I thought about going with Eisner in the original post, but don't have access to enough information to make a call. His Warren Spirits were fantastic. But a favorite single? Wow, "Contract With God", maybe?
Groove- Thanks for jumping in today! Excellent suggestions. Starlin and Stange Tales 178 almost made the original post. And Ploog- great choice. You added several big names to our list; Kaluta stands out as a favorite (man, his work is gorgeous). And feel free to carry this over at "Diversions"! This topic is big enough to carry several blogs. We haven't even touched upon Archie, for instance- the great Dan DeCarlo had so much output I can't even begin to pick a favorite.
By the way, spoiler alert: look for more about Archie next week...
Doug- sure is great to hear from you too! Love your reference on Gray Morrow. I just discovered a nice bit of his work in a coverless DC horror book in a stack of comics waiting to be cut up for a project (fortunately that book hadn't been cut up yet, so it now is scanned onto the tablet).
What a great topic! But kinda tough, too. It helps if I think of them as ‘favorites’ more than ‘best’ or ‘most representative’. It helps a LITTLE. It also helps if I imagine I’m packing a single long box and I can only pick one comic by each artist. So, here are some of my Desert Island Long Box picks:
Kevin Nowlan - SECRET ORIGINS 39 (v2), origin of Manbat. He experimented just twice with a super-stripped-down style, here and on an issue of NEW MUTANTS. Apparently fans didn’t dig it, so he went back to his usual highly rendered approach. Stupid fans!
Mike Golden - G.I. JOE YEARBOOK 2. I don’t even LIKE the G.I. Joe franchise, but this comic is INSANELY fun, and gorgeous.
Tom Sutton - WEREWOLF BY NIGHT 10. At the same time as he was banging out delightful but obviously rushed horror shorts for Charlton, he pulled out all the stops for this, his masterpiece. Super-detailed, soaked with atmosphere. It’s actually the second half of a two-partner, and #9 is great too — but I can only have one, so it’s gotta be #10. The cover is stunning too.
Rich Buckler - ASTONISHING TALES 25, first Deathlok. Buckler gets his Kirby / Buscema / Adams recipe just right. One of the absolute best First Issues EVER.
Jim Starlin - SPECIAL MARVEL EDITION 15, first Shang-Chi. I know, I know, it should be a Capt. Marvel or Warlock, those are way more representational of the man’s genius. But this issue is AMAZING, another All-Time Best First Issue.
John Buscema - CONAN THÉ BARBARIAN 38, ‘The Warrior and the Were-woman’. If I had to pick a favorite overall time-frame for Big John, it would be 1968 - 1970, when he was doing AVENGERS, SUB-MARINER and SILVER SURFER. The man was on fire, bursting with exuberant energy, his bouncy muscular figures practically leaping off the page. But I also love his Conan run, and this one is freaking GORGEOUS. It’s exciting and soooky and sexy as hell, and Big John’s inks are lush and velvety. If I could have just one single issue on my hypothetical Desert Island, I’m pretty sure it would be this one.
Nice to see some of my other picks already mentioned — Chaykin’s Monark Starstalker, Wrightson’s ‘Jenifer’ and Trevor Von Eeden’s Batman Annual. That last one I think is severely under-rated, I almost NEVER hear about it ANYWHERE, and it’s a stunner. Props, Edo!
Also nice to see Frank Robbins getting some love. ‘Night of the Beast’ is certainly a candidate — I love ALL of his Shadows — but I’m gonna have to give this some serious thought. His Batman stuff is fab too. ‘Man-bat Over Vegas’ might be my pick — or possibly that one with the prison riot. Hmmm.
-b.t.
Doug, I think that Bernie Wrightson would really dig the fact that "Jenifer" is still giving readers nightmares!
b.t. Starlin's work on that MOKF debut is SECOND on my list of favorite Starlin art, followed by Captain Marvel #33 (in case anyone's keeping score :D)! And I agree, Robbins had some super-cool Batman art going on!
Redartz, thanks for the permission! I'll definitely do a similar post over on DotGK soon--and I hope y'all will come join in there and carry on this most scintillating conversation!
OMG-- I forgot about "Jenifer" as well. It's like, "Dude, for god's sake, don't have SEX with her!! Are you MAD??"
HB
Have to agree with Sean’s Eisner pick, the Sand Saref two-parter. She’s the only one of Denny Colt’s many lady friends that I would consider worth ditching Ellen Dolan for. Beautifully drawn, it’s just a great story too. So, Warren’s SPIRIT 8 goes in my Desert Island Long Box (which means I get 6 more Spirit stories to keep me company in exile, as well. Sneaky!)
Gray Morrow — by the same shifty methodology, I’m putting CHILLING ADVENTURES IN SORCERY 3 in my DILB. The entire issue is written and drawn by Morrow at his peak, so I get a lot of bang for my buck, but the stand-out is the first story, ‘The Cat’ , featuring really good likenesses of Barbara Steele and Orson Welles, perfectly cast as a mysterious young lady and her shady ‘uncle’. And yes, his Rose and Thorn back-ups are great too.
Tony Salmons — like Trevor Von Eeden, Tony is another one of those guys who just doesn’t get enough attention. But man, he was consistently hitting home runs in the late 80s, early 90s. Like, knocking them out of the freaking park every time. A bona fide genius, that guy. I think his 4 issue VIGILANTE mini-series is his best work, all things considered, but since I can only have a single issue, I’ll take BATMAN LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT 85, a really simple story executed superbly.
Neal Adams — nope, not a Batman, or GL, or X-Men. CONAN THE BARBARIAN 37. Love. It.
Barry Smith — nope, not ‘Red Nails’ or ‘Song of Red Sonja’ (though they are indeed stellar) — my pick is ‘Twilight of the Grim Grey God’ from CONAN 3, but I specifically love the reprint in GIANT-SIZE CONAN 1, completely re-colored by Barry himself. Nostalgia plays a huge part here, as this was the first Smith Conan I ever saw. But I also think it’s genuinely sublime. Barry’s color adds an entirely extra dimension to it, giving it a sombre ‘overcast’ mood that is perfectly in keeping with Howard’s gloomy world-view. The last two pages are literally awe-inspiring. Having the awesome first part of the Thomas/Kane/Sutton ‘Hour of the Dragon’ as part of the package doesn’t even factor into this choice — if I had to cut up the comic just to have ‘Grim God’ with me on my Desert Island, and toss the rest, I’d happily do so.
Paul Gulacy — GIANT-SIZE MASTER OF KUNG FU 2, ‘The Devil Doctor’s Triumph’. Boy, this was a tough call. I love Gulacy’s entire run, the earlier, exaggerated cartoony issues fully as much as his slick, more realistic, more cinematic later jobs. GS MOKF 2 lands squarely in-between his two modes, it’s still somewhat exaggerated, but his draftsmanship is more solid, a bit more in control than his first few stories. And it’s a terrific, self-contained adventure with a heart-breaking twist in the tail. If I could pick three issues, it would be the Velcro Trilogy, if I could pick two, it would be the ‘Cat’ two-parter, but since I only get one, GS MOKF 2 it is.
-b.t.
John Byrne — i should just go along with the majority and pick the Red Sonja MTU. It’s a respectable choice, truly spectacular, and packs a real visual punch. That full-page splash reveal of Sonja, HOLY COW, worth the price of admission all by itself! But I don’t quite ‘love’ the issue as a whole, for some reason. There are individual issues of X-MEN, IRON FIST, CAPTAIN AMERICA and even SHE-HULK that I like just as much, if not more. And I dig the Charlton stuff too, Rog-2000, SPACE 1999, DOOMSDAY PLUS ONE, etc. Gonna have to give it some more thought.
Likewise, I don’t think I can choose just one Colan story, or Kirby, or Ditko, or Romita, or Toth, or Steranko.
Here’s an odd one I bet won’t be on anyone else’s list : Marc Hempel, MARVEL FANFARE 27. A brilliant little Spider-Man story.
Mike Ploog — i think I’m gonna go with WEREWOLF BY NIGHT 14. Once again, it’s the second half of a two-parter and in fact, issue #13 may actually be a tiny bit better overall. But the cover of 14 puts it over the top. And again, it’s a tough choice, in any case — I adore his Frankenstein, Ghost Rider, Man-Thing and POTA stuff too. And that incredible Weird World story in MARVEL PREMIERE, inked by Alex Nino. Speaking of whom — Jebus Cripes — ALEX NINO!!! How in the world can I ever pick just a single story by that maniac??
- b.t.
Smart thinking on Eisner there b.t. I was going to suggest Wally Wood's "My World" - a nice little summary of his sf - but now I'm going to have to figure out the best single issue of Weird Science or whatever instead to get a good cross section.
Some thoughts on artists mentioned by others:
Mike Golden - Dr Strange #55
Howard Chaykin - I have a soft spot for Monark Starstalker too, but c'mon - his best work doesn't have a comics code seal of approval! Its got to be an American Flagg issue from the first year, right?
Neal Adams - Superman v Mohammed Ali. Awesome. Bigly so.
Some artists not mentioned yet:
Nestor Redondo - The Bible (DC) You don't have to be religious or anything to think it looks utterly fantastic.
Steranko (Not mentioned yet? Really?) - I've always liked SHIELD #3 because I'd never read anything like it before when I was a kid. And that was in b&w in parts in the back of Marvel UKs old Captain Brexit weekly.
Alfredo Alcala - Giant-Size...uh, Man-Thing #3. One of Steve Gerber's best too.
-sean
PS The mighty Alex Nino! Thanks b.t. - I knew I forgot someone. Probably because, as you say, HOW? His stuff was always so varied (yet always him).
Erm..,I might go for his Repent Harlequin... in Unknown Worlds of SF (I think #2?) And yes, I know Ellison didn't like it - I can see why, but I don't care. Love it.
-sean
Sean:
Yeah, AMERICAN FLAGG is great. And I love Howard’s painted stuff too — that Eternal Champion thing, ‘Empire’ with Chip Delaney, the Cody Starbuck serial from HEAVY METAL ( and didja know there’s a SECOND one of those that’s never been published in English?) etc. But I’ll stand by my pick :)
And agree that Golden did some truly wicked Dr. Strange issues. His Batman Family stuff rocks too.
I forgot about that Superman vs Ali tabloid. Yep, it’s great. My favorite Adams superhero story. Also, best use of the oversized Treasury format, by anyone, EVER (though that Kubert / Redondo BIBLE STORIES is surely in the running, too).
And yeah, I gotta really think about Wally Wood’s best. Gonna be really tough to choose just one.
-b.t.
Sean and all -
For Nestor Redondo, if you ever get the chance to see the short-lived Rima the Jungle Girl series, do it. Some of the covers were by Joe Kubert, Redondo on the interior art. Fabulous.
Doug
Yeah, Rima's great Doug. And on top of that, some issues even have those terrific Space Voyager back ups drawn by Alex Nino too.
-sean
B.t.- well done! You could write a whole post on your own! I like your 'desert island' approach. Good way to trim down the options...
And Smith recolored the "Grim Grey God" for that giant? Ok, gonna have to find a copy.
Doug- Yes! Nestor Redondo and Rima! So fine it brings tears to the eyes.
Sadly, with embarrassment, I must admit: I must be the only one here unfamiliar with Wrightson's "Jenifer". And Wrightson is a fave of mine, too. This evening will now be spent trying to locate it on the net...
O.M. GEE, B.T.!!
I wasn't brave enough, and hesitated, fearing condescension (which would never ever happen with this group regardless-- how foolish--), and ya nabbed my "secret" Neal Adams choice! Conan #37 is a relatively unknown fantasy masterpiece, as it were. My guess it took Neal forever to get it finished, which is probably why we never saw him doing more lush books like Conan. It was a standout issue for me before I ever noticed that Adams was the penciler--- NICE choice!
And it always does my heart good to see ol WWBN bein' bandied about in conversation. . . until the Perlin/Colletta team took over, and it was NOBODY'S best work ever again. . . oof. . .
And, oooooooh Red, yer not gonna feel right after reading that story. You may need a shower or something afterward. Maybe read a Sherman's Lagoon collection or something before you go to bed. . .
HB
This is a great topic
- Agree with Det 475 for Rogers...I am a big inker guy so for me, I need Austin inks
- Picking one Byrne is tough, MTU 79 is a good choice for sure...but I am tempted to go with X-Men 112 for some killer Phoenix
- Andru...don't know his body of work well enough to feedback
Others
- Agree on Redondo Rima - just bought his Bible treasury yesterday off eBay...
- Colan - I am a sucker for any Colan / Everett...be interested in others' thoughts?
- Everett - One of his Venus books or maybe Subby 50
- Miller...??
George Tuska's work on Marvel's adaptation of Planet Of The Apes (the 1968 movie) is very special to me because it was the first Marvel art I ever laid eyes on (quickly followed in the same comic by Gil Kane drawing Gulliver Jones, Warrior Of Mars and Barry Smith drawing Ka-Zar).
And nobody has mentioned Steve Ditko's Doctor Strange!
HB- yep, you were right. "Jenifer" creeped me out. And like you mentioned, when she came into the bedroom, I was thinking, "surely not...really...no,no,no...". Incidentally, I managed to find it both in color and b/w. Vastly prefer the black and white version. It's impossible to overstate Wrightson's talent.
Unknown- I'm not familiar with any Colan/Everett, sadly. But the Sub-Mariner tales reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces sure look good!
Colin J- Ditko's Doctor was great indeed. Man, his visuals on that series really set the stage for the character forevermore.
And Barry drew Ka-Zar?
I'm not exactly a fan of George Tuska's art-- I always thought it looked more like something you'd see in the dramatic/serial newspaper comic strips-- but I've always felt BLACK GOLIATH #1 was a visually strong and engaging effort from him. It's another one where I read the comic first before coming back to see who the artist was--- and was pleasantly surprised to find it was Tuska.
Hunh. "Tuska"-- I wonder where that name originates from? Italian, possibly? It's a cool name. . .
HB
Redartz :
If you can’t find GS CONAN 1 anywhere at a decent price, ‘Grim Grey God’ was also reprinted with Barry’s color in CONAN CLASSIC 3 in ‘94. And it actually looks better in that printing.
Also, your Andru pick way up yonder is an excellent choice (you know that’s my favorite Spidey run too). I might have to go with 143 — I’m kinda obsessed with Peter and MJ’s first kiss at the airport.
Unknown:
I can’t even decide which DECADE is my favorite for Everett. I love ALL of his Subby stuff — 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. But yeah, I think SUB-MARINER 50 from ‘73 is a great choice, with the intro of Namorita and all that. Gonna use that as a placeholder for now until I can think of something ‘better’. Because yeah, his Venus comics are amazing too, and all those crazy-good horror comics...ugh, this is a tough one, for sure.
And as for Frank Miller — since you’re so into Terry Austin, there’s DAREDEVIL 191. I quite like that one, actually.
Colin:
Yes, Ditko’s Dr. Strange is fan-freakin-tastic. But can you pick just one story? I don’t think I can!
Interesting about Tuska. He doesn’t get much love these days but I always liked his stuff. I got so tired of seeing him inked by Esposito and Colletta, I’d get excited whenever they gave someone else a shot — Dave Hunt, or Frank Chiaramonte — Don Perlin of all people did a good job inking him. Jack Abel inked just one Tuska Iron Man ish, and it’s really nice. I’d probably pick one of his Luke Cage comics inked by Billy Graham, if I could only have one.
-b.t.
Humanbelly :
Somehow I missed your epic comment up yonder about Herb Trimpe. ANOTHER one of Marvel’s workhorses who doesn’t get enough love these days. You’re so right about his style morphing all over the place when he first got started, and about how his stuff was affected by working so closely with Marie Severin. Personally, I loved it when he inked his own pencils — HULKs 173 and 186 are kinda ‘meh’ story-wise, but ooh, the art is SO good. And I really dig his Ant-Man story in MARVEL FEATURE 5. Oh, and his Killraven stuff is cool, too! I’m gonna go with HULK 171 for sentimental reasons.
Speaking of sentimentality — it kinda helps me narrow down my choices for other artists, as well. I realized I have a strong emotional attachment to WARLOCK 4 and SUBBY 49, so those are gonna be my Kane and Colan picks. Again, neither of them is anything to write home about, storywise, but they were both comics that I ‘imprinted’ on as a youngster, so there you go.
For similar reasons, I’m gonna go with MARVEL PREMIERE 13 as my Brunner pick.
I think I’ve settled on my Ditko pick. Thinking about his Dr. Strange stuff reminded me of one of his mind-boggling ink wash jobs for Warren, ‘Second Chance’ from CREEPY 13. The lead character travels through one of Ditko’s trademark ultra-weird-ass dimensions, but this time, Ditko cranked it up to eleven, so it’s not just ‘cool and trippy’, it’s flat-out nightmare fuel. So I’m gonna go with that one. Lucky for me, Warren reprinted ‘Second Chance’ along with NINE other Ditko classics in EERIE 135, so I’ll be pretty well stocked with Ditko goodies on my Desert Island :D
Some of those Warren Summer Specials were pretty great. EERIE 59 collects all but 2 of his Dax the Warrior strips, so that’s a no-brainer, dead easy Esteban Maroto pick for me. They did an All-Toth issue and an All-Wood Spécial too, so I thought I might be able to use those for my Toth and Wood picks, but each of those left out too many key stories. Dang it.
-b.t.
Nice idea on the Wood Special b.t., even if it didn't quite work out. I'm thinking of Weird Science #22 as the single issue showcase - its the one with My World, but it also includes Al Williamson on A New Beginning.
Seems in the spirit of the topic, to show off a classic by both artists in one comic.
Tbh, 50s comics are before my time - like I guess everyone else here? - so I'm really not up on the ins and outs. Pretty sure it could be argued Wood and Williamson did better work in other genres (Superduperman?), and for companies other than EC.
Unknown makes a useful point on inkers, that with US comics we're often really discussing art teams - its noticeable all the Byrne picks are with Terry Austin (apart from Steve's Iron Fist #4?)
When it comes to Gene the Dean I'm very much a Tom Palmer man (at least until Eclipse and DC started reproducing from Colan's pencils). Acceptable substitutes have included Klaus Janson, Alfredo Alcala (Batman), and Wally Wood (an issue of Captain America, sorry don't recall the #).
Can't say Bill Everett did it for me.
Btw, apologies to dangermash for not noticing earlier that he did choose a Steranko issue. And a better one than mine as it happens.
-sean
You chaps are so knowledgeable it’s scary! Allow me to humbly submit some fav covers for artists not mentioned much.
Marvel Favs
Bill Everett – Sub Mariner 57. But my fav piece of work was the full-pager in Steranko’s History of Comcis Vol 1 where Subby is putting a knock out blow on the Torch in the middle of a thunder storm.
Jim Steranko – Cap 111 and Hulk G.S. #1. Both iconic.
Billy Graham – Luke Cage, Hero for Hire, #5. I doubt Marveldom has ever seen another cover like that?
Sal Buscema – I go with Cap 155. He quite successfully employs numerous tropes to great effect!
Non-Marvel Fav Covers – C’mon boys! Let’s show “the other guys” a little love?
Frank Frazetta – Blazing Combat #1.
Jim Aparo – Adventure 431. Life’s tuff when the Spectre melts your hands to release your M-16, LOL. My fav of all the Spectre covers he did.
M Kaluta – Shadow #2. A courageous cover for the times? The older I get the more I dig it!
J Kirby – 1st Issue Special # 6! If anything sums up Kirby, post Marvel, it’s this!
J Kubert – Star Spangled War Stories (Enemy Ace) 138. Though, I keep coming back to Justic Inc #1 as a close second.
J Staton – E-Man #5
D Sutherland – Beano Annual 1973! (Let’s show the UK chaps some love, too!)
Here’s a question…
I dig Sub Mariner 47 cover a lot! But to whom do I credit it?
Similarly, I really dig Hulk 144 cover. A whole lot! But to whom do I credit it?
And likewise with Amazing Spidey 101.
Do you gents have “groups of artists” that you favor?
C-Horse47--
Pretty sure Hulk 144 is Herb Trimpe/John Severin. Herb did almost all of the title's covers during his run, and those are def Severin's inks.
HB
Charlie, Sub-Mariner #47 and Spidey #101 are both by Gil Kane. The Subby one looks to have been modified by Bill Everett.
Charlie, Beano Annual 1973? C'mon, what about the Buster Annual 1972? It might not be on the cover, but it includes Barry Smith's Wizard of Football!
(Actually, I have no idea if its better or worse than your choice - it just amuses me Smith did some work for Buster in the middle of his Conan run)
-sean
Say, would it be dangerous to confess that, as an unabashed admirer of George Perez dating clear back to "CREATURES ON THE LOOSE Presents: MAN-WOLF, as well as his INHUMANS run, his stint on FF and allll of his DC output--- I think he did some of his best work ever with Kurt Busiek on their AVENGERS restart in the late '90's. I'd be hard-pressed to snag a single issue, tho.. .
HB
Hi Sean -
Greetings from 4" of snow in Chicago!
I have never seen the innards to Buster Annual 1972. And, though I am bemused that Barry Smith did work inside, I am not surprised? I mean, some of the work inside the Annuals was solid adventure fare! Leopard of Lime Street comes to mind.
But I picked Beano 1973 b/c it really just summarizes the absolute menace-ness of Dennis the Menace! My fav Annual cover of all time, hands down!
Redartz, you're gonna have to visit my blog and I can hook you up with some Colan/Everett Black Widow (or better yet, order the new tpb)
http://diversionsofthegroovykind.blogspot.com/2017/11/marvel-ous-monday-widow-and-militants.html
http://diversionsofthegroovykind.blogspot.com/2018/01/marvel-ous-monday-deadlock-by-gold.html
http://diversionsofthegroovykind.blogspot.com/2008/12/holiday-tales-black-widow-and-to-all.html
and some Barry Smith Ka-Zar. ;D
http://diversionsofthegroovykind.blogspot.com/2016/11/marvel-ous-mondays-back-to-savage-land.html
http://diversionsofthegroovykind.blogspot.com/2017/01/marvel-ous-mondays-sun-god-by-conway.html
http://diversionsofthegroovykind.blogspot.com/2017/02/marvel-ous-mondays-rampage-by-conway.html
http://diversionsofthegroovykind.blogspot.com/2009/03/youve-come-long-way-baby-barry-windsor.html
And yeah, AA #5's "And to All A Good Night" has to be my favorite Gene Colan art, followed by Captain American #127 where Gene The Dean was inked by Wally Wood!
Y'all brought up Ditko--my favorite Ditko is hard to pin down to a single story, though I have the most fondness for his earliest Captain Atom stories. I first saw them as reprints in Spade Adventures in 1978 and they blew me away!
Someone mentioned Frank Miller, too. I am partial to his Marvel Two-In-One #51. McLeod's inks gave him a very different look that I liked a lot, and him doing a bunch of super-heroes rather than noir let him go all Steranko. I love that issue!
And count me in on Sub-Mariner #57! One of the most gorgeous comics ever! Everett put his all in that comic and it shows.
Another favorite artist I can't pin down to one comic is Alex Nino! He is so amazing and unique and everything he does just sings! His inks over Mike Ploog on Weirdworld has already been praised, and remember his inks over Jim Starlin on Rampaging Hulk #4? Words can't describe how much I love that issue. My favorite Nino work isn't comics, though, it's his illustrations for Quest of the Gypsy in Byron Priess' Weird Heroes paperback series!
Okay, I've taken up enough space. I LOVE this topic!!
Pax, y'all!
Inkers are such an important factor. When I was trying to think of a favorite Gene Colan comic, I was considering one of those Capt. America’s inked by Joltin’ Joe Sinnott — Lordy, they’re so beautiful! And then that short run of stunners was followed by about ten issues where Gene the Dean’s pencils were just MURDERED by Dick Ayers. I mean, I can’t even look at em. Tragic.
Then there’s Ernie Chan. When I first started buying Conan, it was early in Buscema’s run. Chan’s inks were ....fine. All those scritchy little ‘dit-dit-dit’ lines made every surface look kinda hairy or dirty, or like ants were crawling all over them or something, so I was always felt vaguely itchy while reading em. Kinda / sorta appropriate for the whole ‘barbaric’ pre-historical setting, I suppose. But not bad, not bad at all, really — certainly not Dick Ayers Wrecking Gene Colan Bad. But then issues 38 and 39 come along, and Big John inks his own pencils and it’s utterly mind-blowing and GORGEOUS, and I’m thinking, why can’t we get THIS every month?? WHY??? And then the Good Lord heard my plea and gave us Adams and the Crusty Bunkers two issues in a row and it was SO good. And Giordano inked about five issues in a row, also really good, and Tom Palmer (not as good as on that earlier Avengers run but acceptable) and Steve Gan on that first Belit story looked nice — but it was mostly Chan for years and years. And it was, y’know, mostly...fine.
And of course everybody has their own preferred Kirby inkers. My faves are Sinnott, Giacoia, Royer. On the early Marvel stuff, I’ll take Chic Stone over Dick Ayers any day. Ditko inked a handful of Kirby jobs and they look AMAZING. Paul Reinman, eh, not great but kinda okay. ‘George Bell’ (Roussos) on Sgt. Fury: really weird but kinda fun. Colletta : terrible on FF, pretty dang great on Thor. A buddy of mine really likes those Caps inked by Syd Shores, but I think they look mushy. Blehh.
- b.t.
You know what’s a really nice combo? Colan inked by Romita on DOCTOR STRANGE 7 (second series, right after Brunner’s fabled run). So pretty! Romita might have inked one of Colan’s romance stories too — I should go check.
That one Colan / Wood issue of Cap is really good. You’d think their respective styles wouldn’t go together — at all — but surprisingly, they kinda do. (Reminds me, i still gotta choose a Wood comic for my Desert Island Long Box)
I’ll go along with the Consensus Opinion that Palmer was the best inker for Colan. DOCTOR STRANGE (1st series) 172 - 183, *chef’s kiss*. Belissima! And they were great together on Daredevil, and TOMB OF DRACULA, of course. Colan / Giacoia was a pretty nice combo on Iron Man and DD. Not crazy about Syd Shores inking Colan. Again — kinda mushy. Also, I don’t think Everett was very effective on those Colan Black Widow stories. Something’s just not quite right there, for me.
-b.t.
Groove Agent!
Inspired by your like-minded thoughts I am going to dig Subby #57 and all the other Everett stories out of my long box, that I can find!
Can you dig it?
Wally Wood is driving me crazy!
I’m trying to find something that ticks all the boxes. ‘My World’ is a pretty good ‘Woody Sampler’, it’s got all his sci-fi tropes in it, for sure — sleek spaceships, insanely tricked-out interiors, pock-marked alien landscapes, heroes with lotsa belts and pockets n stuff, va-voom ladies, googly monsters — but they’re not exactly the BEST examples of those tropes.
So then I started flipping through my WEIRD SCIENCE and WEIRD FANTASY collections. THIS story has jaw-dripping spaceship stuff, and this OTHER one has the best (most disgusting) monster, and this one over HERE has the sexiest lady — but I can’t find one that has all that good stuff in one tidy package. ‘Home to Stay!’ (WF 13) has just about the MILF-iest Mom you ever saw, and the spaceship stuff is pretty good (plus it’s the infamous Bradbury rip-off that finally got him to politely ask EC to pay up if they were gonna keep blatantly stealing his stories). And then there’s ‘A Weighty Decision’ (WS 13) which has some REALLY good Good Girl Art and great spaceship interiors (plus, it’s almost the reverse of the Bradbury situation; a writer named Tom Godwin apparently swiped this one for a famous sci-fi story called ‘The Cold Equations’). But neither story has anything like a bug-eyed monster. Dang it!
But honestly, I think i like his MAD stuff the best. ‘Superduperman!’ and ‘Batboy and Rubin!’ are both hilarious, ‘Black and Bluehawks!’ and ‘Teddy and the Pirates!’ have the voomiest girls, ‘Flesh Garden!’ is a great parody of Raymond’s style — ugh, you see where I’m going with this. Sigh. Think I may just have to cheat and consider that ‘Original Idiots’ softcover collection from a few years back a ‘comic’ and call it a day.
- b.t.
Didn't the gang at BitBA unanimously agree, a few months back, that the sexiest Natasha / Black Widow was Gene Colan's as inked by Everett from the 1970-ish Amazing Advetnures which featured her and also the Inhumans?
Am I wrong about that? It wasn't unanimous?
I can dig it, Charlie Horse 47! Keep on Subby-in', baby!
Hey b.t., don't forget Wood was one of Kirby's inkers on occasion too. And a pretty good one, unsurprisingly (its a much more obvious fit than with Colan).
On John Buscema's Conan, Chan was ok, but Crom - Alfredo Alcala was the man!
Apparently Big John didn't much care for his inks, and you can see why an artist might not like having their work overpowered by someone like Alcala. But unlike most pencillers, you could still see it was Buscema underneath, and his figures with Alcala's textured inks were a thrilling combination.
-sean
Sean- yes, Wood inking Kirby was a stellar combination. Their cover to Avengers 20 is fantastic, and one of my favorite covers ever...
I don’t know about the Colan / Everett Natasha being unanimously voted Sexiest Black Widow ever — but in the new Epic Collection they’ve got some un-retouched pages in the back of the book and they’re VERY interesting! In a few panels, Everett put these weird little nipple shapes on her boobs in profile, but the way he drew them, they’re on the OUTSIDE of the thick-and-thin contour line, and they’re solid black. It’s like she’s got little black raisins stuck on her boobs. So then of course I had to check out how that page was printed and sure enough it looks like Marie or Herb or whoever was in the Bullpen that day had to go through and ‘sand down’ all those nips with Pro-White.
Sounds like Everett was quite the ‘character’. Like that time he inked an entire Defenders story horribly because he thought Andru’s pencil were too scratchy. Roy sees the pages, freaks out and calls him on it and Bill goes, ‘Hey, I inked every line exactly as that a-hole drew ‘em, you’re not paying me enough to fix his crap!’ IIRC, Stan actually fired him over it, and Roy had to plead with him to re-consider.
Kirby / Wood — good golly Miss Molly, yes! Sky Masters, Challengers, that tiny handful of covers (AVENGERS 20 is one of my faves too). Shame Woody didn’t ink more complete stories for Marvel back then. But like Everett, he had ‘issues’. Alas!
One last, last comment from my end--- I honestly like Keith Giffen best 'waaaaay back on OMEGA MEN. . . when he was a much more conventional artist with a slightly quirky "edge"--
Boy, I haven't looked at that title in decades. . .
HB
Post a Comment