This & That: To All of You, From Both of Us...

Redartz:  Hi gang; gather 'round and have a seat. It's time to do a bit of sharing. Sharing some news, that is. After two years (man, has it been that long already?), we're a little bit tired. Okay, a LOT tired. I know my friend and partner Marti has stretched his time pretty thin, and I most certainly have too. I've had a few health issues to deal with, and some other areas of life are starting to beckon pretty emphatically. There are books to read, paintings to complete, trips to take, experiences to have. And so, with a bittersweet smile, the time has come to 'lay down the mantle'. 

I spoke above of sharing. Right now, that sharing means telling you how much I've enjoyed sharing this space with each one of you. Hearing your thoughts and memories each day has been great reward indeed for the efforts taken to put a few words down. Some posts have been easy to produce, others have been more, er, challenging. But you all have never failed to jump in and expound upon whatever we have here to offer. You have unceasingly made the efforts worthwhile. You have enlightened me (and many others, no doubt) to comics, films, and music that I'd never experienced. And you have always maintained a phenomenal level of politeness, of camaraderie, of fun. You have all made BitBA the pleasant place of discussion that it has always seemed to be. And so: Charlie, Edo, HB, Colin J., Colin B., Mike W., William, David b, Dr. O, Groove, Prowl, Graham, TC, Disneymarvel, Yoyo, Killraven, J.A., Selenarch, and all the others who my faulty memory missed, THANK YOU. To all those 'anonymous' folks who have followed along but not commented, THANK YOU. To all of you who have submitted ideas for posts, and to those stalwart souls who have actually given us guest posts: THANK YOU! It's very much a truth that we never would have made it without you all. 

Next, I'd like to share another "Thank You" to Doug and Karen, our mentors from the ever-hallowed Bronze Age Babies. Writing articles online, and especially co-hosting a blog, would NEVER have occurred to me without their inspiration, guidance and education. The BAB was infectious in it's fascination, and the opportunity they gave to participate was irresistible. They made it look so easy, despite the obvious sweat they poured into their posts. And Doug, your help and support along the way with BitBA has been HUGE, and greatly appreciated.

Finally, a huge "Thank You" to my partner Marti. From day one of this blog, you've done amazing things with headers, titles, and editing. You have always come through with a post when the deadline loomed. You have been easy to work with, easy to communicate with, and a matchless teammate. And you have basically carried the "Twitter" end of the blog on your own capable shoulders (my Twitter skills are pretty limited). My hat's off to you, pal. One of the great highlights of our tenure on this blog was the chance to actually meet you, along with Doug and Charlie. That trip to C2E2 will live forever among my best comics experiences. Yes, that was another side benefit to the time spent here with BitBA! Indeed, it's been an honor and a pleasure. 

And while this may be a closing, it isn't a goodbye. This community is a wonderful, rewarding thing, and in that spirit we'd like to continue the Tuesday "Leader" posts for awhile to see how things go. Kind of like having a weekly club meeting, and everyone's invited. 

Additionally, I greatly encourage you all to check out the many fine blogs listed alongside our columns, several of them produced by members of our own community here. I will be checking in on many of them, and commenting, and visiting; I hope to see many of you there along the way.  

Again, many many thanks for sharing this time and space. And if you spot a fuzzy gray haired fellow poring over the dollar boxes at your local flea market, come over and join me in the eternal search for more Bronze age goodness!


Martinex1:  For once I am largely at a loss for words.   I can only echo the message that Redartz has so eloquently outlined above.   It is definitely a busy time in our lives and it is difficult to keep up at the level we have been playing.  I too want to thank all of our regular commentators who have challenged and inspired us along the way.  It means much to us. Considering that most of us have not met, it is wonderful that friendships can evolve through the written word.   Pen pals, if you will, are no less friends because of distance.  In this day and age, the civility and camaraderie are greatly appreciated.  Thank you Red for your patience and for your willingness to jump in.  Thank you Karen and Doug for getting us started.  Thanks to all for the kind words and participation.


As Red indicated, Tuesday's Follow the Leader will continue and perhaps at some point some itch will strike where we will post again - but for now see you on Tuesday!  So get ready!  Oh, and you can call me "Mike!"   Cheers all!

This & That: Micronauts 7; Micronauts and Man-Things...

Micronauts 7;  July 1979

Cover by Michael Golden and Neal Adams

Writer: Bill Mantlo, Pencils Michael Golden, Inks Josef Rubinstein

Redartz:  Hey folks! For many months we have planned to do a review of a Micronauts issue, and in this Halloween season, what better issue to feature than one guest starring the macabre Man-Thing? So what are we waiting for, let's get started!

To begin with, here's the capsule summary of the action (there's so much going on in here, I don't think a 100-word review will suffice). 

 

The main storyline opens with the Micronauts (Commander Arcturus Rann, Marionette, Prince Acroyear, Biotron, Microtron and Bug) in the company of young Steve Coffin, the son of former astronaut Ray Coffin. Long story short, they are fishing at the Coffin's Everglades retreat while hiding out after escaping from H.E.L.L.(the Human Engineering Life Laboratory) at Cape Canaveral. Steve's father worked there and fell into the Promethius Pit (a dimensional interface) and disappeared. Take my word for it.








Anyway, Steve is grieving for his missing, and feared dead, father. But recall, this is the Everglades, and therein lurks a denizen particularly sensitive to such strong emotions: the Man-Thing. Manny is attracted by Steve's grieving, and makes his way to the fishing shack. Steve, emotionally distraught, runs from the shack right into the presence of the Man-Thing. 

Of course his first reaction is terror, and as we all know, "whatever knows fear burns at the touch of the Man-Thing". The Micronauts rush to Steve's defense, but prove pretty ineffectual against the walking slime bog. 

 


Steve finally pulls himself together and is determined to make a stand; he fires up the swamp buggy and essentially puts the Man-Thing through a blender. Of course this doesn't harm the creature, but he feels Steve's courage and wanders off into the swamp.

Oh, and there is also a brief retelling of the Micronauts' origin...

 


We also follow up on Ray Coffin, who fell into the Microverse with Dr. Promethius. Promethius has gone nuts and is discovered by the villainous Baron Karza who plans to possess Promethius' body in order to invade Earth in search of the Micronauts. Also, Ray himself has been transported to the presence of the mysterious Enigma Force. Then we catch up with the rebels on Commander Rann's home world, Homeworld.  And finally, it appears Baron Karza has succeeded in reaching Earth!

Yes, all this in a  32-page comic. This would require a six issue arc, these days...
Martinex1: I could not agree more Red.  One of the things that made The Micronauts one of my favorite books was the complexity of the storytelling.  It may not be Shakespeare, but Bill Mantlo and the artistic teams sure piled a lot into every issue.  I really wish comics were still like this.  At the very least it gave me a good long read; at best it drew me into the detailed plots and intricate characterizations.   I know that the book does not carry the cache of The Avengers or The X-Men, but back in the Bronze Age this book was on par with the greats.

The Cover:

Redartz: One of the biggest attractions to this comic. This is a truly incredible cover, rich with detail and swampy moodiness. Golden's art is wonderful to begin with, and having Neal Adams inks just puts 'extra sprinkles on the frosting'. Man-Thing looks great, and that snake in the foreground could slither right off the cover.
Martinex1: I agree.  How could this not be a "must buy book?"  Golden's style has changed a bit over the years, but I really liked this era in his career.   His characters had a style that was distinct and there were always levels to the detail. Both here and on ROM Spaceknight covers, his work stood out for me.

The Story:

Redartz: First off, I love the title "Adventure into Fear." An homage to Man-Thing's first 32-page comic series. A nice touch.

As noted above, there's a lot of material in this story. Mantlo does a fine job interweaving the myriad storylines together, and there are several. Karza's pursuit of the Micronauts, Ray Coffin's disappearance, the revolt on Homeworld, and the teaming of Steve with the Micronauts themselves. 

Speaking of which, Mantlo also succeeds nicely at giving voice to each unique character. Acroyear's dignity, Bug's wit, Microtron's subtle humor. What's more, Mantlo portrays the character of teenage Steve with sensitivity and perception. 

Another feature of Mantlo's writing here is the gradual exposition of the Micronaut's back story. The origin is revealed over the course of several issues, here Princess Mari (Marionette) learns some of that background from Rann's android friend Biotron (with whom Rann shares a mental link). One interesting feature of the Micro's tale is the depiction of Homeworld as a chain molecule. 
Martinex1: I love that molecular detail.  In later chapters we find that each world has a different climate, nature, or theme.  It was a very creative touch.
Redartz::This tale has just about everything: some humorous bits. The climactic scene of Steve putting Man-Thing through the swamp buggy could have come from an old issue of "Mad", when it still had that EC edginess. Of course there's plenty of drama and character development, and a generous helping of horror. That scene (shown above) of Bug trapped beneath Man-Thing's hand, burning alive with fear, is grimly chilling. Then there's that perfectly ominous final panel of Baron Karza emerging to Earth from the Promethius Pit; much stated in that single frame.
Martinex1: For those that don't know the Micronauts' lore, part of the story took place on their molecular homewold(s) and other sections occurred on Earth as the heroes traversed through a breach in the spacewall.  On Earth, the Micronauts were always about 6 inches tall.  In an early issue when they first arrived on our planet, the team marveled at a playground swing set.   They were trying to figure out what the structure was and they supposed it was perhaps a religious monument.  It was touches like that - their bewilderment of Earth - that expanded the entertainment for me.


The Artwork: 

Redartz: What is there to say? Michael Golden is phenomenal, and Joe Rubinstein's a premier inker. They make a very attractive, effective team here. 
Golden really shines at facial expressions, as seen in the panels above with Ray and Steve Coffin. With so much going on in this issue, it would be easy for things to get muddled; but Golden keeps the story moving with clear design and intricate (but not too-detailed) rendering. And speaking of rendering, Golden's depiction of the Man-Thing strikes me as very reminiscent of Mike Ploog's. And that is definitely a good thing. 

One minor negative, artwise: the art does suffer a bit from muddy printing. It may just be my copy, but some of the linework tends to get a bit lost. I'd love to see the original artwork from this book...
Martinex1: As would I.  When Michael Golden's work appeared in the first two issues of Marvel Fanfare, it was so apparent how a better printing process benefitted his details and lines. 

The Good:
Redartz: The artwork From the Microverse to the Everglades, each scene is unique and finely rendered. 
Martinex1: Also I think Mantlo must have enjoyed working on this title, because I feel that his characterizations and plots here were among his best.

The Bad: 
Redartz: Nothing really bad, but one little note: In the scene, shown above, where Marionette emotes concern over Bug's fiery fate, Commander Rann gets pretty wordy about his parent's background. It would seem more appropriate for a simple 'Holy Mackeral' as they rush to Bug's rather urgent need.
Martinex1:  Hah!  I agree, but that is also conversely what I so loved about the Bronze Age!

The Ugly:
Redartz: Once again, that panel of a burning Bug. It got to me the first time I read this, and it still creeps me out.
Martinex1: I have nothing here. 

Redartz: To sum up, a very good, solid Bronze age tale, well told and well illustrated. I would note that it might have been somewhat tough for someone starting the book with this issue, as so much is taking place and there's not much time for rehashing. But I'd recommend this comic, and indeed this title, to anyone. One of the Bronze Age's finest 'B' series. 
Martinex1: I think you already know where I stand, but to your point I would recommend that if you read this title that you start with issue #1 and definitely take in the first twelve issues.  That first year is really spectacular and tells an epic story.  It is too bad that this series does not get collected.  Later issues are great too as Pat Broderick takes on the art chores.  All in all, it was a great read with fantastic art.  I am anxious to hear what our frequent commentators have to say.  Cheers all!

This & That: Our ...Somewhat Less Than Favorite Covers...

Redartz:  Hi folks! Not long ago we did a post about our favorite comic covers. In the interests of balance and full coverage, it seems natural to consider the other side of the coin: covers that, shall we say, didn't light our fires. And this is not to disrespect any particular title or artist; it's just that these covers failed the 'cover would make me buy it' test by a long shot.

First off:  This cover for Avengers Annual 10. For the most part, I like Al Milgrom's work, but this cover is just way too cluttered. All those panels, unevenly spaced. An overabundance of text certainly doesn't help. And this doesn't even address the "Columbia" banner across the top. As great as the interior was, the cover wasn't.

 Next up are two covers from Ross Andru, featuring the banner characters of each of the Big Two. As with Milgrom, I usually like Andru's work. At least, his interiors. Somehow, though, I always felt he lacked something when it came to his covers. On Superman, it just looks blocky- there were numerous such covers about that time. Kind of an uncomfortable viewing angle; good thing Supes wasn't turned a bit or we'd have gotten a Super booty shot. As for Spiderman 157, again we have some rather clunky figures; along with a flat background. Coming during the heyday of John Romita covers, seeing this from Ross was dismaying...

Turning to a couple of my favorite artists, here are examples that just go to show that nobody's perfect. Avengers 162 by George Perez? Not a bad cover, certainly. But as good as he usually is, this seems a bit unremarkable. And the action is difficult to follow; the composition seems rather scattershot. And Ultron looks a bit cartoonish, strangely.

 My other bronze age favorite: John Byrne, of course! But not because of this cover, I'm afraid. Byrne could do wonders depicting Ben Grimm, so what happened here? Fantastic Four 274 is the book, and our rocky friend Ben is the subject. But he almost gets lost amongst the rubble and bricks. Even the Thing's look seems off. Strange, as Byrne provided some fabulous cover art during this same era. Again, nobody's perfect.















Speaking of perfection, many folks would consider Jack Kirby the perfect comics artist. He's always the King in my book, but even he has some clunkers. This cover for Fantastic Four 78 always struck me as off; especially Ben Grimm's human face. That's quite a nose he's got there.  As for his later work, some of it was incredibly cool. However this cover for 2001 issue 2 looks like an ad for Max Factor mascara. Kirby could get pretty loose with some of his later drawing, but this cover was a bit too loose for my tastes. 
 

And how about this cover for Daredevil 69 by Sal Buscema? For one thing, that's a lot of prominent word balloons. Especially distracting against that black background. As for the art itself, Daredevil looks like he bulked up quite a bit. He almost resembles one of Carmine Infantino's famous DC apes. And it's a minor thing, but it bothers me: DD's mask has that sharp black shading, but the rest of the figure just looks flat...

 

And here are some more general cover comments. Photo covers can be quite effective: the classic cover to Submariner 7 for example: Namor looks amazing as John Buscema depicts him rising above the streets. On the other hand, this Spider-Man cover (from ASM 262) just looks a bit cheesy to me. Perhaps it's the combination of hand-rendered art and photography that works for me; the photo alone just lacks punch.

 

 Finally, this cover for Justice League of America 23 (2006 series) exemplifies one of my pet artistic peeves. Specifically, it has no sense of design. It's an over-rendered mess. Fine linework is great, but not when it gets totally lost in Too Much Detail. Everything in this cover mushes together visually, with the exception of the logo and Wonder Woman. And really, I don't mean to be critical, but it is a problem way too common with comic cover art in the modern era. This cover could have been more effective if, say, they took out half the characters and blacked out the background. Then you could actually make out individual figures and actions. It reminds me of my first year drawing class in college: what you leave out is as important as what you put in. 

Okay, I've pontificated enough. I'll turn the mike over to Marti; let's see what he's got for us...
 

Martinex1: Thanks for getting us started Red!  There are a number of comics that rub me the wrong way.  And it is not necessarily because the art is bad, some of my selections will actually be from some of my favorite artists who are definitely superstars.

Martinex1: My first choice in this rather dubious post is for Avengers #228.  Al Milgrom pencilled this piece.  I think the cover would have been one-thousand times better if he actually had Hank Pym in costume.  It is the "Trial of Yellowjacket " after all, and the cover can be symbolic if he doesn't wear his fighting togs in the story itself.  That choice really diminished the cover.  On top of it, I have never liked that Hank is very indistinguishable from Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, and Donald Blake when out of costume (which is probably why those characters are fully suited up in the background).  I believe this should have been corrected by editorial.  This cover just was not good enough.

Martinex1: I really admire John Byrne's art.  He is definitely one of my favorite artists of all time.   I know some people don't like his style, but I have always found him to be an enjoyable and clear storyteller.  I also think that many of his covers are iconic - just take a look at Uncanny X-Men #141 or almost his entire run of Fantastic Four covers.  It is a bucket list type dream to own original cover art from Byrne.  But I would not want to own one of these.  This particular FF cover does nothing for me.  I have commented before that I am really turned off by "civilian" covers when I am looking for super-heroes. It is of course rendered quite well, but thematically it does nothing for me.   This Alpha Flight cover is a miss for me also.  I think the extreme close-up works against the layout - it wants to be "in your face" but it comes across as strange and unshapely.  If he had pulled back just a bit, it may have been more effective.  Having said that though, it may not be the pencil art at all but rather the color that is off-putting.  The pink header does not work well at all against Sasquatch's orange fur and it actually seems to cut off the top of his head.  I am not sure if the whole thing would have looked better if the entire panel was orange.

Martinex1: George Perez is another favorite of mine.  But I have never liked covers that put the characters in a distant shot.  Covers should be bold in my mind; the characters should be larger than life. Something about the size of the characters diminishes the cover for me.  It would have been a perfectly fine internal panel, but for the "marketing" of a story, I thought this was a miss.  This cover is actually famous in a sense as it is well-known that the graffiti on the train car includes the names of many comic creators and co-workers from Marvel.  It is a novelty in a way, but I felt that the touching tribute to his peers actually minimized the action because he needed to pull back to use the space on the train car.   I am torn on this one, but it does not work for me and back in the day I delayed buying this issue from the spinner rack for a long time.

Martinex1: Bob Layton is just fantastic and he had an iconic run on Iron Man along with writer David Michelinie.  I like his work even more now as I have recently been looking back at his key run on the book. Layton also shares some of his work on Twitter, and I always check it our because it is fantastic.  This cover however always seemed rushed because of the strangely proportioned characters.  I know it is supposed to be a forced perspective to indicate the characters "coming at you," but it is just too much.   Wolverine's lower leg is much too large and Spider-Man looks fat.  It always strikes me as weird, like a fun house mirror version of the characters.  I don't like it.

Martinex1: Metal embossed covers never did anything for me.  I found it very hard to see the art.   The Avengers had an intermittent series of this type of cover during the Gatherers story arc.  I preferred the second print  or newsstand versions so that I could actually see the art.  Steve Epting and Tom Palmer were a great team, but I could not even distinguish the characters in the embossed version; the art was just lost.

Martinex1: Archie Comics and Harvey Comics are spectacular and we don't discuss them enough here. And I know you are going to say, "What?  How can you criticize this classic art?"  And I would respond that it is not at all the art that bothers me about these covers.  My beef with these publishers though is that I can never recall what is inside a particular issue because the cover does not tie to the stories.  There are old Archie tales that I remember so fondly.  A beloved cousin gave me a ton of Archie issues when I was little, and after losing them decades ago to childhood wear and tear I wanted to recreate the collection.  It is impossible  For the life of me, I cannot recall a single issue cover to try to source the comics.  I have absolutely no point of reference.  That was never true for super-hero tales back in the Bronze Age.

Martinex1: On the other hand, more modern comics have embraced the poses and poster shots for covers and I hate it.  Take a look at the comics below.  They may indicate what heroes are in the issue (maybe) but there is absolutely nothing about these covers that indicates anything about the story inside.  I really dislike that immensely.  In the future, any collectors will have the same concern with Marvel that I have with Archies and Harveys.  The embracing of these stock shots is misguided I think.

Redartz:  Marti, I so agree with your thoughts about those 'poster shot' covers. Once in awhile is fine, but almost every issue? No, give us some reference to the interior contents to entice us to buy. But hey, it's time for you all to chime in. What do you think about these covers we've chosen, and what covers can you think of that left you cold?

This & That: Our Favorite Covers, Simple as That...

Redartz:  Frequently here at BitBA, we consider comic covers. In fact, Marti has bestowed us with countless striking covers under the banner of his "Quarter Bins." And what's not to like about ogling fine comic art, displayed openly on a glossy, eye-catching sheet of cover stock? Indeed, I love looking at covers so much, I have several hundred loaded as images on my tablet: just something to browse through at lunch, if I need some visual stimulation. And it was during one such session, scanning more covers, that I figured, "okay, what would my top ten covers be?". No time frame limitations, they may be old or new; Marvel, DC, or anyone else, any genre.  Just ten covers that you could easily hang on your wall and stare at for years to come. 

So, today we present our picks: our personal top ten covers. After you check out our selections, feel free to comment; and then name your personal favorites. Doesn't matter if the interior art stunk, the story was awful, or the  book was a reprint. If you loved the cover, it's fair game. 

Redartz:  My ten covers are as follows. While making my choices, it quickly dawned upon me how daunting a task it is to select only ten, out of all the covers I've encountered. So these ten might not be my exact picks if you asked tomorrow, but they all would certainly be finalists.

Fantastic Four 45, by Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott. A beauty by the FF's prime team.

Amazing Spider-Man 135, by John Romita, Sr.  Spidey's had countless great covers, but this one is near perfect.

Avengers 20, by Jack Kirby and Wally Wood. Wood may be the finest inker I've seen over Kirby. Wish there'd been more such covers.

Sugar and Spike 21, by Sheldon Mayer. Love the b/w cartoon background, and the face-backwards foreground.

Dr. Strange 1, by Frank Brunner. A masterwork of intricacy and mysticism.

Avengers 171, by George Perez and Terry Austin . A very full composition, but incredible in it's detail.

Archie Giant Series 25, by Dan DeCarlo. DeCarlo could have been considered Archie's "Kirby"; he defined the look.

Journey 6, by William Messner Loebs. Wonderful use of the logo, the borders, and the leaves. Poetic visuals indeed.

Adventure Comics 425, by Michael Kaluta. Stunning, magnificent image; Kaluta's simple design here is breathtaking in it's beauty.

Finally, what may be my favorite cover, period: Star Spangled War Stories 138, by Joe Kubert. That cover struck me like a slap in the face the first time I saw it, and is the only comic I ever paid twenty five dollars for JUST for the cover. An absolute masterpiece of composition, color and dramatics.

 

Martinex1: Those are all beautiful examples, and like you my selections are constantly shifting.  Many of my favorites are based not only on style and art but also around a memory as to when I acquired the book and what it meant to me.  So without further ado, here are my top ten...

Avengers 164 is the first comic I purchased (not the first I owned, but the first I bought off of a rack).  It will always have a memorable place in my heart.  Thankfully it was a George Perez masterpiece with a lot of characters and a lot of action.  It also ended up being one of my favorite stories too.  This cover I will remember until I am old and gray. 

Squadron Supreme 11 may seem like an odd choice.  But in 1986 this Paul Ryan cover jumped off the stands to me.  It still strikes me as an unusual layout with interesting and not well-known characters. In my mind, this cover always makes my top ten. I know it is not iconic, but I just admire it.

This Carmine Infantino classic - Flash 174 - was my first experience seeing an artistic interplay with a logo.  I never got over it.  

 I've always been a fan of Nick Cardy and his work at DC.  Unexpected 119 is one of my favorites featuring his pencils.  The use of lights and shadows, the shocked facial expression, and the hint of a horrendous twist just drew me in.  

John Byrne had a myriad of classic covers from his work on Marvel Team-Up, Fantastic Four, many DC books, and of course the X-Men.   So many examples of excellence to choose from, and I am sure others may have picked X-Men 141 (which is indeed a classic), but I have always been enamored with X-Men 138.   Even with a recap story inside and the annoying Toys R Us banner, I still like the simplicity of this moody and moving cover.

George Perez makes my list twice with Marvel Two-In-One 54.  Deathlok and the color scheme have much to do with this choice.  It always seemed to me that a lot of effort was put into this cover and I appreciate that.

 Amazing Spider-Man could have had a top ten list all by itself.  With covers by John Romita alone I could have filled a week of blogs.  But lately this simple cover on ASM 281 by Ron Frenz just appeals to me.  Who can resist floating heads?  Plus Spidey's humorous attitude just seems to shine through.  This is a great example of a little goes a long way.

Frank Miller sure hit the ground running on Daredevil and issue 158 was a monumental kick-off that showcased his talent.  I did not own this issue for a long time, but my desire to have it was driven by the cover.

John Buscema was just fantastic.  Recently I tweeted about his cover talent and I had time selecting which comic that I thought demonstrated his work the best.  I have to go with Silver Surfer #4.  It is just a classic.

 My final choice highlights a lot of favorites.  The first Marvel Sub-Mariner series is an underrated gem if you ask me.  Perhaps Subby's perceived belligerence may keep readers away.  At the very least, the art was top notch with the likes of John Buscema, Sal Buscema, Gene Colan, and Bill Everett involved.  But this particular cover happens to be by the great Marie Severin, and when I was very young I stared at it for hours when I first saw it as a house ad in a Marvel comic.  I love the colors and the drama.  Cheers!

Redartz:  Excellent choices, Marti! Byrne, Buscema, Infantino, Severin- what a lineup of all-stars...

Well, there's our respective 'top ten' lists. You may ask, "how could I devise a list with nothing by John Byrne, Barry Windsor-Smith or Will Eisner?" Ahhh, ask again tomorrow. At any rate, I'd be thrilled to permanently paper my walls with any of these gems. What say you, are these decent choices? And what might your ten picks be (I know, I know, trying to pick only ten is excruciating)...