But Kubert is probably best known for his brilliant work at DC, where he worked for many years . Here's an example of Joe's earlier work from Eerie #9, 1952 (Avon Publications).
Kubert created, or was involved in the creation of many characters, including Viking Prince, Tor, Thorn, Enemy Ace; and was part of the team that started the Silver Age with the Flash in Showcase 4. He handled a huge share of DC's noted war comics, his years on Sgt. Rock positively iconic. On many of those war tales Kubert worked with Robert Kanigher, weaving the adventures of Rock, The Losers, Unknown Soldier, Haunted Tank and Enemy Ace. He also handled the art on DC's "Tarzan", and gave us the classic look for Hawkman. And although he was mostly associated with 'adventurous' titles, Kubert also rendered most of DC's heroic stable: Batman, Superman, Flash, and the Justice League. Indeed, as often as Gil Kane's work could be seen on Marvel covers, Kubert's shined on DC covers.
On a personal note, my first exposure to Joe's art was on the great covers for "Rima the Jungle Girl".
Those books were a visual treat both inside ( gorgeous work by Nestor Redondo) and outside, with Kubert's dramatic covers. Years later I further came to appreciate Kubert's skills when I became intrigued by his "Enemy Ace" strip. His magnificent, gritty, powerful rendering is unmistakable. And those aerial dogfights and vintage planes- Kubert was a master.
Speaking of mastery, his eye for drama was second to none. You'll see this on display below in another BitBA Gallery of Great Covers. But first we must mention another of Kubert's contributions to the industry: the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. Founded in 1976, the Kubert School has produced many new professional talents for the comics world. Just another way in which Joe Kubert's influence continues to this day, and on into the future.
And now, time to look over some covers (something I always enjoy, anyway). Hope you enjoy them too, and that they inspire you to share your thoughts on this giant of the comics industry...
Love the three-part design of the cover on the left below...
In response to HB's request, here is the cover for Justice Inc. #4. Another impressive Kubert...
18 comments:
If EVER there was an artist who could claim the "THE COVER MADE ME BUY THIS BOOK" Greatest of All Time Award-- I don't think there's anyone even in a close second. It would be Gil Kane, sure, but while Kane's covers were always REALLY good, Kubert's covers often had me pulling something out of the spinner rack that I would otherwise never in a million years consider buying. Thus, I have JUSTICE, INC #4-- a book I have no memory of whatsoever, beyond the fact that the image came to mind immediately even though I haven't looked at it for literally decades. Same with DC's TARZAN-- I think I saw a run of about four issues in the spinner rack at one point, and every cover (hunh-- including yet another one with a biplane) suckered me right in, and I bought all of them without opening a page--- Boy, THERE'S a guy doin' his job right for this employer-!
WEIRD WAR TALES-- that one with the ancient, dying G.I. whose hourglass in Death's hands has run out? Who DOESN'T remember that cover? ("I'm old! OLD!!!")
Also-- he's sort of the antithesis of your usual Comic Book Artist, isn't he? Both big companies had their more-or-less "house" visual style, right? And while there was distinction between individual artists' styles, none of them really strayed too far out of that house-style box. Except Joe Kubert. It's like he was happily and earnestly working along in his own personal Joe's-House-Style, and nobody was going to tell him that that's not really our visual brand these days. . .y'know? 'Cause ya don't fiddle with an anomaly that is so obviously to one's advantage. . .
HB
If ever there was an artist that could be called a titan of the industry it has to be Joe Kubert. Like “Humanbelly” if I saw a Joe Kubert cover back in the day I would almost certainly buy it, if not I would have at least checked it out.
Even as someone who wasn’t a fan of war comics (we had enough of these in the UK) I was always attracted to his war comic covers - some of these are simply stunning. Similarly his Western comic books are top drawer with the Showcase “Firehair” 3 issue run being a particularly favourite of mine ( I picked these 3 issues up for £2 each about 15 years ago) - his Rex western collection based on the Italian strip is also worth checking out.
On the down side I was never a massive fan of Joe's superhero art (Hawkman being the exception) simply as I don’t think his style was best suited to the costumed hero genre (for me his heroes always looking a bit “thin” ) but I still picked up his comics like Ragman based on his covers alone . What amazed me most about Joe Kubert’s art was that even as he got older, unlike many comic artists his art quality never changed and it was as strong and inventive then as it was in the 1970’S.
It’s hard to remember the first Kubert comic I bought (he seemed to always be drawing comic books) but I think it was Hawkman issue 27 (1968) that I picked up around 1970 . My favourite Joe Kubert cover (from literally 100s of classics) is Star Spangles War stories issue 154
Not sure when I first saw and/or had a comic with Kubert's art in it, but I think I first began to really appreciate his work when I got the whole set of the original Ragman series in 1981 or thereabouts. He did all the covers and then the full art in the last issue, as well as the layouts for the first four, thus creating the visual style for the entire series (as well as co-creating the character, as far as I can tell).
Kubert is, yes, simply a legendary artist and I've liked his work pretty much everywhere I've seen it. And he didn't miss a beat as he got older (a trait I think he shared with Gil Kane, who's been mentioned here several times): I really like some of his post-2000 material like Jew Gangster and Yossel, and also in the wonderful mini-series Joe Kubert Presents.
My first exposure to Joe Kubert was in the first DC issue of Tarzan. I think I bought every issue for the next several years (Korak, too). I picked up many comics just because I saw his signature on the cover. His covers always pulled me in....even when the interior art just didn't match up. Years after I stopped reading comics, I saw his Fax from Sarajevo graphic novel in a bookstore and he pulled me in yet again. In the Tarzan Limited Edition shown above, he gave a couple of art lessons and I spent a lot of time trying to recreate those pictures.
Great balls of fire! Just "ditto" to what HB wrote. I too bought that Justice Inc 4 on the power of that Kubert cover.
His war stories were compelling... They were the reason I bought them I suppose.
I was fine with his 60s work on Hawkman and Atom as I didn't think they really needed to be the muscle-bound type of characters!
Cheers! Charlie
Red, Red! See if you can add that Justice Inc 4 cover- !
What's worth noting is that it's not about the technical wizardry or elaborate detail in this instance. It may not have even taken him that long to produce it. But it captures a terrific moment of "life" from a POV that makes you feel like an involved spectator who has now gotten too close to the action. . .
Am I remembering correctly that he very rarely depicted anything like gore at all? I know the CCA kept strict limits on that sort of graphic content at the time. But I also feel like he was able to convey the horror of war to an amazing, and even disturbing, effect all the same.
HB
Justice Inc. 4 - Not exactly on anyone's top 10 list? BUT - I've held on to it over the decades after numerous purges. Something about the cover, man...
When I first got into comics I wasn’t a fan. In that big stack of comics I acquired from a neighborhood kid, there were a few that had Kubert covers (OUR ARMY AT WAR, WEIRD WAR TALES, STAR SPANGLED WAR, two STRANGE ADVENTURES) and a TARZAN. He was much too sloppy for my tender sensitivities. Swear to God, I wanna smack 12 year old Me upside the head sometimes!
I learned to appreciate him pretty quickly tho. Within a few months, I was buying his Tarzan pretty regularly, got all the DC Tors (I even liked the reprints) and I loved his work on Ragman, aided and abetted by the Redondo Studio. I made a point of buying every new comic with Kubert art that I could find (there was a Superman / Demon team-up in DC PRESENTS that blew me away) and started working my way backward, buying reprints and back issues of Sgt. Rock, the Viking Prince, Enemy Ace, Hawkman, etc etc.
Oh man, I LOVE that JUSTICE LEAGUE cover you posted! I’d never seen that one before. Yeah, his super-dudes tend be a bit extra lean and lanky and that’s definitely true on this one (poor GL looks like he hasn’t eaten in weeks!) but I love the composition, his trademark explosive word balloons, and nobody ever drew a prettier Hawkgirl than Kubert.
Just a short list of other Kubert covers that I dig:
RIMA 4
MYSTERY IN SPACE 112
TARZAN 237
OUR ARMY AT WAR 203
But man, there are so many great ones, I could be here all day, scrubbing thru the GCD.
b.t.
HB- good observation regarding Kubert's personal style. His work real was unique, and certainly stands out from most of DC Silver age art. He, Russ Heath and Jerry Grandenetti made a powerhouse trio of illustrators there...
And yes, Kubert could convey the horror visually even while keeping the gore to a minimum. He seemed to show 'ordinary looking folk' which just added to the earthy realism of his stories.
McScotty- you also make a good point about Kubert's artistic strength even at the end of his career. His latest work still packed the punch of a sock to the jaw!
Edo- yes, "Joe Kubert Presents "; gotta get a look at that.
B.t.- we should do a discussion sometime of artists we 'grew to love'.
And that Justice League cover? Yes, that was an example of "the cover made me buy the book ". Saw it at a con a couple of years ago and spontaneously grabbed it.
Geez Louise!
I had that Justice Inc. also, though I did have #2 with a Kirby cover. Still it was those covers that grabbed me.
Like Tarzan #238, couldn't tell you one word of what happened inside but the cover is burned into my memory.
Along with that ad of his we are all so familiar with.
This is hilarious!
"Most Purchased Obscure Comic Award goes toooooooooo. . . . "
Perhaps we're the only three people that bought it--??
HB
And Tarzan 1? Is it the art or perhaps the first time in a long time we’d seen an actual human (not a Doom bot, lol) fight an actual animal? I mean I can’t recall any such covers but for covers to Action Comics back in the late 1930s?
My remark for half cut off above… I was wondering if Justice Inc 4 with the blue, a most unusual blue, also attracted our attention?
I have to say, I’m tickled by the outpouring of affection for the cover of JUSTICE INC. 4! With all respect, I have to confess I’m not particularly keen on it myself. Not that it’s a ‘bad cover’ by any means — just kind of ‘Average Kubert’. I think the drab color scheme doesn’t do it any favors, either (sorry, Charlie).
Honestly, I much prefer Kubert’s cover for JUSTICE INC. 1, with The Avenger dive-bombing directly toward the ‘camera’, Mike and Ike at the ready. And I like the two Kirby covers in the run better than #4 too.
I wouldn’t even say it’s the best cover Kubert drew that month. In fact, not even the best Kubert cover that month with a BI-PLANE in it :) Check out his cover on OUR ARMY AT WAR 286. Now, that one screams ‘DON’T ASK, JUST BUY IT!’ — for me it does, anyway.
b.t.
But ‘Different strokes, one man’s treasure’ etc. And things
Wow, my iPad is really acting up today. I have no idea where that ‘And things’ came from. Weird!
b.t.
B.t.- you're right, that OAaW 286 is a winner. Kubert sure could draw his aircraft. And I sympathize with your tablet autotyping frustration. I really have to watch what gets entered before submitting; you can get some embarrassing surprises...
Heck, and I don't even disagree with you, B.T.-- While not a badly-done cover at all, it doesn't look like it presents a high degree of difficulty, y'know? And the rather simple biplane takes up a LOT of the field--- and yet. . . and yet. . . it's hard to get past the fact that three of the regular commenters in our circle here picked it up purely as a CMMBTB impulse-purchase. That's enough to be our own demographic--!
Why did it grab us? What's the indefinable attraction it presents. . . ?
HB
You know what? I think, at least in my case, it's literally the bi-plane element. 'Cause I recollected that I only have four issues of DC's Tarzan run-- and one of those is #245-- which features a bi-plane on the cover. And I am SURE that's why I picked it up along w/ those other remaining issues on the spinner rack---
Heh--
HB
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