Two Questions: The Gyrich Directive and the Employment Adjective!

Martinex1: Here we go! Here we go!   Two important but totally unrelated Bronze era questions listed here for you today!  Feel free to answer either one or both; we are curious what you think.

QUESTION 1:   If you were Henry Peter Gyrich in Avengers Volume 1, #181, who would you have chosen from the Marvel Universe to make up the seven member team roster?

QUESTION 2: What was your first job and what was your worst job?

Follow The Leader: Episode 14: The Munsters or The Addams Family?

Martinex1: Jump in early and define the topic for the day!  It is Tuesday, so Follow the Leader!  Who will get us started?  And how long will the conversation run?   Who says BitBA isn't the land of audience participation?  Let the game begin!

Panel Discussion: John Romita, Sr.!

Is this iconic, or what?

Redartz:  Happy Monday, everyone! Recently we took a look at one of Martinex1's favorite (and many others' favorite as well) artists, Sal Buscema. Well, today we will look at one of my faves: John Romita, Sr. "Jazzy Johnny" is probably best known as the artist behind many of Spider-Man's greatest tales. He also,though, had stints on Daredevil, Fantastic Four, Captain America, and more. And he produced a veritable mountain of covers for Marvel throughout the Bronze Age, exceeded only perhaps by Gil Kane. And as Marvel's Art Director, Romita was responsible for keeping the 'house style' consistent over a long period of time. This was a task he was perfectly suited for; Romita could draw anyone in the Marvel Universe and they would look Just Right.

John Romita and Jack Kirby were the first  artists I learned by name, and Romita was my favorite. Of course,as the artist on my number one book (yes, you all have heard that before, Spidey's my number one) he defined the character for me. I love Ditko, Kane, Andru, Frenz and McFarlane, but Romita's version is my Spider-man. His clean dramatic style. His iconic Peter Parker. His beautiful Gwen and Mary Jane. His flawless, abrasive Jonah Jameson. His menacing Doc Ock. His maniacally grimacing Green Goblin. He did it all so well...

First, a look at some examples of Jazzy Johnny's (non-Spidey) jewels: 

Here is is on Conan, inking Kane on the left and Buscema on the right (Belit never looked better). These, flanking a classic Cap cover.

That cover painting of Son of Origins is phenomenal. Iron Man and the Surfer just shiiiine...

 

Now we see two versions of the same cover. Aside from the reversal of Spider-Man's position, Romita has slightly shifted the position of Mysterio's grip and highlighted the foreground more. Also, darkening the sky above the action emphasizes the 'closing in' aspect of the threat.

And now, a selection of some of my favorite Romita Spider-Man covers. Some classics, some not. That cover to issue 59, with Mary Jane- just terrific. Love how the scene is split by the stage curtain. It just displays, again, Romita's expertise with  dramatic design and composition.

 

Issue 135, below, is perhaps my all-time favorite ASM cover. The characters, the drama, Spidey's perfect pose, the black spider motif: matchless. I have a repro of this cover hanging in my workplace...

The Spectacular Spiderman cover on the right is an example of Romita's more recent work. He still rocks the Goblin. And speaking of the Goblin, Romita's painting for the magazine issue is another classic.

Finally, a look at some pages showing Romita solo, and with others. Different styles, yet John's sharp, clear look always comes through.

Ron Frenz pencils, Romita inks

An example of John's early work on Amazing, from issue 45. Still showing some touches of Steve Ditko here...

Romita pencils and inks

Romita pencils, Jim Mooney inks

Much as I enjoy color comics, there is an undeniable appeal to black/white art. Here we have a page from the first Spectacular Spider-Man magazine from 1968. Jim Mooney's inks are often pretty heavy, but I feel his style meshes well with Romita's...

Romita pencils, Jim Mooney inks

This page shows us the work of two generations of Romita artists. John Jr. pencilling, with his dad inking.

John Romita Jr. pencils, JR Sr. inks

A cool page from Spider-Man Annual 3. Good thing Romita left the top third of the panel open, any art would have been obliterated by all those dialog balloons...

Romita layouts, Don Heck pencils, Mike Esposito inks

Here, Ross Andru with Romita. John adds a nice smoothness and polish to Andru's rendering.

Ross Andru pencils, Romita inks

Last up, a powerful page by Gil Kane with Romita inking. This artistic combination is nothing short of spectacular (or should I say amazing). Kane's off-the-page energy and action, with Romita's finesse. Now this is Comics!

Gil Kane pencils, Romita inks

Thank you all for letting me gush a bit today. But then again, if anyone deserved a column full of gushing admiration, it would be John Romita. Nuff' said.

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Another BitBA Sunday!

Martinex1: It is the first day of the week and time for reviews, previews, and recommendations.   Please share your own related suggestions and insights in the comments.   Let's get started with a few of our favorite Sunday comic strips...

THIS PAST WEEK: We covered a wide array of topics over the past six days, including comic house ads, views of current culture from a Bronze perspective, our first comic purchases, covers with watery depictions, various 45s, and favorite ice cream concoctions.  This is definitely the age of diverse conversations!

JUST AROUND THE CORNER:  Redartz and I have plenty of topics in store for you, so get ready for posts about Jazzy Johnny Romita, comic convention preparation, early employment experiences, and much more.   And in April look for a review of the Canadian super-team Alpha Flight.

RECOMMENDATIONS: I recently said that I enjoyed the Netflix Marvel series.  And at the time I had only viewed a couple of the Iron Fist shows.  I've now completed the Iron Fist run, and though it was not horrible it also was the worst of the series and seasons thus far.   It had a lot of gaps in the storyline and quite a few motivations and revelations that really did not add up in retrospect.   The lead actor was okay, but was greatly outdone by some of the supporting characters and talent. The best episodes were the sixth and eighth which had some decent plot developments and fun action.  These high points included kung fu action with a few skilled killers and a "drunken master." I thought perhaps it was picking up some steam in the middle there, but it really went down hill toward the end.  Some villains were really complex and others were shallow and one-note. The actor that played Ward Meachum was quite good. Overall, it was interesting for me as a Marvel fan, but it was also understandable why it wasn't universally praised.  I only give Iron Fist 2.5 Bronze Medallions.  Daredevil and Jessica Jones were much better.  The bar is set relatively high with those. 

Enjoy your Sunday and let us know what you are thinking; the comment sections are always open!

Short Cuts: How about some Ice Cream?

Redartz:  Hello friends; here we are at another weekend. Here in the Northern hemisphere, Spring has arrived! And with it, warmer weather, lawnmowing (grumble, mutter, grumble), baseball, and ice cream! Yes, I know ice cream in all its' wonderful forms is available year long. But when I was a wee tad, there was a small Dairy Queen stand in our town. This stand only sold ice cream (okay, "soft serve", no hot food. It was walk-up-to-the-window only. And, it was only open Spring through Fall. So, the advent of Spring each year brings me mental images of cones, sundaes, and shakes (my favorite choice was a hot fudge sundae; all that gooey fudge melting down the famous DQ 'curl').






 




 Now we  have ice cream parlors aplenty within easy driving distance. When I'm craving a milkshake, I like to patronize Steak'n'Shake. Nobody makes a chocolate malt better (except for when my wife fires up her blender). And they have so many flavor combinations, I have yet to sample them all...







  


So what do you order when you're craving a cool treat? Any favorite parlors? Favorite flavors? Perhaps we have some who make homemade ice cream. Grab a spoon and dish out your thoughts!