This month marks the tenth anniversary of my first book, Modern Masters Vol. 1: Alan Davis, so I thought I’d post some of my favorite covers from the artists I’ve covered in the Modern Masters series. First up, of course, is Alan Davis. Hopefully I won’t repeat any covers that have already been posted, as he's rather popular on this thread.
The first Alan Davis comic I bought was Detective Comics #570 (Jan. 1987), and it was the cover that drew me to the book. I’ve always loved that Catwoman costume, and I don’t think anyone draws it better than Alan. The cover itself is a great composition. The capes lead the eye to the action; the tilted angle adds intensity to the image; the background is filled without distracting from the focus of the image—just very nicely done.
Inks by Paul Neary.
But it’s probably Alan’s run of Excalibur covers I love the most. Alan was allowed to do pretty much anything he wanted with the covers—even using word balloons, which was a rarity by that point—and his sense of humor was allowed to shine through.
Ins by Paul Neary.
Alan is a huge Edgar Rice Burroughs fan, particularly of his John Carter books, which is why this came about:
Inks by Paul Neary.
I love Alan’s aliens (see “D.R. & Quinch” for more great alien designs). I think he would be great on a Green Lantern series set in space, especially if he could write it—something outside current continuity.
My first George Pérez comic was also my first Avengers comic: Avengers #150 (Aug. 1976), cover pencils by George and inks by Dan Adkins, with corrections/alterations by John Romita. George only drew the framing story, though, as much of the story was Kirby flashback material.
I think some of his most interesting covers, from a design perspective, were the covers he did for the “Batman: Year Three” storyline.
Most folks might choose one of the iconic Crisis covers as their favorite Pérez cover, or perhaps one of his Avengers covers filled with every active and former member, but Action Comics #648 is probably my favorite. It’s a strong composition that let’s you know right away what the story is about. And the way Superman is posed, you’re not sure if he’s winning the fight or about to be dragged down by the Brainiacs. It’s a powerful image superbly executed.
My first George Pérez comic was also my first Avengers comic: Avengers #150 (Aug. 1976), cover pencils by George and inks by Dan Adkins, with corrections/alterations by John Romita. George only drew the framing story, though, as much of the story was Kirby flashback material.
What's interesting about that issue was that it was a 'shake-up' issue in more ways than one. The Avengers were changing their membership (yet again), but the book was also changing writers. Steve Englehart was finishing up an iconic run on the series and apparently missed the deadline for this issue, necessitating the Kirby reprint. The next issue (Wonder Man rises from the dead!), Englehart's last, was co-written by Gerry Conway who then took over as writer/editor for the next few issues. I never heard the story behind that, but this period seemed to be a period of general changes as Jim Shooter slowly stepped up from to eventual editor-in-chief and several writers (Englehart, Gerber, et al) abruptly left Marvel. (Not saying Shooter was responsible, just that all these things were suddenly happening.) The Avengers took a creative turn with folks like David Michelinie, John Byrne, Jim Shooter and Gerry Conway taking over the writing.
My first George Pérez comic was also my first Avengers comic: Avengers #150 (Aug. 1976), cover pencils by George and inks by Dan Adkins, with corrections/alterations by John Romita. George only drew the framing story, though, as much of the story was Kirby flashback material.
That's funny, my first Avengers issue was the very next issue
John Severin, actually. John Costanza is a letterer.
This is indeed Severin. But Costanza is an artist as well as being a letterer -- though his work is more on the cartoon side of things.
True, and I certainly didn’t intend to shortchange him, but for all the licensed Looney Tunes and Simpsons stories (among others) he’s penciled—mostly over the past ten years—the bulk of his 50-year career was spent primarily as a letterer.
Bruce Timm’s first comic book cover (not counting the mini-comics he did that were packaged with the He-Man toys) Spicy Tales #11 (Sept. 1989). He did a lot of coloring work for Malibu and First during this time period in between animation gigs, including helping Dave Stevens with The Rocketeer.
I like this one, both for the concept and the execution. Bruce colored this one too. He does all his coloring with markers, and I’ve never seen anyone else blend markers as well as he does.
The poses in this one are just fantastic.
This is a very cool design. I love Ivy’s face in the final frame.
And of course there’s Mad Love, probably my favorite Batman story ever. Bruce is a big fan of Harvey Kurtzman, and it shows in his storytelling here. This book actually had two covers, one for the standard edition, one for the prestige format edition, but both by Bruce. This is the better of the two IMO.
Comments
Luis Dominguez
http://2000adcovers.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/disraeli-all-hail-new-pope.html
The first Alan Davis comic I bought was Detective Comics #570 (Jan. 1987), and it was the cover that drew me to the book. I’ve always loved that Catwoman costume, and I don’t think anyone draws it better than Alan. The cover itself is a great composition. The capes lead the eye to the action; the tilted angle adds intensity to the image; the background is filled without distracting from the focus of the image—just very nicely done.
Inks by Paul Neary.
But it’s probably Alan’s run of Excalibur covers I love the most. Alan was allowed to do pretty much anything he wanted with the covers—even using word balloons, which was a rarity by that point—and his sense of humor was allowed to shine through.
Ins by Paul Neary.
Alan is a huge Edgar Rice Burroughs fan, particularly of his John Carter books, which is why this came about:
Inks by Paul Neary.
I love Alan’s aliens (see “D.R. & Quinch” for more great alien designs). I think he would be great on a Green Lantern series set in space, especially if he could write it—something outside current continuity.
I think some of his most interesting covers, from a design perspective, were the covers he did for the “Batman: Year Three” storyline.
Most folks might choose one of the iconic Crisis covers as their favorite Pérez cover, or perhaps one of his Avengers covers filled with every active and former member, but Action Comics #648 is probably my favorite. It’s a strong composition that let’s you know right away what the story is about. And the way Superman is posed, you’re not sure if he’s winning the fight or about to be dragged down by the Brainiacs. It’s a powerful image superbly executed.
(I'm looking for a replacement copy, BTW)
That's funny, my first Avengers issue was the very next issue
Ernie Chan
Just got this issue today for a buck.
I like this one, both for the concept and the execution. Bruce colored this one too. He does all his coloring with markers, and I’ve never seen anyone else blend markers as well as he does.
The poses in this one are just fantastic.
This is a very cool design. I love Ivy’s face in the final frame.
And of course there’s Mad Love, probably my favorite Batman story ever. Bruce is a big fan of Harvey Kurtzman, and it shows in his storytelling here. This book actually had two covers, one for the standard edition, one for the prestige format edition, but both by Bruce. This is the better of the two IMO.