The random cover on my desktop today -- this one, from Nov/Dec 1974 by Nick Cardy, just "screams" Bronze Age to me, from the Green Lantern backup story to the "still only 20-cents" circle burst...
May 1944: The GCD has this cover as possibly drawn by Alex Kotzky. I can see elements that might be Kotzky, but the inking doesn't look like Kotzky, and Kotzky always inked himself when he penciled (though he sometimes inked other pencilers). I can't completely rule him out, but the feathering just doesn't look like a Kotzky job to me. But whoever did this cover did some nice work. It's a little stiff, but it's got nice poses and a great composition.
The random cover on my desktop today -- this one, from Nov/Dec 1974 by Nick Cardy, just "screams" Bronze Age to me, from the Green Lantern backup story to the "still only 20-cents" circle burst...
Yep.
Me, too.
This is what comics looked like when I started buying them, and to my subconscious, this is what comics are SUPPOSED to look like.
Kid Colt Outlaw....versus a MONSTER? No surprise that this March 1974 reprint was originally published in November of 1962. About a year after the Fantastic Four, but monsters were still around in '62...
Cover (per GCD) by: pencils - Jack Kirby; Mike Esposito? (alterations) and inks - Dick Ayers; Mike Esposito? (alterations)
July 1944: It was a tough call between this and one of H.G. Peter’s best Wonder Woman covers, but Al Bryant’s cover for Hit Comics #32 is a master class in how to ink folds in clothing to suggest movement and volume. Gorgeous work.
July 1944: It was a tough call between this and one of H.G. Peter’s best Wonder Woman covers, but Al Bryant’s cover for Hit Comics #32 is a master class in how to ink folds in clothing to suggest movement and volume. Gorgeous work.
Sept. 1944: Since I passed on H.G. Peter’s Wonder Woman cover for July, I'll go with his Sensation Comics cover this month. It's not quite as good, but it has the most interesting aspects of his style fully on display.
Peter started out as a newspaper illustrator at the age of 20 in 1900, so he had plenty of experience by the time he joined the comic industry in 1941. Unlike most comic books artists of the day who were most heavily influenced by Caniff, Raymond, and Foster, Peter was mostly influenced by Charles Dana Gibson and the illustrators of the late 1800s, and that influence sets his work far apart from any other comic book artist. The few examples of his illustrations I've seen are quite beautiful, and his comic work is merely a slightly stripped down and more boldly inked version of his illustration work. Its slightly antique look and not-quite Gibson Girl figures were a perfect complement to Marston’s stories.
Wow, I figure you guys must be a bit younger than me! The first ever Action comic I bought was Action #346 in the summer of 1968. I was 10 years old. US comics took over a year to arrive here in the UK, hence the time lag between issue date and me purchasing it. I too, read it many, many times until it was almost worn out. I bought a VF copy on eBay about 10 years ago, as I missed it so much! Cover by Curt Swan - as if you didn't know! " />
On my desktop today, a 1974 Nick Cardy -- loved these split covers, whether on the 100-page giants or Secret Origins. I know it crowded the art and the artist, but they screamed excitement and "value for the price" to my kid brain at the time.
Oct. 1944: A suitably creepy cover for the month of October, All-American Comics #61 introduced Solomon Grundy to the DC universe. The cover was drawn by Paul Reinman, a German-born artist who immigrated in 1934 while in his mid-20s. After a few low-end jobs in the commercial art field, he moved to the pulps, and around 1940 to comics. By 1943 he was working for the All-American office, where he spent most of his time drawing Green Lantern stories for their various titles, though he drew quite a few Wonder Woman, Wildcat, and other stories as well.
After that he returned to Atlas/Marvel, the company (then Timely) that had given him his first work. It was during this long period (except for a five-year stint at Archie in the mid- to late ’60s) that he began inking others (primarily Kirby), along with his regular full art jobs. He retired from comics in the mid-’70s, moved to Florida, and did courtroom sketches for TV news, along with some commercial art jobs, before his death in 1988.
On my desktop today, a 1974 Nick Cardy -- loved these split covers, whether on the 100-page giants or Secret Origins. I know it crowded the art and the artist, but they screamed excitement and "value for the price" to my kid brain at the time.
I love these as well. It's a really nice, clean, dynamic bit of graphic design.
Nov. 1944: While there had been photo covers on comics before (featuring celebrities Andy Devine, Mickey Rooney, Charlie McCarthy (the ventriloquist's dummy), and Bob Hope), Timely’s Miss America Magazine #2 was the first comic to feature a photo of a live model in a superhero costume. 15-year-old Dolores Conlon plays the heroine.
An interesting side note: The “Miss America” story inside was penciled and inked by Pauline Loth, one of the early female comic book artists. Loth started out in animation as an assistant animator and voice actress for Fleischer Studio, but did some comic book work during the war.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that this issue also features the debut of Patsy Walker—also created and drawn by a female artist Ruth Atkinson—who would get her own long-running series just a few months later, and eventually prove popular enough to support two spin-off series. Of course, most of us know her better as Hellcat.
Supergirl (Vol 1) #10 October 1974 Cover: Bob Oksner
"Don't drop me!" "I have my orders"
A bit of a tongue-in-cheek reference to the newer edition of Prez and how DC is treating* it :)
*The latest Prez re-imagining by DC may be getting rave reviews, but DC has cut the originally planned 12-issue series in half to only 6 issues after only the first two issues were solicited. By issue 3's solicit, the publisher had made up its mind based on retailer orders alone, without giving the public a chance to read the book yet (in most cases, comic books are ordered 2 months in advance by the retailers speculating on how well it will sell).
I realize this is how things work, but could the all-new Prez (2015) have been a title worth saving?
Which leaves me with only one question, is @Adam_Murdough ordering and reading the new Prez?
I realize this is how things work, but could the all-new Prez (2015) have been a title worth saving?
I've only read the first issue so far. It didn't blow me away, but I thought it was a decent book. I've just got so many titles I'm backed up on now, that it didn't quite make the cut for me.
Speaking of "split covers" (as I was a bit upstream), here's one I read until it was a rag .. from February 1974, reprinting Tales of Suspense #78 from June 1966.
Art credited on GCD to pencils: Jack Kirby; Marie Severin; George Tuska Inks: Frank Giacoia; Mike Esposito
I definitely see Kirby in the top panel, and Tuska on Iron Man in the bottom.
Speaking of "split covers" (as I was a bit upstream), here's one I read until it was a rag .. from February 1974, reprinting Tales of Suspense #78 from June 1966.
Art credited on GCD to pencils: Jack Kirby; Marie Severin; George Tuska Inks: Frank Giacoia; Mike Esposito
I definitely see Kirby in the top panel, and Tuska on Iron Man in the bottom.
The top panel is just a recoloring and repositioning of the Kirby/Giacoia cover of Tales of Suspense #78, which this issue reprints. The Iron Man figure is from a Tuska/Esposito interior panel (not from this issue). Marie may have assembled the cover (if not, then someone else in the bullpen) and probably penciled and inked the Mandarin figure.
Dec 1944: This isn't necessarily the best cover of the month, but it's interesting to see an early Mike Sekowsky cover. Sekowsky drew a lot of humor features during his stint at Timely (1941–1952). His style was both crisp and somewhat loose.
9-11: Artists Respond (Volume 1 of Two) January, 2002 This astonishing omnibus paperback serves as a moving memorial to the events of September 11, 2001. In vivid pictures and intensely autobiographic words, graphic artists celebrate the skyscraper heroes who still sustain us. Contributors include Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, Dave McKeon, Jeph Loeb, Will Eisner, Michael Moorcock, George Perez, Denny O'Neil, Paul Levitz, Amanda Conner, Jim Palmiotti, Marv Wolfman, Neal Adams, Jim Lee, Trina Robbins, Mike Diona, and dozens of others.
The stories ranged from those dealing with the attack itself and the aftermath to more super heroic and fantasy based tales. Everyone involved in the titles' creation worked for free, with all the profits that were made benefiting The New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund, Survivors of the National Campaign Region, and The September 11th Fund of the New York Community Trust among others.
Feb. 1945: I tell you, I am sick to death of hero-rushing-in-to-save-damsel-in-bondage-about-to-be-killed-by-Nazi/Japanese-soldier covers. I'll be very glad to get past the war years. But this one I really like. Cover by Joe Doolin.
Mar. 1945: While this isn't really my favorite Red Ryder cover, it's one of the best of the month, and I wanted to show a Fred Harman cover at some point, so it's as good a time as any. Fred Harman created a strip called Bronc Peeler, which he syndicated himself from 1934-38 without much success. In 1938 he moved to New York, met Stephen Slesinger, and together they developed Bronc Peeler into Red Ryder and sold it to a syndicate. At its peak, Red Ryder was in 750 newspapers—not too shabby—but thanks to Slesinger’s marketing skills, Red Ryder became something of a pop culture phenomenon with its own radio show (1942-51), 35 movies and serials, comics, and of course, the Daisy Red Ryder BB gun. Bugs Bunny even parodied the characters in a short.
A quick sidenote: One of the many child actors who played Little Beaver (the kid running across the cover below) both on the radio and in film was Robert “Baretta” Blake.
Fred Harman was a great cartoonist. I believe—and I’m not the only one—that he was an early influence on Frank Frazetta. Frazetta even signs his name similar to the way Harman does, but the comparisons run much deeper than that. And while Caniff probably was the bigger influence of the two, I think Harman probably had a significant influence on Mort Meskin and Frank Robbins too, though I have seen no verification of that.
Apr. 1945: Not a lot to choose from this month, so I'm going with Prize Comics #52 with a cover by Charles Voight. The cover may seem a little silly looking, but there's some nice cartooning here, and it's not fully indicative of what Voight was capable of. His work has a nice blend of fine pen work and bold brush work, that's brought together with a frenetic energy.
Voight was actually an older man at this point. Born in 1887, he was 56 when he started drawing comic books. But before that he'd written and drawn newspaper strips, including his most popular strip, Betty, which ran from 1920-43. His work on Betty was a big influence on Bernie Krigstein, and to a lesser extent on Jerry Robinson.
I've read this issue, and for the time, it's a very solid read from start to finish. Besides two Voight stories inside, there's also a Dick Briefer “Frankenstein” story. Between the two of them, there's some serious cartooning going on. Well worth checking out.
Comments
Me, too.
This is what comics looked like when I started buying them, and to my subconscious, this is what comics are SUPPOSED to look like.
Cover (per GCD) by: pencils - Jack Kirby; Mike Esposito? (alterations) and inks - Dick Ayers; Mike Esposito? (alterations)
Peter started out as a newspaper illustrator at the age of 20 in 1900, so he had plenty of experience by the time he joined the comic industry in 1941. Unlike most comic books artists of the day who were most heavily influenced by Caniff, Raymond, and Foster, Peter was mostly influenced by Charles Dana Gibson and the illustrators of the late 1800s, and that influence sets his work far apart from any other comic book artist. The few examples of his illustrations I've seen are quite beautiful, and his comic work is merely a slightly stripped down and more boldly inked version of his illustration work. Its slightly antique look and not-quite Gibson Girl figures were a perfect complement to Marston’s stories.
I bought a VF copy on eBay about 10 years ago, as I missed it so much!
Cover by Curt Swan - as if you didn't know!
Anyway, love that cover of Supergirl bopping Superman on the chin. That's some Silver Age goodness right there!
After that he returned to Atlas/Marvel, the company (then Timely) that had given him his first work. It was during this long period (except for a five-year stint at Archie in the mid- to late ’60s) that he began inking others (primarily Kirby), along with his regular full art jobs. He retired from comics in the mid-’70s, moved to Florida, and did courtroom sketches for TV news, along with some commercial art jobs, before his death in 1988.
An interesting side note: The “Miss America” story inside was penciled and inked by Pauline Loth, one of the early female comic book artists. Loth started out in animation as an assistant animator and voice actress for Fleischer Studio, but did some comic book work during the war.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that this issue also features the debut of Patsy Walker—also created and drawn by a female artist Ruth Atkinson—who would get her own long-running series just a few months later, and eventually prove popular enough to support two spin-off series. Of course, most of us know her better as Hellcat.
October 1974
Cover: Bob Oksner
"Don't drop me!"
"I have my orders"
A bit of a tongue-in-cheek reference to the newer edition of Prez and how DC is treating* it :)
*The latest Prez re-imagining by DC may be getting rave reviews, but DC has cut the originally planned 12-issue series in half to only 6 issues after only the first two issues were solicited. By issue 3's solicit, the publisher had made up its mind based on retailer orders alone, without giving the public a chance to read the book yet (in most cases, comic books are ordered 2 months in advance by the retailers speculating on how well it will sell).
I realize this is how things work, but could the all-new Prez (2015) have been a title worth saving?
Which leaves me with only one question, is @Adam_Murdough ordering and reading the new Prez?
Art credited on GCD to pencils: Jack Kirby; Marie Severin; George Tuska
Inks: Frank Giacoia; Mike Esposito
I definitely see Kirby in the top panel, and Tuska on Iron Man in the bottom.
January, 2002
This astonishing omnibus paperback serves as a moving memorial to the events of September 11, 2001. In vivid pictures and intensely autobiographic words, graphic artists celebrate the skyscraper heroes who still sustain us. Contributors include Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, Dave McKeon, Jeph Loeb, Will Eisner, Michael Moorcock, George Perez, Denny O'Neil, Paul Levitz, Amanda Conner, Jim Palmiotti, Marv Wolfman, Neal Adams, Jim Lee, Trina Robbins, Mike Diona, and dozens of others.
The stories ranged from those dealing with the attack itself and the aftermath to more super heroic and fantasy based tales. Everyone involved in the titles' creation worked for free, with all the profits that were made benefiting The New York State World Trade Center Relief Fund, Survivors of the National Campaign Region, and The September 11th Fund of the New York Community Trust among others.
Marvel Tales #49 reprints Amazing Spider-Man #66 from November of 1968.
A quick sidenote: One of the many child actors who played Little Beaver (the kid running across the cover below) both on the radio and in film was Robert “Baretta” Blake.
Fred Harman was a great cartoonist. I believe—and I’m not the only one—that he was an early influence on Frank Frazetta. Frazetta even signs his name similar to the way Harman does, but the comparisons run much deeper than that. And while Caniff probably was the bigger influence of the two, I think Harman probably had a significant influence on Mort Meskin and Frank Robbins too, though I have seen no verification of that.
Voight was actually an older man at this point. Born in 1887, he was 56 when he started drawing comic books. But before that he'd written and drawn newspaper strips, including his most popular strip, Betty, which ran from 1920-43. His work on Betty was a big influence on Bernie Krigstein, and to a lesser extent on Jerry Robinson.
I've read this issue, and for the time, it's a very solid read from start to finish. Besides two Voight stories inside, there's also a Dick Briefer “Frankenstein” story. Between the two of them, there's some serious cartooning going on. Well worth checking out.
A homage to King Kirby's cover for X-Men #1
And to cap it off the original art which I managed to buy this weekend.