Nov. 1947: A lot of good covers this month, but no real standouts. I'm going to go with this cover to Police Comics #72 by Jack Cole. Most of Cole’s Plastic Man covers to this point have been surprisingly dull, but this is a nice gag with some great figures and expressions.
My favourite cover from the Supergirl/Adventure Comics series in the late 60s/early 70s. Supergirl took over at Adventure from issue #381, following a long run of the Legion of Super Heroes.
Adventure Comics #389 (1970) Cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.
My favourite cover from the Supergirl/Adventure Comics series in the late 60s/early 70s. Supergirl took over at Adventure from issue #381, following a long run of the Legion of Super Heroes.
Adventure Comics #389 (1970) Cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.
So, If I'm Supergirl's boyfriend, I will end up turned to stone when she's done with me?
Dec. 1947: This is to my eyes the best cover of the Blonde Phantom series. Syd Shores, the cover artist, was Marvel’s go-to guy at this point. He was drawing the lead features in Captain America, Human Torch, and Blonde Phantom (they were no longer monthlies, which helped). But the superheroes were already on the decline at Marvel. By this point they were producing far more teen humor comics (Frankie, Hedy deVine, Joker Comics, Millie the Model, etc.) than anything else.
Getting back to the cover, great poses on the two main figures, and I really like the way Shores drew the folds in the clothing. Using the curtain as a backdrop was a nice touch too. It provides more movement in the image and allows for dramatic shadows.
Jan. 1948: While Marvel was struggling, the Simon & Kirby Studio was doing just fine. Kirby drew this cover to Justice Traps the Guilty #2 for Prize, and probably inked it himself (Simon wasn't inking him all that often during this period). You can see particularly in the woman’s face and figure that Kirby is edging ever closer to the style that would captivate the industry in the 1960s. But what I like best about this cover is the choice to use the window frame as a target on the victim, simultaneously making his face somewhat anonymous.
Feb. 1948: Here’s a piece of very early Carmine Infantino work, pencils and inks, Flash Comics #92, featuring the debut of Black Canary (also penciled, though not inked, by Carmine). I have to say, the Black Canary Archive (which uses the Black Canary figure from this cover as its cover) is one of my absolute favorite DC Archive books. Though Carmine’s pencils during this time have little in common with the Silver Age Flash work he is best known for, they are still very good, and the stories are well written and highly entertaining for the time. (Plus it has the great Alex Toth two-parter from Adventure Comics.)
Carmine was just four years into his career at this point, but he was already emerging as a top-flight artist. He still wore his Milt Caniff influence on his sleeve, but he was far from the only artist guilty of that. And he was more than a simple imitator, as his storytelling was both dynamic and crystal clear. He and fellow Flash Comics artist Joe Kubert were already overshadowing lead feature artist Lee Elias, no slouch in his own right. In fact, by Flash Comics #94, Carmine would take over the “Flash” feature while continuing with “Black Canary.”
Mar. 1948: Eastern Color’s Juke Box Comics ran for only six issues, but there were some notable artists who worked on the book, including the first issue’s cover and lead feature (a four-pager on Spike Jones) artist, Alex Toth, who actually got to sign his name here. Pictured on the cover are, in the title logo, Spike Jones (taken from Toth’s opening splash panel inside), and from left to right in the main image: Duke Ellington (at the piano), Woody Herman (with clarinet), Sammy Kaye, Jo Stafford, Guy Lombardo, and Buddy Rich (on drums). And, man, oh man, do I love that title logo.
The cover is not the quality of work Toth would become known for, but he was still only 19 when he drew this. His Spike Jones story inside is worth checking out. Again, the line quality of his art isn't quite there yet, but much of the acting/figure posing and dynamic layouts of his storytelling he was so great at are already present. There are definite signs that Toth was well on his way to becoming an exceptional comic book artist.
For my wall calendar the last two years, I've used "classic" calendars where the past year happened to match the current year. So, in 2014 I was using an old Marvel calendar from 1975. And for 2015 I've been using the 20th Anniversary Marvel 1981 calendar.
I decided to make up my own wall calendar for 2016, using scans of the handful of comics I still have from my childhood. They are mostly beaten up rags, but that kind of makes them special to me. (ha)
I might have previously posted a couple of these covers somewhere in the 178 pages of this thread, but these will be my actual copies, fwiw.
Here's what I selected as my "January" cover for my calendar... March 1974 by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia.
Apr. 1948: This month is a no-brainer with Matt Baker’s iconic cover for Phantom Lady #17. This cover, of course, was used as an example in Wertham’s Seduction of the Innocence of “sexual stimulation by combining ‘headlights’ with the sadist’s dream of tying up a woman.” This is where the term “headlight comics” originated. There's not much more to say other than Al Feldstein may have inked the backgrounds.
Since this thread isn't beholden to only vintage comics, I thought I'd post a very recent one that I just saw online which impressed me.
The Ultimates #1 (2015) November 2015 Variant Cover (1:50): Arthur Adams
I've always been a fan of Galactus, and since, generally speaking, Art Adams artwork looks even better in black & white...
The solicit:
BLACK PANTHER! CAPTAIN MARVEL! MS. AMERICA CHAVEZ! SPECTRUM! BLUE MARVEL!
The ultimate superteam comes together to find and fix problems beyond the limits of the infinite! From cosmic forces lurking on Earth to what waits on the outside of the omniverse – the impossible is where they start! And what’s more impossible than ending the threat of Galactus, the devourer of worlds... forever?
Since this thread isn't beholden to only vintage comics, I thought I'd post a very recent one that I just saw online which impressed me.
The Ultimates #1 (2015) November 2015 Variant Cover (1:50): Arthur Adams
I've always been a fan of Galactus, and since, generally speaking, Art Adams artwork looks even better in black & white...
The solicit:
BLACK PANTHER! CAPTAIN MARVEL! MS. AMERICA CHAVEZ! SPECTRUM! BLUE MARVEL!
The ultimate superteam comes together to find and fix problems beyond the limits of the infinite! From cosmic forces lurking on Earth to what waits on the outside of the omniverse – the impossible is where they start! And what’s more impossible than ending the threat of Galactus, the devourer of worlds... forever?
Why bother even putting blacks in when the colorist is going to do something like that? It looks ridiculous.
Why bother even putting blacks in when the colorist is going to do something like that? It looks ridiculous.
That would be a question for Jason Keith, the colorist.
Yeah, I know his work. And it's fine over certain artists, but not over Art. Art’s work is all about contrast, and this approach to the coloring kills that contrast. And I know Art hates when colorists do this to his work, because he's told me as much. I actually had to have his cover to his Modern Masters book recolored when the colorist did too much of the knock-outs and airbrushing like Keith did here.
He painted when he was younger. His earliest art heroes were guys like Frazetta and Sanjulian. And he did five painted covers for the Appleseed series where he was trying to imitate Shirow Masamune’s (who he was a fan of) style. Of the five, this is his favorite.
He may have colored some other covers or pin-ups early on, but I don't think he's ever colored anything for Marvel or DC, certainly not recently.
Here's another fab cover. This is Out of the Night #3 from 1952 from ACG. Cover art by Ken Bald. The comic featured The Raven Sisters, art by Pete Riss. The Eyes of Terror, art by Paul Gattuso. Monsters From the Ages. Terror In the Swamp. Not too long before SOTI would see the (temporary) end of these type of covers!
For March on my custom calendar for next year I went with my copy of Spider-Man #84. Wow, my copy is a much-loved rag. (Hey, I was only about 5 years old at the time.) From May 1970, with pencils and inks by John Romita.
For March on my custom calendar for next year I went with my copy of Spider-Man #84. Wow, my copy is a much-loved rag. (Hey, I was only about 5 years old at the time.) From May 1970, with pencils and inks by John Romita.
I love everything about this cover, from the claustophobic environment showing that Spidey is trapped, to the tilted angle of the image to add to the feeling that Spidey is off-balance, to the bright coloring of the rug which makes Spidey pop from the otherwise dark background and the dramatic shape of the rug giving the image a greater sense of energy and movement. So good.
Comments
Pencils and inks by Edmond Good.
Adventure Comics #389 (1970) Cover by Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson.
Totally worth it.
Getting back to the cover, great poses on the two main figures, and I really like the way Shores drew the folds in the clothing. Using the curtain as a backdrop was a nice touch too. It provides more movement in the image and allows for dramatic shadows.
Gene Colan showing his talent at conveying dynamic movement in the still image
1969
Carmine was just four years into his career at this point, but he was already emerging as a top-flight artist. He still wore his Milt Caniff influence on his sleeve, but he was far from the only artist guilty of that. And he was more than a simple imitator, as his storytelling was both dynamic and crystal clear. He and fellow Flash Comics artist Joe Kubert were already overshadowing lead feature artist Lee Elias, no slouch in his own right. In fact, by Flash Comics #94, Carmine would take over the “Flash” feature while continuing with “Black Canary.”
The cover is not the quality of work Toth would become known for, but he was still only 19 when he drew this. His Spike Jones story inside is worth checking out. Again, the line quality of his art isn't quite there yet, but much of the acting/figure posing and dynamic layouts of his storytelling he was so great at are already present. There are definite signs that Toth was well on his way to becoming an exceptional comic book artist.
I decided to make up my own wall calendar for 2016, using scans of the handful of comics I still have from my childhood. They are mostly beaten up rags, but that kind of makes them special to me. (ha)
I might have previously posted a couple of these covers somewhere in the 178 pages of this thread, but these will be my actual copies, fwiw.
Here's what I selected as my "January" cover for my calendar... March 1974 by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia.
December 1966
Cover artist Curt Swan
In honor of the new Batman V Superman Dawn of Justice trailer dropping this week :)
The Ultimates #1 (2015)
November 2015
Variant Cover (1:50): Arthur Adams
I've always been a fan of Galactus, and since, generally speaking, Art Adams artwork looks even better in black & white...
The solicit:
BLACK PANTHER! CAPTAIN MARVEL! MS. AMERICA CHAVEZ! SPECTRUM! BLUE MARVEL!
The ultimate superteam comes together to find and fix problems beyond the limits of the infinite! From cosmic forces lurking on Earth to what waits on the outside of the omniverse – the impossible is where they start! And what’s more impossible than ending the threat of Galactus, the devourer of worlds... forever?
He may have colored some other covers or pin-ups early on, but I don't think he's ever colored anything for Marvel or DC, certainly not recently.