I think it was in the splash page thread that someone shared a number of Alan Davis images. Davis is one of the best -- no doubt -- and one of those artists whose work I admire, immensely, but do not own much of. He's just not worked on a lot of titles that have interested me, I guess. That said, his name having been broached in that thread sent me into an online rabbit hole. Here are some of images I found:
Just beautiful work.
-chris
Alan Davis may be my favorite Batman artist. However, I generally do not like his non-costumed faces. Something about their foreheads or hairline always seems off.
A couple of comics I recently added to my collection, both with gorgeous Michael Golden art, inside and out.
-chris
Someone who was interviewed on CGS (maybe Uncle Sal?) cited that Dr. Strange issue as the single best comic ever. He said he looks for and buys back issues of it at every show, just to give to young artists as an example of how to do it right.
That Batman issue is quite incredible, as well... and I would add one more Golden "must-have" to the list....
You're correct. It was "Cousin Buzz" when he was on with Uncle Sal. That's actually the reason I had it on my radar. The Batman book was another recommendation I'd heard recently on a podcast, though I cannot remember where it was. Might've been here, but I think it was on another one.
And, as @nweathington pointed out when I posted those images, both the stories were great! Loved them.
And (finally), that Star Wars issue is another cool book. Honestly can't remember the story, but having Golden on art is always a plus. I'm fairly certain it was an inventory issue they used when the "Empire" adaptation got pushed back an issue, but I could be completely wrong on that count.
-chris
You're exactly right... it was an inventory issue... written by Goodwin, I think... Hard to believe such a gem might potentially just sit there forever, never being used.
The late Rich Buckler was a fan of the MLJ/Archie superheroes, particularly the run Kirby and Simon worked on. In 1981 John Carbonaro hired Rich to work up some concept drawings of those heroes to pitch to Archie as a new line of books. Archie liked the pitch, and Buckler was hired as managing editor of the Red Circle line (later changed to Archie Adventure once they expanded from direct market-only distribution to newstand distribution). Buckler also ended up drawing and writing many of the stories in the eight monthly titles. Unfortunately, it was the newstand returns that killed the line.
Here’s one of Buckler’s covers:
I was a pretty avid collector of that particular Red Circle iteration... I loved the Buckler artwork (having been a fan of All-Star Squadron, previously), and loved some of the stuff by Toth, Infantano, and company on the other books in the line. The stories, however were never really that strong, hence the short lifetime of the project.
I was a pretty avid collector of that particular Red Circle iteration... I loved the Buckler artwork (having been a fan of All-Star Squadron, previously), and loved some of the stuff by Toth, Infantano, and company on the other books in the line. The stories, however were never really that strong, hence the short lifetime of the project.
I don’t remember ever seeing them as they were coming out, but I may have just looked past them. But, yeah, Buckler hired some great artists, but he wrote and edited most of the line himself, and he just wasn’t very strong in those departments.
The One #3 November 1985 Story, art and lettering by Rick Veitch
In the mid-80's, the comics industry shifted its focus from newsstands to specialty shops and bookstore chains, Marvel Comics' Editor-In-Chief Jim Shooter decided to create a new imprint aimed at older readers and science fiction fans called Epic Comics, which would consist of both upscale monthly comics and high quality, album-style "graphic novels" (a new term in the industry).
One of those titles was Rick Veitch's "The One" which took a bucketful of nuclear fear, added a healthy dollop of New Age mysticism, and served up a comic book super-hero series like no one had ever seen before. Written and drawn at the height of the final showdown between American style capitalism and Soviet era communism, The One spins an outrageous doomsday scenario that has proven even more relevant to today's ongoing global crisis.
The One begins with the United States and the Soviet Union pushed into World War III by a certain blonde billionaire who has figured out how to turn a profit from a limited nuclear exchange. But the threat of Armageddon awakens a mysterious force in the human race that disarms the missiles and sets the world on a high-speed collision course with evolution.
Finding themselves stripped of their atomic arsenals, both the American and Russian governments unleash top secret super-soldier projects to wage hand to hand combat against each other. The ensuing "Superior War" makes nuclear weapons seem like mere child's play.
IDW just announced they are rebooting this series with Veitch at the helm.
The One #3 November 1985 Story, art and lettering by Rick Veitch
Also a book of the month club; Uber Maus and all. The One was a great BoMC for me. I had just gotten back into comics and was trying something new. It was one of those important ohh yeah comics are something more moments. It helped open my eyes to the greater comics world. It's not the best work, but it is really good and was important to me.
I read Brat Pack before I went back and read The One. The One was far weaker in comparison. I really like Veitch in general, but I have to say that I'm not stoked to see a reboot of this. I think it's one of those things that is very much of its time. I'd much rather see him do something new. Hopefully he can prove me wrong.
Even though reading the one was important for me; I agree with you. It's not a pantheon book; it's not even in the top... list of what Rick Veitch has worked on. It just happened to be the right book at the right time for me. It come off that way in first post because I was remembering more of the role CGS played in reading development than the actual book.
I reaaalllyy went down a rabbit hole the other day, trying to figure out the truly first (oldest) comic book I ever bought off the stands. (More accurately, that was bought for me.)
I was very surprised to realize I knew, for sure, of 16 comics bought for me before I was 5 years old. I had never really looked at them chronoligically in this way (using Mike's Amazing World website). I was even more surprised to realize that, despite all the times I've shed most of my collection, I still owned 7 of those original copies!
So, I'm always looking for an excuse to post old covers, and this will be my latest excuse. A reverse order count-down.
________________-
My #16 oldest comic that was bought off the stands for me (before the age of 5)
Amazing Spider-Man #89, on stands 7/14/1970 Pencils/Inks: John Romita, Sr.
With a great villain, and interiors by Kane (pencils) and Romita (inks), I read this practically to dust. This is my original copy. And in those days, it was rare, indeed, that I had consecutive issues so it was many, MANY years before I got to read the second part. I've included below the cliffhanger splash the issue ended on...
June 1954: This month’s cover is one of three striking covers for Charlton by a young Steve Ditko, Space Adventures #12 being the best of the bunch. You can really see the Caniff influence in this early work.
Ditko got his start in the industry the year before as an inker in the Simon & Kirby studio, where he fell under the mentorship of Mort Meskin. In the fall of 1953, Ditko began penciling and inking stories for a variety of publishers, and by the beginning of 1954 he began his long association with Charlton. He quickly became one of their workhorses, often penciling and inking whole issues of their anthology books (see The Thing). And except for a brief stretch in 1956 when Charlton was primarily using unpublished material it had purchased from the defunct Fawcett comics division and Ditko was forced to seek employment with Marvel, Ditko spent most of the remainder of the decade working almost exclusively for Charlton.
My #15 oldest comic -- bought off the stands for me before the age of 5...
Where Monsters Dwell #5, on stands 6/16/1970 Per GCD: Pencils: Jack Kirby; Marie Severin (alterations) Inks: Dick Ayers; Marie Severin (alterations)
LOVED monsters, especially giant monsters, so no surprise I went for this one off the stands... I don't still own this one, and had trouble finding a larger image...
I must have been in a jungle kind of mood, because I also scored a copy of Jungle Comics #72 (Dec. 1945) at the same booth, also for only $2. The cover is by Joe Doolin, and the lead story is drawn by one of the better Golden Age artists Ruben Moreira. How could I pass it up for only $2?
My #14 oldest comic, bought off the stands for me before the age of 5... This is my original copy.
Batman #224, on stands 6/4/1970 Pencils: Neal Adams Inks: Dick Giordano
IIRC, this Adams/Giordano cover scared me when I was four; the interiors by Novick/Giordano weren't quite as "real"/scary. I'm kind of surprised my parents let me pick this one out at 4, but I'm guessing they saw "Batman" and just thought of the campy tv show (which I loved in reruns. R.I.P, Adam West).
Also included -- the shredded advertisement for "monster club." My grandfather helped me mail it in, and I clearly remember hanging that poster up at my grandparents house (and putting on one of the paper masks) to "scare" my mom when she got home from work. I was so excited for it to arrive, I cut out the picture of the monster, too. Needless to say, I'm sure she wasn't scared, but she pretended to be for my sake. Hey, I was only four!
For the curious, I found an image of the ad, minus shredding.
July 1954: Normally I'd go with Frank Frazetta’s Buck Rogers cover for Famous Funnies #213, but that’s been posted in this thread multiple times. So instead we’ll pick up Warren Kremer’s story with his cover for Little Dot #7. When last we left him in 1951, Kremer was working mainly for Ace, but was starting to get work from Harvey, thanks to his friend and fellow artist, Steve Muffatti.
Little Dot was created in 1949 for a backup feature in Sad Sack Comics #1. Sad Sack was one of Harvey’s best sellers, and in 1953 Little Dot was given her own title, albeit after a major overhaul in her design. It was either Kremer or Muffatti (or perhaps one working off of the other) who redesigned the character from a semi-realistic looking little girl into the image she’s known as today. For the debut issue, Kremer drew the cover, while Muffatti drew the interior story, and Kremer quickly came to realize he preferred drawing in this cartoony style to his more realistic work. And he could draw this way faster. Much faster. In fact, Kremer eventually became one of the most prolific artists the industry has ever known, both as a cover artist and as an interior artist. While the numbers aren’t precisely clear, he’s certainly in the top five in both categories. Once he was primarily drawing humor books, Kremer was able to pencil eight pages a day.
By 1956, Kremer’s style was more or less considered the Harvey house style, and he soon was named as the company’s art director, a job he held until Harvey closed its doors in 1982. Along the way he redesigned Casper the Friendly Ghost, and created Hot Stuff and Stumbo the Giant.
One interesting side note: While Kremer wrote with his right hand, he drew with his left hand. When he suffered a stroke in the early ’90s, the left side of his body was left paralyzed, so he began drawing with his right hand, and lost very little of his prowess.
I think this is gonna be one of the series I pull out for a re-read next.
-chris
I think this series is the longest continuous run of comics I have in my collection. I dropped it a few months into Geoff Johns’ run, but up until then it was one of DC’s most consistently enjoyable books.
By 1956, Kremer’s style was more or less considered the Harvey house style, and he soon was named as the company’s art director, a job he held until Harvey closed its doors in 1982. Along the way he redesigned Casper the Friendly Ghost, and created Hot Stuff and Stumbo the Giant.
One interesting side note: While Kremer wrote with his right hand, he drew with his left hand. When he suffered a stroke in the early ’90s, the left side of his body was left paralyzed, so he began drawing with his right hand, and lost very little of his prowess. />
Thanks for sharing this cover, Eric. Did not know about Kremer's ambidextrous ability, but so glad he was able to manage after the stroke. His Harvey style is timeless.
By 1956, Kremer’s style was more or less considered the Harvey house style, and he soon was named as the company’s art director, a job he held until Harvey closed its doors in 1982. Along the way he redesigned Casper the Friendly Ghost, and created Hot Stuff and Stumbo the Giant.
One interesting side note: While Kremer wrote with his right hand, he drew with his left hand. When he suffered a stroke in the early ’90s, the left side of his body was left paralyzed, so he began drawing with his right hand, and lost very little of his prowess. />
Thanks for sharing this cover, Eric. Did not know about Kremer's ambidextrous ability, but so glad he was able to manage after the stroke. His Harvey style is timeless.
It’s a great story. He was mostly retired by the time he had the stroke, but he still did a job here and there. By all reports, he was very disappointed with the work he drew right-handed, but most people could tell very little difference, and most importantly it didn’t affect the amount of work he took on.
Comments
November 1973
Cover by Neal Adams
November 1985
Story, art and lettering by Rick Veitch
In the mid-80's, the comics industry shifted its focus from newsstands to specialty shops and bookstore chains, Marvel Comics' Editor-In-Chief Jim Shooter decided to create a new imprint aimed at older readers and science fiction fans called Epic Comics, which would consist of both upscale monthly comics and high quality, album-style "graphic novels" (a new term in the industry).
One of those titles was Rick Veitch's "The One" which took a bucketful of nuclear fear, added a healthy dollop of New Age mysticism, and served up a comic book super-hero series like no one had ever seen before. Written and drawn at the height of the final showdown between American style capitalism and Soviet era communism, The One spins an outrageous doomsday scenario that has proven even more relevant to today's ongoing global crisis.
The One begins with the United States and the Soviet Union pushed into World War III by a certain blonde billionaire who has figured out how to turn a profit from a limited nuclear exchange. But the threat of Armageddon awakens a mysterious force in the human race that disarms the missiles and sets the world on a high-speed collision course with evolution.
Finding themselves stripped of their atomic arsenals, both the American and Russian governments unleash top secret super-soldier projects to wage hand to hand combat against each other. The ensuing "Superior War" makes nuclear weapons seem like mere child's play.
IDW just announced they are rebooting this series with Veitch at the helm.
Thank you CGS for making my reading special.
But the first edition of the trade was the best
It just happened to be the right book at the right time for me. It come off that way in first post because I was remembering more of the role CGS played in reading development than the actual book.
I was very surprised to realize I knew, for sure, of 16 comics bought for me before I was 5 years old. I had never really looked at them chronoligically in this way (using Mike's Amazing World website). I was even more surprised to realize that, despite all the times I've shed most of my collection, I still owned 7 of those original copies!
So, I'm always looking for an excuse to post old covers, and this will be my latest excuse. A reverse order count-down.
________________-
My #16 oldest comic that was bought off the stands for me (before the age of 5)
Amazing Spider-Man #89, on stands 7/14/1970
Pencils/Inks: John Romita, Sr.
With a great villain, and interiors by Kane (pencils) and Romita (inks), I read this practically to dust. This is my original copy. And in those days, it was rare, indeed, that I had consecutive issues so it was many, MANY years before I got to read the second part. I've included below the cliffhanger splash the issue ended on...
Ditko got his start in the industry the year before as an inker in the Simon & Kirby studio, where he fell under the mentorship of Mort Meskin. In the fall of 1953, Ditko began penciling and inking stories for a variety of publishers, and by the beginning of 1954 he began his long association with Charlton. He quickly became one of their workhorses, often penciling and inking whole issues of their anthology books (see The Thing). And except for a brief stretch in 1956 when Charlton was primarily using unpublished material it had purchased from the defunct Fawcett comics division and Ditko was forced to seek employment with Marvel, Ditko spent most of the remainder of the decade working almost exclusively for Charlton.
February 1979
Cover John Byrne
My #15 oldest comic -- bought off the stands for me before the age of 5...
Where Monsters Dwell #5, on stands 6/16/1970
Per GCD: Pencils: Jack Kirby; Marie Severin (alterations)
Inks: Dick Ayers; Marie Severin (alterations)
LOVED monsters, especially giant monsters, so no surprise I went for this one off the stands... I don't still own this one, and had trouble finding a larger image...
Batman #224, on stands 6/4/1970
Pencils: Neal Adams
Inks: Dick Giordano
IIRC, this Adams/Giordano cover scared me when I was four; the interiors by Novick/Giordano weren't quite as "real"/scary. I'm kind of surprised my parents let me pick this one out at 4, but I'm guessing they saw "Batman" and just thought of the campy tv show (which I loved in reruns. R.I.P, Adam West).
Also included -- the shredded advertisement for "monster club." My grandfather helped me mail it in, and I clearly remember hanging that poster up at my grandparents house (and putting on one of the paper masks) to "scare" my mom when she got home from work. I was so excited for it to arrive, I cut out the picture of the monster, too. Needless to say, I'm sure she wasn't scared, but she pretended to be for my sake. Hey, I was only four!
For the curious, I found an image of the ad, minus shredding.
I've been missing Steve Dillon.
As you can tell, I'm overcompensating.
Little Dot was created in 1949 for a backup feature in Sad Sack Comics #1. Sad Sack was one of Harvey’s best sellers, and in 1953 Little Dot was given her own title, albeit after a major overhaul in her design. It was either Kremer or Muffatti (or perhaps one working off of the other) who redesigned the character from a semi-realistic looking little girl into the image she’s known as today. For the debut issue, Kremer drew the cover, while Muffatti drew the interior story, and Kremer quickly came to realize he preferred drawing in this cartoony style to his more realistic work. And he could draw this way faster. Much faster. In fact, Kremer eventually became one of the most prolific artists the industry has ever known, both as a cover artist and as an interior artist. While the numbers aren’t precisely clear, he’s certainly in the top five in both categories. Once he was primarily drawing humor books, Kremer was able to pencil eight pages a day.
By 1956, Kremer’s style was more or less considered the Harvey house style, and he soon was named as the company’s art director, a job he held until Harvey closed its doors in 1982. Along the way he redesigned Casper the Friendly Ghost, and created Hot Stuff and Stumbo the Giant.
One interesting side note: While Kremer wrote with his right hand, he drew with his left hand. When he suffered a stroke in the early ’90s, the left side of his body was left paralyzed, so he began drawing with his right hand, and lost very little of his prowess.
Let's celebrate
-chris