@RobAnderson I'd only read one issue until I started doing research for the Ploog Modern Masters book. It's become my favorite of the Marvel horror line outside of Tomb of Dracula, of course.
I have to say I was never crazy about Cardy's covers in general. I loved his interior art, but most of his covers left me cold. Maybe because the majority of them were designed by Carmine Infantino (whose work I ordinarily love) during his time as art director, rather than being designed by Cardy himself. I didn't usually like Cardy's depiction of Batman either, though I find it difficult to explain why. However, this particular cover is excellent: it's one of his best Batman illustrations, and the overall design feels less derivative of, or slavish to, Infantino.
Here's a look at the introduction of the 'new look' introduced to Batman in the early 60's. The two Bat-books, Batman and Detective, were sinking fast in monthly sales and they were seriously considering cancelling both. Instead, they embarked upon a plan of revitalization, which basically meant prying the feature away from Bob Kane's hands. Here's the last pre-NL issue of Batman...
And here's the very next issue:
Both covers are by Shelly Moldoff, with Joe Giella inking on the latter issue.
The change is subtle here -- they couldn't quite get rid of Kane because of contracts -- but at the time it was quite dynamic.
The switchover to the New Look was even more electrifying in Detective Comics. The above, the last issue prior to the change, was drawn, again, by Shelly Moldoff. The next issue brought a whole new look...
Fans everywhere dropped their collective jaws. Remember: there was no Internet or fan press then, so the appearance of this issue was a total and unexpected shock. Cover by Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella.
More people running away from big scary things on the cover of the Unexpected comic in 1975. Luis Dominguez. I actually found a copy of this in a junk shop this year.
Hey everyone, still LOVING this thread, but just wanted to note I'll be a bit irregular in my posting for a while.
But the thread is going strong anyway. ;-)
Figured I'd temporarily leave off with a silly personal favorite by Nick Cardy from 1972...especially since it fits @Caliban 's "people running away" theme. (ha)
A few weeks back I posted the cover to The Furkindred: A Shared World, an anthology series I co-edited for MU Press back in the 90's. Unfortunately, I was only able to find a front view of the cover. Here, at last, I can present the full wrap-around by Phil (Girl Genius) Foglio (layout) and Dave (Panda Khan) Garcia (paints).
And I can now also present the next two issues in the series.
The second, subtitled Otter Madness, centered on the multi-species port of City, the influence of the beaver-owned radio station (due to atmospheric craziness, broadcast radio was impossible, thus the rise of cable radio in certain regions), and the otters who wrote, produced and performed there. The whimsical cover was painted by Monica Livingstone, who had done some inking for DC and assisted inker Gary Martin.
The third issue had a beautiful cover painted by Tom Milliorn. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an image posted of the entire wrap-around... but I can go one better and present the original, unfettered art itself, direct from the artist's Deviant account:
This issue centered on the water-going mammals, the intricacies of dolphin and orca civilizations, and the threat of invasive sea life from another dimension. We got some nice work from some unique creators in this issue, including Roberta (Bitchy Bitch) Gregory, some early work by fantasy artist Heather Hudson, and, so far as I know, the first published work by Moritat (Elephantmen, Jonah Hex). Moritat (who was working under a different name at that time) turned in art for a story about whales (sperm and orcas) that was done at same size on typewriter paper! Never was more beautiful work done on so cheap a paper; it was gorgeous.
There's one more issue to the series, which was a stand alone rather than an anthology, but I still have to find an upload of the entire wrap-around cover first.
Neal Adams handles the cover to a Brave & Bold team-up of Batman and... well, that was a secret. The identity of his teammate wasn't revealed until the final few pages. That was a neat little twist, and, although there were clues along the way, I guessed the wrong hero. Interior art, by the way, was by Nick Cardy.
The first appearance of Wendy & Richard Pini's Elfquest was not in Elfquest #1, but in a one-shot called Fantasy Quarterly. I discovered Elfquest early on when I found a copy of Elfquest #2 in a box of underground comix the comic shop dealer kept behind the counter. I searched high and low for the first issue for weeks before finding FQ #1. Turns out, there was no Elfquest #1; the Pinis had decided to go into self-publishing and started with the continuing of the story in Elfquest #2. (They later retroactively published a #1 so fans could collect the complete series; Fantasy Quarterly had a very low print run and was impossible to find.) The rest, as they say, is history.
As an incidental aside... this issue also features a short story drawn by a pre-Cerebus Dave Sim.
Comments
Richard Corban
This was one of the few Warren magazines I actually picked up off the stands. Managed over the years to get an almost complete run very cheaply.
Bob Larkin
Nester Redondo
Jordi Penalva
Bob Larkin
Look at the difference between these two with essentially the same composition.
Ploog's monster has so much more life and soul than Boris' monster.
And I can't recall a single Boris cover with movement in it. The central character is always stopped and posing.
From '73, pencils/inks by Sal Buscema
And a cover featuring Batman with pencils/inks by Nick Cardy
Who is he talking to?
I have to say I was never crazy about Cardy's covers in general. I loved his interior art, but most of his covers left me cold. Maybe because the majority of them were designed by Carmine Infantino (whose work I ordinarily love) during his time as art director, rather than being designed by Cardy himself. I didn't usually like Cardy's depiction of Batman either, though I find it difficult to explain why. However, this particular cover is excellent: it's one of his best Batman illustrations, and the overall design feels less derivative of, or slavish to, Infantino.
Mark Chiarello
Rick Berry
Rick Berry
John Buscema
Here's a look at the introduction of the 'new look' introduced to Batman in the early 60's. The two Bat-books, Batman and Detective, were sinking fast in monthly sales and they were seriously considering cancelling both. Instead, they embarked upon a plan of revitalization, which basically meant prying the feature away from Bob Kane's hands. Here's the last pre-NL issue of Batman...
And here's the very next issue:
Both covers are by Shelly Moldoff, with Joe Giella inking on the latter issue.
The change is subtle here -- they couldn't quite get rid of Kane because of contracts -- but at the time it was quite dynamic.
The switchover to the New Look was even more electrifying in Detective Comics. The above, the last issue prior to the change, was drawn, again, by Shelly Moldoff. The next issue brought a whole new look...
Fans everywhere dropped their collective jaws. Remember: there was no Internet or fan press then, so the appearance of this issue was a total and unexpected shock. Cover by Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella.
...with the next:
I think I'd read two issues past these before I suddenly realized there was a yellow circle around Batman's insignia...
Covers by Curt Swan & George Klein.
@Chuck_Melville 's posts are quite informative - I keep hitting the "insightful"-button for him ;)
Luis Dominguez.
I actually found a copy of this in a junk shop this year.
But the thread is going strong anyway. ;-)
Figured I'd temporarily leave off with a silly personal favorite by Nick Cardy from 1972...especially since it fits @Caliban 's "people running away" theme. (ha)
And I can now also present the next two issues in the series.
The second, subtitled Otter Madness, centered on the multi-species port of City, the influence of the beaver-owned radio station (due to atmospheric craziness, broadcast radio was impossible, thus the rise of cable radio in certain regions), and the otters who wrote, produced and performed there. The whimsical cover was painted by Monica Livingstone, who had done some inking for DC and assisted inker Gary Martin.
The third issue had a beautiful cover painted by Tom Milliorn. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an image posted of the entire wrap-around... but I can go one better and present the original, unfettered art itself, direct from the artist's Deviant account:
This issue centered on the water-going mammals, the intricacies of dolphin and orca civilizations, and the threat of invasive sea life from another dimension. We got some nice work from some unique creators in this issue, including Roberta (Bitchy Bitch) Gregory, some early work by fantasy artist Heather Hudson, and, so far as I know, the first published work by Moritat (Elephantmen, Jonah Hex). Moritat (who was working under a different name at that time) turned in art for a story about whales (sperm and orcas) that was done at same size on typewriter paper! Never was more beautiful work done on so cheap a paper; it was gorgeous.
There's one more issue to the series, which was a stand alone rather than an anthology, but I still have to find an upload of the entire wrap-around cover first.
Neal Adams handles the cover to a Brave & Bold team-up of Batman and... well, that was a secret. The identity of his teammate wasn't revealed until the final few pages. That was a neat little twist, and, although there were clues along the way, I guessed the wrong hero. Interior art, by the way, was by Nick Cardy.
The first appearance of Wendy & Richard Pini's Elfquest was not in Elfquest #1, but in a one-shot called Fantasy Quarterly. I discovered Elfquest early on when I found a copy of Elfquest #2 in a box of underground comix the comic shop dealer kept behind the counter. I searched high and low for the first issue for weeks before finding FQ #1. Turns out, there was no Elfquest #1; the Pinis had decided to go into self-publishing and started with the continuing of the story in Elfquest #2. (They later retroactively published a #1 so fans could collect the complete series; Fantasy Quarterly had a very low print run and was impossible to find.) The rest, as they say, is history.
As an incidental aside... this issue also features a short story drawn by a pre-Cerebus Dave Sim.