Marshall Rogers created this 1987 cover for Marvel Age 52, promoting the re-launch of the new series he did along with Steve Englehart. I am sure the Jack Kirby purists will object…but I still like it! Nuff said!
January 2010 Archives
This Solomon Kane pinup, by Berni Wrightson, appeared in Kull and the Barbarians #2 in 1975.
As usual, Wrightson works wonders with Kane fighting a monster in the shadows on a moonlit night. Too bad we never got to see Wrightson draw a full length Robert E Howard story!
One thing I always think about when looking at Wrightson and Barry Smith. In addition to everything else, they are great at drawing natural scenery, such as grass, weeds, plants, and trees. Nuff said!
This Red Sonja pinup, by Howard Chaykin, appeared in Kull and the Barbarians #3 in 1975.
Chaykin drew a number of Sonja stories for Marvel, including her origin story. I always thought there was something great about Chaykin's style applied to swords and sorcery.
When you think of Stan Lee (and I know you do everyday), what image do you see? Probably the old geezer hamming it up in brief cameos from all the Marvel movies.
Here’s Stan circa 1975, from a photo taken for the first ever Mighty Marvel Comic Convention in NYC. Stan’s really mad mod hip, with the black shirt open at the chest, the Sebring hair-do, and gold chain on his right wrist. He would have been basking the after-glow of “Origins of Marvel Comics” which had been published a few years earlier, and gave him exposure to many media outlets.
I can smell Old Spice aftershave just by looking at this picture. Nuff Said!
In 1972, the Defenders appeared in Marvel Feature #1, with this dynamic cover by Neal Adams.
It’s a great cover. Each hero has a dynamic pose. And you are not sure if these guys are here to save the world or destroy it!
In a recent Doctor Strange Barry Smith article, I came across a Marvel Milestones reprint that also had this version of Neal Adams’ cover, sans logo and with new coloring.
The colorist went for more muted tones here, rather than the bright colors on the original. Doc’s left hand is obscured by the glow of the spell he is casting. This cover was probably used on an Essentials reprint. It’s an interesting experiment—but I can’t help think the original version is still superior.
The Defenders are one of my favorite super-hero teams of all time. I can’t understand why modern Marvel can’t get the formula of Doc Strange + Hulk (smash) + Sub-Mariner to work. Nuff Said!
Comic fans usually revere writers and artists and inkers (despite Kevin Smith’s Chasing Amy). The most overlooked creators are often the letterers, especially the ones from the golden/silver/bronze ages. My favorite letterer whose style I could easily identify as a kid was Artie Simek.
Letters were painstakingly hand-drawn in those days. I am sure if you asked a non-fan, they thought a machine put the letters in the comics. Artie Simek spent his entire professional life perfecting this craft at Marvel and DC Comics.
Artie Simek became exclusive to Marvel during their 1960s rebirth. Many of the early Fantastic Four comics were lettered by Artie. Why do I like his lettering style so much? Number one, the letters are big, clear, and extremely easy to read. There’s a style to his letters that gets specially accented in the captions and credits. I love the way he drew those bold characters.
On this Defenders splash page, you can see that Artie designed Giant-Sized logos for the title of the story, slanted against the tornado. There’s a TS Eliot quote that Steve Englehart threw in there, giving Artie an opportunity to do some fancy calligraphy.
Nutty little details, like the “Y” peeking out of the top rim of the panel, just tickle me. Simek probably lettered all of Marvel’s major titles during the 1960s and 1970s: Fantastic Four, Avengers, Defenders, X-Men, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I also liked Sam Rosen, John Costanza, Tom Orzechowski, Gaspar Saladino and Todd Klein.
I always looked forward to seeing the name “Artie Simek” in the credits. Giving letterers a credit was unheard of before Stan Lee started doing it in Marvel Comics. Way to go Stan—and way to go, Artie! Nuff Said!
Link: Artie Simek Wikipedia page.
As a big fan of the Marvel Monsters, I couldn't wait to see them meet each other. In particular, I wanted Morbius to meet Werewolf By Night.
Giant-Size Werewolf By Night #3, published in 1975, featured this titanic event. Would you believe this Gil Kane cover was the single best thing about this comic? The interior artwork by Virgil Redondo is so horrible, I can't even bear to crop any scans and show you here. It's like the artwork for a drab 1950s romance comic (not a Johnny Romita romance book--that would be cool) that some idiot thought was appropriate for a horror story.
Of all the Giant-Size books, the Werewolf drew the short end of the stick on artists. What a shame--especially after being drawn by Ploog, Kane, and Sutton in the regular monthly series. Nuff said.
Every once in a while, I wake up in the morning and a classic comic book pops in my head. Most often on Saturdays, it’s a Doctor Strange story. Today my mind travelled back to 1972, Marvel Premiere #3: Barry Smith and Stan Lee on the good Doctor Strange.
As you can tell by the terrific splash page, Smith plotted the full story with Stan providing the words and captions. What we like to call Marvel Style! Except I always think that classic Marvel style was when Stan at least gave a page of notes or at least a conversation with the artist. You have to admire how well it worked at the time. It was only possible due to the fact that Kirby, Romita, Buscema, Colan, Smith, etc., were all great storytellers. I can’t possibly imagine any of Marvel’s current creators working this way.
Barry Smith knocked himself out on the artwork for this story. Look at this panel where Doc is walking through the streets of New York City, as the rain starts to fall. He’s brooding on this and that. Who could capture this feeling, or draw those raindrops, as well as Smith could?
This is the other panel that always stuck in my mind—the one where Doc smashes open his window and discovers that the world outside has changed. He’s trapped in his astral form while his body remains in a coma. It’s unreal, like a dream. Gee, which classic villain could cause this situation? Nightmare, of course.
This comic has been reprinted a few times. The scans you see here were taken from a Marvel Milestones reprint. Nuff said!
Neal Adams did great work on Savage Tales covers featuring Conan, but did you know about this piece featuring Robert E. Howard's other heroes? It was published in a Marvel black and white magazine called Kull and the Barbarians (issue #1, 1975).
King Kull and Red Sonja. Kull's tiger totem rages in the background, while Sonja looks rather shyly toward the viewer. It was an interesting choice to depict Sonja this way rather than baring her sword and looking feisty.
The Roman era Bran Mak Morn and the puritanical Solomon Kane. Adams and his Crusty Bunkers crew also inked a couple of Kane stories. By now you can tell these two images are connected together, with the fallen tree connecting all these characters together.
Neal Adams did a great job here. Every time I look at these Robert E Howard characters, I also think that Roy Thomas is the man responsible for their popularity. I can't believe there is a Solomon Kane movie on the horizon in 2010. Nuff said!
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