José Delbo

[WillBooth]

What do people think of José Delbo's work on Wonder Woman? I guess it's aged pretty badly now, but he was THE Wonder Woman artist for a great part of the 70s, and he did stick with Diana while writers and editors came and went. I kinda feel it's a shame his work is neglected these days ...

[ElvisGuy]

What do people think of José Delbo's work on Wonder Woman? I guess it's aged pretty badly now, but he was THE Wonder Woman artist for a great part of the 70s, and he did stick with Diana while writers and editors came and went. I kinda feel it's a shame his work is neglected these days ...

I loved Jose's Wonder Woman ..brings back great memories of reading her stories when I was a kid.

[4PointOh]

I believe he was the first WONDER WOMAN artist I ever encountered. So, I have remember his work fondly.

[JKCarrier]

Delbo was a solid draftsman, and knew how to tell a story. He drew pretty ladies, too. But big superhero action just wasn't his forte...his pages were clear and well-composed, but they just didn't have that "WOW" factor.

[jason_w]

Jose was the artist on the book when I first started reading it.

To this day, seeing his rendition of WW takes me back to my childhood like no one else's. I can see and hear where I was when I was looking at those wonderful illustrations.

He drew her as a normally proportioned woman with great legs.

If we get a WW #600, I'd love to see him do a sequence in the story or a pin-up.

[Mart]

I liked him lots too. His Diana face was a tad ovoid at times (or very likely, merely in my memory) but I enjoyed his straightforward superhero artwork. He captured emotion nicely, too. Jose deserves a spot in Diana's Hall of Heroes.

[nightforce]

I LOVED his art!!!!!

[Heroid]

Delbo was a solid draftsman, and knew how to tell a story. He drew pretty ladies, too. But big superhero action just wasn't his forte...his pages were clear and well-composed, but they just didn't have that "WOW" factor.

I agree with this entirely. His style was more suited for romantic or "slice of life" stories. We're also looking at his work out of the context of its time. Back in the 70's you had a handful of unique, standout artists and legendary stylists who are still influencing the industry today; but most comic book artists then were more like Mr. Delbo, solid but not flashy. And I do want to add that these days there are artists with lots of "WOW" factor, but who can't tell a clear story to save their lives. Not gonna name names, but there are some very popular artists working today that I avoid because they're all style and no substance.

[tangentman]

Jose Delbo was the artist I largely knew from my childhood experience of Wonder Woman. As many of you said, his art was pretty, reliable, but lacked "OOMPH". Still, the man drew a lovely Wonder Woman--and, for a time, actually gave us a pretty Diana Prince, too. My favorite Delbo issues were any featuring the gods or supernatural elements. I think those sort of stories (Astarte, Vulcan, the Demon multi-parter) played well to one of his strengths as an artist: conveying emotion through characters' faces.

For Cheetah fans, Jose first drew Cheetah II (Debbie Domaine).

[WillBooth]

Delbo did get better as well in his last couple of years, too. When Gerry Conway came back on the book (and for that matter, where's the love for Mr Conway, while we're at it?) and Dave Hunt took over the inking, Delbo definitely upped his game.