The Fifth Day of Classic Comics Christmas 2011

[Cei-U!]

If you've been a Classics board regular for any length of time, you've been expecting today's penciller to pop up on my list but I'm guessing nobody saw this combo coming:

#8. Gene Colan and Ernie Chan

It shouldn't work. Some of you may counter that it doesn't work. Since they only collaborated a handful of times, you could even argue that the folks at Marvel didn't think it worked. But there's something about this apparent mismatch that simply delights the eye. Maybe it's the way Chan carves out the plentiful blacks of Colan's pencils, or the way he subtly emphasizes certain details. Whatever it is, I like it. A lot.

Cei-U!
I summon the Saturday stunner!

[dan bailey]

Neat! I don't think I even knew Chan ever inked Colan (I'm pretty sure I've only ever bought one new issue of Daredevil in my life, for some odd reason, & that was about 5 years ago ... & I'm way behind on digging into the various Essential volumes). The effect sort of reminds me in a couple of places of what drew me to my #12 choice, Colletta on Mayerik, oddly enough.

[Scott Harris]

Note: I've confined my choices to one specific title -- The Avengers.

I've already been beaten to the punch, but my pick for #8 is the team of John Byrne and Pablo Marcos:




Here's what I like about Marcos during this run: The work looks like John Byrne, but it doesn't get too "John Byrne." For me, Byrne has a tendency -- like many artists -- to make his faces and figures a little too samey-samey. Here, though, the characters look like individual people instead of just John Byrne Stock Face A or whatever. I'm giving the credit to Marcos, who, to my eye, looks to have removed clutter as much as anything. It seems a bit simpler and cleaner than some of Byrne's other efforts. Good show.

[Cei-U!]

Neat! I don't think I even knew Chan ever inked Colan (I'm pretty sure I've only ever bought one new issue of Daredevil in my life, for some odd reason, & that was about 5 years ago ... & I'm way behind on digging into the various Essential volumes). The effect sort of reminds me in a couple of places of what drew me to my #12 choice, Colletta on Mayerik, oddly enough.

Much as I liked their Daredevil issues, it was Tomb of Dracula #8 that sold me on the team. Alas, I had no art from that book available.

Cei-U!
I summon the scanner envy!

[Chris N]

Mark Bagley was the artist on Amazing Spider-Man when I first started reading the comic in '92 and it's what all Spidey work has been judged next to. (Ditko passed) Now that I've read a lot more Spider-Man and have a lot more hindsight, I still think Bagley has his place in the line of great Spider-Man artists, bringing his own unique style, while holding to the tradition of Ditko and Romita. I think Bagley defined Spider-Man of the '90s, as Romita Jr. had before him, and Ditko and Romita Sr. before him. With the great Marcos Martin as a worthy successor to the line.

His Spider-Man was a little anatomically odd, muscular yet extremely flexible. But it always worked. Sometimes Bagley's work is tighter than others. Without the right inker, it seems a little to lacking in detail on the lines sometimes. Even on Thunderbolts, I didn't think his art was as good as I'd seen it.

After 7 years of reading Spider-Man, I found the comic that brought me more excitement to read every month than any other before, Ultimate Spider-Man. I picked up the first issue with skepticism, as the concept seemed identical to the horrible Spider-Man: Chapter One of the previous year.

But was blown away by how right it felt. Mark Bagley had altered his style, created a new look for a young Peter, and put his heart and soul into the work. The inker on the book was Art Thibert.

But then I found myself with the same question I'd had when trying to compare Perez/Vey with Perez/Marcos. Is this the better work because of the inker? And I wasn't convinced. Ultimate Spider-Man had amazing coloring, quality production, and Bagley clearly working his butt off to churn out perfection.

Whereas I think Randy Emberlin was a huge contributer to how good Amazing Spider-Man looked in the '90s. Bagley is a hell of a storyteller and had a great look for Spider-Man, but Emberlin filled in the lines and gave it that finished look that a lot of Bagley work lacks.



Emberlin was inking Larsen's Spidey before Bagley's, and I've come to appreciate the consistency of feel an inker can give to a series as art teams change drastically. Larry Mahlstedt took over after Emberlin's departure and also did an excellent job. Larry Mahlstedt was inking for the death of Aunt May, but Randy Emberlin returned for two pages to help get her funeral scene just right.

Edited to add: the highlight of their collaborations is for me Amazing Spider-Man #365, a wonderfully told Lizard story to celebrate Spidey's 30th birthday.

[Kan-Man]

8. Kevin Maguire and Joe Rubinstein

When I stopped reading comics in the early 80s I stayed away for quite a while. Didn't follow the industry at all. At some point I became aware that they had turned the Justice League into a book filled with gags and that reaffirmed my decision to stop collecting. Years later, however, I was working with a couple of younger guys who kept extolling the virtues of this particular incarnation of the League and gave me a trade to read. And I loved it. I guess it's not for everybody but I bought into it hook, line and sinker.

A great deal of my appreciation for it came from the artwork. Maguire is known as a master of facial expressions and that skill served him well here (if you think about it, even the comic art masters only use a handful of facial expressions). Rubinstein's inks added just enough superhero gravitas to make the combination complete.

I added the Captain America cover to show they could also illustrate non-slip on a banana peel situations as well. For the record, I would have purchased that issue based on the cover alone, which is about the highest praise I can give to an art team.

[dan bailey]

Much as I liked their Daredevil issues, it was Tomb of Dracula #8 that sold me on the team.

An issue I also haven't seen. I'm not sure when I started reading TOD -- somewhere around #16, maybe, judging from which covers look somewhat familiar, though at least a few from before that ring faint bells as well -- but I can't conjure up any memories of ever having picked up any back issues back in the day, & the first Essential is out of print & pricey.

[icctrombone]

I wasn't familiar with the combo either. look here.

https://marvel.com/digitalcomics/view.htm?iid=11645

[icctrombone]

If you've been a Classics board regular for any length of time, you've been expecting today's penciller to pop up on my list but I'm guessing nobody saw this combo coming:

#8. Gene Colan and Ernie Chan

It shouldn't work. Some of you may counter that it doesn't work. Since they only collaborated a handful of times, you could even argue that the folks at Marvel didn't think it worked. But there's something about this apparent mismatch that simply delights the eye. Maybe it's the way Chan carves out the plentiful blacks of Colan's pencils, or the way he subtly emphasizes certain details. Whatever it is, I like it. A lot.

Cei-U!
I summon the Saturday stunner!

I don't remember anyone ever messing up Colans artwork. I'm guessing the bad jobs never saw print. I loved his Nightforce run for DC with Bob Smith but it just missed my 12.

[Cherokee Jack]

..... but I can't conjure up any memories of ever having picked up any back issues back in the day, & the first Essential is out of print & pricey.

When you mention "pricey," where is this expensive? At comic shops, ebay, or other?

I'll assume it's costly from Mile High. :)

[Judomaster]

Day 5 sees me choose the pairing that gave me the last really enjoyable story before I gave up on new comics: Mike Zeck and Bob McLoed On the Kraven's Last Hunt run. While the story really pushed my usual boundaries for what I want in a comic, the art was just plain very compelling.

Not much time to extrapolate now, but here are some images that illustrate why it was a page turner

[An Ear In The Fireplace]

8. Jack Kirby and Mike Royer

--Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth.

As I've said, I was never a big Marvel fan. When I started reading comics in the '60s I was turned off by Marvel's rebel attitude and I preferred the comforting stories from DC. The Jack "King" Kirby art on many Marvel Comics was an immediate turn-off (not a very wise attitude in hindsight, but little kids like what they like).

In the early 70s, my dentist had a stack of comics in his waiting room. Most of these were Kirby's Fourth World. I was shocked to see that the "King" had come to DC--and again I was unsettled by that arrogant Marvel attitude he brought with him (or so I saw it then, as I sat in the waiting room reading about the New Gods). I did buy a few of these Kirby comics from time to time, just to be sure I wasn't missing anything. But I really didn't like Kirby's art--inked by Vince Colletta. That scratchy style was hard on my eyes.

Then I happened to pick up Kamandi. Not the first issue, but a few issues in, and finally I was caught up in the Kirby magic. Part of that had to do with the storyline of Kamandi--a young adventurer on a journey into fantastic places, talking animals, science fiction concepts--this was a better fit for a DC book. But the other thing that made Kirby acceptable to me at last was the inking from Mike Royer with those smooth lines that gave the right feeling for a book like Kamandi. After that, I had caught the Kirby bug and was willing to read a lot of the titles Jack worked on. But Royer's inks are still my favourite for the "King."

[dan bailey]

When you mention "pricey," where is this expensive? At comic shops, ebay, or other?

I'll assume it's costly from Mile High. :)

Amazon Marketplace & eBay. Mile High & Lone Star tend not to ever have it in stock, at least when I think to check. (The same, for that matter, is true of Essential Werewolf By Night vol. 1.)

I don't recall ever seeing older TPBs of any variety in the one LCS here whose doors I ever darken, or for that matter in the one used-book shop still operating locally.

(Of course, the other LCS, which I've stayed away from for 3 or 4 years now for personal reasons, probably has stacks of 'em lying around collecting dust & being offered at giveaway prices ...)

[dan bailey]

8. Jack Kirby & Wally Wood, Challengers of the Unknown #s 4-8

What an embarrassment of riches -- Kirby's never-equaled capacity for portraying hard-hitting action, pure power, outlandish tableaux & absolute grandeur, combined with Wood's fine-lined approach that somehow conveys the delicacy & gracefulness of the human figure while also sharpening & focusing the otherworldliness of the Challs' surroundings & nemeses ... all without in any way compromising the sheer drama embodied in the King's panels.

And all of that on sale for a dime on the spinner racks not that long before I was born. Jesus.

[icctrombone]

Wow. I don't see a trace of Kirby in that scan.