Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Russ Heath — Watch It!

Original Art and The Artists

Battlefront #17, March 1954

Here’s a terrific early and rare Atlas war page form the legendary artist, Russ Heath.

This page’s great dogfight reminds me of some of Russ’ later DC work, including the classic “Aces Wild” in All-American Men of War #89, otherwise known as Roy Lichtenstein’s favorite comic book. Lichtenstein, the renowned pop art pioneer, “repurposed” (swiped / homaged /purloined — take your pick) two Heath panels from that story, as well as others in that issue. (See below.)

Those paintings are worth millions of dollars. Multi-millions.

The best 12¢ anyone ever spent.

Happy Veterans Day to all who served!

Fun Fact: Russ, a veteran, used himself as reference for the role of Major Leo Grabeski (also below) in this extremely multi-cultural group of airmen.

Two Heath panels from the same page from “Aces Wild” story (All-American Men of War #89, 1962) became the basis for two well-known Roy Lichtenstein war paintings: “Brattata” and “Blam.”.

A panel from an Irv Novick’s story in the same issue was the basis for Lichtenstein’s “Whaam.”

NYCC — Creators & Friends (Part 2)

Original Art and The Artists

New York Comic-Con, October 17-20, 2024

Manny Mederos
Jorge Jimenez
Jason Aaron
Andy MacDonald
Jerry Ma
Greg Capullo
Amy Chu
Jose Marzan
Alex Maleev
Dan Parent
Ben Bishop
Mike Pellerito & Michael Uslan
Ralph Macchio
Erik Larsen
Peter Kuper
Stephane Roux
Frank Cho
Mark Morales & Clayton Henry
Steve McNiven
Danny Earls
Marc Guggenheim
Geraldo Borges
Danny Fingergoth
Joshua Cassara
Shawn Kuruneru
Geoff Darrow
Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner

NYCC — Creators & Friends (Part 1)

Original Art and The Artists

New York Comic-Con, October 17-20, 2024

Scott Hanna
Scott Eder & Vincent Zurzulo
Larry Hama
Timothy Zahn
Miguel Mendonca
Jim Salicrup
Tim Seely
Tom Derrnicick
Jae Lee
Ryan Benjamin
Todd Nauck
Sara Pichelli
Chris Claremont
Patrick Horvath
Dave Dorman
Elenora Carlini
Adam Kubert
Simone Di Meo
Freddie Williams II
Thomas Nachlik
Marco Checchetto
Anthony Marques
Lee Weeks
Andy Park

Eric Powell — Bizarro Alive, Alive

Original Art and The Artists

Action Comics # 855, October 2007

Geoff Johns, Richard Donner and Eric Powell creating a multi-part Bizarro story? 

Sign me up.

Spoiler alert: It’s absolutely terrific — fun and affectionate — start to finish. Powell knocks the art out of the park. Many mainstream superhero readers tracked down Powell’s Goon series after they saw this.

You can bet the farm — Kent’s or otherwise — on that.

One final time — Happy Halloween, 2024!

Screenshot
Silver age comic book readers first encountered Bizarro in Superboy #68, and then another version shortly thereafter in Action #254. But sharp eyed comic strip readers may have caught an even earlier appearance in Supes’ daily newspaper strip. Also above — the house ad in Superboy #67, with the alternative costume logo.

Matt Wagner — Roping In Bizarro

Original Art and The Artists

Batman / Superman / Wonder Woman: Trinity #2, September 2003

Batman / Superman / Wonder Woman: Trinity #2, 2003

Here’s a great Matt Wagner splash featuring Wonder Woman doing her best to rein in Bizarro. Spoiler alert: It doesn’t go all that well.

Wagner delivers page after page of visual dynamics and terrific storytelling in this underrated series featuring DC’s “Big Three.”

The only thing I don’t like: The “official” book title, which is a bit long and definitely not obvious. (Publishers occasionally forget that readers have to be able easily find the title at retail. Trust me on this.)

Happy Halloween —all month long!

Stuart Immonen — Bizarro Returns

Original Art and The Artists

Superman #87, March 1994

Stuart Immonen — guest penciling in Dan Jurgen’s regular slot — has some fun with Bizarro, and the rest of the Superman cast in this two-part story from 1994.

This is only the second appearance of Bizarro in the “modern” superman era. John Byrne used the character in the Man of Steel mini-series (#5) and promptly destroyed him.

Spoiler alert: Lex Luthor resurrects the Superman cloning idea in this issue, and things don’t go much better. (Although I guess Bizarro lasts two issues instead of just one this time around, so there’s that.)

I definitely dig Immonen’s art — but if you thought Jurgens drew Mr. Kent with a big mane of hair, definitely check out Stuart’s version. Superman’s hair starts big in issue #87 and might even be fuller and longer by #88. 

Definitely ready for a time-travel trip to the Hyborian age.

Happy Halloween —all month long!

Superman was in his long hair phase in these days and artist Immonen was not messing around. (Pages from issue #87 and #88.)
John Byrne’s reboot of Superman brought Bizarro back for one issue in the original Man Of Steel mini-series, but he was toast by the end of the issue.

Eric Powell — Chasing Frazetta & Davis

Original Art and The Artists

Criminal Macabre / The Goon: When Freaks Collide #1, July 2011

If the 60s “comic chase movie poster” can be considered its own category, Jack Davis and Frank Frazetta owned it.

Eric Powell pays a loving tribute to these classic posters — and both artists — with his terrific painted wraparound cover for the one-shot crossover, Criminal Macabre / The Goon: When Freaks Collide. (2011). (Instead of actors, we get monsters and creatures. Seems like a win.)

Davis continued to illustrate film posters using his trademark caricature style until most movie marketing materials employed photography.  Frazetta though was later hired instead for his painted fantasy flair. Today, of course, illustrated poster efforts have all but disappeared. Somewhere along the way, styles changed, and the ever-frugal Hollywood execs decided that $20 million for an actor made sense, but a few thousand bucks for marketing art is a bridge too far. 

Sigh. We are all poorer because of it.

Happy Halloween —all month long!

Frazetta’s Hollywood work transitioned from the humorous to his distinctive “fantasy style” in the 70s.
Has any other artist been hired to provide illustration for a subject — and then a few years later hired to create a satire of that same illustration? Jack Davis was one-of- a-kind.