Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery
Panels and Pages… Art and Artists… Creators and Conventions… Musings and Memories…
Vampirella #22, March 1973
Romance. Longing. Despair.
Is this a romance comic or a Vampirella story?
Why not both?
Frankly, it’s gorgeous art like this from Jose Gonzalez – the best of a very talented group of Vampi artists during her original Warren run — which makes the melodrama secondary for me. This is my second piece of Gonzalez art, and this one is an absolute keeper. (Ok, I had to sell the first one to help finance this one.)
New York Comic-Con, October 12-15, 2023
Well it was great to see everyone at NYCC. Missed a few folks of course, but saw quite a few, so I think I will take the win. I might have some issues with this show, but it still has one of the best Artist Alley’s around.
New York Comic-Con, October 12-15, 2023
A few of the terrific creators at NYCC.
See you on Tuesday for another great group, and the wrap-up.
New York Comic-Con, October 12-15, 2023
October 12-15, 2023
My first trip back since 2019. The Convention expansion has provided (some) breathing room, but it still felt like it took forever to get from point A to point B. Of course, I am four years older…
The Spectre 23, January 2003
The late Norm Breyfogle spent about a year applying his exceptional talents to the Spectre. Here’s one of the best pages of the run: The Hal Jordan-merged Spectre vanquishes Sinestro, and — I kid you not — basically sends the dark member of the GL Corp to hell. (Well, Sinestro helps choose his own fate. It’s complicated.)
I wish DC had comics like this when I was a kid. (Well, with Jim Aparo’s version of the Spectre, and Neal Adams’ Deadman, maybe they did. Sort of.)
The Spectre #17, April 1994
Tom Mandrake — criminally underrated as a storyteller — gets to have some fun with the DC occult universe in a page that’s somehow now twenty years old.
The bottom 1/2 splash featuring Etrigan (Demon), Phantom Stranger, Dr, Fate and Zatanna is definitely cool — and looks especially great in the original black and white.
And the long-time villain Eclipso —also apparently an avenging angel, but an evil one — merging with the Spectre to form a super-villainous apparition? Love it.
The Spectre #5, August 1968
Neal Adams delivers a terrific Spectre action page from his third issue on the series, and the second he wrote, penciled and inked himself. I love the looks of terror and fear on the faces, especially in that last large panel.
(DC jammed quite a few creative changes through those brief 10 issues of the silver age Spectre, so it was apparently a good place to give Neal a shot at writing a “superhero” title.)
Of course, it’s nearly Halloween, so it’s time we take our annual visit with the ghouls, monsters and apparitions of the comic book art pages.
See you back here on Thursday.
San Diego Comic-Con, July 1993
30 years ago, I had the good sense to snap this fantastic photo of Jack Kirby and Gil Kane at the 1993 San Diego Comic-Con. (Jaunty Jim Salicrup, the Topps Comics EIC, is the happy fella in the middle.)
Fantastic, but, as it turned out, bittersweet: This was the final time these two legends had a chance to greet each other. (Jack passed away the following winter.) I’m not sure they were both scheduled at the Topps booth at the same time, so it may have been a very happy coincidence.
I’ve discussed Topps Comics (and trading cards) numerous times in previous posts — it was a wild ride with many great moments. This was one of my favorites.
And did I say good sense? Hardly. If I did, I would have handed off the disposable camera to someone else and jumped in the photo as well.
Marvel Team-Up #14, October 1973
Spider-Man and Sub-Mariner need a few pages of bantering and brawling in this early issue of Marvel Team-Up before they figure out that they left on friendly terms just two years prior. But that’s often the classic (sometimes cliché) formula. Characters meet, fight, and then figure out who the real enemy is and join forces to stop them. (In this case Tiger Shark and — I kid you not — the Aquanoids.)
Gil Kane provides, as always, dynamic and dramatic pencils and composition — although finding regular inkers for him on this series seems challenging. Here the enigmatic Wayne Howard takes a stab at Gil’s unique styling with mixed effects throughout the issue. (Although I like the results on this specific page.)
Great cover too, with inks by Frank Giacoia. (Although the Marvel trade dress is out of control with not much room for the main imagery.)
For more on the first Sub-Mariner / Spider-Man crossover, see this fun article below: