Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Geof Darrow — Powerful Line-up

Original Art and The Artists

Commission, 2015

Welcome back to a month long celebration of the “Independents” — Independent creators and projects that continue to impact the comic book medium.

My love / hate relationship with conventions has often been a topic of professional discussion, whether I like it or not.

Focusing on the “love” part for now, conventions are opportunities to chat with friends far and wide that I don’t otherwise get a chance to see. This includes many creators that I’ve had the pleasure to meet or work with.

At the top of the list (A lot of folks are tied for number one) is Geof Darrow, the talented artist, super nice guy, and a very funny fellow.

Geof is one of many creator highlights for me at San Diego Comic Con. 25 years ago, back when the convention was smaller — and artist alley was bigger, it was a safe haven from the overwhelming din elsewhere in the building. Now of course the din has followed us everywhere.

But I digress.

I love this commission because it highlights Geoff’s key characters and amazing line work in a beautifully-detailed, impactful pin-up.

Hard Boiled (with Frank Miller), Shaolin Cowboy, and of course Big Guy and Rusty the Robot (Also with Miller).

I love Giant Robots. Doesn’t Everyone?

The Big Guy and Rusty The Robot animated series was a fun adaptation of the comic.

Jim Starlin — Magical Mystery Tour

Original Art and The Artists

Dreadstar #2, January 1983

Jim Starlin’s Marvel work had a big impact on me back in the day: Space Opera. Philosophy. Offbeat humor every so often, just enough to keep us from focusing too much on the end of… well, everything.

So it was no surprise that I was more than curious about Dreadstar, his creator owned project that launched form Epic (Marvel’s creator line) in 1982. Sure enough, it did not diverge from Starlin’s established interests — or my taste. I enjoyed his entire run on the series.

(It’s always so odd when a creator leaves a creator-owned book. But it happens frequently. And I digress.)

This page is actually one of two I acquired about 10 years ago.  The other page had Vanth Dreadstar on it  (although minimally) but I ended up keeping this one (and trading the other) because it sums up the classic Starlin style.  To me, only Steve Ditko did space and time magic with the same trippy flair.

(Crazy neon coloring by Glynis Oliver Wein on the published piece as well.)

Dreadstar had to slowly make his way through magazines and graphic novels before he ultimately appeared in his own (color) ongoing series.
Jim Starlin sends his love, NYCC, 2019.

Sergio Aragonés — Details, Details

Original Art and The Artists

Sergio Aragonés Groo: Hell On Earth #3, January 2008

Sergio Aragonés sold his first professional work in 1954. Er… uh… 66 years ago.

That was in Mexico, and he was still in high school. In 1962, he immigrated to the United States, did a few odd jobs, and eventually showed up at the door of Bill Gaines and Mad Magazine. 

The rest, as they say, is history.

Since then, his work would fill an Encyclopedia. No, scratch that. A library. A very cool and humorous library.

The Comics Journal declared him “one of the most prolific and brilliant cartoonists of his generation” and yet somehow, that remains an understatement.

Groo the Wanderer is essentially a parody of Conan and its ilk. A parody that’s lasted 40 years, thanks to Aragonés’ imaginative storytelling and witty cartooning (with the help of collaborator Mark Evanier) and all those amazing artistic details and flourishes.

Those details are obvious in the printed comic of course, but so much more so in the original art. And not a lot of Groo original art is floating around. Sergio has kept many of his complete issues.

We were fortunate to publish an IDW Artist Edition of Sergio’s Groo work, so I was able to see a few hundred pages of all those glorious details.

And I’m very fortunate to own this splash, purchased from Sergio directly.

Outstanding cartoonist. Outstanding guy. 

Another creator that I dearly miss from the 2020 convention circuit.

Damn you, 2020. 

Groo has indeed wandered in 40 years: From Eclipse to Pacific to Epic (Marvel) to Image to Dark Horse. (Plus special edition reprints from Graphitti and IDW.)
The very first Groo story, as it appeared in Eclipse’s Destroyer Duck in 1982.
One of my favorite Sergio Aragonés pieces of all time. A gazillion characters, even for him.

Eric Powell — Shmak!

Original Art and The Artists

Goon, Vol. 2, #4 (Albatross), April 2003

Here’s a great Goon splash page from Eric Powell, cool sound effect included.

We’ve previously discussed a tremendous appreciation for Powell’s art, but I also have tremendous respect for him as entrepreneur.

He’s come pretty much full circle recently as he returned to independent publishing after spending many years under the Dark Horse umbrella.

When Eric launched Goon, he published a handful of issues with Avatar, but, dissatisfied with that arrangement, he ultimately independently published the series after a brief try out at Dark Horse that didn’t result in a Goon publishing offer. 

After a few issues, however, Dark Horse realized they had made an error in editorial Judgment, and brought the Goon on board. 

That relationship ended in 2018, and Eric once again, turned to the independent route under his own publishing banner, Albatross.

It takes willpower, discipline and much more to hit your creative deadlines while simultaneously working through the labyrinth of publishing details — production, printing, distribution, etc. But as far as I can tell, Mr. Powell is doing just fine, thank you.

If you ever have a chance to hear him give a marketing presentation for Albatross, don’t pass it up. 

I’ve seen a few, and they range from “just” very funny — to downright hilarious.

For economic reasons, the first printing of this Goon story is in grayscale. Later trade collections feature the Goon Albatross stories in color.
The Goon — From Avatar to Dark Horse to Albatross to Dark Horse and ultimately, back to Albatross, Powell’s own imprint.

Matt Wagner — Defined

Original Art and The Artists

Mage (Hero Defined) #5, January 1998

As discussed previously in this blog and elsewhere, Matt Wagner is a terrific talent.

Although it’s always great fun to see him play with other kid’s toys (The Demon, Batman, The Shadow, etc.) its obvious he has a special appreciation for his two long-time creations, Grendel and Mage. And Mage has been one those series has always demanded my attention, and my admiration.

MAGE is the contemporary tale of reluctant hero Kevin Matchstick who, after encountering a modern-day wizard, learns he is the reincarnation of the legendary King Arthur Pendragon, able to wield the power of the mystical weapon, Excalibur. (Now a magical baseball bat instead of a sword.)

Here’s Matt discussing it in a 2017 interview, just ahead of launching the final story arc

“For anyone who doesn’t realize it, MAGE is what I like to describe as an allegorical autobiography, with the character of Kevin Matchstick very obviously standing in as my literary alter-ego.  All the other characters he encounters and situations he endures are metaphors from my own life…told through the lens of a fantasy adventure.”

It’s a wonderful trilogy — told over the span of 35 years — and Matt is probably bored with me telling him how much I enjoy and admire the work. (I first met him in the 80s and have sung the same tune since then.)

The autobiographical part of the fantasy is key to me, because Matt and I —and his hero Kevin Matchstick — are all about the same age. 

Kevin’s character ages and incorporates Matt’s life experiences, which is still a fairly uncommon feature in graphic storytelling.

This cool page is from the middle of the trilogy, and features the cover scene of the issue in the wonderfully-executed final panel. POW indeed.

Matt says the Mage story is complete and the story of Kevin Matchstick is finished, but maybe he will incorporate a senior citizen story 20 years from now — we can discuss it over a game of checkers in the park.

Three story arcs, 35 years in the making.

Frank Miller — Wood’s World

Original Art and The Artists

Dark Horse Presents #100-1, August 1995 and Tales To Offend #1, July 1997

This is a great Frank Miller splash page from a 1995 Lance Blastoff story.

Wait — Who?

If you blinked, you likely missed Blastoff, Miller’s affectionate homage to Wallace (Wally) Wood’s classic EC SF stories. (With a bit of Al Williamson thrown in for good measure.)

The character originally appeared in only two short stories, both in Dark Horse Presents, both in black and white, in the mid 90s.

Ultimately, those stories, along with a few others, were repackaged in a fun one-shot comic book, Tales To Offend. For this reprint, the stories were newly colored.

And in a moment of inspired genius, Miller (or Dark Horse itself) hired Marie Severin — who colored most of the original EC stories — to color the Blastoff stories.

Nothing deep about these Blastoff stories — just some diversionary fun from the noir Sin City stories of the era. (Although the humor here is a definitely the dark kind.) 

Dinosaurs. Rockets. Spacegirls. 40 years after EC’s heyday, it was nice to have them back again, even if just for a brief moment.

A sampling of Wood’s greatest EC SF covers.

Stan Sakai — Usagi Forever

Original Art and The Artists

Usagi Yojimbo #124, November 2009

Nearly 36 years of the epic Usagi Yojimbo this year. That’s 36 years of stellar storytelling — and still going strong. A remarkable achievement.

Samurai “funny animals” as if directed by Akira Kurosawa. Japanese arts, folklore and fantasy.  Told in clear, well-crafted, and often philosophical episodes.

Genius. Just genius.

Stan is an accomplished talent in all facets of comic book creation: Writing. Penciling. Inking. Painting. 

And did I mention his lettering? In addition to lettering his own series, Stan letters Sergio Aragones’ Groo, and for 25 years, he lettered the Spider-Man Sunday comic strip. 

This detailed action cover is from the opening chapter of a cool story arc entitled “Town Call Hell”. When it was ultimately collected into a trade, Stan painted a new version. (See below). 

Bringing Stan over to IDW was one of my final accomplishments there. It was also one my happiest.

(IDW’s first collection is up for an Eisner award this year.)

Stan redid his original great cover as yet ANOTHER great cover for the book collection.
Usagi in his first appearance, and then his first ongoing series from Fantagraphics.

Dave Sim — Oh, Canada

Original Art and The Artists

Cerebus #189, December 1994

We celebrated American Independence Day a few days ago, but neglected to recognize Canada Day (July 1) on these pages.

So, we’re fixing that with a typically terrific Cerebus page by the ultra-talented and equally controversial Canadian storyteller Dave Sim.

Ultra-talented? Absolutely. Controversial? An understatement. 

And he doesn’t appear to shy away from it.

What’s not controversial though is the Cerebus’ colossal achievement. At the end of the day, it is 300 consecutive issues, all written and penciled by Sim, from 1977-2004

Writer John Parker, in an overview of Sim’s career for Comics Alliance, sums it up:

“…What began as a straightforward fantasy-comedy evolved into a sophisticated long-form narrative subdivided by massive, self-contained novels that basically encompassed everything that interested Sim.

As Cerebus rolled along through the years, it encompassed political satire, doomed relationships, love and art in a dictatorship, metaphysical discourse, the comics industry and pop culture parody, the dynamics of sex and gender, theism, genesis, and apocalypse.”

Along the way, Sim become one of comics’ best storytellers. With the help of inker Gerhard, the art was some of the best to appear in any comics, mainstream, alternative, the whole lot. 

By the late 80s, it was selling 30,000 copies plus, and launched a boom in independent black and white comics.

And then, a few issues prior to this one (#186), Sim publishes a very long anti-feminist essay. And the audience for his work began slipping.

And he expanded upon and defended his views, in his comics, and in the comics press. And the audience slipped some more.

By the time he finished his epic in 2004, he was down to 3,000 readers from the 30,000 or so. Clearly, his viewpoints had a pushed some readers way. And,the market had changed too, and the interest in self-published creator titles was dwarfed by interest in the more mainstream titles from the big publishers. 

The future of black and white comics? Good-bye Cerebus, hello Walking Dead.

Parker, again:

“However you define Dave Sim — misogynist, loony, acid casualty, genius, a–hole  — you cannot discount his monolithic talent. As an artist, his work is never less than compelling.”

And we can all form an opinion, one way or another, but I will bet you this piece of art Dave Sim doesn’t care what we think.

Sim’s Cerebus epic — 300 issues, 27 years, almost all of it monthly.

John Byrne — Happy 70th!

Original Art and The Artists

John Byrne’s Next Men #1, December 2010

Wait… John Byrne is 70 today? How old does that make me? Yikes.

Continuing our celebration of “Independents” month with a bonus entry by Byrne.

John started his Next Men series at Dark Horse in 1991, ultimately stopping in 1994, during an epic industry-wide sales implosion.

In 2010, after some wrangling, John restarted the series at IDW and this beautifully detailed art was used for the announcement at SDCC, along with one of the cover variants.

Happy Birthday, John!

Published cover and original promo for SDCC.
Dark Horse #1 launch issue from 1992 along with Dark Horse Presents #54, featuring the team’s first appearance in 1991.
Byrne in 2017 at NYCC, his first convention appearance in many years.

Howard Chaykin — Salute The Flagg

Original Art and The Artists

American Flagg #17, February 1985

Happy Independence Day! Welcome back to a month long celebration of the “Independents” — Independent creators and projects that continue to impact the comic book medium.

Remember what is was like to first watch Sopranos or The Wire or some of other great early HBO-produced television shows? You knew it was TV, of course but it was so different… so much better than typical commercial fare, it made you think about what the medium could actually be.

For many fans — myself included — Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg (especially the first dozen issues or so) had a similar impact on comic books in 1983. Part SF, part satire, all adult, Flagg’s dystopia was like nothing else in contemporaneous comic book publishing.

Its inventive storytelling was groundbreaking, an oft-overused word that most definitely applies here.  Need validation? Read those first twelve Flagg issues, and then read The Dark Knight Returns, by Howard’s studiomate Frank Miller, which appeared a few years later.

I’ll wait. 

Or, just trust me on this.

Flagg came from nascent publisher First, and its editorial plan pursued mature, original comics from talented creators.  And Flagg was one of the best of them.

It was obvious that Howard put his heart — and more — into the series. 

In fact, I think there are only two reasons why Flagg isn’t frequently discussed in the same breath as other innovative titles like DKR or Watchmen.

First, it’s because of First. 

Independent comic book publishers almost entirely relied on the direct market. Their reach wasn’t anywhere near as wide the mass market, and even with some newsstand distribution, a top independent comic book would never have the reach of a poor-selling superhero title from Marvel or DC, let alone a smash hit.

In other words, no chance you were going to score an American Flagg Slurpee at 7-Eleven.

The second reason is more frustrating. 

Remarkably, all 50 original issues of Flagg have NEVER been collected. The early issues appear in and out of print from time to time, but it’s a pity that you can’t get the complete series in digital or print, on demand, as they say.

And that’s a conversation I’ve had with Howard many times.  Many, many times.

Trust me on that, too.

Issue #1, and the Hardcover collection of the early issues.