Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Tag: Dark Horse

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.

Eric Powell — Goon 1, Jaws 0

Original Art and The Artists

The Goon #13, July 2005

Jaws is one of my favorite films. 

Probably top 5 if I really think about it.

In fact, anyone who knows me well, knows that I have a tradition of watching the film every year around the July 4 Holiday. (The film takes place in “real” time from about June 28-July 7.)

And of course, as discussed previously, I’m a big fan of Eric Powell and The Goon.

So, a page featuring the Goon vs. “Jaws”?  A no-brainer. (Ok, just a regular ‘ol aggressive shark, but still…)

My friends who are also super fans of both Jaws and Powell’s art — a bigger group than you might imagine — are also impressed.

Be careful at the beach, everyone. Last thing we need is a panic on the Fourth of July.

“You’re going to need a bigger boat.”

Frank Miller & Dave Gibbons — At War

Original Art and The Artists

Martha Washington Goes To War #1, May 1994

Martha Washington Original art by Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons from the collection of Greg Goldstein

Sooner or later, some smart streaming service will discover Martha Washington, one of my favorite creator-driven series (series of mini-series, actually) of the 90s. All-star creators Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons teamed up to create a memorable post-apocalyptic USA.

Maybe it will happen right after we finally see an American Flagg streaming series; they could both be part of an American Dystopia block. 

Until then, the comics will have to do. 

And the original art, of course, like this great action page from the second series, Martha Washington Goes To War.