Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Tag: Dark Horse

Dave Dorman — Breaking Ground, Star Wars Style

Original Art and The Artists

Preliminary Art, Breaking Ground: Imperial Base, Moon of Endor Litho, Star Wars Celebration IV, 2012

If you’ve spent any serious time around Star Wars art over the last four decades, chances are you’ve spent time in the world of my buddy Dave Dorman.

For many fans, Dorman isn’t just a Star Wars artist—he’s one of the Star Wars painters.

From his stunning covers for Dark Horse Comics in the 1990s, to book covers, trading cards, posters, fine art, and official Lucasfilm commissions, Dave has helped define what Star Wars looks like for an entire generation.

And original Dorman Star Wars paintings aren’t exactly easy to come by. A fellow by the name of George Lucas acquired quite a few of them over the years… and the other collectors fortunate enough to own the others don’t tend to let them go.

The piece I’m sharing here isn’t the finished print fans saw in 2012.

It’s pretty obviously the preliminary—the original concept painting Dave created for his 2012 Star Wars Celebration VI limited edition print, Breaking Ground: Imperial Base, Moon of Endor.

And like many great prelims, you can almost see the ideas forming in real time—loose energy, compositional decisions, storytelling beats… all still wonderfully alive on the board.

When Dave first unveiled the finished piece on his blog back in 2012, fans naturally had questions—some about the Imperial Guards, some about the modified AT-STs, and yes… plenty about the Ewoks.

Fortunately, Dave answered them himself, and his comments offer a glimpse into how this scene came together:

Q: Dave, what was the original concept behind Breaking Ground?

Dave Dorman:
I wanted to incorporate elements I enjoy—AT-STs, Ewoks, and especially the Biker Scouts, who I think of as the hot-rodders of the Imperial forces—in a scene that’s never actually been shown, but nonetheless plays out in my own theater of the mind.

Q: One of the first things people notice is Darth Vader flanked by Imperial Guards. Why?

Dave Dorman:
First off, it was a compositional decision. I needed to draw your eye to Vader, and the bold red of the Imperial Guards against the cooler earth tones of the rest of the piece ensures he commands your attention. If he were simply standing among Stormtroopers, you might not notice him as readily.

Secondly, Vader is overseeing the Emperor’s construction of the second Death Star, so the Imperial Guards are there to ensure—and report back—that nothing is amiss on the Moon of Endor.

Q: The AT-STs here aren’t exactly standard issue…

Dave Dorman:
The Moon of Endor is a forested planet, so naturally deforestation would be part of constructing an Imperial base camp.

In my mind’s eye, the AT-STs made perfect sense as laborers because of their strength and adaptability. After all, the “AT” stands for “All Terrain,” so I replaced their heavy gun arrays with claws.

Q: And yes… those are Ewoks.

Dave Dorman:
Over the years, I’d had literally hundreds of fans ask me to paint Ewoks, so this piece was my tip of the hat to them.

Obviously the Ewoks would resist the Empire’s intrusion, so in this scene they’re creating chaos… and getting arrested.

Dave’s original blog post can still be found here:
Dave Dorman’s original 2012 blog post

Pete Poplaski — White-Collar Rogues

Original Art and The Artists

Corporate Crime #2, April 1979

Pete Poplaski turns ordinary looking white-collar criminals into a rogues’ gallery suitable for Dick Tracy in this terrific cover for the short-lived “underground” comic, Corporate Crime. (Two issues, two years apart in 1977 and 1979.)

I’ve said plenty about Pete previously, but it deserves repeating:  It’s amazing how he manages to capture so many classic art styles, so well.  His originals (and I’m grateful that I own a few) are astonishing.

Seeing this cover for the first time a few months ago made me wistful that we (IDW Publishing) never pitched DC a Batman / Dick Tracy crossover set as a period piece in the 40s. Not sure if Pete would have been up for illustrating an entire series, but I certainly would have hired him for the covers.

I believe Mad Cave currently has the Tracy rights: Guys, it’s never too late.

If you want to sample the golden age of more “traditional” crime comics (1948-1954) you have plenty of opportunities with a plethora of terrific modern collections . Coincidentally, Poplaski also drew the cover for the Crime Does Not Pay sampler from Dark Horse Comics. (The original for that cover also came up for auction recently, but it was too graphic for my own taste.)

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.