Continuing our celebration of Wonder Woman for the next few weeks — no matter when the new film finally releases.
David Finch provides us with a beautifully illustrated, classic splash page of Wonder Woman in flight. An iconic pose, it could easily be used in a DC licensing style guide.
She’s wearing her “2011” costume, which disappeared with much fanfare in issue #41 — and then mysteriously reappeared, without explanation, a few issues later. (The interim issues had featured a brand new costume design by Finch and his writing partner and wife, Meredith.)
Finch’s detailed and lush artwork speaks for itself, of course. He is easily one of the most well regarded artists of the 21stcentury.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing quite a few of his originals from his inkers (this piece is inked by the terrific Scott Hanna) and their art reps.
We should all be getting ready to go see Wonder Woman 1984, the follow-up to the mega hit original Wonder Woman, this week.
Well, actually, we should have seen it back in June.
Ummm… actually, we could have seen it last fall. It’s been in the can for quite some time. The first delay was because of strictly commercial scheduling reasons, while the next two are due to COVID. I’m pretty certain Warner would like to go back in time and release it on its original schedule. (Come to think of it going back in time is a good idea for pretty much every reason.)
Its currently on the schedule for October 2, and If I were guessing, it will arrive then no matter what, even it means some sort of weird combo of theatrical and Video On Demand (VOD).
But that’s just an educated guess.
In the meantime, we’ve moved the Wonder Woman art posts around a few times to accommodate the film’s timing, and they can’t be moved anymore, as we’ve run into to other scheduling roadblocks. (Just like the film studios, except we don’t have millions of dollars on the line.)
And, were starting off our next two weeks of Wonder Woman blogs with not only a great piece of art by the terrific Tony Daniels, but a very appropriate one as well: That’s Maxwell Lord she’s got under control, and he apparently plays a major role in the film.
I don’t know much more than what I’ve seen in the trailer, because if I’m not actually working a project, I try to avoid any spoiler details, whatsoever. And the more this film gets delayed, the more difficult that becomes.
Fingers crossed, it’s only two more months.
Fun Fact #1: This is the only appearance of Diana in the entire issue. As the published page clarifies, Cassandra (Wonder Girl) is viewing Wonder Woman’s confrontation with Max on a TV.
Fun fact #2: The printed page is reversed, but I’m wondering if a last minute page layout change (because of an advertisement) renders the change moot. It appears on the left side of the spread and, in my mind, works better with its original direction if it’s a “lefty.”
Comic book pundits in 1986 decided the Shadow mini-series by Howard Chaykin was “controversial.”
Translation: Some fans liked it, some didn’t.
The late Harlan Ellison famously hated it. And Harlan was not famous for being gentle about his opinions. So there’s that. (Comic book journalists, critics, fans and trolls didn’t need the Internet in those days. They had fanzines. But I digress.)
Setting the series in the contemporary era seems to be a primary trigger for fans of the classic pulp character. Fans, who, it should be noted, mostly had abandoned their commercial interest in the character long ago.
A decade earlier, a series by Denny O’Neil and initially drawn Mike Kaluta, brilliantly faithful to The Shadow’s pulp origins and era, didn’t last past 12 issues.
So DC and Chaykin took a different approach with this series. And Chaykin’s world of The Shadow was definitely more “adult” (grittier, sexier, etc.) than earlier versions. Sign of the times, and Chaykin’s mature approach to comic book content specifically. (Chaykin’s Blackhawk and Black Kiss would follow shortly.)
For what it is worth, I gave it a shot, and liked it. The storytelling and art were — not surprisingly — top shelf. Did I care that the character was set in modern times?
I didn’t lose much sleep over it.
Controversial was an overly word then, and virtually worthless now. Dictionary definition is “giving rise or likely to give rise to public disagreement.”
So art is pretty much always “controversial.” Read some contemporaneous reviews of Citizen Kane or Star Wars. I’ll wait.
In 2020, of course, everything is controversial. I never thought I’d see the day when established facts were “controversial.”
Matt Wagner delivers a dynamic two-gun version of The Shadow for his much lauded Shadow origin series in 2015.
The Shadow routinely carried two .45 guns. That said, he wasn’t opposed to a rifle or machine gun, now and then.
Matt wrote this excellent series, and illustrated most of the covers, each one a frame-worthy rendition of the classic pulp character.
When DC brought back The Shadow after a long absence from comics in 1973, Mike Kaluta drew the now genre-defining early issues, and ultimately illustrated a beautiful graphic novel for Marvel years later.
Mike is also a big fan of the double-barreled look as well.
Color version and the more dramatic black and white version as a variant cover.
Who knows what evil…? Mike Kaluta knows.
The Shadow is acknowledged as the inspiration for Batman, and when DC acquired the rights to the character in 1973, they “crossed-over” twice.
All three pretty good, and one certifiably one of the greatest adventure films ever made. (I don’t have to say which one, do I?) That’s pretty much the entire summer, right there.
I’ve always had mixed emotions about the first two Superman films. (No mixed opinions about films 3 and 4. They are terrible.)
Christopher Reeve as Superman AND Clark Kent, is terrific of course, and some of the action sequences and effects are great in both. And, as a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker, I enjoyed the location filming, especially the actual Daily News building standing in for the Daily Planet. Plus, Lex Luthor and the Phantom Zone criminals. (I loved the Phantom Zone.)
Some of it, however, is pretty cheesy. Even by 1978/1981 standards. If these films were meant to cleanse the palate of the completely camp 1966-68 Batman TV series, they didn’t completely accomplish it. There are definitely some groaners in here. (Miss Teschmacher!)
But… Would I rather watch these films as say compared to the modern film versions of Superman? Ha. Easy choice. It’s not nostalgia clouding my judgment when I say that.
The first two films capture the spirit of the Superman character in a joyous way. And although character has often been terrifically well-represented television since then (Superman Animated, anyone?) the recent films are mostly… ugh. Just ugh.
Someday, a reboot will fix that. You can’t keep a good Superman down.
Until that time, we will always have art, including this magnificent poster by Kevin Maguire featuring Supes and most of his key villains. Love the art, dislike the coloring. Over-rendered, and not well executed, specifically on Superman’s facial features. (Almost looks like a completely different face.) Modern coloring is like film CGI. Less is usually more.
Great art, though. Who said everything looks worse in black and white?
Concluding our three-week tribute to the 80th anniversary of the JSA, with one special bonus post.
Alex Ross presents pretty much the entire classic Justice Society of America (16 heroes) in one fantastic image.
As noted earlier, I rarely post anything other than actual originals, but this piece is so great, it deserves its own showcase.
Other than perhaps the irony of Superman and Batman in the forefront (they barely appeared in the Golden Age JSA), this is everything you want, and more, in a exceptional photorealistic painting.
There seem to be many versions available of his image; mine is the large canvas, which I believe was limited to either 10 or 100. Unfortunately, the numbering was handwritten in sharpie marker, and like my Mickey Mantle and Sandy Koufax autographs (seriously), the numbering has faded into oblivion.
I sure hope I find that “certificate of authenticity” someday.
(A smaller version of the image is available for purchase here, and other versions have appeared in auction at Heritage and other houses.)
Superman and Batman make their rare cover appearance in the original All-Star Comics, and Alex Ross paints a gorgeous “modern” incarnation of the JSA, with none of the “big three” (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman) in sight.
Continuing our multi-week celebration of the 80thanniversary of the Justice Society of America.
This is great action splash from Howard Chaykin, and a rare treat to see him illustrate classic superheroes.
As part of the Infinite Crisis storyline, Supermen from two different universes clash, each one living the life the other. When one goes to halt the Nazi atrocities of World War 2, he learns the difficult truth about Hitler’s super stalemate courtesy of the Spear of Destiny.
It took more than 35 years to tell the origin of the Society, and Paul Levitz created a plausible scenario that explained why America’s heroes simply didn’t use their powers to end the war in favor of the Allies quickly and decisively. Spoiler alert: It involves magic.
Roy Thomas and other writers ultimately ran with (and expanded) the concept, and writer Joe Kelly incorporates this premise into this Crisis Crossover.
This is the final issue of this specific volume of Superman, launched nearly 20 years prior, as part of the “John Byrne reboot.”
One of my favorite single issues from the late 70s (DC Special #29) tells the “untold origin” of the Justice Society and explains why they can’t simply destroy the Axis Powers. The “magic” theme would carry into other stories as well.
Justice League of America #43 (2006 Series), May 2010
Continuing our multi-week celebration of the 80thanniversary of the Justice Society of America. This specific post, featuring the Golden Age Green Lantern (Alan Scott) is an updated version of one of our earliest blogs from August, 2019.
The super-talented Mark Bagley has only spent three years (so far, at least) of his 30-year career at DC. But during that tenure, he worked on the weekly Trinity book as well as JLA/JSA, so he drew many of the DCU’s mainstay characters — some with multiple versions.
On this great splash page, we see Alan Scott, the Green Lantern of Earth 2 having a power surge issue. (With terrific inks by Norm Rapmund, and ultimately, when printed, great colors by Pete Pantazis.) I love the camera angle that Mark chooses here, enhancing the drama.
Earth 2, Earth 3, Earth Prime, Earth 616, whatever. Bring them on. I’ve been fascinated by the multiverse concept ever since I purchased my first JSA/JLA crossover annual event off the racks in the summer of 1967. Even when it gets confusing, I’m still a fan.
And while we are at it, bring back Fringe. Sliders, too.
The early team-ups of Golden Age and Silver Age superhero “versions” usually featured a clash as evidenced in the groundbreaking Green Lantern #40, above. The DC record album, a tie-in to the Superman / Aquaman animated series, featured the Golden Age origin! of Green Lantern as well.
Continuing our multi-week celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Justice Society of America, with each new post featuring a different classic JSA character.
I’m pretty sure this wasn’t the first meta cover to break the fourth wall, and it is most definitely not the last. But it is definitely my favorite.
My young brain exploded when I first saw this amazing Gil Kane cover at the candy store in 1968. I appreciated its cleverness immediately. That’s one helluva punch.
Ultimately, as I later began to differentiate artists and art styles, I came to recognize this specific punch composition as a Kane trademark. Given Kane’s voluminous published output, there must be dozens, if not hundreds of similar examples. The issue itself features the same composition in its interior, with the Atoms reversed.
As always, Fred captures the spirit of the cover perfectly in his trademark re-do style. He tells me this was the first time he took a stab at this one.
Not sure when/if the Kane original will be offered for sale again, and in all likelihood out of my budget range regardless. So… the Hembeck recreation will do nicely.
The first appearance of the Atom on the cover of All-Star with his “modern” Golden Age costume, and… oops, it goes back to the earlier sleeveless version when he reappears in the Silver Age.
Continuing our celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Justice Society of America, with each new post featuring a different classic JSA character.
Hourman’s third incarnation becomes trippier in the amazing hands of Tony Harris, who drew this issue as a fill-in for series regular Rags Morales.
I’ve discussed my appreciation for Harris’ art previously, and his Starman and Ex- Machina series are definitive achievements. I also love his cover work, and this is a fine example, with a rare hand-drawn logo.
As for this incarnation of Hourman? He’s not Rex Tyler, the original version of Hourman, nor his son, Rick Tyler. He’s Mathew Tyler, and android from the future who has incorporated Tyler DNA… and well, you have to read it for yourself.
Hourman has also had a bit of a TV career, appearing on Justice League Unlimited and Legends of Tomorrow. Both the Rex and Rick Tyler versions will apparently appear in the new Stargirl series as well
Hourman swings into the Golden Age in his first ever appearance, and, like many of his JSA colleagues(including Doctor Fate), returns during the Silver Age superhero revival. All three “Hourmen” appear together in JSA #65 in 2004.
