Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Tag: DC Comics

Jack Kirby — The Future Is Now

Original Art and The Artists

Omac #3, January 1975

“Technology is fire in the hands of children, and (Jack) Kirby easily foresaw what the world would look like with wealth, corporations, and technology operating simply for human profit and power, without accountability to any Rule of Law.” — Rob Walton, Slings and Arrows Graphic Novel Guide.

Jack Kirby brought his fertile imagination (back) to DC fifty years ago, and the results, while not always commercially successful, were typically fascinating.

OMAC was one of my personal favorites. It felt vastly different than anything else Jack had done, with one wild futuristic technology idea after another thrown into the mix. (And of course, many of these technologies have come to fruition in the subsequent 50 years. But, as always, we digress.) Ultimately Jack never had chance to fully develop many of these ideas, as he jumped ship and returned to Marvel after just eight issues.

This great “chapter splash” checks off many Kirby flourishes. (Many of Jack’s books had multiple chapters, meaning more great splash pages in each issue.)

Why is this page great?

It features the title character, a personal rocket ship, and the Kirby cosmos — in all its glory! (Earth’s atmosphere never looked this trippy.)

It features the title character’s name prominently in a flashy hand-lettered headline.

And, of course, it has great Kirby Crackle.

We celebrate the King’s reign at DC all this week. Stay tuned.

Mike Kaluta — Mr. Orlando’s Neighborhood

Original Art and The Artists

Secrets of the Sinister House #6, August 1972

Joe Orlando brought his EC Comics horror sensibilities with him when he landed at DC in the late 60s.

Talk about being in the right place at the right time.

DC became a company where artists and visual storytellers (Carmine Infantino, Joe Kubert, Dick Giordano, et al) started moving into upper management and making editorial decisions.

As Joe told writer Jon Cooke in the very first issue of Comic Book Artist in 1998:

“…Many times we were asked to do impossible things by writer/editors who had no sense of the visual-to do things that wouldn’t work and have to argue our way out of it. We just thought that as artists, we would do a better job working with talent.”

In just a few years, Joe turned around the moribund House of Mystery and the already-cancelled House of Secrets with tales of mystery, suspense and of course, horror. He and his team took advantage of the more-relaxed standards at the Comics Code, sometimes creating even more relaxed standards in the process. 

(A few years later, Marvel would follow suit with a glut of horror titles that included vampires, werewolves and zombies. But, as always, we digress.)

And sure enough, Joe’s comics nearly instantly became artistic showcases for veterans like Gil Kane and Orlando’s EC mentor Wally Wood, along with young Turks like Bernie Wrightson, Nestor Redondo, and Mr. Kaluta here.

(Plus great covers often by Neal Adams. Definitely worth 12 or 15 cents.)

By 1972, Joe had built yet another house in the neighbored, and this great Kaluta page featuring both DC horror hosts, Cain and Abel, is the delightful intro to Secrets of Sinister House #6.

Classic.

An early Joe Orlando EC horror tale, and Joe’s caricature rendered by Marie Severin at the 1953 EC Christmas party.

Richard Corben — In The Swamp

Original Art and The Artists

Swamp Thing #20, December 2005

I discovered Richard Corben’s art at about the not quite ripe age of 12. I can’t remember if I saw it in the Warren magazines or in the underground comics first, but doesn’t matter. I was hooked.

(Undergrounds at age 12 or 13?  A longer story, for another day.)

The late Harlan Ellison, award-winning author — and often-vocal critic  — had this to say about Corben:

“It was obvious to anyone with the sensitivity of a doorknob that Corben was a rara avis, that right from the git-go he was first-rank, with a technique and an artistic sensibility wholly original, a technique and sensibility that created their own genre; and if there were to be imitators as there have been ⏤they were doomed forever to live in the shadow of the originator. It was as if Rich was born to illustrate my stories about the world of the hoverpaks and downunders.” 

Many art fans feel the same way about Corben’s work, and original pieces are rarely offered for sale, so I consider myself fortunate to have this great splash page from Corben’s brief visit with Swamp Thing.

Richard Corben turned 80 years old earlier this month. How in the heck is that even possible?

Harlan Ellison’s post-apocalyptic SF, Vic and Blood, lavishly illustrated by Corben.

Gil Kane — Face of Evil

Original Art and The Artists

Captain Action #4, April 1969

Our ode to Halloween and the creatures of the comic books continues…

Dr. Evil — a good looking villain with a terribly cheesy name, even by the standards of the 1960s.

The character was the antagonist in the Captain Action “doll” product line, which launched in 1966. (More on that in a future post.)

DC adapted the toys into a short-lived series and Kane drew much of it. Ironically, the toy sales themselves were rapidly waning by the time the comic series launched in late 1968.

In this specific issue, Gil writes, pencils and inks the entire story — a first for him for either of the “big two” publishers.

And speaking of cheesy and the 60s: That amulet. The Nehru jacket. Those sandals. It just doesn’t get any better than this.

One very fashionably mod alien.

One of these Dr. Evils turned out to be much more memorable and iconic than the other. Chances are there were some Captain Action toys floating around Mike Meyers house back in the day…

Eric Powell — Justice League Of Bizarros

Original Art and The Artists

Action Comics #857, December 2007

Our ode to Halloween and the creatures that often inhabit the comic book pages continues…

Bizarro Doomsday, at the bidding of Bizarro Lex Luthor, destroys the newly created members of the Bizarro Justice League.

Huh?

Trust me, it’s a wild ride. You just have to read it for yourself. Written by Geoff Johns and Richard Donner (Yes, that Richard Donner), the three-part story unravels (er, unfolds) in graphite, ink and wash-tone in perfect fashion by Eric Powell.

Donuts not included.

The first two appearances of Bizarro, and a collection that I re-read endlessly as a kid in 1968.

Darwyn Cooke — Detective Duo

Original Art and The Artists

Detective Comics # 338 and #356 Mashup Re-imagination, 2010

As noted last year, the late, great Darwyn Cooke produced a number of these reinterpretations and homages of classics during his all too short lifetime.

In this dynamic drawing, Darwyn combined two classic covers into one, taking the iconic “punch scene” from Detective #356 and fitting into the #338 layout. Carmine Infantino (pencils) and Joe Giella (inks) created both of the memorable original covers.

When you dive the detail of the re-imagination, you might notice that the crooks in the right frame now more closely resemble the hoods that populate the Darwyn’s astonishing Parker graphic novel series that we published at IDW. It’s a wonderful touch.

Definition of a comics geek?

When I saw this piece offered for sale, I recognized what Darwyn had done — without it being specifically noted in the item description. Issue #356 was one of the first Batman comics I remembered reading as a kid.

Pete Poplaski — Family Affair

Original Art and The Artists

Batman: The Silver Age Newspaper Comics Vol. 3 (1969-1972), November 2016

Pete Poplaski has been called an “artist’s artist” by many creators. His name might not be known as well as other artists, but his talent is unquestionable.

Pete, who broke into comics in the 70s underground community, ultimately became Kitchen Sink Press’ art director, and among many accomplishments helped give some of Robert Crumb’s projects just the right design touch. 

Kitchen had the rights to reprint the DC Batman and Superman comic strips in the early 1990s, and Pete created brand new covers that evoked the classic style of those strips.

When we acquired those reprint rights at IDW in 2012, we went back to Pete to see if he would be interested in picking up where he left off, and fortunately he was.

Wayne Boring. Dick Sprang. Al Plastino. Carmine Infantino. You name a classic artist, and Pete can replicate the style.

And perhaps most astonishing of all is this giant wraparound cover for Batman Silver Age Volume 3. Featured on these covers are nearly everyone in the Bat family from that era. Good guys and villains alike. All the type is hand lettered.

And when I say giant, I’m not kidding. When combined, the two pieces are nearly four-feet wide.

I’ve never seen another piece of comic art quite like it.

September 19 is “Batman Day,” so we’re going to ride the Bat-train for a few weeks and post some additional theme-appropriate art. No “Bam or “Pow” included.

Poplaski creates color guides by photocopying the original and, if too big, taping the pages together.

George Perez — Rebirth

Original Art and The Artists

New Teen Titans #24, October 1982

When Marv Wolfman and George Perez took on The New Teen Titans in 1980, they were aiming to rival Marvel’s immensely popular X-Men. Right off the bat, the team created one of the greatest villains in the DC Universe in Deathstroke, aka Slade Wilson. In addition, Perez and Wolfman were responsible for resurrecting the Titans and assembling the now-iconic team of Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven. -Dana Forsythe, SyFy Wire, 2019

I came into Teen Titans reboot a few issues late. It hit stores during my college years, when my comic book purchasing was inconsistent, mostly sporadic actually, especially on mainstream titles. Somehow I missed the buzz — or the buzz missed me. (And the original Titan series had some great art from time to time, but the writing was all over the map.)

Fortunately, my college roommate had caught on from the beginning, and I borrowed his early issues. I was hooked. (I really should return those one of these days.)

I was in love with Perez’s astonishing detail on his Marvel titles (FF, Avengers, etc.), and this was superb work, perhaps even a notch greater.

When I returned to collecting original art about a dozen years ago or so, acquiring a Teen Titans page was an early priority.

The Titans join with the Omega Men in this issue, and we get some of both in this classic Perez layout. No one else could do narrow panels like this, with this much detail, and frankly few tried.

The Titans / Omega Men crossover comes after their first appearance in Green lantern, and debuting in a short-lived series slightly thereafter.

Gil Kane and Nick Cardy — Team Up

Original Art and The Artists

Teen Titans #24, December 1969

Late 1969 was apparently a great time for assassins on skis.

Making the biggest splash on the slopes were the bad guys in the latest James Bond flick, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (OHMSS.)

In fact, the skiing action scenes were considered the best thing about the Bond film, the first — and only — featuring George Lazenby as 007. (Replacing Sean Connery.)

Meanwhile, on the newsstand, The Teen Titans have the same problem, among others.

I’m not saying writer Bob Haney borrowed the idea from the OHMSS marketing, which likely had appeared prior to script deadline time. More likely an amusing coincidence.

Either way, the art team of Gil Kane and Nick Cardy delivered some exciting storytelling on the script they had on hand. Glancing through the entire issue, Nick added some nice polish to Gil’s pencils, without turning the entire issue into Cardy instead of Kane.

That’s a bit of a balancing act, especially since Cardy was a terrific and well-established penciller himself.

But I can’t confirm that he skied.

The phenomenal ski slope action scenes —and Diana Rigg — were the best parts of the otherwise underwhelming James Bond flick.
Page two of the letters page features commentary on recent TT covers by 17-year old Klaus Janson. (Yes, that Klaus Janson.)