Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Tag: EC Comics

Jack Davis — On The Campaign Trail

Original Art and The Artists

Mad #170, October 1974

The Iowa caucuses officially kicked off the 2020 national campaign season yesterday. (Although in the 21st century, it feels like every day, of every year, is campaign season. Sigh.)

Campaign season always makes me think of Jack Davis.

I loved his caricatures of famous politicians. Many of them — especially in the 70s— had plenty of personality, and Davis, like a great illustrator, could show you that personality through his art. And if they were bland, boring, run of the mill politicians, Davis could still manage to find something to say about them — truthful, of course –that would make you smile.

I also liked that Davis, who went from EC horror artist to one of America’s top commercial artists in less than 20 years, never became too successful for appearances in the pages of Mad magazine.

This strip is from a multi-page story called “Wishful Thinking.” It appears to be done on a single board, so in all likelihood all the gags in this story are single pieces of art cobbled together to create story pages. That said, many oversized Mad original art pages have been cut up over the years, to sell individual gags like this separately, so it’s difficult to be definitive.

But it’s not difficult to be definitive about this: In addition to being one of the great American commercial artists, Davis is also one of my personal favorites. Want to offer me an original piece of art for a TV Guide or Time Magazine cover?

I’m all ears.

Published cover from early 1973, and an unpublished cover featuring Democratic candidates from early 1972. Jack’s art did not betray a specific political slant — he caricatured all comers.
The unpublished piece is currently available for sale from Fred Taraba Illustration Art.
From an outstanding horror artist at EC Comics (“Foul Play,”above) — to one of America’s most recognizable and best-loved illustrators.

John Severin — Make War No More

Original Art and The Artists

Our Army At War #272, September 1974

DC’s war comic books, taking inspiration from EC’s titles years prior, featured some of the best stories published in any genre. They often dealt directly with the human toll and sacrifice of war, and rarely emphasized a false “glory of battle.” In the 1970s, Editor Joe Kubert quietly added in the widget “Make War No More” at the end of many of those stories. (Seen in the published page below as the paste-up in the original is missing.)

The brilliant John Severin (1922-2012), who drew some of the best of those original EC masterpieces, returns here to illustrate Robert Kanigher’s haunting Sgt. Rock tale “The Bloody Flag.” Rock’s dialogue, and his expression in panel three, sum up much more than just the story itself.

Today we honor John, and millions of other veterans of the armed forces, past and present. Thank you for your service!

Andrew Pepoy — Wally World II

Original Art and The Artists

Archie #646, September 2013

What if EC Comics merged with the Archie line back in the ’50s and survived through the present day? Andrew Pepoy gives us the short answer with Betty and Veronica as Wally Wood-styled space girls on this cool variant cover for Archie #646.

And, as bonus, Cosmo the Merry Martian brings along the whole Martian army. (Mars Attacks!)

  • Oversize Published Print
  • Published Cover
  • EC Inspiration – Original
  • EC Inspiration – Published
  • 1979 Original Wood Spacegirl Art With Variant Coloring
  • Printed Cover

Andrew Pepoy — Wally World

Original Art and The Artists

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents 50th Anniversary Special (IDW), July 2015

No one today pulls off a tribute to the great Wally Wood quite like the very talented Andrew Pepoy. 

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents, IDW Publishing asked Andrew to illustrate a cover variant – an homage to the iconic Wood EC cover, Incredible Science Fiction #29. For our version, we substituted Wood’s astronaut with the sexy and villainous Iron Maiden, one of the main adversaries in Wood’s original T.H.U.N.D.E.R Agents.

The detail is terrific (especially noticeable in its original B&W form), and while no one can actually replicate Wally Wood, this might be as close as it gets. Home run!

  • Pepoy Published Version
  • Original Wood Published Character
  • Original by Wood
  • Published Version by Wood