Giorgio Comolo – Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Giorgio Comolo — World’s Greatest Comics Annual

August 10, 2021 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Jack Kirby Homage, 2002 Cover Re-imagination, Fantastic Four Annual #6, November 1968

Continuing our celebration of the 60th anniversary of the debut of Fantastic Four #1. (August 8, 1961)

The great Italian artist Giorgio Comolo, a Jack Kirby fanatic, creates a terrific alternate cover for Fantastic Four Annual #6, one of the best solo FF stories to appear during the Lee and Kirby run.

Ironically, despite the acknowledged greatness of the issue, the published cover feels a bit lifeless. Comolo’s take is certainly a much more dramatic representation of the issue’s key moment.

As for that vial? Well, for a spoiler, you can read Marvel’s marketing copy below. Let’s just say its importance is yet another reason why we refer to Fantastic Four as the world’s greatest superhero soap opera.

For a look at some other Comolo Kirby homages, click here.

Issue synopsis: The baby is coming! With Sue going into labor, Reed must make a perilous journey to obtain Element X, the only thing that can keep the baby safe from the cosmic rays in Sue’s body. The bad news – it can only be found in the Negative Zone! The WORSE news? It’s in the hands of one of the deadliest beings in any universe – ANNIHILUS!

Giorgio Comolo — Across The Universe

February 29, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Thor #168 (September 1969), Cover Re-creation, 2006

Today wraps our special remembrance to Jack Kirby with a third piece by Giorgio Comolo, an Italian artist who worships the King — and expresses his adoration with unique and lovely homages and recreations.

“It is your understanding I seek — and not your enmity!” —Galactus

Galactus reveals his origin to Thor (and to us) in this story arc, after Thor, at Odin’s insistence, tracks down the planet devourer in the far reaches of the universe.

Kirby is doing some of his wildest Marvel science fiction in these issues — a small hint of what will come just a short time later in his “Fourth World” comic books at DC.

Apparently, Galactus is not a bad guy. Despite the fact that he devours worlds and galaxies, destroys trillions of lives, he’s misunderstood. That’s all.

Uh-huh.

Comolo homages the cool Kirby cover image and fleshes out the background with cosmic details. And again, he employs that very specific neon-like palate. He also makes Thor’s face a bit more visible — a nice touch. (Although he keeps Thor’s somewhat wonky hand from Jack’s original.)

Oh, and he gives Galactus pants and full sleeves. Galactus should always have pants and full sleeves.

No one has (yet) published a book –or even a portfolio — of Comolo’s Kirby homages. I hope that is rectified in the near future.

Or hey, at a minimum, how about celebrating the 60^th anniversary of the Fantastic Four next year by doing Kirby cover homages all year long. Who wouldn’t want to contribute to that?

Meanwhile, Thor #168 itself?:

Kirby. Thor. Odin. Galactus. The Watcher. Balder. The Warriors Three. The Thermal Man…

A pretty good deal at 15 cents.

*Galactus gets emo… Thor struggles with cosmic ethics… The universe will never be the same.*

*1971 blacklight posters repurposed existing panels & pages from Marvel comics, adding a rich cosmic feel to the art.*

Giorgio Comolo — Clash Of The Titans

February 27, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Fantastic Four #73 (April 1968) Re-creation, 2008

We continue to remember Jack Kirby with the help of Giorgio Comolo, an Italian artist who worships the King — and expresses his adoration with unique and lovely homages and recreations.

Thor vs. Thing? Come on, no contest. The Thing is powerful, but Thor is a GOD, right?

In this one-off issue of Fantastic Four (#73), Thor (with diminished powers) helps Spider-Man, who in turn is helping Daredevil, who recently had a mind transference with Doctor Doom who… never mind. The FF think Daredevil is still Doc Doom. Chaos ensues. Read the comic yourself and catch back up with us later.

Pretty much the entire issue is a battle royale, and Comolo captures the power of this terrific Kirby splash with his own specific style and palate.

Good thing Thor is having power problems… or Thing would be a pile of rocks on the next page.

Also, FYI, in this issue Thing calls Thor “Curly” “Goldilocks” and “Cornball” at various times, and Spider-Man calls him an “Asgardian Hippie.” I know that was Stan’s style, but we are perilously close to Not Brand Echh territory at this point.

Fortunately for us, Galactus and the Silver Surfer return in the next issue. More operatic than comedy.

Giorgio Comolo — In The King’s Court

February 25, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Fantastic Four #77 (August 1968), Cover Re-creation, 2008

This week we remember Jack Kirby with an artist who worships the King — and expresses his adoration with unique and lovely homages and recreations.

Giorgio Comolo speaks no English. None. Niente.

That makes speaking to him about his art challenging if, like me, you don’t speak Italian. (I don’t include the handful of words I learned in my childhood neighborhood. Those are not very useful for polite conversation.)

Thankfully, his brother speaks some, and his sister-in-law a bit more, so roughly translated, I was able to tell him last year how much I enjoy his work when I met the whole family in Italy.

And fortunately, King Kirby is a universal language, and Comolo speaks Kirby fluently. The Italian artist recreates many Kirby covers and scenes as paintings, using a specific palate that utilizes cooler color tones and hues. It might be a stretch to some, but his cosmic paintings often remind me of those wild blacklight posters published in 1971 by a long defunct company called Third Eye.

Of course Comolo’s paintings are not Day-Glo — but they definitely pop. His palette creates a very distinctive look to his homages.

And he focuses on Jack’s later works at Marvel (and some of the Fourth World material at DC), so there’s plenty of cosmic material to work with.

Like this cover recreation of FF 77. It’s a trippy composition to begin with, and in Comolo’s hands, becomes… even trippier.