SDCC — 2022! (Part 2)
Tag: Jim Lee
SDCC — 2022! (Part 1)
So good to see San Diego Comic Con as close to a “regular” event as possible…It’s been much too long!
Part two tomorrow!
Jim Lee — Divine
Divine Right, #1/2, July 1998
Divine Right: The Adventures of Max Faraday is Jim Lee’s final creator-owned project launched at WildStorm prior to DC Comics acquiring the company.
A number of fans called Jim a “sell-out” at the time, much in the same way they hollered when Jim and Rob Liefeld agreed to reboot some of Marvel’s classic superheroes a short while earlier. (Thank goodness contemporary social media hadn’t appeared yet, but let’s face it, trolls are still trolls.)
The Irony of that criticism? Being independent means making your own choices, on your own terms, whatever those might be.
And ultimately, the winnow swallowed the whale. DC became much more like WildStorm, rather than the other way around. And Jim of course became DC publisher.
As for Max Faraday? It was planned to be a mini-series, and has remained a “one and done” project with a complete collection finally appearing in 2014.
We continue with our month long celebration of the “Independents” — Independent creators and projects that continue to impact the comic book medium. See you back here on Thursday.
Jim Lee — Rescue
Superman #211, January 2005
Continuing our celebration of Wonder Woman for the next few weeks — no matter when the new film finally releases.
Jim Lee’s 12-issue run on Superman, “For Tomorrow”, is classic. Even though the story itself is not as highly regarded as his Batman “Hush” storyline, the art and storytelling start off pretty great and quickly proceed to spectacular.
Comic Book Resources summed it up:
“Superman: For Tomorrow” is an uneasy mixture of introspection, lamentation, and explosive action (think “Hamlet” mixed with “Godzilla”), Lee’s art only increases in spectacle as the story unfolds.”
Case in point, this issue featuring Wonder Woman: Epic action, glorious detail, creative and dynamic storytelling. Do you get the sense I like the art?
Inks on this page are provided by the talented Sandra Hope, filling in for Scott Williams. Based on high quality of the finished story, I’m certain there were some deadline struggles along the way.
Re-reading the entire story today, it’s also better than I realized the first time around. That said, the Absolute Edition is definitely worth owning for the art alone.
June Brigman And Whilce Portacio — Snik!??
Alpha Flight #52, November 1987
Concluding — for now — our two-week series celebrating a few important X-Men anniversaries in 2020.
A full-page splash of an iconic superhero… on the phone?
Well yes, why not, if done well?
And here in Alpha Flight it’s done very well, by the talented June Brigman and Whilce Portacio.
I love the look on Logan’s face. And, his coif reminds me of the line from great Warren Zevon song “Werewolves of London:”
“His hair was perfect.”
Wolverine is not self-quarantining here. I double-checked. He’s just chilling at the moment. Also, note there are two things you won’t see anymore in a Marvel Comic. A phone cord and a cigar; old technology and a bad influence on kids, in the order.
But Snik?!? Someone apparently forgot the “t” in Snikt? That’s an odd one. Chris Claremont first used “Snikt” way back in X-Men #116. And, apparently it’s become a legit trademark for the sound of Wolverine’ claws.
Fun fact: The story continues — with Wolverine — in Alpha Flight #53 and, while also inked by Whilce, its penciled by none other than Jim Lee, whose very first Marvel work was two issues earlier, in #51. But this time, he draws Wolverine, a sign of things to come.
Fun fact #2: Whilce and I bumped into each other —- both of us with unscheduled visits — on Free Comic Book Day a few years ago. Pretty fun and random coincidence — its not like San Diego is a small county, or only has one comic book store.
Fun fact #3; If for any odd reason you have not read the Power Pack series by Brigman and Louise Simonson, well, stop what you’re doing and get to it. Brilliant. And fun!
More X-men and Wolverine related posts late in the year. Stay tuned.
Chris Sprouse — Always Terrific
Tom Strong #26, June 2004
2019 is somehow the 20th anniversary of Alan Moore’s ABC line of comics at Wildstorm / DC, which included Tom Strong and company.
Seems like only a few years ago that Wildstorm published the first issue of the cool retro-modern Strong, Moore’s obvious love letter to Doc Savage and other pulp heroes. Sprouse’s art was of course perfect for the character designs and storytelling. As noted previously, I’m a big fan of the Sprouse and Story team. (Al Gordon also did a nice job on inks of the earlier issues, but Karl gets my vote anytime Chris is penciling.)
Moore left the regular series shortly before this issue appeared, and in fact, it is “guest-written” by Mark Schultz, and “guest-drawn” by Pascual Ferry. The only Sprouse / Story art in this issue is this terrific cover. (To see it at full-size, check out the amazing and somewhat overlooked America’s Best Comics Artist’s Edition from IDW.)
Moore would team-up one more time with the art duo to wrap up the storyline in the final regular issue (#36), but fortunately for us, Sprouse and Story came back for both mini-series that followed, written by Peter Hogan. (Strong also ultimately appeared in a separate anthology series, Tom Strong’s Terrific Tales, featuring different creative combos.)
Now, of course, the ABC line is dormant and I’m pretty sure the Wildstorm imprint is as well. But Strong and his crew live on for now in the greater DCU, as part of the Terrifics, a quirky multi-verse title. Still, it is definitely worth revisiting the original 36 issues and the spin-off appearances.
Hey DC, how about an Omnibus?
