Mike Mayhew was this close to wrapping up the final touches on this classic Spider-Man image.
And then he changed his mind.
Mike and I have spoken about this a few times. He doesn’t specifically remember why he started over but, as you can see, it’s very close to the final cover. (He did recall some possible miscommunication over which aspects were going to be handled digitally vs. his actual original art. That was speculation more than fact, since those changes could have been fixed in this version.)
A potential not so fun fact for me:
When I purchased the art from a third party, it was presented to me as the actual published original, with alterations, finishes, colors and effects added digitally.
Er, no.
Fortunately, it’s still cool artwork, and, with the current insane pricing in the original art market, I’m likely about even.
The published piece along with the actual final original.
Continuing our series on the roots of the Watchmen characters.
Isn’t the Silk Spectre actually Nightshade, the only female superhero in the Charlton superhero line-up? After all, all the other main characters are derived from silver-age Charlton heroes.
Or, if not, perhaps she is an altered version of DC’s Black Canary, who, thanks to retconning, became a mother/daughter Golden Age/Silver Age legacy character?
What does Alan Moore say? He said at one time that she’s based on the Phantom Lady (Sandra Knight), created by the Eisner Iger studio in 1940, and first published by Quality Comics in 1940. (Moore says Nightshade was “boring.” I’m not sure what, if anything, he’s said about Black Canary.)
Phantom Lady had quite a few incarnations in the Golden Age, moving from publisher to publisher, ultimately becoming yet another casualty of the Golden Age.
She is perhaps best known for the cover of Fox Features issue #17 (by Matt Baker), prominently featured in Frederic Wertham’s infamous anti- comics tome Seduction of the Innocent as an example of titillation (costume) and sadism (bondage.)
She first appeared in the DC universe as part of the Freedom Fighters, a group of superheroes fighting Nazi domination of an alternate Earth (“X”), in Justice League #107 (October 1973.) The rest of the Freedom Fighters are also superheroes from Quality Comics — DC obtained Quality’s characters in 1956, but with the exception of Plastic Man, had kept the characters in limbo.
Between her multiple iterations and publishers in the Golden Age, and her (at least) four incarnations at DC, there are likely more versions of Phantom Lady than any other secondary character in comics history.
In this post-crisis version, she is retconned as Starman’s cousin, helping him fight crime in the “Golden Age.” In fact, this great action page by Mike Mayhew is from the classic James Robinson Starman series.
As for Charlton’s Nightshade? She can’t catch a break. She was briefly introduced as a partner for Captain Atom and received a short-lived back-up feature in his title just prior to its cancellation. Despite some fine early art by Jim Aparo, those stories have never been reprinted — other than public domain press.
Silk Spectre 1 and 2 from the 2009 Watchmen film, plus SS 1 from the Before Watchman series.
Phantom Lady made the wrong kind of headlines when Matt Baker’s cover appeared in the sensationalistic and dunderheaded Seduction of the Innocent.
Phantom Lady’s original costume, above, which was modified only slightly when she first appeared in the DCU, below. The illustration for the DC Who’s Who entry below right is by the legendary Dave Stevens (Rocketeer).
Key Black Canary appearances include her first solo story in the Golden Age, along with her reintroduction in the Silver Age, culminating in her moving from Earth-2 to Earth-1 to join the Justice League. Got that?
Post Crisis and Post Watchmen, Black Canary ultimately becomes officially two characters, mother (original) and daughter (modern), as outlined in Secret Origins #50, leftand Who’s Who in the DCU, right.
Nightshade made her first appearance alongside Captain Atom in issue #82, and they received her own back-up feature a few issues later. Despite being Charlton’s only female character, Alan Moore says she is not the model for Silk Spectre.
Mike Mayhew cleverly envisions Lando Calrissian’s ’s microsecond moment of glory in the Empire Strikes Back — interrupted by Vader and company.
Lucasfilm has not always encouraged more whimsical interpretations
of its characters and storylines, so it was good to see this one approved to
print.
Mike had submitted a few ideas (see below) for this variant cover and this one received the green light.
And Mike was kind enough to thank me for reminding him to
file and back-up everything in his archive so that when art obsessives like
myself come along, he has digital copies of the roughs and pencils to provide.
You’d be surprised at how much comic art material will never see the publishing
light of day again because no can find the files or scans.
Happily, here we can see the progression from thumbnail to
sketch to pencils to finals, etc.
As for Lando? (Billy Dee Williams, a spry 82-years old.) I’m
happy that he gets to make one final appearance in the Star Wars saga. But if
he’s there just to make some grand sacrifice, I will be annoyed. (Ditto for
Chewie. And the Falcon, too, for that matter.)
I think we’ve had enough of that.
The production process: Concepts, sketches, pencils, colors and finally, the published copy, signed by Mr. Mayhew for good measure.
Green Arrow is back on the air (CW) for its eighth and final season, so before the emerald archer fades into the TV sunset, we’re focusing a few posts on Green Arrow originals.
Here’s a great panel page example by the phenomenal Mike Mayhew.
Mike’s earliest regular work was at Topps, excelling at dynamic storytelling on Zorro (yes, Zorro) in the traditional pen and ink medium. After the comic book implosion of the mid- 90’s left many talented artists out of a job, Mike tried his hand at painting for a book cover assignment. The result? Mike quickly transformed from talented story artist to a premier cover painter.
These days, Mike’ schedule only occasionally allows for fully illustrated interior stories. Here he demonstrates his tonal skills on Green Arrow — creating a lush, haunting page. (GA is dealing with the apparent ghost of his dead mother, hence the haunting.)
When Mike introduces me to a third party, he often says I was his “first boss.” Technically, that would have been Jim Salicrup, who edited Topps comics during its brief heyday, from 1992-97. But I was the Director of Publishing… so why quibble? Mike’s a great talent and a friend. I’ll take it.
I realized after the fact that nearly all the creators I spent time with — Scott Kolins, Matt Wagner, Howard Chaykin, Gabriel Hardman , Mike Mayhew, Scott Koblish, Dave Bullock and Christian Gossett —- pretty much pencil and ink their own art, which was an odd coincidence. (Koblish inks others as well, but still…) And… they were all exhibiting within a few feet of each other in an otherwise large artists’ alley. Some sort of artistic serendipity I assume.
A great group of creators, enthusiastic fans, creative cosplay — and a good crowd, as opposed to an impossible one — made for a fun day. Kudos to Martha Donato and her team for more than 10 years of successful conventions In Long Beach and elsewhere!
