Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Tag: Stan Lee

Mike Parobeck — Modern Composition

Original Art and The Artists

X-Men: The Early Years #7, November 1994

Sometimes the reprint cover is just better.

Case in point, Mike Parobeck’s cover of X-Men: Early Years #7, which reprints the original X-Men  #7.

Jack’s original cover (below) is overloaded, and a composition mish-mash. Ok, I know it’s by Jack Kirby, and some fans will bristle about anything negative about the King’s work, but sorry, there’s no real comparison between the original and the reprint.

Mike’s cover is strong and focused.

Jack’s original has way too many characters all over the map, with the X-men oddly positioned in the background and The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants voyeuristically up front, awkwardly. Are they watching from a window? Or on a TV screen? A magical portal? Why the heck are they even on this cover? This is a selling point?

Now, just to be clear, this may not be at all Jack’s fault. Maybe Stan Lee art directed it. And overwrote the cover blurbs to death. (Now, the Stan haters can come out of the woodwork.)

As I’ve said on the record many times, I’m a fan of both Stan and Jack, so let’s all calm down. However this original cover developed, it’s simply not a great one. Even legends drop the ball once in a while.

Mike’s solves the problem thirty years later by focusing only on the X-men coordinating — or attempting to — an attack on the Blob.

Simple. Clear. Clean. Powerful.  Typical of Parobeck’s work.

But… On the published version, the trade dress is a bit heavy handed, so some of the art is obscured — and the entire image had to be flipped to accommodate said trade dress. And, to add to this litany, why the monochrome coloring? Ah Hell, who knows.

Anyway, the original art is great and Mike’s Marvel work is pretty rare; he is best known for some great looking art on the Batman Animated comic books. I was also a big fan of his Justice Society run.

He unfortunately passed away MUCH too early at the age of 31 (from Diabetes) in 1996.

His is a talent that is sorely missed.

Giorgio Comolo — Clash Of The Titans

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.

John Romita Sr. — Belated Birthday Bash (I)

Original Art and The Artists

Kingpin (One-Shot), November, 1997

John Romita Sr. turned 90(!) the other day, and we would be remiss if we didn’t celebrate the amazing artist — even belatedly.

This great action page is from the one-shot Kingpin and it represents the final comic book story collaboration between Romita and Stan Lee (with help from Tom Delfaco and inker Dan Green).

What’s great about this story — and this page, specifically — is that it features three important Romita icons in one place:

  • Daredevil, Romita’s first pencil gig at Marvel after eight years of DC romance comics.
  • Spider-Man, the character that Romita will always be most associated with, and the one he brought to new heights of popularity.
  • Kingpin, the all-too-familiar super-villain that John co-created, and who will likely vex DD, Spidey and others for the rest of time.

This page is obviously not from the classic Romita era — in fact, it comes 30 years later, but it’s still a great example of Romita’s superb draftsmanship and storytelling.

And all it’s missing is Mary Jane Watson.

You can’t have everything.

Early key Romita comics: His first Daredevil action page (over Kirby layouts) from DD #12; the first Romita Spider-Man, crossing over with Daredevil in DD #16; and Kingpin’s first splash appearance (Amazing Spider-Man #51) from his multi-part debut.

Romita on his Spidey assignment:

“I was hoping against it, believe it or not. People laugh when I say this, but I did not want to do Spider-Man. I wanted to stay on Daredevil. The only reason I did Spider-Man was because Stan asked me and I felt that I should help out, like a good soldier. I never really felt comfortable on Spider-Man for years. … I felt obliged to [mimic] Ditko because … I was convinced, in my own mind, that he was going to come back in two or three issues. … I couldn’t believe that a guy would walk away from a successful book that was the second-highest seller at Marvel. … After six months, when I realized it wasn’t temporary, I finally stopped trying to [mimic] Ditko. … “

–From Alter Ego #9

Fred Hembeck — The King Makes His Move

Original Art and The Artists

Fantastic Four #100 (Jack Kirby), July 1970, Re-creation by Fred Hembeck, 2010

50 years Ago, Marvel Comics celebrated its first ever milestone issue, with Fantastic Four #100, redrawn here 10 years ago by the very talented and affable Mr. Hembeck.

But the milestone proved bittersweet — because 50 years ago, one of the biggest stories in comic book history shook the industry: Jack Kirby was leaving Stan Lee and Marvel Comics to head to DC.

In March of that year, Jack turned in the pages for FF #102 and told Stan he was out. The most accomplished creative team in comics history was done. In comic book fan circles, it was as if the Beatles had broken up.

Which, actually, they had, with Paul making the announcement official just a few weeks later.

A dramatic beginning to a new decade of pop culture.

More on Jack and the move to DC later on; In the meantime, Happy New Year, and welcome to 2020!

The ironic final panel of Fantastic Four #100. The Lee / Kirby team may have been the greatest ever, but they were a team no longer. Plus, pop culture’s other superteam calls it quits, too.
DC teases Kirby’s arrival in a 1970 house ad.

Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema — A Different Spin

Original Art and The Artists

Spider-Man Collectible Series #2, August 2006

Our celebration of Marvel’s 80thAnniversary concludes with the publisher’s most iconic character in one of his classic stories.

The lead story in the original Amazing Spider-Man # 1(1963) finally gets its own terrific cover more than 50 years later, thanks to this unique reprint series published in 2006.

News America created The Spider-Man Collectible Series as weekly promotional supplements to Sunday newspapers. Each issue was printed on newsprint and contains half an issue of a classic Lee and Ditko Spider-Man comic, published in original order. Only 24 issues were produced, suggesting the series did not succeed as well as envisioned.

Since each original Spidey comic was split in half, every other issue of the supplements required brand new covers, depicting classic stories. For the most part, the covers are as dynamic as this one — if I could find them, I would attempt to acquire as many as possible.

Ron Frenz is a great visual storyteller (definitely influenced by classic Marvel artists), and Sal Buscema’s inks are always spot-on. (For more than 50 years!) I consistently enjoy their team-ups.

As for this Spider-Man story itself? It’s a classic that sets up storylines and characterizations for years, as Spidey saves J Jonah Jameson’s astronaut son  — only to be blamed for sabotaging the rocket in the first place. 

It’s a story I heard dramatized over and over again as a kid, because I was somewhat obsessed with the Golden Record recording of that classic issue. (See below). 

And of course, it makes sense that the “back-up” story featuring the Fantastic Four is the original cover of Amazing Spider-Man #1 and all other subsequent reprints. Although the original published cover blurb has made me wonder if the astronaut story was actually intended as the cover and pulled. Why call out the cover story as an “extra attraction” if that’s the story we can already see? Hmmm.

Although the Fantastic Four make a great marketing hook, the lead story in issue #1 is actually the rocket rescue, and includes a re-cap of Spidey’s origin for those who missed or didn’t remember Amazing Fantasy #15
No good deed goes unpunished…and becomes the defining thread in Spidey stories.
Golden Records produced four “book and record” combos of classic stories in 1966 during the first Marvel Merchandising craze. Each of the four (Thor, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Spidey contained a straight reprint of the associated comic, minus only the cover price.
Above — Some of the newly created covers for classic Spider-Man stories.

Mark Bagley — Secret Origin

Original Art and The Artists

Original Sin #3.1, August 2014

Continuing our ongoing celebration of Marvel’s 80thAnniversary.

Tony Stark is forced to relive The Hulk’s origin — and his own potential culpability in the fateful gamma blast — in Original Sin, a clever 2014 crossover event by Mark Waid that introduces some new retcon elements into the Marvel Universe.

Re-imagining a classic scene is an interesting challenge for an artist, and Mark Bagley delivers on Bruce Banner’s transformation with inventive (and concise) storytelling and solid draftsmanship. Andrew Hennessy’s inking on Bagley’s pencils adds some nice polish.

The basics of Hulk’s origin haven’t changed much in the nearly 60 years of his existence, but the nuances have been modified many times. In the early days of the Silver and Bronze ages, a number of artists did different takes, as evidenced below.

Where did I first see the Hulk’s origin? On TV, of course, in the 1966 Marvel Super-Heroes Cartoons. (Courtesy of Jack Kirby’s art.)

Sing along to the theme song if you will:

(Lyrics by Jacques Urbont)

Doc Bruce Banner,
Belted by gamma rays,
Turned into the Hulk.

Ain’t he unglamor-ous!

Wreckin’ the town
With the power of a bull,

Ain’t no monster clown
Who is as lovable.

As ever-lovin’ Hulk! HULK!! HULK!!

The original “long-form” origin (Hulk is gray) by Jack Kirby first appeared in Hulk #1.
In Hulk #3, Kirby redraws the origin (as a flashback) in a succinct three pages — and retcons the Hulk into his green form. (This origin also appears as the lead story in Hulk Special #2.)
Origin revisited: Hulk #102 (1968) by Marie Severin and Rampaging Hulk #1(1977) by Walter Simonson and Alfredo Alcala
Advertising material for the 1966 Marvel Super-Heroes Cartoon

Sal Buscema and Joe Sinnott — Fireworks

Original Art and The Artists

Fantastic Four Annual #13, 1978

Continuing our ongoing celebration of Marvel’s 80thAnniversary.

Sal Buscema and Joe Sinnott deliver an iconic (and terrific) image of the Human Torch in this celebratory opening splash page.

Celebratory in that the Fantastic Four had just gone through a quirky period editorially where they were essentially “broken-up”, and they have reunited in FF #200, on-sale at the same time.

At this point in the run, Joe Sinnott, acknowledged as one of the all-time greats, is pretty much the only consistent through line in the FF — the series was rapidly going through a number of mix and match creative teams. In a three-year period, Joe inks pencillers Sal Buscema, John Buscema, Keith Pollard, Rich Buckler, Ron Wilson, and of course George Perez, who does some of his best known work in this era. (Shortly after this issue is published, Joe adds John Byrne and Bill Sienkiewicz to this mélange.)

Sinnott’s credits, including this one, are often categorized as “finishes” during this timeframe, as many of the pencillers are providing breakdowns only.  Doesn’t help enough with the schedule though, as a number of issues are reprints and fill-ins.  Marvel, as others have noted, was going through some difficult times. The Fantastic Four themselves wouldn’t truly find their full footing again until a few years later, when Byrne fully takes over writing and art chores.

As for Joe and Sal? With the end of the Spider-Man newspaper strip this year, Joe officially retired from inking … at age 92. Sal (age 83) “retired” in 2000, but continues to be coaxed into working — sometimes by my former colleagues — to this day.

“Flame on!”

So many interpretations of the Human Torch, so little time.

In his earliest appearances, Johnny Storm, the Silver Age Human Torch looked a bit more like the Golden Age version (more flame, less body definition) ultimately evolving to his more familiar form. Meanwhile, the Golden Age Torch, who (with the help of some of clever retconning) eventually makes a comeback in the modern era, appears to look more like the silver age version. 

Above: The first appearance of the Silver Age Torch, Johnny Storm, in Fantastic Four #1 (1961) followed shortly thereafter by his first solo outing in Strange Tales #101 (1962) and ultimately followed by a clash with the “original” Torch in FF Annual #4 (1966). The Golden Age Torch returns in Avengers #133- #135 (1975), and revives yet again to join the West Coast Avengers during John Byrne’s run. (Avengers West Coast #50, 1989)
 


Dan Adkins — Underwater

Original Art and The Artists

Tales To Astonish #98, December 1967

Stan Lee demanded action. ACTION!

This version of the cover for Tales to Astonish #98 by Dan Adkins, ultimately unused, did not fit the bill. It conveys the storyline inside, and it’s pretty in its own right, but definitely not very dynamic.

“Likely too soft for Stan,” agreed Roy Thomas, (yes, him again) who wrote this story arc of Sub-Mariner.

But, let’s talk about the replacement cover, also drawn by Adkins — likely in one heckuva hurry. Sure, more dynamic. Namor, in a better pose, still unconscious. (Or dead — but even as kids we knew he wasn’t.) In this version we also see the attack that’s destroying Atlantis. Except… since when are New York City skyscrapers in Atlantis?

I didn’t notice the architecture til later on, but once you see it, you can’t unsee it. (Even the unused cover has modern steel girders.) Why is Empire State Building underwater? What in the name of Neptune was Dan thinking?

The unused cover has the Marvel production guides masked off by tape, leading me to believe the piece may have ultimately been printed elsewhere. Marvelmania magazine? Witzend? Convention program?  Any comic book detectives out there recognize it?

Poor Dan; he had to redraw a Doctor Strange cover (Strange Tales #168) a few months later. (I’ll post it if I can get an image of the original version.) I loved his inks — he was one of the best — but he definitely struggled meeting Marvel’s editorial standards for cover layout and composition.

Key appearances by Sub-Mariner in the Silver Age: After a seven-year hiatus in comic book limbo, he first re-emerges in Fantastic Four #4, ultimately becoming a key antagonist for the FF. A few years later in Tales to Astonish #70 he gets his own series, sharing space with the Hulk, and a month later gets his first solo cover. Ultimately, he gets his own series in 1968.

Anthony Castrillo — Timely Gathering

Original Art and The Artists

Convention Litho, 2007

Anthony (“MAC”) Castrillo gathers Marvel’s original heroes from its “Timely Comics Era” (1939-1950) for a group portrait used for a print. 

And we present it just in time (ok, barely) for Marvel’s 80thanniversary.

Castrillo’s art-style for the piece works well ; A bit cartoony in the contemporary sense, adding some pizazz and just a touch of whimsy to some of the otherwise stoic heroes.

I didn’t immediately recognize every character — even in color — and Roy Thomas was kind enough to help me sort through it when I acquired the original. With the exception of one mystery character who might be one of the “Marvel Boys”, the full cast list is presented below.

(“Rows” are a bit subjective because of the group composition.)

From top to bottom:

Row 1: Sun Girl, Red Raven, Citizen V

Row 2: Blue Diamond, Blazing Skull, Toro

Row 3: Marvel Boy (?), Challenger (AKA Thunderer), Vision (Original), Jack Frost, Black Marvel, Namora, Patriot, Thin Man, Mercury (AKA Hurricane)

Row 4: Miss America, Destroyer, Namor, Captain America, Whizzer, Human Torch, Bucky, Angel, Blonde Phantom

Marvel Comics #1 launches the Marvel Golden Age with introductions of the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner. My friends and I first encountered the “original” Torch in reprints 25 years later.
Marvel published additional solo stories of its most popular characters in the aptly-titled All Winners Comics.
Finally, in All Winners #19, Marvel’s most popular characters appeared in one story together. Rebranded the “Invaders” in the Silver and Bronze ages, the team continues exist in one form or another today.
One of many “Marvel Boys.” Click on the pic for more info.

Joe Jusko — Stan Strikes!

Original Art and The Artists

Trading Card and Litho, October 2013

One year ago today, Stan Lee headed off into the greater cosmos. I like to think he’s bugging the Watchers, endlessly and enthusiastically reviewing his many adventures on Planet Earth with them. Like this:

“Hey fellas, remember that time I saved everyone form the Martian invasion? Remember? Fellas?”

Fortunately for us, in case we forget, Joe Jusko captures the moment perfectly with this premium trading card and litho for Stan’s own Los Angeles comic book convention in 2013. 

Stan Lee and Topps Mars Attacks. It’s perfect reflection of my misspent youth, and well beyond. I knew the moment I saw the painting I had to have it. Hell, Joe probably knew I would need to have it when he took the assignment. (We’ve known each other a long time.)

We miss ya Stan. I hope Jack and Steve are taking you on a wild ride through the multiverse — just like the good old days.