Swamp Thing – Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Berni Wrightson — Batman Redo, Aliens Too

September 17, 2024 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Batman / Aliens #1, March 1997

Swamp Thing #7 is one my favorite single issues, ever.

Don’t get me wrong: I loved all of Wrightson’s Swamp Thing through the first six issues, each of which I bought directly from the candy store or newsstand. (And #8-10 are just as good.)

But Batman?! Drawn by Berni? Wow. That Cape. Those ears. Just… wow.

I knew we would likely never see Wrightson on a conventional superhero title, so this was one special book. Flash forward nearly 25 years, and Berni revisits Batman once again with this cool Aliens crossover. It’s not Berni circa 1973 of course, but still great. I’m delighted that I stumbled onto this large art page last year.

And that half splash bottom panel? I knew that Batman pose looked familiar…

Richard Corben — In The Swamp

October 22, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Swamp Thing #20, December 2005

I discovered Richard Corben’s art at about the not quite ripe age of 12. I can’t remember if I saw it in the Warren magazines or in the underground comics first, but doesn’t matter. I was hooked.

(Undergrounds at age 12 or 13? A longer story, for another day.)

The late Harlan Ellison, award-winning author — and often-vocal critic — had this to say about Corben:

“It was obvious to anyone with the sensitivity of a doorknob that Corben was a rara avis, that right from the git-go he was first-rank, with a technique and an artistic sensibility wholly original, a technique and sensibility that created their own genre; and if there were to be imitators as there have been ⏤they were doomed forever to live in the shadow of the originator. It was as if Rich was born to illustrate my stories about the world of the hoverpaks and downunders.”

Many art fans feel the same way about Corben’s work, and original pieces are rarely offered for sale, so I consider myself fortunate to have this great splash page from Corben’s brief visit with Swamp Thing.

Richard Corben turned 80 years old earlier this month. How in the heck is that even possible?