Vince Colletta – Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Gil Kane & Neal Adams — Face To Face

July 12, 2023 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Savage Tales #4, May 1974

Thanks to artist Ken Landgraf, I finally get to see the original prelims and pencils — and partial (Neal Adams) inks — to this great Conan page from Savage Tales #4. And as a bonus, we solve one mystery and create a new one. (Ken owns photocopies of Gil’s pencils from this story and others.)

Gil Kane pencilled the story (pretty loosely in some places), and Neal Adams inked some of it as well, supported at a minimum by Vince Colletta, Frank McLaughlin, and Pablo Marcos. (Credits supplied by Roy Thomas in Savage Sword of Conan #2). Marcos also provided the wash tones on the story, necessary to add depth to a black and white, and also provide some consistency to the art style.

Neal, of course, was a pro at collaborative art creation. His “Crusty Bunkers” a group of (ever-changing) artists at his Continuity Studios, filled in many times during deadline crunches for Marvel, DC, Charlton and others during the 70s.

(The specific inking credits here are listed as Diverse Hands, and this appears to reference the fact that some others outside Continuity also worked on the project.)

And now the mystery; when the story is reprinted for the first time in color in a Marvel Treasury Edition, two faces that weren’t in panel three in the Savage Tales version now appear. Turns out they were originally pencilled by Gil — but inked over in the final art, probably to give it more depth for B&W.

Which means — Either Roy, Gil or someone else had to remember that change and go back and pull it from inked copies for the color version.

Wild.

Gene Colan — Dracula Transformed

October 19, 2021 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Tomb of Dracula #9, June 1972

Our third annual Halloween tribute continues now through October 31.

Dracula transforms into a bat and transforms back again in this cool page from the master of moodiness Gene Colan.

I’ve written about Colan’s Tomb of Dracula work with Tom Palmer previously; this issue precedes Palmer’s permanent partnership with Gene on the title, and is instead inked by Vince Colletta. (No I am not going to knock Vince’s work here. That’s what comics’ social media is for. Talk about beating a dead horse…)

So… a vampire transformation page? Cool, I will take it.

Fun fact: All the art panels on the page are pasted onto the art board that leads me to believe the story was revamped (pun intended) at some point.

Neal Adams — Jailbreak

September 15, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Brave and Bold #81, January 1969

Here’s a splashy Neal Adams page from his fourth overall Batman story.

As always, Neal’s facial emotions are spot on. I love Bork’s smug face, Commissioner Gordon’s shocked expression, and Batman’s frustration with the entire situation. The body language on all the characters on the page also adds drama to the storytelling.

Vince Colletta was the first inker on the story, and Neal wasn’t happy with the results so he and Dick Giordano re-inked some of it. You can see some corrections on this page, and others in the story, when viewing scans of the original art.

Neal Adams Batman from the Silver Age — Definitely pleased to own this one.

A little whiteout never hurt anyone.

Gil Kane / Neal Adams — Night Of Diverse Hands

January 25, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Savage Tales #4, May 1974

Conan celebrates its 50th anniversary in comics this year, and we conclude our anniversary recognition with our final of three Conan-themed posts.

Night of the Dark Gods is a great example of Roy Thomas’ ability to adapt an Robert E Howard story without Conan, into one.

Given the artistic talent that worked on the story, clearly some deadline problems ensued. Not surprising, since at this point in Marvel’s 70s expansion, (comic books and “mature magazines”) deadlines were whizzing by a the speed of light.

Neal Adams assisted Gil Kane on the pencils, and inked some of the story as well, supported by Vince Colletta, Frank McLaughlin, and Pablo Marcos. Marcos also provided the wash tones on the story, necessary to add depth to a black and white, and also provide some consistency to the art style.

The inking credits are listed as Diverse Hands, and this appears to be the only time that the credit is employed, meaning it’s likely that this specific group of professionals never contributed jointly again on one story.

It’s easy to be fondly nostalgic about something you missed entirely, but, based on everything I’ve heard, it sounds like a hoot. Stop by, ink some pages, spot some blacks, and make your deadline, head to the pub. (It was probably much more stressful than that, but I digress.)

The story is ultimately also printed in color, in a Marvel Treasury Edition, and although the coloring itself is okay, many of the inking and wash details are obscured, likely in an effort to get the job done quickly.

(And see below for the mystery of the extra face.)