Wayne Howard – Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Gil Kane — Titanic Team-Up

September 26, 2023 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Marvel Team-Up #14, October 1973

Spider-man art by Gil Kane. From the collection of Greg Goldstein

Spider-Man and Sub-Mariner need a few pages of bantering and brawling in this early issue of Marvel Team-Up before they figure out that they left on friendly terms just two years prior. But that’s often the classic (sometimes cliché) formula. Characters meet, fight, and then figure out who the real enemy is and join forces to stop them. (In this case Tiger Shark and — I kid you not — the Aquanoids.)

Gil Kane provides, as always, dynamic and dramatic pencils and composition — although finding regular inkers for him on this series seems challenging. Here the enigmatic Wayne Howard takes a stab at Gil’s unique styling with mixed effects throughout the issue. (Although I like the results on this specific page.)

Great cover too, with inks by Frank Giacoia. (Although the Marvel trade dress is out of control with not much room for the main imagery.)

For more on the first Sub-Mariner / Spider-Man crossover, see this fun article below:

Sub-Mariner #40 (August, 1971)

Wayne Howard — The Master’s Disciple

October 31, 2021 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Midnight Tales #18, May 1976

Wayne Howard studied as an assistant under Wally Wood and then went full-on Wood with his creator driven book Midnight Tales which lasted 18 issues in the early mid -70s.

(The Iron Man is the final story in the final issue of the series. No relation to Tony Stark.)

And, of all of Woody’s assistants, Howard made no bones about his referential approach to Wood’s style.

The comic was a unique creation at Charlton (or anywhere, actually) and featured nearly exclusive Howard-drawn stories. Charlton promoted Howard’s concept on the cover — and in the fan press and at conventions.

A young African American in an industry still mostly dominated by (older) white men, Howard himself was a unique member of the comics creative community. He was known to be somewhat shy, and he was also known for conservative views, again a striking contrast to many of his industry peers.

When Howard left comics, he rarely spoke about his work; He passed away at the much too early age of 58 in 2007.