Ross Andru's Amazing Spider-Man Club 9 9

[Spider-Variant]

I'm going to say no, but I'm no handwriting expert.  Any other reason you think this could be Ross's initials?

I once ordered a back issue of Iron Man #72, which featured Tony Stark going to a Comic Fan Convention.  I ordered the book from a dealer in San Diego, which was where the story was based.  When I opened the book, the first page had been signed by Mike Friedrich, the writer of Iron Man #72.  Mike must have signed it at the San Diego Comic Con or at a local convention.  Based on the link, especially since he appears in the story, I always assumed the signature was Mike's.  Of course, not sure why anyone would forge it.

[Eric M. Rom]

54 minutes ago, Spider-Variant said:

I'm going to say no, but I'm no handwriting expert.  Any other reason you think this could be Ross's initials?

I have no other reason to believe that they are his initials.  I picked up this copy at a show a while back and realized a few years later that it had been written on.  At first I thought it was just a scribble, but I took a really good look at it and saw that it was written intentionally and it looked like an "R" (or a "B" possibly) and an "A".  So, I put two and two together and thought maybe he signed some fan's copy back in the day, a dealer got ahold of it and that it slipped by their eye when they sold it to me.  The ink lines mix in so well with Spidey's webbing that it's quite hard to see.

I thought there was maybe a 25-30% chance he initialed it, but I was always curious to find some examples and look for myself to know for sure.  So I'm pretty sure now.

-Eric

[Spider-Variant]

What a super star Ross would have been in conventions.  Would have loved to have gotten a sketch from him.

[Spider-Variant]

Finishing up on the JFK Airport scene in Issue 143, I tried to find a good match of the panel showing MJ leaving the Pan Am World Port, but I couldn't.  Digging in last night, I discovered Ross shows her going out the Arrivals Building, and not still in the World Port.  I don't know the entire layout of the JFK airport in 1975, but not sure this would make much sense in actuality.

Notice the large mobile that Ross puts in the panel's upper right corner, the bench seating, the rectangular columns, and the flags around the top rail.  All spot on to the real building.  In Ross's panel, MJ is facing the street coming at us.  My photos would show what she would see, and not exactly what Ross drew.

The next comparison is the Air Traffic Control building (shown also in the Pan Am World Port comparisons I did earlier) from ASM Issue #144.

And lastly, here is the exact same vantage point Ross used for his depiction of the gang returning to the JFK Arrivals Building in ASM Issue #144.  The photo is from 1957, when JFK was called Idlewild Airport.  That match is spot on.

[Spider-Variant]

I like this comparison better.

Far Freckin' Out it is right.

Even the sequence of the flags match in the left had corner.  The image is from a 1964 Post Card. 

o

 

Edited March 20, 2020 by Spider-Variant
Update

[sledgehammer]

On 3/7/2020 at 5:45 PM, Spider-Variant said:

 

 

Does anyone else think John Romita did MJ's face in this panel?

 

There's no doubt in my mind. Frankly, the boobs have Romita written all over them too.

[Get Marwood & I]

1 hour ago, sledgehammer said:

There's no doubt in my mind. Frankly, the boobs have Romita written all over them too.

In those days, she'd probably have let him. 

[Spider-Variant]

Ok, I'm going to finish my discussion on Ross Andru's JFK depictions in ASM #143 and 144 with this post.  I found another 1964 Post Card this morning, that matches the image in 144.

I am convinced now that Ross used brochures and post cards to create his scenes for the JFK airport.  Not that this takes anything away from the man's efforts.  He didn't have to give us the real JFK.  He could have phoned it in, but he didn't.  He tracked down real life photos/cards/brochures and recreated Spider-Man in them.  

Here are the three images again.    Too much lines up from the images to be mere coincidences.   The cars going into the World Port, the flags on the Arrival Building, the No Parking placard on the first column of the Arrival Building.  What are the odds that 3 panels he randomly created were featured 10 years plus earlier with all at the exact same vantage points? Slim I would say. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sledgehammer]

3 hours ago, Spider-Variant said:

 

 

 

I'm very impressed by this. The figure casting the shadow standing alone is MJ, and this frame is absolutely a perfect fit in the story. To have that, on the post card, and use it so well in the story, is pretty cool.

[Spider-Variant]

1 hour ago, sledgehammer said:

I'm very impressed by this. The figure casting the shadow standing alone is MJ, and this frame is absolutely a perfect fit in the story. To have that, on the post card, and use it so well in the story, is pretty cool.

I put the MJ figure on the post card.  Thought it would be a good comparison.  Wasn't trying to trick anyone.   Should have made that clear.

Edited March 21, 2020 by Spider-Variant

[sledgehammer]

15 minutes ago, Spider-Variant said:

I put the MJ figure on the post card.  Thought it would be a good comparison.  Wasn't trying to trick anyone.   Should have made that clear.

[Spider-Variant]

2 hours ago, sledgehammer said:

Yes, that whole sequence is spot on, from the kiss, to Peter looking down on the airport from the plane, to this scene as MJ is walking away.  I think Ross was an underappreciated storyteller as well as underappreciated artist.  

[Spider-Variant]

Not Andru art (Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia), not even in the interior, but great cover to ASM 150 up for auction on Hertitage.

Very fondly remembered cover and issue.

Here's the preliminary sketch by Kane.  Always amazed at how much his preliminaries matched the finished product.

 

 

[ADAMANTIUM]

49 minutes ago, Spider-Variant said:

Not Andru art (Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia), not even in the interior, but great cover to ASM 150 up for auction on Hertitage.

Very fondly remembered cover and issue.

Here's the preliminary sketch by Kane.  Always amazed at how much his preliminaries matched the finished product.

 

 

The prelim IS a lot like it with maybe less shading, but enough shading to show an inker what's up! Lol

Confident lines on the prelim as well...

[Spider-Variant]

Here is something I noticed today.

Original Art for ASM 129, Page 32, Last Panel

Published page below it.

Hmmm, SnowDeath, sounds ominous.   The title to ASM issue 130 was actually "Betrayed!"  Wonder why they changed it?  Lots of whiteout all over that text box, bet everything under it was changed as well.  

 

[Get Marwood & I]

20 hours ago, Spider-Variant said:

Here is something I noticed today.

Original Art for ASM 129, Page 32, Last Panel

Published page below it.

Hmmm, SnowDeath, sounds ominous.   The title to ASM issue 130 was actually "Betrayed!"  Wonder why they changed it?  Lots of whiteout all over that text box, bet everything under it was changed as well.  

 

 

[Spider-Variant]

1 hour ago, Get Marwood & I said:

Excellent find!  I've probably only read that book twice in my life, lol.

Well, Gerry Conway wrote both issues, but ASM 129 was Feb. 1974 and MTU 37 was Sep. 1975.  I would have been blown away if MTU had been Mar. 1974.

Odd, look at the MTU indicia, Spider-Man and Daredevil, very strange.  

[Spider-Variant]

I had posted the first picture comparison a little time ago from ASM #171.

I had figured out that Ross used the On Leone Tong building as his backdrop to show a blissful Harry and Liz enjoying a stroll through Chinatown.

My next goal was to track down the panel before this one. Mission mostly accomplished, but it was no easy task.

Below are the best images I could come up with that I could compare with Ross's May 1977 take on Mott Street in Chinatown.

This is one where I feel Ross walked down Mott Street either taking photos or sketching what he could use.

In my first comparison using pictures only identified as the 1970s, I identified two specific real life restaurants.  The first was Quon Luck (right) and the second was the Golden Dragon (left).  Ross obscures/deletes their names on his version (maybe that Mindworm near lawsuit scared him).  I found pictures of both neon signs lit up in some online videos and they are pretty neat, especially the dragon.

On the Quon Luck sign, notice the small arrow below the letter "T" in the word Restaurant.  Ross put that in his art as well.

For the Golden Dragon restaurant, Ross toned it down quite a bit, but the sign is recognizable. Continuing up the street, is 79 Mott Street with a circle arc design at the top.  Past that is the outline of the On Leone Tong building which you see in the next panel of ASM #171.

I could not find a "Joy Fong" restaurant, but there is a "Joy Luck" restaurant nearby this street location.  Again, I think Ross changed the name.  I could find no stores/restaurants named Grunts either.  

I posted the second picture comparison of that panel because it is at near the exact same vantage point of Ross's depiction.  Unfortunately, the quality is poor, I had to black out two people in the photo, and the On Leone Tony building is not really visible.  The sign for the Quon Luck restaurant was slightly changed in this picture from 1982.

As an aside, the Quon Luck restaurant by name appeared in another comic book.  Who can name it?

 

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by Spider-Variant
Edited photos.

[FoggyNelson]

On 3/18/2020 at 9:44 AM, Spider-Variant said:

Hmm, where have we seen this one recently?

 

Great shading an shadows on this page👍👍

[Spider-Variant]

17 hours ago, FoggyNelson said:

Great shading an shadows on this page👍👍

Yes, I love the inking on this page, especially the Punisher silhouette in that fourth panel.  Frank Giacoia, who I typically enjoyed his work better than Mike Esposito's, did the inking here.  But I'll be honest, not sure if I have ever even seen a picture of Frank.  He did a lot of inking in the 70s, but inkers didn't get much ink.