Art Day - 2018 catch up 0

[rsonenthal]

I’ve let life and work take away from my art time, and so I haven’t had time to post much recently.  So, what follows is a bit of a mish mosh of things I picked up, and a bit of an explanation why they are important to me.

 

First, I’ve always liked the “other” Ditko characters, like the Question, Hawk and Dove, and the Creeper.  So, when a page from Showcase 73 popped up, I jumped on it.  Showcase was (and sorry if I’ve mentioned this before) DC’s tryout book.  First appearances in Showcase?  How about the Silver Age Flash, Green Lantern and the Atom!  Yep, Barry Allen, Hal Jordan and Ray Palmer all made their first appearance in DC’s Showcase. Some years later, the Hawk and Dove appeared there before getting their own book, and were quickly followed up by the Creeper.  Created by Ditko, the Creeper follows Jack Ryder, former TV host turned security investigator.  In the origin story, Ryder is investigating a missing scientist, and crashes a costume party (where we think the scientist is being held) wearing a pretty odd costume which includes a green wig and a red cape. In trying to save the scientist, he is stabbed. The scientist (luckily) has a special formula to save Ryder, which gives him powers and also some sort of electronic gizmo that lets him make his costume appear or disappear with the flick of a switch. Remember, it’s 1968…  Anyway, the scientist is killed, the Creeper is branded a criminal but uses his powers to go on the attack of the criminal underworld. This page is from his first appearance in Showcase and is the page where Ryder is mortally stabbed (and before he gets his powers as the Creeper).  It’s all Ditko and all Creeper. How cool is that??

 

The link:  http://cafurl.com?i=23499

 

Second, I’ve always liked the war books, and when The ‘Nam came out, I was all over it.  The primary pencils during the first year were by Michael Golden, and he was later replaced by Wayne Vassant (a Viet Nam veteran).  Golden’s art in that first year was (IMO) among his best work. Earlier this year, I was able to pick up a complete Golden Nam story that appeared in Savage Tales prior to The ‘Nam getting its own book. I recently was able to pick up a page depicting a firefight from Issue #2; pencils by Golden and inks By Armando Gil, and then in the most recent Heritage Auction the cover to Issue 42 came up.  Golden handled the covers in the first year (1-13), and then came back for six other covers in the 84 issue run.  So, for all of you Golden ‘Nam fans, enjoy!

 

The link to the action page from Issue 2:  http://cafurl.com?i=23498

 

The link to the cover from Issue 42: http://cafurl.com?i=23497

 

Finally, I’ve made no secret of my love of the Silver Age of comics. My three favorites are Marvel’s Tales to Astonish, Journey into Mystery and Tales of Suspense.  TTA was home to Ant-man, Giant-Man and the Wasp, the Sub-mariner, and eventually to the Hulk.  So much so that at some point, the numbering continued, and the title TTA went away to be replaced by the Incredible Hulk.  Journey into Mystery contained the first appearance of Thor, and like TTA, JIM at some point disappeared to become the Mighty Thor.  But, TOS was special. It was where Iron Man was born and where Captain America made his home (besides Avengers Mansion) after returning to comics in the Marvel Universe. Iron Man’s first appearance was in TOS 38, and Captain America joined the book in issue 59.  From then on, they split the book till issue 99.  At that point, the title became Captain America 100 (that’s why you don’t see a Cap #1  - other than him punching Hitler in 1941), and Iron Man started in his own book.  The art in those books show us the Marvel bullpen (and especially Jack Kirby) at the height of their powers.  To think how much work Kirby was turning out on a regular basis is just awe inspiring. 

 

Cap was Kirby’s character, and he was the primary artist during the TOS run.  By my estimation, Kirby penciled all but 13 of the 40 issues, and provided layouts for 8 of the 13 that he didn’t pencil.  We saw more variety in the inkers, in part because of the need to just keep up with Jack.  Remember, he was also penciling Thor and the FF and whatever else was needed at the time.  For inking Kirby on Cap, you had Giacoia picking up 11 issues, Sinnott handling 7, and Chic Stone picking up 6 issues.  Don Heck, Ayers and Syd Shores each took on just one story, but then Shores went on to ink the issue 100 of Captain America. Everyone has their favorite, and I won’t debate that here, but I don’t think you could go wrong with Giacoia, Sinnott or Stone.

 

Splash pages in the Silver Age were designed to grab you and pull you in the story right away.  In some cases, they introduced new villains, and in some cases they needed to bring you up to speed with where the story left off.  But in all cases they made you want to turn the page.  So, when I saw this page come up, I knew it was going to be mine.  It grabbed me, and it made me want to jump in the story.  Plus, I liked the depiction of the character early in the run; Kirby had Cap lean and mean, emphasizing his agility and athleticism.  And to be honest, I had been looking to fill a gap in my collection - I didn’t have any examples of a “Bulbous Head Cowboy Stance Fake Captain America.”  J

 

But - I do now.  Take a look at the title splash from Tales of Suspense #60: http://cafurl.com?i=23500

 

Sorry for the long entry, I just haven’t kept up with my posting, but I didn’t realize just how far behind I had fallen. As always, thanks for listening and feel free to look around at anything that interests you.

 

Ron Sonenthal

 

[Mighty Hal]

A great write-up, and some really special artwork. Thanks for sharing.

[Bronty]

Fun post.   That bulbous head cowboy is ok with me! :)

[Lee B.]

Great pick-ups Ron!  Thanks for sharing them, and for the always-enjoyable write-ups. 

In the interest of sharing provenance, and not because I'm a sadist, I thought I would share an old art ad that I just came across, from The Buyer's Guide for Comic Fandom #403 (August 14, 1981).  If these prices are depressing, please don't note the fact that buyers could take 50% off the listed prices.  Cheers, Lee

 

[rsonenthal]

4 hours ago, Lee B. said:

Great pick-ups Ron!  Thanks for sharing them, and for the always-enjoyable write-ups. 

In the interest of sharing provenance, and not because I'm a sadist, I thought I would share an old art ad that I just came across, from The Buyer's Guide for Comic Fandom #403 (August 14, 1981).  If these prices are depressing, please don't note the fact that buyers could take 50% off the listed prices.  Cheers, Lee

 

I just realized that price was for the whole story.....

[stinkininkin]

1 hour ago, rsonenthal said:

I just realized that price was for the whole story.....

[comix4fun]

1 hour ago, rsonenthal said:

I just realized that price was for the whole story.....