Last month Michele and I went to the Society of Illustrators to see the Comic Art Sale and Exhibit. It was a great opportunity to see a very impressive & diverse selection of original artwork from comic books was on display, both from mainstream and alternative creators.
Here are just a few highlights from the Comic Art Sale and Exhibit, which ran from July 15th to October 23rd…
The unpublished cover artwork originally intended for Avengers #37 (Feb 1967) drawn by Don Heck for Marvel Comics that was eventually used as a cover by editor Roy Thomas for his comic book history magazine Alter Ego #118 (July 2013) from TwoMorrows Publishing.
A page from the Doctor Strange story “The Many Traps of Baron Mordo” drawn by Steve Ditko from Strange Tales #117 (Feb 1964) published by Marvel Comics.
The cover artwork for Green Lantern #56 (Oct 1967) penciled by Gil Kane and inked by Murphy Anderson, published by DC Comics.
The cover artwork for Hawkman #8 (June-July 1965) drawn by Murphy Anderson, published by DC Comics.
Two pages from Fantastic Four #116 (Nov 1971) penciled by John Busema and inked by Joe Sinnott, published by Marvel Comics.
A page from Incredible Hulk #196 (Feb 1976) pencil breakdowns by Sal Buscema and finishes by Joe Staton, published by Marvel Comics.
Two pages from the underground comix series The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers created by Gilbert Shelton.
The cover artwork for Laugh Comics #182 (May 1966) drawn by Dan DeCarlo, published by Archie Comics.
A daily installment of the newspaper comic strip Sky Masters penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Wallace Wood that ran from September 1958 to December 1961.
“Aqua Nut” illustration drawn by Rat Fink creator Ed “Big Daddy” Roth in 1963.
The cover artwork for Not Brand Echh #9 (Aug 1968) drawn by Marie Severin, published by Marvel Comics.
A page from Red Sonja #6 (Nov 1977) drawn by Frank Thorne, published by Marvel Comics.
While I definitely enjoyed this exhibit, it was slightly sobering to realize that in many cases the artists sold their original artwork many years ago for a fraction of the current asking prices. In some cases some of this artwork was given away by the publishers as gifts to fans, or flat-out stolen. It’s an unfortunate set of circumstances. So I can certainly understand why in recent decades comic book artists have chosen to sell their original work at much higher prices.
Welcome to the 11th edition of Comic Book Coffee. I’ve been posting these daily in the Comic Book Historians group on Facebook. The challenge was to see how many different pencilers I could find artwork by featuring coffee.
51) Wilson Tortosa
Exposure: Second Coming #2, penciled by Wilson Tortosa, written by David Campiti, lettered by Matt Thompson, and colored by Mickey Clausen, published by Avatar Press in October 2000.
I know some of you are probably saying “Coffee? What coffee?!?” Look, it’s right there. Those two lingerie-clad ladies are having their morning coffee. See, I told you so.
Exposure, created by David Campiti and Al Rio, featured the adventures of Lisa Shannon and Shawna Diaz, who investigate cases involving demons, vampires, aliens and other weird phenomena. Of course Lisa and Shawna deal with all of these unusual menaces while wearing skimpy outfits and stiletto heels. And in their free time they occasionally work as pin-up models. I guess you can consider it “The XXX-Files” or something like that.
Exposure was originally published by Image Comics in 1999 as a four issue series. It returned a year later with the two issue Exposure: Second Coming released through Bad Girl comic book publisher Avatar Press.
This back-up story in Exposure: Second Coming #2 was the first published work of Filipino artist Wilson Tortosa. He went on to draw Battle of the Planets, City of Heroes and Tomb Raider for Top Cow / Image Comics.
52) Casey Jones & Tom Simmons
Excalibur #99, penciled by Casey Jones, inked by Tom Simmons, written by Warren Ellis, lettered by Richard Starkings, and colored by Ariane Lenshoek, published by Marvel Comics with a July 1996 cover date.
Okay, since the last entry was heavy on the T&A, here’s one for the ladies. We have the very buff Brian Braddock clad in his boxers drinking his morning coffee. He’s deep in contemplation, preparing himself for an upcoming encounter with the London Branch of the Hellfire Club. Brian has redesigned his Captain Britain armor in anticipation of the conflict, and has mixed feelings about assuming his costumed alter ego again.
I definitely felt the best issues of Excalibur were the ones by Chris Claremont & Alan Davis, and the ones where Davis both wrote & penciled the series. Following Davis’ departure the book took a definite dip in quality. Warren Ellis’ run was a post-Davis highpoint, and he wrote some stories that I enjoyed.
Casey Jones was brought in to alternate with Carlos Pacheco on penciling duties. Pachecho was ostensibly the series’ main artist, but in practice Jones ended up penciling twice as many issues. I really liked Jones’ work. He’s a talented artist. This page definitely demonstrates his storytelling abilities. Jones has also worked on Outsiders, Birds of Prey, Fantastic Four and New Warriors.
53) Jack Kamen & Johnny Craig
“Hear No Evil” is penciled by Jack Kamen, inked by Johnny Craig, written by Al Feldstein, and colored by Marie Severin, from Crime SuspenStories #13, published by EC Comics with an Oct-Nov 1952 cover date.
Beautiful, ambitious Rita has married Frank Reardon for one reason: he’s incredibly wealthy. Frank is also completely deaf, having lost his hearing in the military. While Rita acts the role of dutiful, loving wife she mockingly tells him things like “From here on in, your my meal ticket” and “If it wasn’t for your dough I’d walk out on you tonight” knowing he can’t hear a single word she says.
Rita begins an affair with Vance Tobin, a business associate of Frank. The lovers try to figure out a way be together without Rita losing Frank’s money. Then one day Frank stumbles into the house, dazed & disheveled, having nearly died in a car accident outside. Inspiration strikes Rita, and in front of the deaf Frank she suggests to Vance a plan to poison her husband and forge a suicide note.
Rita retrieves some potassium cyanide from the garden shed. Serving coffee to the two men, Rita tells Vance not to drink the cup on the right s it contains the poison. A few minutes later, though, it is not Frank but Vance who abruptly drops dead on the spot, much to Rita’s horror. Wrong coffee cup, Vance! You can probably guess the twist ending, but I won’t spoil it.
“Hear No Evil” is a EC rarity, one of the few stories not drawn solely by a single artist. Instead, we have two EC mainstays collaborating, Jack Kamen on pencils and Johnny Craig on inks. They work well together, effectively illustrating Feldstein’s tale of infidelity and homicide.
Following the demise of EC Comics in 1955, Kamen went into the advertising field, where he had a successful career. He briefly returned to comic books in the early 1980s to draw the cover of the graphic novel adaptation of Stephen King’s EC Comics-inspired Creepshow, as well as the artwork featured in the actual movie. Kamen passed away in 2008.
Johnny Craig remained in comic books, but he found only limited success at both Marvel and DC, due to his style not aligning with the dynamics needed for superhero stories, as well as to his meticulous approach to drawing leading to difficulty in meeting deadlines. By the 1980s he had moved into a creative field where he was much more comfortable, drawing private commissions for fans of his now-classic EC Comics work. Craig passed away in 2001.
54) Sal Buscema & Jim Mooney
Defenders #62, penciled by Sal Buscema, inked by Jim Mooney, written by David Anthony Kraft, lettered by John Costanza, and colored by Bob Sharen, published by Marvel Comics with an August 1978 cover date.
Today’s entry is from the famous (infamous?) “Defenders for a Day” storyline. Would-be documentarian Aaron “Dollar Bill” English has put together a television special about the Defenders. In it, touting the Defenders’ “non-team” status, Dollar Bill enthusiastically states “Anyone with super-powers who wants to declare himself a Defender is automatically a member! It’s a snap… Don’t delay, join today!”
To the Defenders consternation, several dozen superheroes arrive on their doorstep ready to join the team. Valkyrie, attempting to be courteous, suggests they make coffee for all the guests, and attempts to enlist Hellcat’s aid, but Patsy Walker refuses, stating “No way, Val — this tabby’s through messing around with that cockamamie coffee pot!” Valkyrie is left with no one to assist her in making coffee but the Hulk… oh, gee, what could possibly go wrong?!?
Soon enough Val and the Hulk are serving up cups of what is apparently the strongest, most pungent black coffee ever brewed in the entire history of existence, leading Captain Marv-Vell to disgustedly exclaim “Not even Thanos could down this bitter beverage!”
Sal Buscema is one of my all-time favorite comic book artists. He is an accomplished storyteller, and as we see here he does an absolutely superb job illustrating David Kraft’s comedic story. Buscema’s pencils combined with Kraft’s script results in a laugh-out-loud issue.
Jim Mooney, another very talented artist, effective embellishes Buscema here. I love their scowling Hulk who orders the Paladin to “Drink it black!” The disgusted expression on Hercules’ face is also priceless.
55) John Byrne
John Byrne’s Next Men #30, written & drawn by John Byrne and colored by Matt Webb, published by Dark Horse with a December 1994 cover date.
Next Men was John Byrne’s first creator-owned series. A bleak sci-fi political suspense thriller, Next Men dealt with the survivors of a top secret genetic engineering project masterminded by Senator Aldus Hilltop.
By this point in the series the corrupt, ruthless Hilltop has ascended to the Presidency itself. Bethany, Nathan and Danny, three of the surviving Next Men, have learned that Hilltop is Danny’s biological father, and have traveled to Washington DC hoping to confront him. They are intercepted by Thomas Kirkland, a time traveler from the 22nd Century.
Over coffee at an all-night diner, Kirkland reveals to the Next Men that Hilltop is destined to become the vampiric cyborg despot Sathanas, who nearly conquered the world in the year 2112. Defeated, Sathanas traveled back in time to 1955 and met up with the young, ambitious Hilltop, advising him, giving him knowledge of the future, directing him to establish the Next Men project, all of this to ultimately insure his own creation. Kirkland has traveled back to the end of the 20th Century in an attempt to break this predestination paradox by assassinating Hilltop before he transforms into Sathanas.
Next Men was an intriguing and ambitious series. I consider it to be one of John Byrne’s best works from his lengthy career. The series went on hiatus with issue #30, ending on an explosive cliffhanger. Byrne initially planned to return to Next Men just a few months later, but the implosion of the comic book biz in 1995 delayed this indefinitely.
Byrne at long last concluded the Next Men saga in 2011 with a 14 issue series published by IDW. Hopefully I will have a chance to take a look at those issues in an upcoming blog post.
The challenge: Pick a subject and find a different artist every day for that subject. I chose “coffee.” From the work of how many comic book artists can I find examples of people drinking coffee? I post these daily on Facebook, and collect them together here.
31) Rich Buckler & Joe Sinnott
“The Mind of the Monster” from Giant-Size Super-Stars #1, penciled by Rich Buckler, inked by Joe Sinnott, written by Gerry Conway, lettered by Artie Simek, and colored by Petra Goldberg, published by Marvel Comics with a May 1974 cover date.
The Incredible Hulk leaps into Manhattan and passes out in a deserted alley. Transforming back into Bruce Banner, the cursed scientist heads over to the Fantastic Four’s Baxter Building headquarters, hoping Reed Richards can find a cure for his condition. Only Ben Grimm, the Thing, is home, but he welcomes Bruce, telling him “Guy’s like us’ve gotta stick together.”
The Thing asks the frazzled Banner “Ya want some java?” A grateful Banner accepts, and the Thing brews him a cup of coffee using some weird-looking Kirby-tech. “Don’t look at me, Banner — it’s one’a Stretcho’s dohickeys.” Yeah, leave it to Reed Richards to take something as simple as a coffee maker and transform it into a ridiculously complicated device!
The Think lets slip that Reed was recently working on a “psi-amplifier” to restore his lost humanity. An eager Banner decides that with a few modifications the device can cure both of them in one shot. Unfortunately they don’t wait for Reed to return before proceeding with the experiment, and of course something goes wrong. Next thing you know, we have another epic battle between the Hulk and the Thing, but with a twist: the Thing’s mind is in the body of the Hulk, and vise versa. Hilarity ensues… hilarity and several million dollars worth of property damage.
As explained by editor Roy Thomas in a text piece, Giant-Size Super-Stars was a monthly oversized title that would rotate through three features: the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and Conan the Barbarian. After this issue was released Marvel changed their plans. Spider-Man and Conan both received their own quarterly Giant-Size series, and Giant-Size Super-Stars also became quarterly, renamed Giant-Size Fantastic Four with issue #2.
The creators behind “The Mind of the Monster” were the regular Fantastic Four team: writer Gerry Conway, penciler Rich Buckler, and inker Joe Sinnott. They all do good work on this entertaining tale of swapped identities and smashed buildings. Buckler does a fine job showing via facial expressions and body language that the Thing and the Hulk have switched bodies. Longtime FF inker Sinnott does his usual great work finishing the art.
32) Rick Burchett
Presenting a double dose of caffeinated cliffhangers starring those two-fisted aviators the Blackhawks! Action Comics Weekly #632 is cover-dated December 1987, and Blackhawk #2 is cover-dated April 1989. Both stories are by the creative team of artist Rick Burchett, writer Martin Pasko, letterer Steve Haynie, and colorist Tom Ziuko, published by DC Comics.
I was sad to hear that longtime comic book writer Martin Pasko had passed away on May 10th at the age of 65. Among the numerous characters Pasko worked on was the revamp of the Blackhawks conceived by Howard Chaykin. Pasko chronicled the aviation adventures of Janos Prohaska and Co in serials published in Action Comics Weekly, and then in an all-too-short lived Blackhawk ongoing series.
Pasko was paired with the great, underrated artist Rick Burchett. I’ve always enjoyed Burchett’s art. His style is simultaneously cartoony yet possessed of a sort of gritty verisimilitude (I hope I’m articulating that in an accurate manner). Pasko & Burchett chronicled the Blackhawk’s post World War II adventures which saw the ace pilots becoming embroiled in the Cold War anti-Communist activities of the newly-formed CIA.
Within the pages of the Action Comics Weekly #632, the Blackhawks have been tasked with transporting chemist Constance Darabont to West Berlin to pick up an experimental batch of LSD. Unfortunately for Prosahka and his team Constance is murdered in Berlin and replaced by Nazi war criminal Gretchen Koblenz. On the flight back the diabolical Gretchen spikes the Blackhawks’ coffee with the LSD, pulling a gun on Olaf Friedriksen when her deadly ruse is discovered!
Blackhawk #2 ends on a much less life-threatening note, but certainly one that is just as dramatic. Over morning coffee Janos and the Blackhawks’ assistant director Mairzey ponder the current whereabouts of the missing Natalie Reed, as well as wondering what will become of Natalie’s infant son. Mairzey tells Janos that she has been considering adopting the baby. Suddenly an unidentified figure enters the room and announces “I was always afraid to tell you this before… but I’m the father of Natalie’s baby…”
The Blackhawk serials written by Grell & Pasko and drawn by Burchett were among the best material to run in Action Comics Weekly. I’m happy they’ve finally been collected together with the excellent Blackhawk miniseries by Chaykin. Hopefully a second collected edition will reprint the ongoing series by Pasko & Burchett.
33) Jack Davis
Today’s art comes from “Dig That Cat… He’s Real Gone” in The Haunt of Fear #21, drawn by Jack Davis, written by Al Feldstein & Bill Gaines, lettered by Jim Wroten, and colored by Marie Severin, published by EC Comics with a Sept-Oct 1953 cover date.
When I was a kid I preferred the sci-fi stories from Weird Science and Weird Fantasy, but as I got older I developed a taste for EC’s horror titles. I guess my dry, offbeat sense of humor came to align more closely with EC’s macabre pun-cracking horror hosts.
“Dig That Cat… He’s Real Gone” is the story of Ulric the Undying, who makes his fortune staging very public, very violent deaths from which he miraculously recovers each time. In a flashback, we see that Ulric was previously a nameless bum on skid row who was approached by Dr. Emil Manfred. Over a cup of coffee, Manfred claimed that he had discovered the secret of a cat’s nine lives, and offered to surgically transplant that ability into the bum, with the end goal of gaining wealth & fame. Manfred is successful and “Ulric the Undying” is created, but this being an EC horror story, of course things eventually take a very nasty turn for all involved.
Jack Davis was a frequent contributor to EC’s horror anthologies, illustrating many of their most famous, or perhaps infamous, stories. Davis was certainly adept at creating moody atmospheres perfectly suited to Al Feldstein’s scripts. His artwork was also appeared regularly in EC’s satirical comic books Mad and Panic. Following the demise of EC’s comic book line he drew trading cards for Topps. From the 1960s onward David, who was renowned for his caricatures, did a great deal of advertising work, movie posters and magazine covers. He passed away in 2016 at the age of 91.
34) Ross Andru & Frank Giacoia
Amazing Spider-Man #184, penciled by Ross Andru, inked by Frank Giacoia, written & edited by Marv Wolfman, lettered by John Costanza, and colored by Glynis Wein, published by Marvel Comics with a September 1978 cover date.
I recently learned of this storyline thanks to Brian Cronin of Comic Book Resources. In the previous issue Peter Parker had asked Mary Jane Watson to marry him, but she turned him down. A despondent Peter returned home, only to discover someone was waiting for him in his apartment! On the splash page of this issue, we discover who: Betty Brant, secretary to Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson, and Peter’s girlfriend from way back when. Betty, who is all glammed up, has let herself into Peter’s apartment and made herself a cup of coffee to await his return. Now that he’s home, Betty greets him with a very warm welcome.
There’s just one itsy-bitsy problem here: Betty married Ned Leeds a few weeks earlier, and she is supposed to be in Europe with him on their honeymoon.
Yeah, that’s the old Parker luck at work, all right. You propose to the woman you love but she turns you down, and when you return home you find your recently-married ex-girlfriend has broken into your place, raided your supply of coffee, and is looking to have a fling with you. Oy vey!
The subplot of Betty attempting to hook up with Peter, and Peter being very tempted in spite of that whole “just married” thing, went on for nearly a year. I’m sure it comes as no surprise that it all ends badly for poor Peter.
Penciling this tale of torrid emotions and pilfered caffeine is veteran comic book artist Ross Andru. After two decades of working for DC Comics on such titles as Wonder Woman, G.I. Combat, The Flash and Metal Men (the last which he co-created with writer Robert Kanigher), Andru came to Marvel in 1971. He penciled Amazing Spider-Man for five years, from 1973 to 1978; this was one of his last issues. Andru is paired here with well-regarded inker Frank Giacoia, who had previously embellished ASM during the early part of Andru’s half-decade run.
35) Alex Saviuk & Al Wlliamson
Web of Spider-Man #91, penciled by Alex Saviuk, inked by Al Williamson, written by Howard Mackie, lettered by Rick Parker, and colored by Bob Sharen, published by Marvel Comics with an August 1992 cover date.
Following up on our last entry, it’s another Spider-Man page featuring Peter Parker, Betty Brant, coffee and… oh no, Betty’s throwing herself at Peter again, isn’t she?
Okay, what’s actually going on here is that Betty has been working undercover on a story for the Daily Bugle. She’s investigating the organization belonging to the international assassin the Foreigner, the man behind the murder of her husband Ned Leeds. When Betty happens to run into Peter in the street she locks lips with him and drags him into a nearby diner so that she can give him the information she’s been collecting to pass on to Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson. Unfortunately the people who are following Betty see through her ruse and attack the coffee shop. What follows is Spider-Man spending the rest of the issue trading blows with a pair of the Foreigner’s armored goons in the java joint, which of course gets demolished. I hope the owners had their insurance premiums paid up!
Betty had spent a long time after her husband’s death traumatized & vulnerable. This was the beginning of a new direction for her, as she quit being Jonah’s secretary, became more assertive, and began a career as an investigative journalist for the Bugle.
The pencils are by Alex Saviuk, a really good artist who had a long run on Web of Spider-Man, from 1988 to 1994. I think Saviuk’s seven year stint on often gets overlooked because this was at the same time McFarlane, Larsen and Bagley were also drawing the character, and with their more dynamic, flashy styles they consequently receiving more attention. That is a shame, because Saviuk turned in solid, quality work on Web of Spider-Man. I enjoyed his depiction of the character.
As we can see from this page, Saviuk was also really good at rendering the soap opera and non-costumed sequences that are part-and-parcel of Peter Parker’s tumultuous personal life.
The challenge by Comic Book Historians group moderator Jim Thompson: Pick a subject and find a different artist every day for that subject.
I chose “coffee” for my subject. From the work of how many different artists can I find examples of people drinking coffee? I guess we will just have to see. I posted these daily on Facebook, and now I’m collecting them together here. (Please click on the “coffee” tag to read the previous parts of the series.)
21) John Buscema & John Romita
The art team of penciler John Buscema and inker John Romita join with scripter Stan Lee to tug on those heartstrings in “I Love Him – But He’s Hers!” This tale of torrid passions appeared in Our Love Story #2, published by Marvel Comics with a December 1969 cover date.
With her father having died unexpectedly and her brother serving in Vietnam, young Anne must work as a waitress to pay for college. Anne’s difficult circumstances are constantly rubbed in her face by her rich snob doom roommate Cynthia. Soon cruel Cynthia ups her taunts by showing off her handsome boyfriend at every opportunity. “This is Art Nelson, little woman – and he’s all mine! So you may look — but don’t touch!” Anne is, of course, instantly attracted to Art, but she dares not make a move, fearful of Cynthia’s temper. Cynthia’s taunts eventually back fire on her as Art, realizing what a horrid person she actually is, dumps her for the sweet, down-to-Earth Anne.
John Buscema has been referred to as “the Michelangelo of comics.” He was incredibly talented, one of the top artists at Marvel Comics for three decades, from the late 1960s to the late 1990s. Buscema was, however, not actually fond of drawing super-heroes, something he admitted to on several occasions throughout the years. He much preferred drawing Conan the Barbarian to any of Marvel’s spandex-clad crimefighters.
Given his dislike for super-heroes, perhaps he saw romance stories as a refreshing change of pace. It definitely drew on one of Buscema’s strengths, namely his ability to render beautiful women. He certainly does a damn fine job on this splash page, drawing Anne waitressing in a coffeehouse populated by a colorful crowd of hip java-drinkers.
Of course, Buscema was also vocal about his dislike for most of the inkers / finishers he was paired with, as he felt most of them overwhelmed his work with their own styles. So we can only guess how he felt about being inked by John Romita on Marvel’s romance stories, especially as the later’s style is very much in evidence.
Having acknowledged all that, from my perspective as a reader, this really looks stunning. I feel the combination of the two Johns results in a deft, effective blending of their signature styles.
A big “thank you” to colorist supreme José Villarrubia, who spotlighted this page on his FB feed.
22) Ron Frenz & Sal Buscema
Amazing Spider-Girl #15, penciled by Ron Frenz, inked by Sal Buscema, written by Tom DeFalco & Ron Frenz, lettered by Dave Sharpe, and colored by Bruno Hang, published by Marvel Comics, cover-dated February 2008.
Her name is May “Mayday” Parker, and she is the daughter of Spider-Man.
Yes, it’s a “Mayday” post, which would have been absolutely perfect for May 1st. Instead I posted this on FB on May 2nd. Oops. As the man used to say, “Missed it by THAT much!”
AHEM! Spider-Girl is the daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson, from a reality where their newborn baby was rescued from the clutches of the diabolical Norman Osborn. Now a teenager, Mayday has inherited both her father’s powers and sense of responsibility. Assuming the identity of Spider-Girl, Mayday attempts to fight crime and save innocent lives while juggling high school classes, an active social life, and a pair of parents who are understandably very concerned that their daughter is following in her father’s web-swinging footsteps.
Spider-Girl is the little comic book that could. Originally making her debut in a one-off story by DeFalco & Frenz in What If #105 (Feb 1998), Mayday graduated to her own ongoing series just a few months later. DeFalco, first paired with penciler Pat Olliffe, and later reunited with Frenz, did a great job developing Mayday and her supporting cast. Spider-Girl gained a relative small but very enthusiastic fanbase and ran for 100 issues, followed by Amazing Spider-Girl, which lasted another 30 issues. Mayday then migrated to several issues of Spider-Man Family and Web of Spider-Man, and then a Spectacular Spider-Girl miniseries, with DeFalco & Frenz bringing her story to a close with the Spider-Girl: The End special in October 2010. Of course, that was still not the curtain for Mayday, who has continued to pop up here and there. You can’t keep a good Spider-Girl down!
Mayday and her friends often hung out at Café Indigo, a coffee shop in Forest Hills, Queens. As per Ron Frenz:
“Café Indigo was introduced by Pat Olliffe, as a tribute to his wife’s architectural design business at the time.”
In Amazing Spider-Girl #15 the gang gathers at Café Indigo to welcome back their pal Moose, who had to move away for several months due to his father’s illness. Frenz does a great job with this sequence, giving it moments of both characterization and comedy. I love the facial expressions. Frenz is such a strong storyteller, as this page demonstrates.
Inking is provided by the legendary Sal Buscema, who has been working with Frenz regularly since 2003. They make a great art team.
23) Bill Sienkiewicz & Klaus Janson
May 3rd was artist Bill Sienkiewicz’s birthday. To celebrate the occasion, I took a look at two coffee-themed pages of artwork by Sienkiewicz featuring Moon Knight.
The first page is from the Moon Knight back-up story in the The Hulk magazine #17, penciled by Sienkiewicz, inked by Klaus Janson, written by Doug Moench, and colored by Olyoptics, published by Marvel Comics with an October 1979 cover date. The second page is from Moon Knight #23, drawn by Sienkiewicz, written by Moench, lettered by Joe Rosen, and colored by Christie Scheele, with a September 1982 cover date.
On the first page we have Moon Knight stopping in at Gena’s Diner, the Manhattan coffee shop he frequents while sniffing out info on illegal activities in his guise of cabbie Jake Lockley. Sienkiewicz was only 21 years old when he drew this story. His work here definitely brings to mind Neal Adams, who Sienkiewicz has cited as a major influence.
Even with the obvious stylistic similarities, we can see that Sienkiewicz was already starting to utilize some interesting layouts in his storytelling. Janson’s inking goes well with Sienkiewicz’s style here, giving it a grittier edge that suits Moench’s writing.
On the second page we have Moon Knight, Frenchie, Marlene and her brother Peter having fled to Maine in the dead of winter, hiding out in an isolated house in the woods Moon Knight owns in his Steven Grant persona. They are fleeing from Moon Knight’s old foe Morpheus, the so-called “Dream Demon” who has the ability to possess people in their sleep, and to create horrifying nightmares. In order to stay awake and prevent Mopheus from controlling them Moon Knight and the others are gulping down copious amounts of black coffee.
Morpheus utilizes his psychic connection to Peter to learn their location. He invades the house and seizes control of both Marlene and Peter. Moon Knight and Frenchie are unaware of any of this, as they are busy trying to rig up a generator in the basement as a defense against Morpheus. Marlene comes down to join them, ostensibly to bring them some much-needed coffee. Too late they realize that Marlene is now in Morpheus’ thrall. Eyes ablaze with madness, Marlene strikes a match and tosses it onto the generator, with explosive results.
This issue of Moon Knight was drawn by Sienkiewicz only three years after that story in The Hulk magazine and, WHOA, what a difference! Sienkiewicz’s work grew by absolute leaps and bounds in that short period of time. This page is a really good illustration of how much he developed. His work has become very stylized and atmospheric. His layouts are striking, and he utilizes inking and zip-a-tone to superb effect. You can see here that Sienkiewicz has begun his evolution to the stunning abstract artwork that he would soon be creating in the mid 1980s.
Credit must also go to the coloring by Christie Scheele on this story. Her work complements Sienkiewicz’s art so very well.
24) Wallace Wood
This artwork is from the story “The Probers” in Weird Science #8, drawn by Wallace Wood, written by Al Feldstein & Bill Gaines, lettered by Jim Wroten, and colored by Marie Severin, published by EC Comics with a July-August 1951 cover date. I scanned this from the hardcover The EC Archives: Weird Science Volume Two, issued in 2007 by Russ Cochran and Gemstone Publishing.
Growing up in the early 1980s, I discovered the classic EC Comics via reprints. I was never overly fond of EC’s horror titles, since I found the pun-slinging hosts sort of cheesy. But I was absolutely enthralled by the sci-fi stories in Weird Science and Weird Fantasy, with their insightful examinations of the human condition, their grimly ironic twist endings, and their realistic, detailed artwork. Looking back on these, I realize that many of the EC stories that made the biggest impression on my young self were those drawn by Wallace Wood.
Wood, known to his friends as “Woody” (reportedly he disliked being called “Wally”), was an absolutely incredible artist, with his intricately detailed spaceships & technology, bizarre aliens, and stunningly beautiful women. Wood is rightfully remembered for his brilliant work, and the word “classic” is deservedly used to describe the stories he drew for EC.
“The Probers” is a typical EC tale of cosmic karma. Interestingly the story takes nearly a page detour to showcase young Lawrence Cavips’s futile attempt to drink coffee in outer space. Captain Scott provides us with a demonstration of the correct way do things, using a straw to sip up the free-floating bubbles of coffee. Scott guesses this must be Cavip’s first mission, which the young man confirms, telling him “Right! I just graduated two months ago!”
What? Just graduated? Cavip went to Astronaut Academy (or whatever they call it) and no one there bothered to explain to him the behavior of liquids in zero gravity? What are they teaching kids these days? Ehh, the young punk was probably slacking off, too busy hanging out with girls and listening to that newfangled rock & roll. Why in my day…
25) Gilbert Shelton
“I Led Nine Lives!” written & drawn by Gilbert Shelton, appeared in the underground comic The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers #3 published by Rip Off Press in 1973. It was reprinted in Fat Freddy’s Cat #1, released by Rip Off Press in 1988.
The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers are a trio of San Francisco potheads: Freewheelin’ Franklin Freek, Phineas T. Phreak and Fat Freddy Freekowtski. Fat Freddy has an orange tabby cat, the so-called “Fat Freddy’s Cat,” although the cat is (unsurprisingly) much smarter than his human, and often poops on Freddy’s possessions, especially if he’s late getting fed.
Fat Freddy’s Cat occasionally recounts his supposed adventures to his three nephews, and “I Led Nine Lives!” he regales them with his time as F. Frederick Skitty, federal agent. Skitty is assigned by “the Chief” to stop a nefarious plot to poison the nation’s water supply with a drug nicknamed “Hee Hee Hee.” When asked what exactly “Hee Hee Hee” does, the Chief gravely replies “It turns you queer!”
Skitty parachutes into to the mountain headquarters of the “Hee Hee Hee” manufacturers. After accidentally shooting up the nudist colony next door, Skitty confronts the flamboyant terrorists, who inform them that he is too late, because “We already mixed the drug in the nation’s coffee supply!” Skitty guns down the terrorists and races back to Washington DC to warn everyone, only to find the Chief already drinking his morning coffee and softly giggling “Hee Hee Hee” to himself. Skitty shoots the Chief, reasoning “It was my patriotic duty.” He then realizes that by now everyone else in the country has probably also had coffee. “So I shot myself, too” he tells his nephews. However he quickly assures them that everything turned out fine because “I still had eight more lives.”
Of course that extra-long nose we see Fat Freddy’s Cat sporting in the last panel hints that perhaps his thrilling account might not have been entirely accurate, to say the least!
I scanned this from my girlfriend Michele Witchipoo’s copy of Fat Freddy’s Cat #1. She was probably my intro to Gilbert Shelton. Michele is very much into independent and underground comics, and she’s broadened my knowledge & interests considerably.
Longtime comic book artist Marie Severin passed away on August 30 at the age of 89. Severin, a very talented artist who was possessed of a wonderful sense of humor, was one of the few women to work in the comic book industry in the 1950s and 60s.
Marie Severin and some of her friends from work
Severin got her start in the 1950s as a colorist at EC Comics, where her brother, John Severin, was working as an artist. Following that, Severin began working at Marvel in the late 1950s. Initially working as a colorist and in the production department, in the mid 1960s she also began drawing for the House of Ideas.
Severin had a decidedly unconventional, often wacky style to her artwork. She also acknowledged that she really did not care all that much for super-heroes. That made her the perfect fit for Marvel’s outlier characters. She became only the third artist on the Doctor Strange feature in Strange Tales beginning with issue #153, cover-dated Feb 1967. Soon afterwards, Severin began drawing the adventures of Marvel’s two moody, violent anti-heroes, Namor the Sub-Mariner and the Hulk.
In the early 1970s Severin penciled several stories written by Roy Thomas featuring Robert E. Howard’s introspective warrior king Kull the Conqueror. On the Kull stories Severin was inked by her brother John, and it was a beautiful collaboration.
However, it was in the humor field that Severin really found her calling. Her style was perfectly suited for comedy, and for sending up the characters at Marvel and their competitors. Severin’s work appeared in all but one issue of Not Brand Echh, which ran for 13 issues in the late 1960s. All these years later the wacky, satirical stories from Not Brand Echh are well-remembered, in major part because of Severin’s distinctively crazy artwork.
I was born in 1976, so I only discovered Not Brand Echh years later via reprints. I think once I reached my 30s and started taking super-heroes a lot less seriously was when I finally began to really appreciate the parodies of the genre that Severin & her colleagues had done.
However, for the thoughts of someone who did read Not Brand Echh when it was being published, I recommend reading Alan Stewart’s blog Attack of the 50 Year Old Comic Books. Earlier this year Alan did a blog post looking back at Not Brand Echh #9. Severin’s drew the cover artwork for on Not Brand Echh #9 and penciled “Bet They’ll Be Battle!” featuring the Inedible Bulk and Prince No-More the Skunk-Mariner, a parody of the Hulk vs. Sub-Mariner story published in Tales to Astonish #100 a year and a half earlier, which Severin had also penciled.
Nevertheless, of the Not Brand Echh material I have seen via reprints, one of my favorite pieces is the satirical two page “How to Be a Comic Book Artist” vignette which Severin drew, and which she apparently also wrote and colored. It was originally published in Not Brand Echh #11 (Dec 1968). Here it is…
How to Be a Comic Book Artist page one
How to Be a Comic Book Artist page two
“How to Be a Comic Book Artist” always leaves me chuckling, especially the second panel on the first page. “Work in pleasant, inspiring surroundings – to keep your thoughts alive and creative!” Yes, yes… of course! 😛
I showed this two-pager to my girlfriend Michele, who is an artist. She shook her head and muttered, “Yeah, that sounds like everybody I know.”
Severin continued her humor work at Marvel in the 1970s, contributing to the short-lived color comics Spoof and Arrgh! and the long-running black & white Crazy Magazine. In the early 1990s she also drew a few stories for Marvel’s later-day humor comic What The–?!
Much of Severin’s work for Marvel in the 1980s and early 90s was on titles geared towards younger readers. Her artwork appeared in the Muppet Babies, Fraggle Rock and Alf comic books. Once again, her style was very well-suited to that material.
On occasion Severin did return to straightforward super-heroes. In the mid 1990s she worked on a few stories during David Quinn’s memorable run writing Doctor Strange, doing nice work. I especially enjoyed her artwork on the Doctor Strange & Clea story that appeared in Midnight Sons Unlimited #6 (July 1994) which, although it was a mostly-serious tale, was drawn in a semi-cartoony style, and which had a fair amount of comedic background details, such as the depictions of late 1960s counter-culture elements.
I only met Severin once, briefly, at a comic book convention in June 2000. At the time the only book I had on hand which contained her work was the graphic novel Dignifying Science. Written by Jim Ottaviani and illustrated by a talented line-up of female artists, Dignifying Science spotlighted several important female scientists. Severin drew the book’s prologue & epilogue, which touched upon the life of Marie Curie. I got my copy autographed by Severin. I wish I’d had some of the other books she worked on to also get signed, but at least I did get to meet her that one time.
Marie Severin had a very lengthy career in comic books as an artist and colorist, and I’ve only briefly touched upon a few highlights in this blog. For an in-depth examination of her career, I highly recommend the book Marie Severin: The Mirthful Mistress of Comics written by Dewey Cassell with Aaron Sultan from TwoMorrows Publishing. In addition, Severin was recently interviewed by Jon B. Cooke in Comic Book Creator #16 (Winter 2018) also from TwoMorrows. Please check them out.
Today is the 75th birthday to influential comic book writer, editor and historian Roy Thomas, who was born on November 22, 1940. Additionally, this year marks 50 years of Thomas’ professional involvement in the comic book field, having started in it in the summer of 1965.
It has sometimes been opined that while Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko created the majority of the building blocks of the modern Marvel universe, it was Thomas, along with Steve Englehart, who structured them into a cohesive whole. Thomas was often the writer who was chosen by Stan Lee to take over on various Marvel series as the editor-in-chief’s workload increased and the line of titles expanded.
Some of my favorite early work by Thomas was on Avengers. He chronicled the adventures of Earth’s mightiest heroes from issue #35 (Dec 1966) thru #104 (Oct 1972). During this six year period Thomas, often working with penciler John Buscema, introduced the Vision, Ultron, the Grim Reaper, the Black Knight, Yellowjacket, Arkon, Red Wolf, the Squadron Supreme and the Zodiac.
From Avengers #89 to #97, Thomas, paired with artists Neal Adams, Sal Buscema, John Buscema and Tom Palmer, crafted a lengthy storyline of intergalactic warfare & intrigue that came be known as “The Kree-Skrull War.” In addition to establishing ties between two extraterrestrial races first devised by Lee & Kirby, this story arc set the groundwork for the lengthy relationship between the Vision and the Scarlet Witch.
Looking back on Thomas’ work on Avengers, one can see that he devised characters and stories that numerous other writers at Marvel would continue to utilize and built upon for decades to come.
Thomas was instrumental in convincing Lee and Marvel publisher Martin Goodman to approve a comic book starring Conan, the barbarian adventurer created by Robert E. Howard. Conan the Barbarian #1 debuted in 1970, written by Thomas, with pencils by a young Barry Windsor-Smith. Within a year and a half Thomas’ old collaborator John Buscema took over as penciler. Thomas also wrote Marvel’s black & white magazine Savage Sword of Conan, which began in 1974, as well as a newspaper strip that ran from 1978 to 1981.
By encouraging Marvel to publish the Conan the Barbarian comic book, and then writing so many epic, memorable stories featuring the character, Thomas played a major role in making Conan a well-known, popular character.
Another landmark in Thomas’ career was the World War II superhero series The Invaders. Thomas worked with veteran artist Frank Robbins on this book. The Invaders was Thomas’ love letter to the Golden Age of superhero comics which he had grown up reading and for which he possesses a deep fondness.
Initially a team-up of Timely Comics big three Captain America, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and the Human Torch, Thomas would gradually introduce an entire cast of costumed heroes. These were both of the genuine Golden Age variety, such as the Whizzer and Miss America, and of brand new characters he created to retcon back into the Marvel universe of the early 1940s, such as Spitfire and Union Jack.
Another aspect of The Invaders was that Thomas, Robbins and their collaborators devised a number of Axis villains. If you look back at the actual Timely comic books of the early 1940s, aside from the Red Skull there really were no major super-villains who made a lasting impact, just a number of oddball menaces who were all-but-forgotten a couple decades later. To rectify that, Thomas and Robbins introduced Master Man, Warrior Woman, U-Man, and Baron Blood as arch-foes for their heroes to fight.
Although the original run of The Invaders lasted less than five years, from 1975 to 1979, the various characters have been the subject of numerous revivals in the decades since. Thomas himself has been involved in a few of these, returning to Marvel at various points to write new adventures of his Nazi-smashing heroes.
The length and breadth of Thomas’ five decade involvement in comic books is something that I cannot even begin to do justice in a short blog post. For an in-depth look at his career, however, you need look no further than the magazine Alter Ego. Edited by Thomas, this excellent magazine has been published by TwoMorrows Publishing since 1999.
Thomas was interviewed at length by Jim Amash on several occasions for Alter Ego. Each of these examined roughly a decade of Thomas’ career, with the 1960s being covered in Alter Ego #50, the 1970s in #70, the 1980s in #100, and the 1990s in the just-released #136, with the late 1990s and beyond scheduled to be covered in the upcoming #139. I’ve found these interviews to be extremely informative. Thomas presents an honest and insightful recounting of his career.
Here’s the cover to Alter Ego #136. In the center is a humorous cartoon of Thomas drawn by veteran artist Marie Severin. Surrounding it are images taken from the covers of some of the series Thomas worked on at Marvel in the 1990s, specifically the four issue revival of The Invaders with penciler Dave Hoover, Doctor Strange, Secret Defenders, Avengers West Coast, and Thor.
I want to wish both a happy birthday and a happy anniversary to Roy Thomas. Here’s hoping for many more years to come.
Longtime comic book artist Herb Trimpe passed away unexpectedly on April 13th at the age of 75. I was a big fan of Trimpe’s work and I’ve written about him a few times previously on this blog.
Trimpe may not have been the most flashy, dynamic artist. But he was definitely a great storyteller, drawing effective interior layouts and striking covers that grabbed your attention. Like many others of his generation, Trimpe had an amazing work ethic, keeping a monthly schedule on numerous titles during his career.
In his early 20s Trimpe briefly worked as an inker for Dell and Gold Key. After a four year stint in the Air Force from 1962 to 1966, he began to get work at Marvel Comics. Among his earliest assignments at Marvel were such Western characters such as Kid Colt and Rawhide Kid. He also inked Marie Severin’s pencils on the Hulk feature in Tales to Astonish in 1967.
In 1968 Tales to Astonish was retitled The Incredible Hulk beginning with issue #102. Four months later Trimpe became the book’s penciler with issue #106. This was a start of a mammoth run on the series that would last until issue #193 in late 1975. During that seven and a half year run, Trimpe missed a mere two issues. His work on Incredible Hulk resulted in his depiction of the Jade Giant becoming one of the most identifiable, iconic renditions of the character.
While on Incredible Hulk, Trimpe sometimes inked his own pencils, and he was also paired with inkers John Severin, Dan Adkins, Sal Buscema, Sam Grainger, Sal Trapani, Jack Abel and Joe Staton. He illustrated stories written by some of Marvel’s most talented writers, namely Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin, Steve Englehart and Len Wein.
One of the most memorable Hulk stories that Trimpe penciled was “The Brute That Shouted Love at the Heart of the Atom” from issue #140. Plotted by science fiction author Harlan Ellison, scripted by Thomas, and inked by Grainger, this was the introduction of Jarella, the green-skinned princess of a sub-atomic world. Jarella is undoubtedly one of the Hulk’s true loves. All these decades later this bittersweet tale is fondly remembered. Trimpe’s layouts on the final few pages are extremely impactful, driving home the tragedy of the ending.
Trimpe also became the very first artist to draw the now-popular mutant Wolverine in print. Wolverine’s look was actually designed by John Romita. But it was Trimpe who penciled his first three published appearances in Incredible Hulk #s 180-182, which were written by Wein, with inking by Abel.
In later years Trimpe would be commissioned on numerous occasions to draw re-creations and re-interpretations of that first historic battle between the Hulk and Wolverine. One of those pieces, with a background illustration by Gerhard, was used last year as the cover for Back Issue #70 from TwoMorrows Publishing, the theme of which was “Incredible Hulk in the Bronze Age.”
During his lengthy stint at Marvel Trimpe drew many of the company’s characters. His credits include Iron Man, Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Captain Britain, Ant-Man in Marvel Feature, Killraven in Amazing Adventures, Captain America, Avengers, Son of Satan in Marvel Spotlight, Defenders, Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up, Machine Man, and several stories in What If.
Trimpe and writer Gary Friedrich created the World War I flying ace Phantom Eagle, who made his debut in Marvel Super-Heroes #16 (Sept 1968). The character obviously tapped into Trimpe’s longtime love for airplanes, and his artwork for this story was very dynamic. Although the character of the Phantom Eagle never really took off (so to speak) he did make a few subsequent appearances over the years, including in Incredible Hulk #135 once again drawn by Trimpe.
Beginning in the late 1970s Trimpe drew a number of Marvel titles featuring licensed characters. He penciled nearly the entire two year run of Godzilla. This was a wacky and offbeat series written by Doug Moench that integrated Toho’s famous monster into the Marvel universe. Trimpe illustrated Godzilla’s encounters with Dum Dum Dugan and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Champions, Devil Dinosaur, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. In issue #17 Moench, Trimpe and inker Dan Green even showed Godzilla getting shrunk down in size by Hank Pym, a condition that persisted for the next few issues!
Trimpe also drew Shogun Warriors, Transformers, and The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones. He was the first artist on the successful G.I. Joe comic launched in 1982. He penciled the first several issues, and also plotted a few of them, with G.I. Joe writer Larry Hama scripting. On issue #8 Trimpe even flew solo, plotting, penciling, inking and scripting “Code Name: Sea-Strike!”
Interviewed in 2001 for issue #53 of the Godzilla magazine G-Fan, Trimpe reflected upon his work on these various licensed titles:
“It’s funny, because you have a point about that. I never realized it before, but I have worked on a lot of licensed projects… I believe that it was probably because all of those titles involved the military, big vehicles and machines. [Marvel] knew I enjoyed drawing that stuff. Even the Hulk fought the army a lot. So, that’s no coincidence. I’m a big airplane freak. That’s really the connection there. I loved airplanes as a kid. I used to build models. I eventually got my pilot’s license, and even owned my own airplane for a number of years.”
Trimpe soon departed from G.I. Joe as he was not fond of drawing its (literal) army of characters. Five years later he returned to work on the spin-off series G.I. Joe Special Missions which was also written by Hama. With its smaller casts and self-contained stories, the book was more appealing to Trimpe. “I actually liked doing the Special Missions better than the regular one,” he stated in Back Issue #16.
Plus, within the pages of Special Missions, Trimpe got to draw airplanes… lots of them! On his Facebook page Hama fondly reminisced “Fave way to make Herbie happy was to give him a script with lots of airplanes in it.” Trimpe drew nearly the entirety of the 28 issue run of Special Missions.
The 1990s was a major decade of transition for Trimpe. He began drawing in a manner reminiscent of the then super-popular Image Comics founders, particularly Rob Liefeld. This new style was most notably on display within the pages of the giant-sized quarterly title Fantastic Four Unlimited which was written by longtime Marvel scribe, and Trimpe’s former Incredible Hulk collaborator, Roy Thomas. Mike DeCarlo and Steve Montano inked the first few issues, with Trimpe himself embellishing his pencils on the later stories.
“Truth was, it was a lark–but a lark with a purpose, all devised by myself. No one at Marvel suggested I change the way I draw or ink. I looked at the new guys’ stuff, and thought, hey, this is great. Very exciting. You can always learn from somebody else, no matter how long you’ve been doing a thing.
“I did, however, think the style might lead to new work at a time when Marvel was already in trouble, and it did. FF Unlimited was my last series at Marvel, and contrary to what a lot of fans think, I think it was the best work I’d done–and, I had a whole lot of fun doing it. Very expressive. I think the newer influences in comic book art brought out a better me. Like I said, most of the fans of the earlier stuff would not agree. On one occasion, I inked a whole story with a brush, which is what I was raised on, and the editor objected asking me not to do that anymore. But in general, no one pressured me into a change.”
Looking over Trimpe’s artwork on FF Unlimited, it is undoubtedly offbeat. The anatomy of his figures is wonky. Trimpe may have enjoyed this particular stylistic experiment, but as a reader I do not think it was entirely successful. Having said that, his layouts and storytelling on those issues are dramatic and imaginative. Despite the odder aspects of Trimpe’s early 1990s art, I enjoyed the stories he and Thomas told in FF Unlimited.
Unfortunately, with the comic book industry experiencing a huge downturn due to the collapse of the speculator market in the mid-1990s and Marvel declaring bankruptcy, Trimpe found himself out of work. It was an extremely difficult period of time for him. Trimpe would document his feelings on being unemployed in a journal. His writings would later be published as “Old Superheroes Never Die, They Join the Real World” by the New York Times in 2000. They can be read on Jim Keefe’s website.
Reading Trimpe’s journal entries, I have some identification. I was laid off in late 2009, and since then have worked a series of temp positions, with periods of unemployment in-between. I have yet to find a new permanent job. If this is stressful for someone in their 30s, I can only imagine how much more so it was for Trimpe, who was two decades older, and who had been at the same job for over a quarter of a century. Eventually he was able to make the difficult transition into a new career, working as a high school art teacher.
I regard Trimpe’s experiences in the 1990s as yet another reminder that, for all its excitement, a career in the comic book industry is also one that is fraught with uncertainty. Trimpe’s story is sadly not unique. Many others older creators have had similar experiences. I am just glad that eventually, after much hard work, he was able to land on his feet.
In 1992 Trimpe had been ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of New York. A decade later, in the months following the September 11th terrorist attacks, he performed volunteer work as a chaplain in lower Manhattan.
Within the last several years Trimpe began working in comic books again. A number of creators who were fans of his work when they were growing up started to hire him to draw various covers, fill-in issues and short stories. In 2008 Trimpe drew the first issue of the BPRD: War on Frogs miniseries published by Dark Horse and a back-up story in the King-Sized Hulk special.
In 2010 IDW began publishing G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero which continued the continuity, as well as the numbering, of the original Marvel series. Larry Hama was once again writing the series. A few issues into this revival Trimpe began contributing covers for the series based on layout sketches from Hama. Trimpe’s covers were featured on the series for nearly two years. He was also one of the pencilers on the 2012 annual.
Savage Dragon creator and Image Comics co-founder Erik Larsen is a longtime fan of Trimpe’s work. As he recently explained, “The first comic book I ever bought with my own money was The Incredible Hulk #156.” In 2010, when Savage Dragon was approaching its own 156th issue, Larsen approached Trimpe to draw a variant cover paying homage to that Incredible Hulk issue. Working from Larsen’s rough layout, Trimpe illustrated a great cover featuring two versions of the Dragon facing off against one another.
Four years later, for Savage Dragon #200, Larsen asked Trimpe to contribute to two of the back-up stories. On the first one Larsen inked Trimpe’s pencils; on the second Trimpe inked Larsen. I really enjoyed how those came out.
Within the last decade Trimpe became a regular guest at comic book conventions, especially in the Tri-State area. This was when he started to realize just how much his work, which he had always been somewhat critical of, meant to people. In his 2008 foreword to Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk Vol. 5, Trimpe wrote:
“…what finally sunk into my thick skull, was that hundreds, if not thousands, of comic book fans loved the stories I drew. And worse than that, they loved the style I had grown to dislike (I won’t use the word hate). Many a dear comic-book folk described emotionally to me how meaningful those stories had been to them. I’m sure many artists and writers in this crazy business have heard these same sentiments, but when you experience it for yourself, it is mind-blowing. One fellow described to me how a particular issue I had drawn had saved his life! How does a guy who worked to make deadlines and get the paychecks respond to that? I was flabbergasted, and I continue to be flabbergasted by the many thanks I have received for the work that I have done.”
I was fortunate enough to meet Trimpe at several conventions over the years. He always impressed me as a genuinely nice person. It was always a pleasure to see him. I was able to obtain a few pieces of artwork by him over the years, and they are a much-treasured part of my collection. They can be viewed at Comic Art Fans…
Given the tremendous, widespread responses to Herb Trimpe’s passing that have been seen on the Internet within the past week, both from fans and former colleagues, it is readily apparent that he was both a talented creator and a good person. He will certainly be missed by me and by many others.
Here are some previous pieces where I’ve written about Trimpe:
A very happy Fourth of July to all of my fellow Americans. Today I am going to take a look at a comic book story that I feel exemplifies the principles upon which this country was founded. Yes, too often we have all fallen short of those lofty ideals, but they still remain as goals for us to continually strive towards. And so, I am going to write about Captain America #130, published by Marvel Comics in 1970.
Right now those comic book fans out there with a more than passing knowledge of the Captain America series are probably saying to themselves “WTF?!?” Yeah, it’s not really an obvious choice, but bear with me.
The issue is topped off by a cover which according to both the Grand Comics Database and the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators was drawn by Marie Severin & Joe Sinnott. I will have to take their word for it. That drawing of the Hulk’s face does look very much like Severin’s work, so the credits are probably accurate.
Opening up the book, we find ourselves in the midst of a ferocious battle between Cap and the Hulk, on a splash page that offers the following declaration via Artie Simek’s exciting engraving:
“This one has to be seen to be believed! Based on an original theme by Stan the Man, Genial Gene got so wound up in the artwork that he tossed in everything but the kitchen sink! Hence, what follows is like a wild and wacky build-up to the startling surprise that awaits you next ish! It may not make much sense – but we guarantee you won’t be bored! So, settle back, relax, and enjoy it, culture-lover – (and if you can figure it out – explain it to us!)”
After three pages of Cap versus Hulk action, it is revealed that this is actually a movie playing in a theater, with none other than Steve Rogers himself sitting in the audience. It’s never made clear if this is supposed to be a documentary with actual newsreel footage of the two super-humans slugging it out, or a fictional production (perhaps starring Chris Evans and Mark Ruffalo?) but whatever the case Steve isn’t too thrilled when a fellow cinemagoer declares “Who cares about that clown? He’s just not relevant in today’s world!”
This issue falls right in the middle of a period when the Captain America series was struggling somewhat with its identity. It’s important to keep in mind the context of when this was published. In 1970 the Vietnam War was raging, and the controversy over it was tearing America apart. The Civil Rights movement was still being fought. Distrust of the government was beginning to become widespread. In this environment, the character of Cap, a super patriot who originated during World War II, must have been an awkward figure to write. Stan Lee was trying to touch upon this with an Easy Rider-inspired arc, as Steve Rogers travels about the country on a motorcycle, attempting to figure out his place in modern American society.
Departing the movie theater, Steve rides his chopper into a “sleepy little college town” which is anything but. The students are rioting, attempting to reach the Dean, who has barricaded himself in his office, and the police are attempting to quell the disturbance. Steve changes into his uniform and, as Cap, swings into action, hoping to bring a halt to the violence before anyone is hurt. The students, though, think that Cap is “in league with the fuzz” and attack him. Cap leaps away from the crowd and climbs up the side of the administrative building to the Dean’s office, rescuing him before the students can batter down the door.
I’m curious about the timeline to the production of this issue. With a cover-date of October 1970, the issue would actually have been on sale sometime around July, which meant that it must have been written & drawn a few months before. The Kent State Shootings took place on May 4th. I wonder if “Up Against The Wall” was in production during that time, and if that tragic event might have been on Stan Lee & Gene Colan’s minds. Even if it wasn’t, there was certainly was a great deal of unrest on college campuses throughout this time period.
A figure observes Cap’s rescue of the Dean and approaches him, stating “It’s a pleasure finding someone who still stands for law and order!” The man, a television producer, asks Cap to make an appearance. However, it turns out that this producer is actually in the employ of a mysterious hooded figure known as, um, The Hood. In any case, the masked mastermind gives his servant explicit instructions:
“Write his speech most carefully! In standing for law and order, he must make Americans distrust their own younger generation! The more we can divide this country, and the more we stifle dissent – the better it will be – for The Hood!”
It’s interesting that Lee scripts the villain in this manner. It brings to mind Sinclair Lewis’ warning “When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.” Lee is addressing the idea that agents of oppression and injustice will assume the trappings of patriotism, throw about terms such as “law and order” to disguise their subversive efforts to undermine liberty & freedom. What Lee was observing in this scene is undoubtedly just as true today as it was four decades ago, if not more so.
Cap later arrives at the television station. Addressing the camera, he makes the following speech:
“I’ve been asked to speak to you today – to warn America about those who try to change our institutions – but, in a pig’s eye I’ll warn you! This nation was founded by dissidents – by people who wanted something better! There’s nothing sacred about the status quo – and there never will be! I don’t believe in using force – or violence – because they can be the weapons of those who would enslave us – but, nor do I believe in an establishment that remains so aloof – so distant – that the people are driven to desperate measures – as in the case of a college dean who isolates himself from his student body!”
This is obviously not what The Hood had planned, and he orders his lackey to silence Cap. The producer telephones the mercenary Batroc the Leaper, who declares “Just give us sixty seconds!” Batroc and his comrades, Whirlwind and The Porcupine, hop into a fancy roadster and literally one minute later arrive at the TV studio to attack Cap. I guess that Batroc’s Brigade just conveniently happen to have their headquarters right down the block. They probably could have saved on gas by just walking from there.
Cap fights Batroc, Whirlwind, and The Porcupine to a standstill. Once the police arrive, the three costumed criminals flee, leaving Cap to wonder who hired them. But that is a story for another time… okay, okay, I’ll tell you! Next issue Cap unmasks The Hood, who turns out to be Baron Strucker, who attempts to kill Cap with the long-lost Bucky, who ends up being revealed as a robot duplicate. And then a decade or so later we would find out that The Hood / Strucker himself was also a robot. Yeah, it’s really weird, so don’t think too closely about it. Aren’t you sorry you asked?
The somewhat choppy feel of this and other issues of Captain America from around this time is due to the working relationship between Lee and Colan. Lee was phoning it in… and I mean that literally! This is one of the subjects discussed in an excellent interview of Colan conducted by Roy Thomas published in Alter Ego #6:
Colan: Actually, the fun of working on comics with Stan was that, although he put in all the dialogue, he allowed the artists to take a very small plot he’d give them and build it into a 20-page story. There was nothing to the plot — it was maybe just a few sentences — but the beginning was there, and you could do anything you wanted.
Thomas: Did Stan write out plots then, or was it mostly just over the phone?
Colan: I recorded our phone conversations, and then I would go by the recording. Other times, he’d send me a letter of a few paragraphs.
So Colan would pencil an entire 20 page story from that brief description, in effect serving as a co-plotter, and Lee would write his script from the artwork.
Colan admitted that at times this method would have unintended results. Sometimes his pacing of the story would be off, and he would then realize that he had very little space left to wrap the issue up, leading him to cram as much as possible into the final three or four pages. On one particular occasion Lee had included a car chase in his plot, expecting that Colan would devote a page to it. Lee was subsequently surprised to find that in Colan’s penciled art the car chase took up almost half of the issue!
Even under these circumstances we see that Lee, who is undoubtedly a great scripter, crafted some superb dialogue. True, I’ve never been overly enamored with aspects of Lee’s approach to Cap, as he repeatedly showed him agonizing about Bucky’s death, moping over his relationship with Sharon Carter, and wringing his hands at his role as a man out of time. But when Lee wasn’t busy having Steve Rogers doing his pity pot routine, he wrote the character very well. The speech he gives Cap in this issue is, in my opinion, one of the quintessential moments in the character’s existence. It sums up everything that Steve Rogers is about. He is not an unquestioning patriot or a militant hawk who seeks out conflict. Cap believes in the American Dream, the potential for greatness that this country and its people can be capable of if they are willing to embrace equality & diversity and attempt to strive for a better future.
The artwork by Colan on this issue is quite good. It is a bit odd that many people have cited Colan as one of their favorite Captain America artists. If you actually look at his run on the title from 1969 to 1971 on issue #s 116 to 137, the stories he drew are a mixed bag, uneven in quality, undoubtedly due to Lee’s minimal role in the plotting stages. Nevertheless, Colan’s work during that two year run is of a high quality. That said, I do think that he did rather better work on other titles where the writers gave him slightly more comprehensive plots to work from, which resulted in him doing a better job pacing out his art. On a few occasions in later years Colan would return to draw stand-alone issues of Captain America. I feel that those are stronger efforts by Colan, quite simply because he was given better stories to illustrate.
Dick Ayers inked Colan’s pencils on Captain America #s 128 to 134. I’ve observed in the past that Colan was a difficult artist to ink, and that only a handful of embellishers did extremely well at finishing his art. Ayers was definitely was a talented artist, but he was probably not the best fit to ink Colan. But it certainly wasn’t a disaster, either. Most of the issues that Ayers inked fell during the “Cap on the road” arc. The combination of Colan and Ayers’ styles was actually appropriate, as the plots were slightly less of the conventional superhero type. Colan’s pencils helped to put that mood across some, whereas a more Kirby-esque art style could have been too traditional. Likewise Ayers’ style of inking, which was well suited to the many war and Western stories he illustrated over the years, was also a good match to these stories.
While at first glance Captain America #130 is an offbeat issue, it certainly has its strong points, and an important message. As we all celebrate July 4th, let’s try to remember Cap’s words to the American people in this story.
Here is the third and final installment of my look back at the bizarre, experimental, amazing run on Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme by writer David Quinn. Many of the major subplots of Quinn’s arc come to an epic conclusion in issue #s 72-75, the four part “Last Rites.”
Previously Doctor Strange had assembled the mystic artifacts he had collected into a Forge, and had used it to tap into the “Gaian Aura” of the Earth itself to gain access to a new source of magickal energy. As “Last Rites” opens, Strange believes he is finally ready to confront his usurper, the ancient Salome, who has assumed the title of Sorceress Supreme. After a year shielding himself in his null space Sanctum Sanctorum beneath Trinity Church, Strange opens up the gateway to it, expecting Salome will take the bait and come charging in, ready to do battle. However, this doesn’t happen. Instead, the mystic entity Agamotto materializes, warning that he and the other beings comprising the Vishanti have granted Salome their benediction. Strange is horrified, believing that now Salome will be even more difficult to defeat, and despairs that his months of preparations have been in vain.
Obsessed over both stopping Salome and traveling to the Dark Dimension to assist his former lover Clea, Doctor Strange decides he must reclaim the energy he invested in the creation of the artificial beings “Vincent Stevens” and “Strange.” He uses the Gaian Aura to create an aetheric sword & suit of armor which will protect him from the corrupting energies of Salome’s Dance still within him. Doctor Strange then head off to confront the Strangers. Arriving at the Tempo Building, he finds the pair preparing to finally merge together to ensure their continued existence. Neither of the Strangers is ready to simply hand over his life energies to their “father,” and so a battle quickly erupts.
Dormammu has a bone to pick with Clea
Elsewhere, in the Dark Dimension, a despondent Clea is preparing to enter into an alliance with her uncle, the dread Dormammu, deposed ruler of the realm. Clea is reluctant to side with her evil relative, but she feels that she has no choice, given that Doctor Strange was unable to aid her in restoring order to her war-ravaged home. Entering the magick dampening field of the Sanctuary, Clea and Dormammu prepare to sign a peace accord. However, even stripped of his mystical energies, Dormammu is not powerless. Treacherously, he brutally, bare-handedly rips the spine from one of his own soldiers and hurls it at his niece. The only thing that saves Clea is her advisor Nobel, who throws himself between the two, receiving a mortal wound. Clea’s ragtag army quickly flees, with Dormammu and his forces giving pursuit.
Back on Earth, Doctor Strange is attempting to convince “Strange” that Vincent Stevens intends to betray his would-be ally. Indeed, Stevens plans to use his techno-magick not to merge with “Strange” but to take possession of his form. Stevens’ own technology is eventually turned against him, and the doppelganger is destroyed.
With just “Strange” left, the Doctor tries to induce the entity to willingly give up his existence, so that both Earth and the Dark Dimension can be saved. However, the aetheric entity refuses, hollering to his creator “If you want to amend your errors, give me a REAL life!” He argues that Doctor Strange is acting just as selfish and manipulative as Vincent Stevens was before, proving himself a monumental hypocrite. And despite all that is at stake, the Doctor finally realizes that his creation is right, that sacrificing “Strange” with an ends-justify-the-means rationalization will make him just a bad as the entity who harbored all his darker, buried impulses.
The Doctor is forced to acknowledge that “Strange” is sentient, that he has a soul, a right to exist. The magician tells his creation “I am willing to sacrifice what I most desire… in order to give you life!” The two pool their energies, and the master of the mystic arts transports “Strange” to the Dark Dimension. There, “Strange” merges with the dying Noble, becoming a new, composite entity known as Paradox, who embodies the personalities & qualities of both beings. Paradox saves Clea from Dormammu and his Mindless Ones, transporting her to safety, ready to fight by her side in the future.
Strange Sacrifices
Doctor Strange, knowing that Clea is safe, returns to his Sanctum to confront Salome, who has at last arrived. Strange realizes that, for all his plots & planning, in the end he is nowhere near powerful enough to defeat Salome. His only hope is to utilize strategy and try to bluff the Sorceress Supreme. Indeed, although Salome probably could have defeated Strange easily, she has become so utterly obsessed, so insane with the thought of humiliating him that he is, just barely, able to outmaneuver & trick her into defeating herself. An unexpected ally is also presented in the form of Sister Nil. The Lilin has come to care deeply for Strange and is ready to sacrifice herself for him.
Salome is banished once more from Earth’s dimension. The corrupting energy of Salome’s Dance finally removed from his body, Doctor Strange completely rejuvenates himself, physically becoming a much younger man. Donning a pair of mystic spectacles, he safely emerges from his Sanctum to finally walk the streets of New York, ready to restart his life.
The near-total revamp of Doc’s physical appearance is odd and unexpected. As others have commented, this new form, as drawn by Peter Gross, bears a more than passing resemblance to John Lennon. I was rather surprised by this. I e-mailed Quinn to see if he would share his memories of this redesign. Here’s his response:
“I think that was the powers that be’s guidance. I reached out to Evan, but he was on vacation, so we’re going on my hazy memory of an uncomfortable time. That’s an important context to capture − Marvel’s ownership was decimating the system of distributors and stores and sales were plummeting across the line. (All we could claim with Doc was that our sales were slipping more slowly than the rapid freefall of other titles — not enough.) Editors were losing jobs every week and desperate to grab attention for their books. So with hindsight, I think Evan’s bosses saw our new empowered Doc and steered it toward a more youthful look. Ironically, he ended up looking like a 25 year old Harry Potter. Look at other books at the time and you might detect other desperate measures to temporarily pump up sales to keep editorial employed.”
As a reader who witnessed the tumultuous upheavals of Marvel in the mid-1990s, I have to agree that Quinn’s memory of where the directive to de-age Doctor Strange came from sounds plausible. I can certainly imagine how editorial and/or management might say “Hey, if we make Doc young & hip, more teenagers will read him!” After all, these are the same people who just a year later gave over Captain America and Avengers to Rob Liefeld.
Uh oh, looks like the Doc has been dropping some Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Regarding the other aspects of “Last Rites,” I was initially surprised that Quinn had spent three and a half issues focusing on Doctor Strange’s confrontation with the Strangers, and only the last half of the double-sized #75 was devoted to his final battle with Salome. This pacing seemed an unusual choice. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the Doctor’s most important conflict was not with Salome, but with himself.
Even before Quinn’s run, Strange had always been a rather distant, aloof figure, often detaching himself from the world he had pledged to protect. After he was stripped of his position as Sorcerer Supreme, depowered, and afflicted with Salome’s Dance, he then began to act in a ruthless, manipulative manner. Strange kept his allies at arm’s length and in the dark concerning his intentions. He created, used, and then discarded his aetheric agents the Strangers with a disturbing casualness. In his obsession to overcome Salome, he had allowed himself to become alienated from his own humanity. It was more important for the Doctor to confront the consequences of his actions, and for him to acknowledge that much of the Strangers’ ruthlessness & brutality came from his own long-buried flaws. Finally, the Doctor had to be willing to sacrifice his happiness, and perhaps even his life, to both enable “Strange” to exist and to save Clea, even if it meant that he might not be powerful enough to survive his own confrontation with Salome. Much as he had to do many years before studying under his mentor the Ancient One, Doctor Strange had to re-discover humility and serenity. It was by rising above his obsessions, as well as by his past decision to try and care for & redeem Sister Nil rather than punish her for her crimes, that Strange was finally able to banish Salome.
There was, I admit, one aspect of Quinn’s overall storyline that I felt was underdeveloped: who, exactly, is Salome? According to her own words, she was the Sorceress Supreme of Earth thousands of years ago. From this we can infer that in the past, in some manner or another, she did act in the role of Earth’s protector. But obviously something must have occurred at some point to change this. Perhaps she became arrogant, corrupted by the power & authority she wielded. This could have been what led to her original banishment to another dimension. I really would have liked to have seen Quinn explore who Salome was. In his work with Tim Vigil on Faust: Love of the Damned, he has scripted the vile characters of M and Claire in such a brilliant way that, for all their depraved acts, the reader can, if not sympathize with them, at least understand their points of view and what it is that drives them. I wish he had done something similar, gotten into Salome’s head to show us what makes her tick.
The final final four issues in Quinn’s run, #s 76-79, are written with the assistance of editor Evan Skolnick, who co-writes #77 and scripts #s 78 & 79 from Quinn’s plots. Several new plotlines are set up. Doctor Strange assumes the identity of Vincent Stevens and takes charge of his corporation in an effort to clean up the corruption and destruction caused by the Strangers. The Doctor also begins a slow, painful reconciliation with his former aide Wong, who still harbors bitterness over the death of his fiancée Imei. There are further developments with Clea and Paradox. Modred the Mystic and Wildpride briefly resurface, the later revealed to be Strange’s disgruntled short-lived apprentice Kyllian. Most ominously, the elder god Chthon’s impending rebirth is on the horizon. No doubt Quinn would have developed all of these over future issues. But he was replaced as the series’ writer before he had the opportunity.
Quinn shared a few brief comments on where he had hoped to take both the character and the series…
“My focus at the end of Last Rites was to give a reunited Dr. Stephen Strange earth magick based powers of his own acquisition, versus tricks borrowed from the Vishanti. He would stand on his own for the first time, be much more powerful and confident — and future adventures planned some aggressive earth magick around the MU of the day. I thought it was about time he grew up, and stop just being the MU’s cosmic babysitter / plot device. (Sound familiar?) Since we had also gradually empowered Clea, I thought a more adult relationship would be interesting to explore − if Strange could stand up on his own, he better be okay with a woman who does, too!”
Quinn was unfortunately not able to enact these plans…
“Evan was laid off. His replacement was swamped and kind of let the last issues run on autopilot while preparing yet another new direction in a year… and the good Doctor has never sustained a successful run since, in terms of sales.”
The temptation of Sister Nil
The strongest of Quinn’s last four issues is his final one, #79. In “Farewell, Nightmare Music” Sister Nil is restless, wanting her complete freedom, to explore the world of human beings. But Strange is wary of this, as she still has no control over her cancerous death kiss. Taking advantage of this potential schism is Strange’s old foe Nightmare, who offers Nil the chance to assume a crucial role in his dream realm. Quinn & Skolnick write Nightmare as his usual mocking, arrogant self, yet they also imbue him with a sympathetic, tragic quality. It is a nuanced depiction. As I said before, Quinn excels at portraying his antagonists in a multi-faceted manner that explores their inner workings.
The artwork on these eight issues is certainly of a high quality. Regular artist Peter Gross works on most of these, doing really amazing visuals. On the first two chapters of “Last Rites,” Gross is inked by Lee Sullivan, who I remember very well from his cool art on the comic strips in Doctor Who Magazine. They work well together. There is this one page in #73 that especially jumped out at me, when Salome first penetrates the Sanctum Sanctorum. Gross gives her the most expressive body language as she angrily grasps at Doctor Strange’s cloak of levitation, believing him to be in it. Realizing it is empty, this transforms to triumphant luxuriating as she indulgently wraps herself in her prize.
Chapter three is a nice fill-in job by another very talented artist, Steve Yeowell, who manages to retain his own style while fitting in well with the previous two issues done by Gross & Sullivan. The final chapter of “Last Rites” in issue #75 has Mark Buckingham contributing pencil breakdowns, with Gross doing the finishes. And, wow, does the collaboration between the two of them look amazing!
Salome: sorceress supreme, house crasher, fashionista
Also present during David Quinn’s final issues is veteran Marvel artist Marie Severin, who previously worked with the writer on one of the segments in Midnight Sons Unlimited #6. Severin provides breakdowns to Doctor Strange #78, with Gross drawing the finishes. On the next issue, #79, she does full pencils, and consequently much more of her style comes through. I really enjoyed Severin’s work on “Farewell, Nightmare Music.” She did such a fantastic job illustrating this emotional, surreal story, closing out Quinn’s run with class & style.
I have one last note, concerning the coloring by “Heroic Age,” which appeared throughout Quinn’s entire run. This was some of the earliest computer coloring in a Marvel title. Consequently, I think it got off to a pretty rough start, looking very garish in the first few issues. I guess the folks at Heroic Age must have worked on reefing their techniques, though, because over time the coloring improved. There was a real noticeable difference in quality in Doctor Strange Annual #4. From then on, they did increasingly good work. In these last eight issues, I was quite impressed by the coloring.
Okay, now that I’ve come to the end of this three-part look back at the period when David Quinn wrote Doctor Strange, you might well be wondering “Why?” Why devote three lengthy posts to some little-known comic book stories written in the mid-1990s, a period that is, often deservedly, looked upon as a nadir in quality for the entire comic book industry? Well, simply put, it is exactly because of that perception that I felt these comic books deserved an analysis.
In the last several years I have become a fan of the work David Quinn has done with Tim Vigil on Faust: Love of the Damned. This motivated me to take a second look at Quinn’s run on Doctor Strange. I discovered I really enjoyed it. His writing is filled with energy and insane ideas and off-the-wall mystical concepts and the sort of dark lunacy typically associated with Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison’s work for DC / Vertigo. I was very curious to see what other people thought of Quinn’s stint on the series, so I did a few searches on the Internet. And I discovered that there was almost nothing there, aside from the occasional brief write-up or reference in someone’s blog, certainly nothing in-depth. So, I thought, why not do it myself? Why not perform that detailed retrospective of Quinn’s Doctor Strange material?
Truthfully, in certain respects, I barely scratched the surface. I could probably have written twice as much as I did about these stories. But I didn’t, and part of that is I hope people will take a look at them for themselves, and discover just how cool and interesting these overlooked stories are. Fortunately, all of these comics can be purchased relative inexpensively on Ebay or from online retailers. So do yourself a favor, and check them out.
David Quinn’s Doctor Strange, a suggested reading order:
In the second part of my look back at writer David Quinn’s run on Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme, we pick up from the events of Annual #4. As “Strangers Among Us” concluded, both Vincent Stevens and “Strange” had discovered that they were not true living beings, but mystical creations of Doctor Stephen Strange based upon aspects of his own personality. Now both of them were slowly beginning to discorporate, and each was desperate to maintain his existence. Stevens thought the solution lay in technology, whereas “Strange” believed that he and Stevens needed to merge together into one being. Meanwhile, in the Dark Dimension, Clea was attempting to travel to Earth and reach Doctor Strange, in the hopes that he could aid her in quelling the mystic civil war engulfing her home. She was unaware that her former lover had been infected with the energies of Salome, forcing him to take refuge in his new null space Sanctum Sanctorum.
In Midnight Sons Unlimited #6, we find Doctor Strange in the midst of assembling the “Forge” out of the numerous mystical items previously collected by “Strange” on his behalf. Perhaps subconsciously sensing that Clea is making her way to Earth, Stephen Strange finds his thoughts drifting to his one-time student & paramour. He relates to Sister Nil, his Lilin prisoner/ward, some of his past history with Clea. The Doctor recounts three occasions when he and Clea encountered Verdelet, a scorned would-be lord of vampires who was passed over by his sire Varnae in favor of Dracula. Their various encounters with this undead fiend through the years highlight the progression of their relationship. Quinn does excellent work examining the couple’s shifting, developing roles over time. In the first segment, Clea is very much the wide-eyed novice discovering a new world, in need of Doctor Strange’s guidance & protection. In the second, they are teacher and pupil, with Clea honing her abilities by aiding Strange in his war against mystic menaces. And in the third, we see them as equals, confidently working alongside one another.
Each of the flashback segments is illustrated by a different artist. The first one, set early in Strange & Clea’s association, is drawn by Marie Severin, one of the artists to work on the post-Ditko issues of Strange Tales in the late 1960s. Appropriately enough, this tale seems to be set in that exact era. Severin, who is probably best known for her work on Marvel’s self-parody title Not Brand Echh, adds a humorous touch to this tale of the undead via her colorful, off-the-wall depictions of the hippy counter-culture.
The second part also features work by a former Doctor Strange artist. The super-talented Gene Colan drew the series throughout the 1970s. He is inked here by Dave Simons, who previously embellished Colan’s pencils on Howard the Duck. Making an appearance is Colan’s vampire-hunting co-creation Blade, who crosses paths with Strange and Clea as they engage in their second match with Verdelet.
Quinn returns to present-day events in Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme #67. Clea arrives on Earth and is shocked to discover that Stephen Strange’s Bleecker Street home is now a vacant lot. Looking for clues to the Doctor’s whereabouts, she explores Greenwich Village disguised as a punk rock chick. Finally, Clea realizes that her long association with and intimate connection to Strange allows her to reach out with her mystic senses to locate his new Sanctum. The two are reunited, and each learns of the tragic circumstances that has befallen the other of late. Clea understands that Strange is, at the moment, unable to help her. As the spell that transported Clea to Earth fades and she returns to the Dark Dimension, each of them comes to terms with the need to go on alone in their respective quests.
Issue #68 is a fill-in written by Dan Abnett focusing on the two Strangers. He does a nice job of getting into Vincent Stevens’ head, exploring his desire to continue to live. Stevens may be immoral and unscrupulous, but he has still developed into a living, sentient being. You can feel his anguish at his slow disintegration. Abnett’s issue ties in very well with Quinn’s ongoing story. It seems that editor Evan Skolnick did a good job coordinating the scripts of the two writers so that events would smoothly flow from one point to another.
Quinn returns with Doctor Strange #69 and, honestly, I think it is one of the strongest issues of his entire run. Having been rejected once and for all by Stevens, a disoriented “Strange” is wandering about, desperately searching for another being to merge with. “Strange” crosses paths with Polaris and Forge from X-Factor, en-route back to Washington after a conference on human/mutant affairs. They are in the midst of arguing about the role of mutants in society. Forge thinks it crucial that mutant-kind band together in a unified front to ensure their security. Polaris, however, believes that different views ought to be expressed, and debate encouraged among mutants about what role they should play in the world.
“Strange” is drawn to Polaris as he senses that due to her status as a mutant she is an “outcast” much like him. He wants to merge with her, making them both, in his mind, complete. While they are fighting, Polaris slowly begins to comprehend that “Strange” is a being who wants to be accepted & understood. Forge, however, perceives “Strange” as a threat, and attempts to destroy him. Polaris’ first instinct is to chastise her teammate for rash action. But when “Strange” abruptly reforms, she reacts with fear. A disenchanted “Strange” flies off, telling Polaris to “remember your hypocrisy.” And perhaps she comprehends for the first time the perspective of ordinary humans who fear and attack those that are different from themselves.
The guest art team of David Brewer & Pam Eklund do excellent work illustrating Quinn’s extremely compelling, thought-provoking plot. And the issue is topped off by an absolutely amazing cover by Mark Buckingham.
The quests by both Vincent Stevens and “Strange” to perpetuate their existences continues in issue #s 70-71, the two part “Half Lives.” Stevens believes that he has finally found the solution via “techno-magick.” He intends to use this to take over the form of the most powerful being on Earth, the Hulk. He summons the green goliath to his Tempo skyscraper by masquerading as the real Doctor Strange… an appropriate enough thing to do, I suppose, since for the past several months people have kept mistaking Stevens for the Master of the Mystic Arts.
“Strange,” on the other hand, is drawn to the Hulk’s oldest friend Rick Jones, who also once shared his form with Captain Mar-Vell. “Strange” believes this makes Rick uniquely suited to merge with him. Rick, on the other hand, has only just married his true love Marlo Chandler. Looking forward to embarking on a new life with her, he certainly has no desire to go back to being one half of a composite entity.
The debate between Rick and “Strange” is abruptly interrupted when the Stevens-possessed Hulk crashes in, ready to destroy his aetheric “brother” as payback for weeks of harassment. It seems Stevens is on track to do just that until Rick, who knows the Hulk all too well, uses psychology to make the gamma-spawned giant’s true personality angry, giving him the strength to reassert control. Stevens’ consciousness is banished. Desperate, Stevens claims that he has changed his mind and wishes to merge with “Strange.” The two flee back to the Tempo, leaving the Hulk and Rick to try and sort things out.
While all this has been taking place, Doctor Strange has been in his Sanctum. He has completed his Forge, and is now attempting to utilize it to channel the magick influence of the Earth itself, thereby gaining a new supply of power. This, he hopes, will allow him to leave null space and take back the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme from Salome.
At the same time, the Doctor is ready to just casually stand back and allow “Strange” and Vincent Stevens to “dissolve naturally.” He seems unaware, or unwilling to admit, that the two Strangers have become independent entities, clinging tenaciously to life. So, despite his vow to no longer treat “those who trusted me like mere chess pawns,” Doctor Strange is as yet unwilling to accept the consequences of his creating the Strangers. Quinn ably demonstrates this glaring moral blind spot in the Doctor’s philosophy. It is one the writer will examine in-depth in his next four issues.
Closing out #71, we finally catch a glimpse of Salome, who has been absent the past several issues. Still searching for Doctor Strange, the mad sorceress contacts the Vishanti. Salome offers up her services to these cosmic beings in exchange for the power to destroy Strange, the man who previously rejected them. Thus is the stage set for the final confrontation between the two.
“Half Lives” features the debut of the new regular artist on Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme. Peter Gross had worked on Dr. Fate and Books of Magic for DC Comics / Vertigo, as well as Hellstorm for Marvel itself. That made him well suited to draw another mystical-themed title such as this. I do think the more traditional superhero action elements in these two issues with the Hulk do perhaps come out a bit awkward. However, Gross does amazing work on the much more bizarre and esoteric sequences featuring Doctor Strange and Salome. The scenes of Strange in the Forge Canal are really eerie, containing a surreal quality. As we will see, Quinn’s upcoming “Last Rites” arc will definitely play to Gross’ strengths as an artist.
In part three, we will be taking a look at the final portion of David Quinn’s work on Doctor Strange, as featured in issue #s 72-79.
In My Not So Humble Opinion 