Gene Colan Takes On DC Icons

The prolific and unique Gene Colan passed away at age 84 on June 23. He was a master of storytelling and action pacing. In terms of visuals, for some reason the word that comes to mind for his style was "slippery". Everything had a liquid feel to it, as though each comic panel morphed into the next one. I loved his work on Marvel's clever and absurdist Howard the Duck with writer Steve Gerber. The same team took on the Man of Steel in The Phantom Zone miniseries of 1982, exploring the furthest reaches of the titular nether region; which also meant some other DC Icons slipping into the fray. Here are some selections with inks by Tony Dezuniga.

My Fave Splash Page of the Week, and Some Rambling on Tom DeFalco

Obviously not a from a new comic, but it was new to me, Superman Family #188. I could just live in the pic, a Kurt Schaffenberger masterpiece, it's so full of the things that make me happiest. Well, the really nice thing is this was one of a bunch of back issues I got this week at a local store that is nice enough to allow trading, so I brought in a bunch of stuff I was no longer interested in - some things I hadn't read in 20 years and had not really though about in that time - to get things that just appeal more to me now. I got a bunch of Superman Family, Super Friends, as well as the first issue of DC Comics Presents, which is part one of a two part story. The curious thing is, I read the second part years ago, when I was a kid, and loved it, but it is only now that I will be able to read the first part. The copy was going for $16, so I was very glad to get it without paying up front.

This particular issue of Superman Family was interesting to me as I noticed a lot of the content was written by Tom DeFalco, who would later go on to a run of Amazing Spider-man that I personally found to be some of the more fun Spidey I ever read, as well as becoming the Marvel E-I-C, and writing Fantastic Four during what for me was the last great period of the FF - though I freely acknowledge that's just my personal taste. I don't consider myself the bearer of absolute standards for comic awesomeness, I just know what I like and go with that.

I did a bit of reading on DeFalco, on Wikipedia, and found out he originally worked at Archie Comics prior to doing some stuff at DC. Most significantly, he came up with the idea of Archie Digests. Many of us who grew up in the 70's or 80's probably can't picture our youths without those.

Well, till next time, this is me saying, don't keep your Kandor all bottled up, express yourself!

Soy Un Perdedor

You know you've got problems if even Superman is making fun of you in his thought bubble. Kal-El's a nice guy but he has his limits. From Superman #391.

Some Favourite Selections from the 1997 JLA Gallery - Part 5

Crisis on Aaron's Scanner! I'm afraid my scanner cut off Black Canary, but it was her or Martian Manhunter. I like that the picture works as either pre-Crisis or post-Crisis. It's by Stuart Immonen, whose work on I was enjoying a lot at the time.

Some Favourite Selections from the 1997 JLA Gallery - Part 4

Penciller Gary Frank and inker Cam Smith - I loved these two together in the nineties, on Incredible Hulk and then Supergirl. This is not Frank's finest image - Wonder Woman's on her tippytoes or something, she just looks awkward. Batman seems out of proportion. What I did like is that their art as a team stood out because they didn't go insane with the detail lines, and their people had a natural, if ideal, look to them. I do like that Superman sort of looks like Paul Newman, and has a cocky smirk, as if to say, "I'm a nice guy, but I'm also aware I can put my fist through about anything." Note Wondie's Catherine Zeta- Jones-esque wall-eye, which Frank seemed to like, I remember a number of his girls had that. The colourists sort of went to town on shading her Wonder Twins (sorry) though. She would have looked more natural before the colouring process. Kinda too bad because Frank and Smith were among the few not giving women outrageous implants in the nineties, especially in the time they worked on the Marvel side of things, when the X-Men was nothing but detail lines and huge breastses. DC was generally more tasteful, Marvel less so, and I've got two Marvel Swimsuit Specials to prove it. I can't claim a friend gave them to me. I'm not sure if Power Girl wrecks the curve or is the exception that proves the rule. But enough about that.

Some Favourite Selections from the 1997 JLA Gallery - Part 3

Here's one by Craig Hamilton, a tribute to the cover of Brave and the Bold # 28. A great looking diorama of the scene was circulating at the San Diego Comic Con this year, with a Starro action figure that may or may not actually take over your mind - it could all be part of a plot.

In this case, Aquaman's gloves have been coloured green as opposed to the yellow of the original. Reading the Aquaman Shrine regularly has made me aware of such things. Conicidentally, the Shrine has another tribute to this pic up today.

Some Favourite Selections from the 1997 JLA Gallery - Part 2

This one's by Don Hillsman, and jumps ahead to the JLI era. I like it because you don't always see a pic where Guy Gardner looks so heroic. I also like that Guy's using so much power against Despero that he has to hold his wrist steady. Ice is down, so it's on. Click on image to get it bigger, if you so desire.

Some Favourite Selections from the 1997 JLA Gallery - Part 1

While going through my nineties JLA box the other day had an "Oh yeah, I remember this" moment - good ol' galleries, comics consisting entirely of what could have been covers, images that captured certain periods, in this case of the Justice League, by different artists. This week I'll feature some of my faves from the crop.


I'll start with this, old school Justice League of America by Jay Stephens: