Tag Archives: comic books

May 10 2013
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Comics, Film

A look at this summer’s comic book films

Based on the strength of Iron Man 3′s performance last weekend, grossing $170 million domestic and $680 million worldwide, moviegoers and critics that predicted (and in some cases hoped for) the decline of the comic book movie will be disappointed.

For a guy that grew up in an era that didn’t have that many comic book movies released, and with many of those that were released not measuring up to their respective source material, it feels like we’re finally living in a Golden Age of comic book movies and I’m hoping there’s no end in sight.

Sometimes my comic book fandom interfered with my ability to enjoy a comic book film on its own merits.  I used to be a staunch believer that a comic book movie had to be as close to the printed source material as possible, but I’ve had a change of perspective over the last couple of years.  When the first wave of comic book movies was released, my complaints usually began with the changes made to the superhero costumes.  (Wolverine’s yellow costume wasn’t cinematic enough?  Then use the brown costume!)  But over a time, a personal caveat like Captain America’s costume deviating from the classic Joe Simon/Jack Kirby design was overshadowed by my pure enjoyment of a film.  Now I accept the need to balance respect for the source material (particularly the characters and their origins) with the new ideas filmmakers can bring to the franchise.  Rather than seeing the film version as a verbatim representation of the comic book, I now go into each film wanting to see it as a new adventure for the characters.

With the latest influx of comic book related films summer has now become my favorite time of year for moviegoing, and this summer’s lineup of releases has me planning my trips to the multiplex.

Here’s a look at the upcoming comic book films for Summer 2013:

Man of Steel

Man of Steel Movie Poster

Release Date: June 14

Directed by Zac Snyder; Screenplay by David Goyer

Starring Henry Cavill (Superman/Clark Kent), Michael Shannon (General Zod), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Russell Crowe (Jor-El), Kevin Costner (Jonathan Kent), Diane Lane (Martha Kent)

See the trailer here.

Man of Steel is the summer 2013 film I was looking forward to the most.  Back in ’06 the trailer for Superman Returns, complete with a voice over by Marlon Brando from 1978′s Superman: The Movie, made me think that Bryan Singer had taken the first step in reigniting the Superman franchise.  Unfortunately the trailer was better than the film, which was little more than a re-hashing of Lex Luthor’s scheme from Richard Donner’s Superman.  This time around, everything about the trailer for Man of Steel has me wanting to see this film.  While it is a reboot, it has elements from both Superman: The Movie (the origin story) and Superman II (General Zod).  The tone is a little darker than I expected but the cast, from Russell Crowe as Jor-El, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent and Michael Shannon as General Zod, looks fantastic.  Christopher Reeve instinctively comes to mind when I think of the role of Clark Kent/Superman, but I’m looking forward to seeing Henry Cavill’s take on Superman/Clark Kent.

Red 2

Red 2 Movie Poster

Release Date: July 19

Directed by Dean Parisot; Written by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber; Based on the comic book by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner

Starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Mary Louise Parker, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones

See the trailer here.

I hadn’t read Warren Ellis’ and Cully Hamner’s comic book mini-series prior to seeing Red in 2010.  The film wasn’t on my radar at the time and I rented it because I thought it would be a fun movie.  It ended up as one of my favorite films that year, and Red 2 is one of the films I’m looking forward to the most this summer.  Willis, Malkovich and Helen Mirren played well against each other in the first action comedy, and from the looks of the trailer Red 2 is cranking up the firepower with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Byung-hun Lee.

The Wolverine

Wolverine Movie Poster

Release Date: July 26

Directed by James Mangold; Screenplay by Mark Bomback

Starring Hugh Jackman (Logan/Wolverine), Will Yun Lee (Silver Samurai), Svetlana Khodchenkova (Viper), Hiroyuki Sanada (Shingen Yashida), Tao Okamoto (Mariko Yashida)

See the trailer here.

Wolverine.  Japan.  Silver Samurai.  ‘Nuff said.  Watching the trailer for The Wolverine brought me back to the early 80′s and Marvel Comics’ four-part Wolverine mini-series by Chris Claremont, Frank Miller and Joe Rubinstein and Uncanny X-Men #172 and #173 by Claremont, Paul Smith and Bob Wiacek.  Silver Samurai is one of the more under-utilized villains of the Marvel Universe in my opinion and his appearance vs. Wolverine in Uncanny X-Men 173 (September 1983) is one of my favorite hero/villain match ups of the 80′s.

Kick-Ass 2

Kick-Ass 2 Movie Poster

Release Date: August 16

Written and directed by Jeff Wadlow; Starring Aaron Tayl0r-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jonathan Mintz-Plasse, and Jim Carrey

August’s Kick-Ass 2 brings back Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s teen heroes.  Like Red, the first Kick-Ass was another unexpected surprise for me when it was released in 2010.  Red Mist (Mintz-Plasse) is back for revenge as The MotherF***er, and Jim Carrey’s Col. Stars and Stripes joins Kick-Ass and Hit Girl in this adrenaline fueled sequel.

This looks like a good summer for comic book films with a good balance between superheroes and action comedy, but it’s only a primer for 2014 and the upcoming releases of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past.  Luckily the release of Thor: The Dark World on November 8th will hold us over until then.

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Mar 29 2013
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Art, Comics

From My Collection: “Unforgiven” by Rick Leonardi and Joe Rubinstein

In honor of Good Friday, I wanted to devote this post to a very special page in my comic art collection: page two from Brian Augustyn’s Unforgiven (2004, Metron Press) pencilled by Rick Leonardi and inked by Joe Rubinstein.

Unforgiven (Leonardi-Rubinstein) FI

I love the combination of Rubinstein’s inks over Rick Leonardi’s pencils.  I’ve been a fan of their Marvel and DC work but I had never been aware of the religious themed Unforgiven comic book (with primary storyline penciled by Dick Giordano and inked by Terry Austin).

This amazing splash page depicts Christ on the cross, flanked by the two thieves (Dismas and Gestas according to the Gospel of Nicodemas).  I wish I could have seen Leonardi’s original pencils compared to the inked page.  Rubinstein’s line work on the wind, clouds and sunlight lends a sense of power and awe, but the simple lines depicting Mary looking up as her son is dying on the cross add another layer of emotion to the scene.  To the right, a Roman foot soldier leans against his spear as if he’s just passing the time until the condemned have died.  This is a perfectly composed page, and it’s one of my favorites in my collection.

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Mar 14 2013
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Comics

What If Daredevil Became an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.? (1981)

What If 28 Cover

What If? #28 (August 1981)
Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics’ What If? was a title I enjoyed in the 80′s.  The series, with stories introduced by The Watcher, placed our favorite Marvel characters in one-off stories that diverged from their established continuity to show how their destinies would have been altered as a result of one decision or twist of fate.  The first volume of the series for 47 issues from 1977 to 1984 and began with What If Spider-Man Joined the Fantastic Four? (February 1977).  Over the course of the first run the series provided some great stories.  Two of my favorites were What If Wolverine Killed the Hulk? and What If Phoenix Had Not Died?

I reached into the old box o’comics this past weekend and found issue #28: What if Daredevil Became an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.? (August 1981).  This issue contained two other stories (one of which was What If Ghost Rider Was Separated from Johnny Blaze?) but the main story was an 11 pager by written by Mike Barr with pencils and inks by the amazing team of Frank Miller and Klaus Janson.

What If 28 Page 1

What If? #28 (August 1981)
Marvel Comics

The story begins with a teenage Matt Murdock saving a blind pedestrian from an out of control truck.  As the truck burns, the driver unloads a canister of radioactive material from the flames to prevent an explosion.  The canister breaks open as it bounces on the pavement.  Matt stares directly at the exposed radioactive material and everything goes black.  But in this story the truck is owned by Stark Industries with Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) following close behind.  Stark takes the injured Matt Murdock to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Heli-Carrier instead of a local hospital.  But as Stark’s flying car rises above the accident scene, an undercover agent reports the event to the head of Hydra…

What If 28 Page 3

What If? #28 (August 1981)
Marvel Comics

On the Heli-Carrier it’s discovered that Murdock’s exposure to the radioactive material has blinded him permanently.  But his other four senses have heightened, and Col. Nick Fury sees this as an opportunity to train Murdock to be the best agent S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever had.  Back in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen Matt’s father, boxer Battlin’ Jack Murdock, is kidnapped by Hydra.  After a month of training under Fury, Matt is ready to head home.  Fury tries to keep him with S.H.I.E.L.D., but Matt tries to make a break for it when he realizes his father is held captive.

What If 28 Page 6

What If? #28 (August 1981)
Marvel Comics

No spoilers here.  This was a great story (co-plotted by Barr and Miller) that packs a lot into its 11 pages.  When What If #28 hit the stands, Miller and Janson were already two years into their classic run on Daredevil.  What If Daredevil Became an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.? could have easily been cranked out as a simple backup story, but Barr’s words and Miller and Janson’s artwork fire on all cylinders.  I think Miller and Janson’s layouts are a great example of the differences between comic book storytelling 30 years ago vs. today.  You could take the word balloons off of each panel and still follow the story by the art alone, unlike a lot of contemporary comic stories that seem to have most of a page consist of “talking head” panels and a limited amount of action.  I prefer the old Marvel Method over full script for this reason.

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Jan 13 2013
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Comics

Cloak and Dagger #1 (1983)

Cloak and Dagger #1 (October 1983)Cover by Rick Leonardi and Terry Austin

Cloak and Dagger #1 (October 1983)
Cover by Rick Leonardi and Terry Austin

Recently I opened up the old box o’comic books and rediscovered an old favorite of mine from the early 80′s: Cloak and Dagger #1 from the 1983 mini-series written by Bill Mantlo and drawn by Rick Leonardi and Terry Austin.

Cloak and Dagger, introduced in Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man #64 (March 1982), were created by Bill Mantlo and artist Ed Hannigan.  Runaways Tyrone Johnson (Cloak) and Tandy Bowen (Dagger) meet in New York City and are tricked by an offer of shelter from strangers that prey on runaways.  Tyrone and Tandy are forced to take a synthetic version of heroin, and the side effects of the drug provide them with their superpowers: Cloak creates a dimension of darkness in which he can consume people’s energy to feed his “hunger,” Dagger creates and shoots daggers of light that drain the energy of her enemies and are also used to feed Cloak’s constant hunger.

The first  of the four issue Cloak and Dagger mini-series opens with a splash page of the New York Port Authority on the corner of 42nd Street and 8th Avenue.  It’s July 20, 1983 and the neighborhood in the opening pages bears little resemblance to the Hell’s Kitchen/Times Square of today.  Father Francis Xavier Delgado, a priest born and raised in Hell’s Kitchen, walks among the pimps, prostitutes and lowlifes of the neighborhood in an effort to save them.  That night’s attempt proves fruitless and he returns to the Holy Ghost Church on 42nd street.  He kneels at the altar of the empty church  praying for God’s guidance when Cloak and Dagger appear seeking sanctuary.

Several blocks away at the 21st Precinct, Detective Brigid O’Reilly observes a group of “chickenhawks,” lowlifes that victimize newly arrived runaways at the Port Authority, as they shiver in a jail cell.  Doctors and cops have seen others in their condition and chalk it up to bad drugs, but when questioned by O’Reilly, one of the thugs tells her about  the “angel” of light and “devil” of darkness that put them in their condition.  O’Reilly connects their story to reports of vigilantes attacking criminals and drug pushers, then takes to the streets of Hell’s Kitchen.

After a debate with Father Delgado over the ethics of their “mission” to punish the criminals that prey on runaways, Cloak and Dagger attempt to save a pair of brother-sister teen runaways from a group of chickenhawks.  Gunfire leads Detective O’Reilly to their lair, but before she can act, a stray bullet strikes and kills the brother.  Dagger’s light makes quick work of the lowlifes, but O’Reilly refuses to accept their methods.  To her, Cloak and Dagger’s methods make them no better than the criminals.  She attempts to arrest them, but Cloak teleports them back to the Holy Ghost Church.  Later that night, Father Delgado sees Dagger in tears as he takes a phone call from the 21st Precinct requesting last rights for the dead runaway.

It was usually the art that would draw me to a particular comic book, and this was no exception when Cloak and Dagger #1 hit the stands in 1983.  Seeing Terry Austin’s name on the cover was all I needed to plunk my 60 cents on the counter to buy this issue.  His inks were a great match for Rick Leonardi’s pencils, and an original page from this mini-series has always been on my want list.

But it was Bill Mantlo’s writing, particularly his use of 1983 New York City as a backdrop, that got me to buy the subsequent three issues of this mini-series.  Combined with Leonardi’s pencils and Austin’s inks, Cloak and Dagger brought the seediness of early 80′s Hell’s Kitchen to the comic book page.  Looking back, I’m surprised at how much of that atmosphere they were able to include in their stories.  This was a comic book with a significant readership under the age of 18 that showed pimps, hookers and drugs.  These were dark stories for the time, years before “dark and gritty” would become overused in comic book stories.

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Jan 03 2013
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The Captain America Project #14: George Perez

The Captain America Project: 20 artists, 20 drawings of Captain America on one page.

#14: George Perez (The Avengers, The New Teen Titans, Crisis On Infinite Earths)

Next up in the Captain America project is this sketch by the great George Perez.  I obtained this sketch at Megacon in Orlando back in 2011.  George was raffling off sketches for donations to the Hero Initiative and I was fortunate enough to win this addition to my Captain America jam page.   I’ve been a fan of his since his work on The Avengers and he was on my “must have” list when I started The Captain America Project in 2010.  This sketch is a classic version of the Captain America I was introduced to back in the 70′s.

Captain America - George Perez

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Dec 30 2012
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Comics

The Amazing Spider-Man #700 (Spoilers)

Amazing Spider-Man 700 Cover

The Amazing Spider-Man #700
Copyright Marvel Comics

Peter Parker is dead.

Well, for now at least.

The Amazing Spider-Man #700 hit comic shops on Wednesday December 26th.  Normally I look forward to a milestone issue with a sense of celebration as a comic book withstands the test of time and reaches another multiple of 100.  But the internet was buzzing in the weeks prior with rumors of Peter Parker’s death in this final issue of Marvel Comics’ flagship title, and I approached Wednesday December 26th with a sense of dread.

I bought a copy of The Amazing Spider-Man #700 from my local comic shop that morning (autographed by writer Dan Slott), but I needed to prepare myself  before reading this final issue because regardless of the quality of the story, by the last page Peter Parker would be dead (for now at least) and there would not be an Amazing Spider-Man #701 next month.

One of the first comic books I ever owned was The Amazing Spider-Man #175 (read the About section of this website).  Of all of the characters in the Marvel Universe, I could empathize with Peter Parker the most.  That sense of empathy only increased back in 2010 when I had the opportunity to see Steve Ditko’s original pencil and inked splash page to the first Spider-Man story in Amazing Fantasy #15 at the Library of Congress.  This page was our introduction to Peter Parker, the young man who would become Spider-Man and carry the responsibilities and burdens of his powers for the next 50 years of his comic book life.

Part of my emotional investment was from nostalgia, but most of it was respect for the character and the creators that worked on the Spider-Man titles over the last 50 years.  Leading up to Wednesday December 26th, I was fully prepared for the outcome of Dan Slott’s story.  I didn’t agree with it, but I had to accept it as reality.   If The Amazing Spider-Man was going to end its run, I could only hope the final issue would be worthy of its history.

For me, issue #700 doesn’t measure up.

Leading up to issue #700, Doctor Octopus pulled a mind/body switch with Peter Parker and is now fully entrenched in Parker’s body while Parker is trapped in Octavius’ dying body, each man with access to the other’s memories. Parker/Octopus, with hours to live, breaks out of prison with the memory of an Octavius escape plan and the help of Scorpion, Hydro-Man and The Trapster.  A showdown ensues and Octavius/Spider-Man is victorious.  But as Parker/Dr. Octopus lays dying, he forces his memories onto Octavius/Spider-Man though a link their minds still share.  Parker’s key memories as Spider-Man (the death of Uncle Ben, the death of Gwen Stacy, etc.) are too much for Octavius/Spider-Man to handle and he is overcome with emotion and the realization that “with great power, comes great responsibility.”  Octavius finally understands, and with his dying breath Parker declares him Spider-Man and makes him promise to keep his loved ones safe.  At that moment of Peter Parker’s death, Octavius/Spider-Man promises to use his “unparalleled genius” and “boundless ambition” to be an even greater version of Spider-Man.  From that moment on, he will be THE SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN!!!

Which reminds me, The Superior Spider-Man #1 comes out Wednesday January 9th.

But back to Amazing Spider-Man #700…

The Freaky Friday-esque plot was disappointing enough, but the ending was the true disappointment for me.  I find it hard to believe that Dr. Otto Octavius, one of Spider-Man’s greatest nemeses, could suddenly feel sympathy for Peter Parker to the point where he becomes overcome with emotion and converts from evil to good.  Even with full access to Peter’s memories, he is still first and foremost Dr. Otto Octavius.  After an intense fight sequence, this resolution is a letdown.

I hope the death of Peter Parker is just a sales gimmick that will be reversed down the line.  But regardless of whether or not this happens, the damage has been done: The Amazing Spider-Man has ended.

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Dec 17 2012
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Comics

Mike Grell’s Jon Sable, Freelance

Recently I opened up a box of  old comics from my youth and revisited a few titles that I enjoyed back in the 80′s.  One of the comic books that caught my eye was one of my favorite independent titles of that decade: Mike Grell’s Jon Sable, Freelance published by First Comics.  It instantly brought me back to my prime years of comic book collecting.

Jon Sable Freelance by Mike GrellFirst Comics

Jon Sable Freelance by Mike Grell
First Comics

My brother and I started collecting comics around 1977, and our collection is still intact.  Very few issues are mint or near mint condition, with 90% falling into the category of “well read.”  When comic book values increased during the 80′s we bagged and boarded them in an effort to keep them in good enough condition to fund our retirement, but that wasn’t realistic since we read them enough to crease the spines and wear out the covers.  There was a time when I would buy near mint copies of some of the comics that were worn out, particularly some Claremont/Byrne/Austin issues of The Uncanny X-Men, but I stopped several years back when I opened up our box o’comics, looked at the wear on the covers, and was transported back to a days when I read them the first time around.  Each worn cover was a reminder of the fun I had reading them, and I wouldn’t trade any of them for a mint copy.

We were strictly Marvel and DC readers in the early years of our comic book reading, buying most of our comics at the local convenience store.  But on our first trip to the Galleria Mall in White Plains, New York around 1982, we discovered something that we only could have imagined in our dreams, a store devoted entirely to comic books: Heroes World.  Our corner store probably had about 10 Marvel and DC titles, mostly for the well known characters (The Amazing Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, Marvel Team Up, Action Comics), but Heroes World had dozens of titles (and back issues!!!).  It was our first exposure to independent comics.

Jon Sable: Freelance #1 hit the stands with a cover date of June 1983.  The cover shows Sable dressed completely in black with his signature battlemask with a skyline in the background.  We were familiar with Mike Grell from his work on Warlord with DC, and his art and writing got us instantly hooked on Sable.

Jon Sable is a New York based gun for hire in with a secret identity as successful children’s book author B.B. Flemm.  Issue #1 begins on the eve of President Ronald Reagan’s visit to New York City for a speech at the United Nations.  Sable is established as a thorn in the NYPD’s side as the press questions Police Captain Winters’ ability to control security for the President’s visit.  Sable returns home from a TV interview as B.B. Flemm and gets in his target practice at his home shooting range until his alarm signals an intrusion.  Sable makes quick work of the three intruders and calmly walks to the car of the man who sent them into his home.

Sitting in the back seat of the chauffeured car is President Reagan.  Sable passed his test by taking out the president’s three best men and is offered a job to add an extra layer of protection for his speech the following night at the U.N.  Reagan has received information that there will be an assassination attempt, but when Sable attempts to politely decline, the Gipper subtly encourages him by informing Sable that he is fully aware of his children’s author alter ego, and his multi-million dollar career would take a hit if his secret is revealed.  Reagan seals the deal by informing Sable that the assassin is Milo Jackson, a former teammate of Sable’s on the 1972 Olympic shooting team and fellow mercenary in Rhodesia several years later until  Jackson disappeared after selling out his fellow mercenaries in an enemy ambush.  Sable accepts the job.

No spoilers here.  Grell puts together 28 pages of tight storytelling and fantastic art that made me count the days until the next issue arrived.  Sable’s flashback sequence of his days as an Olympic athlete and mercenary in Rhodesia are just a small taste of his origin story that would be told over four issue arc from #3 to #7 that still ranks as one of my favorites.  When I dug into the box o’comics again and saw the cover for issue #3, I remembered the first time I saw it on the rack at Heroes World and how it stood out among the other comics with the sable horns added to the B and L of the title font.

Fast forward to November 1987 and the premiere of the TV series Sable.  I had grown up on The Incredible Hulk TV series with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno and the TV adaptations of The Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America and Dr. Strange but after Hulk ended in 1982 it was difficult to find a comic character on TV with the exception of three subsequent made-for-TV Hulk movies.  When I found out about the pilot for Sable, I was happily surprised that this independent comic book character was getting mainstream attention.  But my enthusiasm quickly faded as I realized the show bore little resemblance to Grell’s comic book.  Twenty five years later I’m still wondering why they felt the need to completely change Sable’s battlemask. 

Jon Sable, Freelance was a title that made me count the days to our next trip to the comic shop.  Looking back on this comic book thirty years later, I’m reminded of what I enjoyed about it the first time around.  It was sharp, cool, and had a great lead character.  Hopefully one day someone that truly respects the property will bring Jon Sable back as a TV series or feature film and keep it true to the Grell’s original comic book.

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Oct 08 2012
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Comics

Growing Up On Italian Comic Books

Some of the most memorable and influential comic books of my youth were bought during my childhood trips to Italy.  I’m fortunate enough to return to Italy every couple of years for a vacation and each trip to a newsstand in Rome or the countryside brings back memories of me and my brother plunking down a few hundred lire (courtesy of my father) here and there on a copy of Sergio Bonelli’s classic long running Western comic book Tex.

Tex #216 (October 1978)

One thing I’ve always enjoyed about Tex is regardless of which decade I was buying the black and white digest, the art and writing has always been consistent, which is refreshing to see compared to books and characters that go through radical changes just to drum up sales.  Tex is a testament to how a publisher respects its characters and more importantly, its loyal fan base.

But our favorite Italian comic books were the super eroi, particularly L’Uomo Ragno and I Fantastici Quattro, who were none other than Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four!  Sure, we had been reading Spidey and FF prior to our first trips to Italy, but the Italian reprints we read in the late 70s were from Marvel stories originally published ten to fifteen years earlier and gave us our first exposure to the Silver Age artwork of Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby.

Lucky for us, the Silver Age was in full swing in late 1970′s Italy.  The Italian language seemed to add more drama and gravity to the dialogue, and the characters names even sounded cool when they were translated into Italian.  Dr. Doom was Dottore Destino!  The Thing was La Cosa!  The Human Torch was Torcia Umana!  The Eternals were Gli Eterni.  I wasn’t able to read Italian very well back then, but it didn’t matter because the clarity of the storytelling in Kirby and Ditko’s artwork allowed me to follow the stories without relying as much on the dialogue.

I wish I still had those old comic books.  I see a few issues of L’Uomo Ragno in eBay once in awhile, but I can’t afford the prices listed.  On my recent trip to Italy I was happy to still see Tex at all of the newsstands.  But when I stopped in a Hudson News in Milan’s Malpensa airport, I was even happier to see my old Silver Age Marvel favorites in the Italian language Marvel Masterworks.

Like 35 years ago, I was reading classic Lee and Kirby stories with Italian word balloons.  And a new generation of Italian comic book fans could now appreciate the art of Ditko’s L’Uomo Ragno, Kirby and Colletta’s Thor, and be blown away by  La Visione on the cover of I Vindicatori (The Avengers).

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Sep 29 2012
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The Captain America Project #12: Adam Hughes

The Captain America Project: 20 artists, 20 drawings of Captain America on one page.

#12: Adam Hughes (Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan, Cover Run)

Hi folks!  I just got back from an amazing vacation in Italy, hence the lack of posts the last few weeks.  I have a few Italy related posts in the pipeline, but I figured the best way to get back in the swing of things on Fante’s Inferno was with a post on the Captain America Project.

The twelfth spot on my Captain America jam page belongs to the amazing Adam Hughes.  I’ve seen him at the New York comic conventions over the years and I never get tired of watching him draw.  He was drawing quick sketches at the 2010 New York Comic Con in return for donations to a charity he was raising funds for and I was fortunate to get a Captain America head sketch.

I really like that the pencil lines are still visible underneath the inks.  It’s amazing how much strength Hughes was able to capture in Cap’s expression with only a few lines.

Captain America by Adam Hughes
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Aug 23 2012
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My Amazing (Fantasy #15) Visit to the Library of Congress

In honor the 50th anniversary of Spider-Man’s first appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 in 1962, I wanted to write a post about my trip to see the Holy Grail of the Silver Age of comic books.

In November 2010 I took a weekend trip to Washington D.C. with my girlfriend.  It was my first time in D.C. and the long weekend was packed with seeing the sights along the mall.  I enjoyed every monument, memorial and museum we visited, but by Sunday I was slightly preoccupied with the thought of our plans for Monday morning’s visit to the Library of Congress.  I wasn’t there to admire the architecture or take a tour, I had some research to do.  I had contacted curator Sara Duke of the Prints and Photographs Division about a month earlier in order to schedule our appointment, and from that moment I was counting the days.

If there’s one thing I’m passionate about it’s comic book art, as both an admirer and collector.  Each published page of original art is a piece of history, with a select few pages fitting into the category of monumental.  When I think of the most culturally significant comic book stories, the first few that come to mind are the first appearance of Superman in Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Batman in Detective Comics #27, Fantastic Four #1 ushering in the Marvel Age of comic books, and of course the first appearance of Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy #15.

In 2008 an anonymous donor had donated all of the original pages of art from Amazing Fantasy #15 to the Library of Congress.  How this anonymous donor had originally acquired these pages has not been made public.  Considering how much artwork from the Golden and Silver Ages has been destroyed, lost, or stolen, it’s a miracle that every page from this issue was saved.  My mission, with my trusty (and extremely patient) sidekick, was to schedule time to see the complete Spider-Man origin story in its original drawn form.

I woke up at 7:00 AM that Monday morning.  Anyone who knows me knows that I never get up at 7:00 AM.  Ever.  But that morning was different.  We had a short window of time that began at 9:30 AM sharp and we had to make the most of it.  After all, this is the first appearance of Spider-Man and there’s probably a list of folks lined up after us to see it, so I was going to make the most of every minute.

We arrived a little early, checked our backpacks with the security desk and signed up for our research cards.  By the time we made it up to the research room, my spider-sense was tingling.  Sara met us when we arrived and wheeled out a cart with several large folders.  Not only did she pull the original Spider-Man pages from Amazing Fantasy #15 for us to view, she was also kind enough to pull the original comic art to the other three stories that comprised the issue, twenty six pages in all.

I opened the first folder, and there was the opening splash page of Peter Parker standing in the background, ostracized by Flash Thompson and the cool kids.  One thing that struck me right away was how much detail there was in Steve Ditko’s inks.  Every reprint I had seen growing up was a copy of a copy and lost a lot of the detail in Ditko’s brush work.  Seeing the original art allowed me to actually feel the disappointment and angst in the expression on Peter Parker’s face.

At the top of the page is a paste up of the Spider-Man logo that covers Ditko’s original hand drawn logo.  I wish I could have been in the room in 1962 to hear the reason for changing it.  And if you look in the margins, Stan Lee’s original hand written notes “direct” some of the scenes in Ditko’s panels.

I took a lot of pictures, but unfortunately rights restrictions keep me from posting them.  Thumbnails are available here at the Library’s website and you can order scans, but if you’re a fan of comic art I highly recommend seeing them in person.

We had a good hour to see all twenty six pages and were never rushed.  Sarah sat with us the entire time and pointed out details that I never would have noticed.  I thanked Sarah for her time, and mentioned that I would love to come back to see the pages again one day.  I chuckled when I realized my tax dollars made me a part owner of them.  By my calculations, which I won’t bore you with, I estimate that my personal portion of these 26 pages of original art is .000035 square inches of a page.  Hey, I’ll take it!

This was a Bucket List moment for me, ranked up there with seeing Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and statue of David (next up is Leonardo DaVinci’s The Last Supper).  Prior to reading that article in 2008 about the LOC’s acquisition of the Amazing Fantasy #15 pages, I didn’t think they even existed.  And now I saw them.

God Bless America.

But the story doesn’t end there.  Prior to our bus ride back to New York, my faithful (and patient) sidekick surprised me with a copy of Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Vol. 1, complete with scans of the original Spider-Man pages we had just seen that morning.  She never ceases to amaze me.

These original pages to Amazing Fantasy #15 were featured on the History Channel back in 2009.  That clip can be found here.

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