Widescreen Wilson

As we saw last week in this post, John Byrne stretched out the screen in Uncanny X-Men and gave us some sensational double-page spreads throughout his run on the book. But of course Byrne didn't pioneer the technique, nor did it end with him. I could spend several weeks running down comics' greatest vista-riffic double-spreads, but tonight let's spotlight an artist I like an awful lot and who I think doesn't get his fair share of acclaim: the great Ron Wilson. It's probably no surprise to you that my choice for Ron's greatest work is his 1980s run on The Thing, my fave character of the Marvel Universe. Perhaps not coincidentally, a good percentage of that run was written by John Byrne himself. Did Byrne's sweeping scripts demand that Ron give more shoulder room to the key moments of Mister Ben Grimm's adventures? The world may never know, but what we do know is that Ron gave us some magnificent widescreen shots. Here's a finely-detailed Doomstadt, Latveria (or at least its simulacrum on the Secret Wars' Battleworld):


Double-page spread from The Thing #13 (July 1984), script by John Byrne, pencils by Ron Wilson, inks by Joe Sinnott, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Michael Higgins
(Click on all images to Grimm-size)

Weirdly enough I'm especially fond of Wilson's scenes of immense, intense destruction. Here's the aftermath of a battle through a hospital lobby, as Alicia Masters fearfully picks her way among the wreckage. Hey, quit lyin' down on the job, you guys!


Double-page spread from The Thing #9 (March 1984), script by John Byrne, pencils by Ron Wilson, inks by Joe Sinnott, colors by George Roussos, letters by Jim Novak

But for my double-sized money, there's no two-page Ron Wilson spread that can beat this one from The Thing #6: a Vista-Vision Cinemascope Technicolor birds-eye view of exactly what happens when titans clash: a whole lotta Manhattan gets broken. Who ya gonna call? (Damage Control, I hope!)


Double-page spread from The Thing #6 (December 1983), script by John Byrne, pencils by Ron Wilson, inks by Hilary Barta, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Rick Parker

Hoo boy, now that's some cinematic devastation, huh? Don't worry, Manhattan-616 fans, I'm sure it was all put upsy-daisy by the next issue. (It always is.)

Ron Wilson has done a heckuva lotta work for Marvel and other comics publishers, and I'm familiar with some but not all of it. He's one of my favorite Marvel artists: more than just these wonderful double-page spreads, he draws powerful superheroes and ordinary Joes with equal skill, and his action sequences are always clear, dynamic, powerful and dramatic. His Marvel house style may be out of fashion into today's world of photorealistic-comics-art, but the Marvel of today would benefit from his clear and crisp style and the strength and sublety of his pencilling. Here's to you, Mister Wilson: may Dennis Mitchell never harass you.