Bully Says: Comics Oughta Be Fun!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Same Story, Different Cover: Worst Family Thanksgiving Get-Together, Ever

L: cover of Rawhide Kid #52 (Marvel, June 1966), pencils by Larry Lieber, inks by Sol Brodsky, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Sam Rosen
R: cover of The Mighty Marvel Western #8 (Marvel, May 1970), pencils and inks by Herb Trimpe, letters by Morrie Kuramoto

(Click picture to big-brawl-size)

1 comment:

Erik Johnson Illustrator said...: Last Week I talked about how crowded the "Uncanny" cover was, and both of these issues suffer from the same sin of overuse of text books to generate exposition and excitement.

Its pretty evident the Larry Lieber knew he had to make room for the logo and such for #52, but the text on the cover for #8 really hampers the threat. The box on the right hand side in particular obscuring the fact that kid is on the edge of a cliff, something I didn't notice until a second glance. Though, that may have been because the supposedly distant ground looks like its on a hinged wall moving towards the viewer like that that city in "Inception".

Lets look at the actual fights in both covers. #52 has a fairly standard brawl with some anonymous goons. Kid's pose is pretty stiff and his face hardly registers an emotion. The mood of the fight seems rather care free. He may be restraint but he doesn't appear to be at risk, easily knocking out an opponent in one punch. The whole fight is seen from a distance. I feel like this is inspired by a fight you might see on a TV Western in the day, were you see all the action and the square jaw clean shaven hero is never in any real danger.

Plus there's that guy off to the side holding onto his hat. What with the way he's cowering away with his hands on his head and can't help but think hes an ancestor of that guy who runs away from the car that Superman crashes on the cover of Action Comics #1. The fact that you can't see his face certainly aids my imagination in this regard.

The room shows evidence of a struggle even if the characters themselves don't show much ware. This leads me to wonder what had happened to start this brawl and how long it had been going on. Plus the first thing the eye goes to on this cover is the highest thing on the left hand side, which is that girl with the rifle. Who is she, and just how much ass is she about to kick? Those questions that are churning in my head that would get me to pick up this book. Plus she's wearing a really tight shirt. Call me shallow, but some days thats all it takes.

Alright. The showdown on #8 has a potential fall, the angle is from overhead emphasizing hopelessness with a crowd of gunslingers from all sides. Dangerous types like Patch Goatee and Mustache McCormick. All evil people have facial hair, its a well known fact. Also evil people only come out at night. Though when evil people are mating they will appear at dawn.

Ahem. Anyway, theres a pretty exciting gunfight with Kid out of ammo in one without much left in the other. His pose here is much better, turning around lightning fast with gritted teeth to attack his enemies and losing his hat in the process. The "Murderous Rustlers" also display some dynamic dodgings. Unfortunately, both parties appear to have been taught how to aim at the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy because neither of them can hit the broad side of a barn, so the fight doesn't come off as exciting as it probably should be.

So yeah, both coves have strengths and weakness, but which one is the best? While Western #8 arguably has more at risk because its a gunfight in close quarters, but the risk is defused when you see bullets firing, but no one getting hit. For my money, I'd go with Rawhide #52. This fight shows enemies being hit, Kid being attacked from three different sides and his opponents continue coming no matter how many knockouts he may delivers. Bonus points for mystery girl with the gun. Bottom line, 52 just feels more exciting and has more going on.

Winner: Original: Rawhide Kid #52!; 11/19/2011 10:55 PM