Today in Comics History, July 14: Happy birthday, Gustav Klimt!

Happy birthday (born 1862, so use a lotta candles) to painter Gustav Klimt, champion of Art Nouveau and the Vienna Secession, who gave us such famous works as Pallas Athena, Judith and the Head of Holofernes, The Three Ages of Woman, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, Schubert at the Piano, Girlfriends (or Two Women Friends), Danaë, and The Kiss, aka The Painting Most Likely to be Displayed in an Art Major's College Dorm Room.


cover of Klimt (Glénat France, 2017), pencils and inks by Marc-Renier, colors by Mathieu Barthélémy



However (to continue the thought from that last hovertext if you read it), Klimt is such an influential artist that even comic book creators use him for inspiration, frequently homaging The Kiss:



cover of (top) Phoenix Song: Echo #1 (variant) (Marvel, December 2021), painting by Oscar Vega;
(bottom) Un/Sacred (2109 series) #3 (Ablaze, January 2020), painting by Mirka Andolfo
Here's another one, but I personally find it creepy and too gory (it's from a Garth Ennis franchise comic, so only click if you've got the stomach for it. (Mine is fulla cookies.) YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Or (and this is the way I'd do it), just add a duck to Klimt's Judith!


variant "What the Duck?" cover of Uncanny Avengers (2015 series) #4 (Marvel, July 2015), painting by Annie Wu
Splash little Wolverine on that style, wouldja? Thanks, bub.



(top) from Wolverine Art Appreciation one-shot (Marvel, 2009);
(bottom) variant cover of Secret Warriors (2009 series)#3 (Marvel, June 2009), painting by Gerald Parel
Here's the full cover sans logo and trade dress. Cut it out! frame it and hang it on your wall! Impress your art snob friends that you have an original Klimt! Sell it to them for millions! Flee the country before they have it appraised!


Anyway, happy birthday, Gus! I could just kiss ya!


from "Great Art Masterpieces and What They Would Be Saying Today" in MAD #500 (June 2009), caption by Adam Rust