(Unfortunate jpeg placement, as seen on Marvel.com)
Friday, February 06, 2009
365 Days with Ben Grimm: Day 37
(Click picture to Duckworld-size)
Thursday, February 05, 2009
The Unknown Colorists
In the letters column of Fantastic Four #41 (cover dated August 1965), a avid FF fan asks a quite logical question...
And Stan, or whoever was writing the editorial reply, jokingly refuses to answer the question.
It's good for a laff and fits right in with the jolly and jovial tone of the Marvel comics letter column replies, but it results in a sad gap in our knowledge of early Marvel: who did color Jack Kirby's FF? Longtime readers of this blog may note that whenever I reproduce panels or pages from a comic, as much as possible, I try to credit all the creators involved: scripter, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer. Every one of 'em, every man Jack (and Stan and Steve and Don and Roy and Gene and woman Marie and all the rest—contributed to our favorite comics, and even if it's in 9 point type, I do try to pay homage to the men and women who toiled away to bring us such great flights of fantasy. Even when I make a joke about Vince Colletta, he still deserves credit for his work.
My recent "365 Days with Ben Grimm" project, however, has brought to my attention the sad fact that those early FFs did not carry a colorist credit, and it's hard to ID that work. You or I could ID a few dozen pencilers, inkers, and even letters at thirty paces, but there's not a lot of ways to identify a individual colorist. Online databases, too, haven't filled in the info even after a period of years, so it's likely that without the aid of some serious comics scholar or a Kirby expert like Mark Evanier, we're probably never going to know the many artists who colored Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four artwork, let alone specifically the colorist of #38.
Well, sure, we don't know the colorist of those early Kirby Klassics, but (you're thinking to yourself) surely we gotta know who did the later ones. We certainly must know the colorist who first made Galactus's spacey armor red and green (with shorts and summer sleeves), right? Um...well, no. Fantastic Four didn't credit a colorist on the splash page in issue #48, the first appearance of the Big G. In fact, Marvel did not credit a FF colorist until...well, go ahead now. Take a guess. What issue do you think there was first a colorist credit printed in Fantastic Four?
Got your guess of which issue it is? Let's see if you're right. Is it...this one?
That's right. Colorists were not credited in the FF mag until ish #130...January 1973, where Petra Goldberg was added to the credits box. That's nearly twelve years into the magazine's run...two years after Jack Kirby left.
It's a shame we don't know who colored FF #1-129, these powerful and influential examples of contemporary superhero art. There were likely dozens of talented artists who worked on these books, turning four colors into the Negative Zone, Attilan, the Microverse, Monster Island: the brilliant blue of the FF uniforms, the earthy orange of Mister Ben Grimm, the glorious green and grey of Doctor Doom. Sure, I love the Marvel Essentials black-and-white volumes, but there's a dimension missing there, a spectrum of shade, a polychromatic passion: one of the many brilliant and bright reasons that so many of us fell in love with the dynamic comics of Marvel.
Until some clever scholar or researcher finds records, can identify the work, or even simply points out in my comments that I'm missing a reference to their identities elsewhere, however, let's all salute the grand pantheon of Unknown Colorists: they made the Marvel universe a more colorful place. And, especially, give a rainbow-tinted toast to the artist who Ben John of Mt. Carmel, PA wondered about: the colorist of Fantastic Four #38:
Final page from Fantastic Four #38 (May 1965), scripted by Stan Lee, penciled by Jack Kirby, inked by Chic Stone, lettered by Sam Rosen, and
colored by the Great Unknown Colorist of FF #38.
Addendum: As I suspected, it's Mark Evanier who has a pretty good answer: it was likely Stan Goldberg. (Thanks, Mark!) And author Eric Houston wrote in to say he checked with Kirby expert John Morrow, publisher of The Jack Kirby Collector and gave me an authoritative confirmation: “His answer: Stan Goldberg colored most of the early [FF] issues.” Thank you too, Eric 'n' John!
And Stan, or whoever was writing the editorial reply, jokingly refuses to answer the question.
It's good for a laff and fits right in with the jolly and jovial tone of the Marvel comics letter column replies, but it results in a sad gap in our knowledge of early Marvel: who did color Jack Kirby's FF? Longtime readers of this blog may note that whenever I reproduce panels or pages from a comic, as much as possible, I try to credit all the creators involved: scripter, penciler, inker, colorist, letterer. Every one of 'em, every man Jack (and Stan and Steve and Don and Roy and Gene and woman Marie and all the rest—contributed to our favorite comics, and even if it's in 9 point type, I do try to pay homage to the men and women who toiled away to bring us such great flights of fantasy. Even when I make a joke about Vince Colletta, he still deserves credit for his work.
My recent "365 Days with Ben Grimm" project, however, has brought to my attention the sad fact that those early FFs did not carry a colorist credit, and it's hard to ID that work. You or I could ID a few dozen pencilers, inkers, and even letters at thirty paces, but there's not a lot of ways to identify a individual colorist. Online databases, too, haven't filled in the info even after a period of years, so it's likely that without the aid of some serious comics scholar or a Kirby expert like Mark Evanier, we're probably never going to know the many artists who colored Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four artwork, let alone specifically the colorist of #38.
Well, sure, we don't know the colorist of those early Kirby Klassics, but (you're thinking to yourself) surely we gotta know who did the later ones. We certainly must know the colorist who first made Galactus's spacey armor red and green (with shorts and summer sleeves), right? Um...well, no. Fantastic Four didn't credit a colorist on the splash page in issue #48, the first appearance of the Big G. In fact, Marvel did not credit a FF colorist until...well, go ahead now. Take a guess. What issue do you think there was first a colorist credit printed in Fantastic Four?
Got your guess of which issue it is? Let's see if you're right. Is it...this one?
That's right. Colorists were not credited in the FF mag until ish #130...January 1973, where Petra Goldberg was added to the credits box. That's nearly twelve years into the magazine's run...two years after Jack Kirby left.
It's a shame we don't know who colored FF #1-129, these powerful and influential examples of contemporary superhero art. There were likely dozens of talented artists who worked on these books, turning four colors into the Negative Zone, Attilan, the Microverse, Monster Island: the brilliant blue of the FF uniforms, the earthy orange of Mister Ben Grimm, the glorious green and grey of Doctor Doom. Sure, I love the Marvel Essentials black-and-white volumes, but there's a dimension missing there, a spectrum of shade, a polychromatic passion: one of the many brilliant and bright reasons that so many of us fell in love with the dynamic comics of Marvel.
Until some clever scholar or researcher finds records, can identify the work, or even simply points out in my comments that I'm missing a reference to their identities elsewhere, however, let's all salute the grand pantheon of Unknown Colorists: they made the Marvel universe a more colorful place. And, especially, give a rainbow-tinted toast to the artist who Ben John of Mt. Carmel, PA wondered about: the colorist of Fantastic Four #38:
Final page from Fantastic Four #38 (May 1965), scripted by Stan Lee, penciled by Jack Kirby, inked by Chic Stone, lettered by Sam Rosen, and
colored by the Great Unknown Colorist of FF #38.
Addendum: As I suspected, it's Mark Evanier who has a pretty good answer: it was likely Stan Goldberg. (Thanks, Mark!) And author Eric Houston wrote in to say he checked with Kirby expert John Morrow, publisher of The Jack Kirby Collector and gave me an authoritative confirmation: “His answer: Stan Goldberg colored most of the early [FF] issues.” Thank you too, Eric 'n' John!
365 Days with Ben Grimm: Day 36
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Peaceful poetics/Beautiful eastern verse forms/Lois Lane haiku.
Clark Kent, where are you?
That man is never around.
Look, it's Superman!
Let me puncture Clark
With this pin. If he's super
He won't feel a thing.
This story is hot!
A Pulitzer Prize for sure.
How do you spell "splayed"?
Jimmy, get that shot!
That's front page material.
Ow! Your watch is loud.
So, Smallville, let's go.
It's your turn to buy me lunch.
I'll have...where'd you go?
You're a fiend, Luthor!
Superman will stop you cold.
What's with the green rock?
My own comic book?
Cancelled. Never was written
By Grant Morrison.
How come Supergirl
Has her own comic? I don't.
Need a belly shirt.
Here's that story, boss.
No thanks to Clark; he's AWOL.
He missed Superman.
Hatcher? Kate Bosworth?
Margot Kidder? Who the hell
Hired them as me?
Superman can't see
That I love him, but he saw
My pink underwear.
"I am Curious
(Black)"? So, what the hell was Bob
Kanigher smoking?
I told you, Jimmy
The man's got a heart of gold.
But don't call him chief.
Final Crisis? Hah!
The only crisis 'round here
Is my missed deadline.
Maybe Superman
Will ask me to marry him
If I kill Lana.
Can you read my mind?
Do you know what I'm thinking...
Hey! Don't you let go!
Look, up in the sky!
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's...
Hey, where did Clark go?
That man is never around.
Look, it's Superman!
Let me puncture Clark
With this pin. If he's super
He won't feel a thing.
This story is hot!
A Pulitzer Prize for sure.
How do you spell "splayed"?
Jimmy, get that shot!
That's front page material.
Ow! Your watch is loud.
So, Smallville, let's go.
It's your turn to buy me lunch.
I'll have...where'd you go?
You're a fiend, Luthor!
Superman will stop you cold.
What's with the green rock?
My own comic book?
Cancelled. Never was written
By Grant Morrison.
How come Supergirl
Has her own comic? I don't.
Need a belly shirt.
Here's that story, boss.
No thanks to Clark; he's AWOL.
He missed Superman.
Hatcher? Kate Bosworth?
Margot Kidder? Who the hell
Hired them as me?
Superman can't see
That I love him, but he saw
My pink underwear.
"I am Curious
(Black)"? So, what the hell was Bob
Kanigher smoking?
I told you, Jimmy
The man's got a heart of gold.
But don't call him chief.
Final Crisis? Hah!
The only crisis 'round here
Is my missed deadline.
Maybe Superman
Will ask me to marry him
If I kill Lana.
Can you read my mind?
Do you know what I'm thinking...
Hey! Don't you let go!
Look, up in the sky!
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's...
Hey, where did Clark go?
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
365 Days with Ben Grimm: Day 34
Panel from Fantastic Four #26 (May 1964), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by George Roussos (aka George Bell), letters by Art Simek
Sing a Song of Superman
Bemused? Befuddled? Bedaffled? My prescription is to check in with the good Dr. K for a Rx of context, folks!
Reading tonight: Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner
What am I up to tonight, you ask? (I'm glad you did!) I'm off to see my good pal Janni Lee Simner for a reading and signing of her newest YA novel Bones of Faerie, which is, despite my first impression, not the saga of the irascible Southern doctor who barks out "He's dead, Tinkerbell!" or "I'm a doctor, not a tulip pollinator!" No (cool as that would be), it's the story of an apocalyptic world ravaged by a brutal war between humanity and the fay world. (Those little buggers don't fight fair, let me tell you! I never did get back my Frisbee after shooting it in the wrong direction in their woods.)
Jane Yolen's given it heck of a blurb:
“This book has one of the best first chapters I know—and the rest of the book more than lives up to its promise. Pure, stunning, it is impossible to put down or forget.”And you know Jane Yolen knows her stuff! You can read that first chapter right here. See? You can't put it down.
Janni will be reading and signing tonight at Barnes and Noble (Greenwich Village), 396 Avenue of the Americas (that's Sith Avenue to you and me), at 8th Street in Manhattan. (Plus, there is a Pizzeria Uno across the street! Yum yum.) Drop in to say hi to Janni and pick up a copy of the book! If you see me in the audience, I'll be happy to shake your hoof!
If you can't make it to the signing but still wanna read the book, well, in the words of Miss Stefan, iwhat you waiting for? Click on the Amazon link to the right and order yourself up a copy. Me, I'm trying to find my fairy wings to wear tonight, because it's always important to look your best when you're representin' the Clan Faerie. Isn't that right, Bones of Faerie?
Monday, February 02, 2009
365 Days with Ben Grimm: Day 33
Cakes.com advertisement for Fantastic Four cakes, based on the movie starring Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm (printed in Fantastic Four #528 (August 2005)
Mystery Science Monday: Gumby in "Robot Rumpus"
"Robot Rumpus," a Gumby cartoon (1956), this riffed version from Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode #912 (1998), featuring Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy
Sunday, February 01, 2009
365 Days with Ben Grimm: Day 32
Panels from The Thing #2 (August 1983), script and inks by John Byrne, pencils by Ron Wilson, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Rich Parker
Saturday, January 31, 2009
365 Days with Ben Grimm: Day 31
Panel from What If? v. 2 #109 (June 1998), script by Bill Rosemann, pencils by Anthony Castrillo, inks by Ray McCarthy, colors by Felix Serrano, letters by Chris Eliopoulos
Saturday Morning Cartoon: Football: Now and Then
Football: Now and Then (Walt Disney, 1953), directed by Jack Kinney
Friday, January 30, 2009
FFotomontage: The Next Generation
Hey, kids, look what I found! Only two days after posting a potpourri of photomontage collages from Jack "King" Kirby's Fantastic Four, I was re-reading the twelve-issue 2001 retro-style miniseries Fantastic Four: The World's Greatest Comics Magazine. The series is a great romp that I oughta get around to reviewing one of these days, since I consider it one of the most fun comics ever! A veritable modern Bullpen of Marvel artists joined together to create a mega-cosmic FF story in the style of Lee and Kirby, creating a retcon adventure that fits between Fantastic Four #100 and 101 and involves our Fearlessly Frenzied foursome teaming up with virtually every other hero in the Marvel Universe of 1970, from Spider-Man to Captain Mar-Vell, up against a crazed Doc Doom wielding the Cosmic Cube against Galactus. It's Lee-tastic and Kirby-riffic!
I'd re-read the series to see if I could find a buncha good Ben Grimm images (and boy howdy, did I!) but the big surprise was the final page of issue #8 (pencilled by Rick Veitch and inked by Terry Beatty), which is a homage not only to the style of Kirby but also to his fantastic photomontages, as cosmic-powered Doom leaps into the Negative Zone. So, here's a special bonus Friday FFotomontage, in the style and spirit of Kirby but with the dreamtastic drama of Roarin' Rick!:
Page from Fantastic Four: The World's Greatest Comics Magazine #8 (September 2001), co-plotted by Erik Larsen & Eric Stephenson, script by Kurt Busiek, layouts by Erik Larsen, pencils by Rick Veitch, inks by Terry Beatty, colors by Eric Stephenson, letters by Richard Starkings & Comicraft
(Click on image to Rarebit Fiend-size)
And, via the kind suggestion of Matthew Alan Smith over at Holy Calamity: The TeamSmithy blog, see Veitch's original photocollage for this page at RickVeitch.com!
365 Days with Ben Grimm: Day 30
Marvel/Hostess Snack Cake advertisement: The Thing in "A Lesson to Be Learned" (appearing in Marvel comics cover-dated November 1981), script by Alan Kupperberg (?), art by Richard Howell (?), letters by Irving Watanabe
Thursday, January 29, 2009
365 Days with Ben Grimm: Day 29
Panel from Fantastic Four #30 (September 1964), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Chic Stone, letters by Artie Simek
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