Sunday Movie Matinee: Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis comic books? What the $#*%!? Who's idea was this? I have no idea what the equivalent comic would be today-Jimmy Fallon comics? Will Ferrell? Somehow-the idea was more appealing than the comics--and well, that's not saying much.
Will Ferrell comics? ( some comics publisher somewhere is rushing off to license that property, I'm just sure of it!)
But still, it held on for nearly 20 years! From 1952-1971, DC published a comic book starring Jerry Lewis, first as "The Adventures of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis" and then, after the comedy team broke up in the mid- fifties, known simply as "The Adventures of Jerry Lewis".
The comics could be amusing-but never quite  LOL funny as they should have been.  But--JL did have the good fortune to be drawn by the late, great Bob Oksner, whom I believe drew this cover-and had a capacity for caricature and a talent for drawing rather fetching women, as you can see in this example. Over the course of his long but reatively unsung career, Oksner drew many a romance comic, a whole lot of Bob Hope, Shazam!, Supergirl and any book that needed attractive women and recognizable celebrities. He had a rich line, and a spare, clean style that never felt restrained or minimal-sort of like a cross between C.C. Beck, Curt Swan and Dick Giordano. Coming across his work in a comic was a treat, because you knew you were in for an attractive, consistent package, if not an innovative one.
 I enjoyed these comics in their day, mostly for their out and out silliness.  They are a reminder of a period when celebrities were somehow simpler cultural constructions and mainstream comic books on the spinner racks at the drugstore included humor and an array of genres amidst the super-heroes.

Saturday Starlin!

It's Saturday Starlin time! When all is said and done, Starlin covers will make up more of these recreations than those by any other artist.
Not a conscious decision. In the beginning of the marathon, I was just rifling through my collection and pulling out any book that I had a fondness for and that had a cover that looked like it might be fun to draw. That I picked up a bunch of Starlin books is  an indication of just how much his seventies work meant to my teenage self and how large those books loom in my adult consciousness.
Starlin's been a challenge, largely because I don't draw at all like Starlin, his figures are really idiosyncratic, with extreme postures and musculature that I would never conceive of on my own. Michelangelo, Burne Hogarth, Steve Ditko, Aubrey Beardsley, Jack Kirby--they're all in the mix of Starlin's genius, making for some of the most eccentric yet dynamic inter-galactic super-hero space opera ever. I'd never thought of Starlin as an action guy so much, until I copied his drawings.
I didn't change a lot on this drawing--Warlock is a little bit more upright in my version, and I modified the color a bit here and there, making the piece less about gray against green, and more about a green/purple/pink contrast. Those little changes probably seem like nothing to a casual observer, but I spent hours(?) agonizing over what color to use in the circle indica on the upper lefthand corner. In the end, green was the perfect choice for the cover's  background color, and although I spent a good deal of time  playing around with alternatives, I never found anything that worked as well. (But you'll notice I moved away from a yellow-green toward a bluer green.)

Friday Frankenstein!

So..I admit it. I've done a lot of Ploog!(How many times do you hear that in rehab?) There will be at least one more of these, so I hope you like Mike Ploog--and Monster of Frankenstein as much as I do.
 And of all the Ploogs I've done, this and the one that kicked off this month-long blogging bonanza, were my favorites to do. This one in particular because of the drama of the sea, the boat in flames, and that elliptical space of Ploog's that I mentioned in the last one. That space is really apparent in this image--and it works wonderfully with the rollicking, burning boat being tossed upon the ocean waves.
Oh-and the beautiful girl tied to the mast didn't hurt.

The Shadow no.3, my Kaluta no.2

The Shadow no.3-Another great Kaluta cover from the early seventies. This one looks like it's pen and ink in the foreground and watercolor with an ink wash in the background--but hell if I know.  Mine's all markers.  Anyway-great ominous atmosphere in that original! Thanks, Mike!

Our Love Story: John Romita

 Everybody knows the Spiderman of Lee and Romita was essentially a love story. (as distinguished from the Spiderman of Lee and Ditko) Maybe it still is, I don't know I haven't read it in 30 years. Nevertheless--the girl on the cover of Our Love Story no.1 is a classic Romita beauty-so why shouldn't she be Mary Jane Watson?

Young Romance

  Romance is in the air! And in honor of Valentine's day, I'm offering three covers from classic Romance Comics, yesterday's valentine- Confessions of Love,  today's Young Romance, and then tomorrow, Our Love Story .
Afraid there's not much I can tell you about these covers. If I were to take a guess, I'd say this might be a John Romita( tomorrow's definitely is), but there's something about the face of the disappointed young lady in the foreground that suggests in might be Frank Giacoia.  I don't have any idea who drew "Confessions of Love"-suffice to say that I like that one for its passion, but also for the fact that the woman is far from passive in that kiss.
I've included the b& w drawings. I color the originals directly in the sketchbook, so it's nice to have a record of how they looked before I went to town with the prismacolors!

Confessions of Love: A Valentine

 To my wife; you are the fire that warms my life, the nourishment that fills my soul, the center of my world. You are all that I hold dear.You have made our home a place of such contentment, such abiding warmth, that I never want to leave, and when finally I must, I think only of the minutes until I can be back with you.  I'd travel thousands of miles for just the promise of your smile. You are my partner, my best friend, my joy, my love.  I love you deeply, more deeply than I could imagine possible when I was young-my heart feels like a wide open sky, a rolling, endless landscape when I'm with you.
I can only hope that I can bring you the same warmth, joy and contentment that I feel. I will do my best to make it so, for to disappoint you would be the sorrow of my life.
For all of these years, for now and forever more- I love you.