From yesterday’s NCS Fest (National Cartoonists Society Festival), Lynn Johnston chats with Patrick McDonnell.
Borrowing an idea from BBC Radio’s long-running Desert Island Disc series, an international cartoonist interview with Dave Gibbons.
Category: Comic Books
From the “I Didn’t See This Coming” File
Russell Crowe appears to be turning into William M. Gaines, the late publisher of EC comic books and MAD Magazine.
Joltin’ Joe Lives!
A magnificent example of Joe Sinnott’s skill and artistry.
Here I am in 1977, after buying the page and having Joe sign it. Look to the left on the bed. Dig that crazy 70’s hotel decor! The tape recorder strategically placed on the phone switchhook came from the radio station where I worked at the time. My pal Denro and I used it to record an interview with Joe.
Make Mine Mini
The 60’s had miniskirts and, at Marvel Comics, mini-books. Mark Evanier explains.
I had the Cap and Hulk mini-books, both long gone, so I’m looking forward to getting this little set. I have it on pre-order.
With six kids in my family, growing up I probably had less spending money than Evanier. I was also into model building, which forced me into making some extremely difficult purchasing decisions with my $1/week allowance (equivalent to about $7.50 today). I’m sure that was why, without realizing it at the time, I majored in Economics in college.
Getting an Inkling
Joe felt his inking style meshed best with John Buscema’s pencil art, and I agree with him about that. Joe always said that he considered Buscema to be the finest illustrator working in comics, while Jack Kirby was the greatest comic book artist. It’s an important distinction.
Joe’s work finishing Jack’s art on The Fantastic Four represented only about five years of his professional life, but they were extremely important years, which was why Stan wanted Joe on the book. Because of Kirby’s enduring legacy as a creative force, Joe’s FF comics are his most recognized period, and with that in mind here is a page of art from a few issues into Joe’s run on the FF…
… and a page from a few issues before the end, when Jack left Marvel.
Of particular interest to me about these pages is that issue #46 was drawn with an image size of 12″x18″, and the image from issue #100 is 10″x15″. When the drawing paper got smaller, Kirby often drew only four panels per page, but these pages are exceptions. The large art has four panels, and the smaller art has nine panels.
Looking back at his early FF issues, Joe said that he put too much of his own style on Kirby’s faces. I made a point of telling Joe that his “friendly faces” were exactly what made Kirby’s “scary art” attractive to me, as a sensitive 10-year-old kid.
Mighty Young Joe
I’ve been trying to work through my thoughts and feelings about Joe Sinnott, but I haven’t made much progress. Although Joe’s passing was not due to the coronavirus, I feel the crisis had an indirect effect, because he couldn’t have visitors. Joe wasn’t able to see his family and friends, and Joe had a lot of friends and fans. I was proud and happy to have been one of them.
Joe was buried yesterday with military honors, following a private service with his family. There will be a future public event celebrating Joe’s life, if the pandemic ever releases its grip. Marvel Comics has published a remembrance of Joe at this link.