General
Phoenix No. 2 Unpublished Cover by Sal Amendola
Atlas/Seaboard was a short-lived comic company owned by Martin Goodman after he left Marvel. Producing a couple dozen titles, none lasted beyond four issues.
Demon with a Glass Hand by Ellison & Rogers
The Outer Limits was an important stepping stone in popularising speculative fiction. Premiering in 1963 it lasted one-and-a-half seasons and connected the more general The Twilight Zone with 1966's straight science fiction Star Trek. Many that worked on The Outer Limits later moved on to Trek.
Witches Tales No. 10 Cover by Lee Elias
It was pretty ballsy of Lee Elias in 1952 to draw the devil figure with androgynous characteristics on this fantastic cover for Witches Tales No. 10 for Harvey Comics. Perhaps that's why it was covered up by a text block once it was published.
Black Cat Mystery No. 49 Cover by Lee Elias
When I look back at the few examples I've seen of what was considered extreme in comics by men like Dr. Fredric Wertham and Senator Estes Kefauver, I'm most often saddened by the energy and vitality I saw in that work versus what came later after the Comics Code Authority was established.
The Four Blue Beetles
The Blue Beetle is one of the earliest costumed adventurers appearing in American comics. He debuted in 1939 in Mystery Men Comics No. 1, published by Fox Publications. Over the years he would evolve and become completely different characters as he was passed from publisher to publisher.
Reading Digital Comics with YACReader
Over the past 20 years digital comics reading has grown through services like Comixology, DC Universe Infinite and Marvel Unlimited. And it's gained significant acceptance through iPads and other tablets.
At the grass-roots level, collectors have shared scans* of comic books for just as long. The benefit of many users sharing their public domain or scarce vintage books is that we can all fill in a collection that would take many lifetimes to find, let alone afford.
If you're just an occasional digital reader, looking at a folder of scans in any image viewer is likely to provide you a perfectly adequate reading experience. Similarly, some digital publishers save their books as PDFs, and PDF viewers abound on each platform.
Read more
Terry and the Pirates Cover by Jim Keefe
While the comic strip Terry and the Pirates by Milton Caniff is fading from the memory of the general population, it remains an epitome of the American adventure comic strip and a showcase for Caniff's skills as a storyteller.
The Phantom No. 29 Cover by Jim Keefe
Created by Lee Falk in 1936, The Phantom comic strip has endured to this day, outliving other adventure strips long gone. It has also travelled well around the world, supporting comic book sales in the Nordic countries and Australia.
Jungle Jim - January 7, 1934 by Moore & Raymond
We all know who Flash Gordon is, or at least a good chunk of the general population does. Created at the same time, Jungle Jim by writer Don Moore and artist Alex Raymond ran as a page topper – a strip that ran above another on the same page – for Flash Gordon. Both strips premiered on January 7, 1934.
The Werewolf by Heath & Adams
Dynamite was this great magazine for the kids from Scholastic begun in the 1970s. Created by Jenette Kahn – later president and publisher of DC Comics – it featured articles about TV, movies and other media that kids liked long before the internet took that role over.
Star Trek for The Monster Times No. 2 Cover by Gray Morrow
Gray Morrow was one of those classy-as-fuck illustrators moving seamlessly from commercial illustration to comics and graphic novels. I first saw his work in Heavy Metal in the late 70s/early 80s doing Orion and an excerpt from The Illustrated Roger Zelazny before I saw him in regular comics. Later I enjoyed his long run on the Tarzan Sunday comic strip.
Dynamo No. 3 Cover by Wally Wood
Tower Comics was a short-lived American comic book publisher that was an imprint of Tower Books. Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents was the forefront super-hero property.
BEM No. 28 Cover by Brian Bolland
BEM – or Bemusing Magazine was a British comics fanzine of the 1970s and 80s, and I've had a scan of this cover in my files for a bit, meaning to do a new colour version.
Hot Box by Jack Kirby
Foxhole was a Joe Simon & Jack Kirby Studio-produced comic from 1954 published originally under the Mainline imprint, with stories told from the soldiers' perspective.
Rex Morgan MD by Bradley and Edgington
Rex Morgan MD is a long-running story strip that is still published today, and is currently written and drawn by Terry Beatty, co-creator of Ms. Tree, Wild Dog and other comic book creations.
Blade Runner: The Comic Book Adaptation by Williamson & Garzon
Blade Runner came and went during the summer of 1982, neither a hit nor an outright flop. The film would garner its audience and appreciation in the years that followed, aided by the growing home video market. Today it’s regarded as one of science fiction film’s best.
Night Fighter and Sky Giant by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created Captain America for Timely Comics (later to become Atlas and finally Marvel Comics), and in the post-war period continued to create comics for their own publishing ventures as well as other publishers.
Flash Gordon by Jim Keefe
From 1996 to 2003, Jim Keefe was the writer/artist of the Flash Gordon comic strip, the last in a long line of great cartoonists on one of King Features' most prestigious strips. It's a testament to his work that it remains in circulation on flashgordon.com for today's audience.
The Mechanoid Associates by Paul Gillon
The world was different in the early 80s. No internet meant limited paths to new information. And for me as a teenager living in a small Canadian town, we were even more isolated from the dynamism of large cities. So when I discovered that Heavy Metal magazine existed on the newsstand, it was my first exposure to European comics and their creators, as well as some of the most progressive North Americans: Jean 'Mœbius' Giraud, Enki Bilal, Caza, Philippe Druillet, Richard Corben, Howard Chaykin and many more.
The Case for New Comic Book Colouring Directions
This comes up every time we talk about reprints and collected editions:
Should original colour separations be used, or should the colour be updated to take advantage of improved production and reproduction methods?
Chronicle Chamber's Phundraiser for the Australian Bushfire Appeal Comic
Created by Lee Falk in 1936, and joined by a succession of artists beginning with Ray Moore, The Phantom comic strip continues to this day. The character has enjoyed a large international following, and new comic books are published in Sweden by Egmont and in Australia by Frew.
The Last Action Hero No. 1 Cover by Jerome K Moore
1993 brought the Arnold Schwarzenegger action-comedy The Last Action Hero to the summer viewing season. Plans were made to have the movie adapted into comic book form at Topps, and Jerome K Moore was attached as the artist.
Starslayer No. 1 by Mike Grell
Mike Grell spent the 1970s at DC Comics drawing Aquaman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow, The Legion of Super-Heroes and his own creation, The Warlord. As the 80s opened, he entered the growing direct market with another creation: Starslayer. Published by Pacific Comics, Grell wrote, drew – and likely lettered – the first issue. Original colour was by Steve Oliff, one of North America's best of his era.
Wizard No. 10 Cover by Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld had started at DC, then moved on to Marvel where he co-created characters like Cable and became one of their most-popular artists. In '92, he and other artists left Marvel to form Image Comics, and Liefeld's book was Youngblood.
Justice Machine No. 1 Cover by Byrne & Gustovich
Looking through my files, I never got around to posting this colouring piece for whatever reason, originally done the better part of five years ago. Seeing Mike Gustovich on facebook twigged my memory, and so here it is now updated and polished.
Nexus by Baron & Rude
I've been following Nexus since the beginning, so when Steve Rude put out the call for a colourist a few years back, I threw my hat in the ring by colouring the provided sample page.
Fantasy Art by Rubén Meriggi
Rubén Meriggi is an Argentinian comic book artist that I came across through mutual acquaintances on facebook. I like his bold and disciplined linework.
2000 AD Prog 17 Cover by Brian Bolland
2000 AD is a powerhouse of British comics in stories, characters and the talent it showcases in its pages. Future Shocks, Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog and Halo Jones are just some of its output that reached across the Atlantic and had a tremendous influence.
Giant-Size Blog Headers
Online friend Richard Guion (aka Cousin Dick) was kind enough to give this site a couple of plugs on his blogs Giant-Size Marvel and Giant-Size Geek, and I returned the favour by making new blog headers.
John Carter of Mars: 1958 Sun Comic Strip
General
From 1958, this A Princess of Mars adaptation by DR Morton & Robert Forest was published in The Sun from the UK. It has never been shown in colour.
Five years ago, when this was first posted, the tools were what they were, and my skills weren't what they are now. Improvements in scaling algorithms have allowed me to up-res the low res scans without loss in quality, which really helps Forest's ink hatching to maintain its clarity.
It didn't make much sense to try to enlarge lettering which had already been rendered rough by being a scan of an old newspaper, so the art was cleaned up with panel borders redrawn and lettering redone for clarity.
And, of course, new colour to finish the job.
Read more
Magnus Robot Fighter by Bob Layton
Bob Layton is doing some wonderful variant covers for Dynamite Comics' new Magnus Robot Fighter series.
Jacky's Diary
Jacky's Diary is a fondly-remembered strip by Jack Mendelsohn. And it's been given the package treatment by Yoe Books. Cover colour by me.
The Comics Code Authority
General
Back in the mid part of the 20th century, the United States lost its collective mind. They had won the Second World War and were nervous about being leaders of the world. Fear set in. Fear of all threats, internal and external.
Nelvana of the North : Then and Now
Recently, I was asked to quote on restoring Nelvana of the North, an important Canadian-made comic from the Second World War era. While the people in charge chose to go down a different path, here's how I would have done it.
John Carter of Mars by Francesco Francavilla
General
Francesco Francavilla makes great comic book art. He did this one back in 2010 for his Pulp Sunday blog. His subtle colour palette brings out the gritty pulp feel he was going for. He'd been inspired by Gold Key's Korak, Son of Tarzan comics of the late 60s. So here it is with those elements reconstructed and some more of my comic colouring.
Ms. Tree by Collins & Beatty
Ms. Tree is the longest-running private eye series in American comics. Created by Max Allan Collins and Terry Beatty, the character first appeared in 1981. Here's a house ad for the book from Renegade Press, 1986, with freshly-applied colour.
The 1946 Chevrolet Suburban Calgary Police Paddy Wagon
Back in the summer of 1988 or 1989, there was a music festival on Prince's Island Park in Calgary. The police had brought out their vintage paddy wagon and in those pre-internet days, I had never seen anything like it before. I took a number of photos of it.
Colouring Bernie Wrightson Monsters
The late Bernie Wrightson is one of those ink artists that just dazzles with his work. From composition to lighting to his glee in creating scenes of horror, they're images that reward the viewer as you follow every line.
Atomic Robo : In the Lab
Atomic Robo is a great comic series published by Red 5 Comics out of Calgary. They have a few graphic novels out now. All are witty and fun, and deeper than they appear on the surface.
Craftint and Duoshade Tones in Photoshop
General
Craftint doubletone paper (DuoShade is another brand) is one of those things an ink illustrator had in their toolbox before the advent of the digital toolset or even rubdown tone systems like Zip-a-Tone. It wasn't cheap and it gradually fell out of use.