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Post by berkley on Jul 25, 2021 0:15:30 GMT -5
As several other posters have said, it's hard to be exact about those earliest impressions because we were so young that it was really the entire comic as a holistic entity that impressed us, story, characters, artwork, etc weren't really separated or analysed, it was more an overall impression of intense absorption and excitement with storytelling as a whole.
Again like several others, my earliest clear memories of specific comics are from around the age of 5 to 6, which for me was the summer of 1967, when I was around 5 & 1/2, and it was Kirby's FF and Thor that probably made the strongest visual impression at that time, though at that age I probably wouldn't have noticed the name of the artist responsible - in fact, given the way the credits on the Lee/Kirby comics were being done at that time, it's possible I didn't actually understand who was the writer and who the artist. About a year later, Buscema's Avengers, Steranko's Nick Fury, Colan's Doctor Strange and DD, the Trimpe/Severin Hulk left lasting visual impressions, among others - still without me really paying attention to the individual names responsible.
Since I didn't have access to back issues for many years aferwards, I often had the experience of remembering a visual impression left by some comic I'd read back in the 60s or very early 70s but not seen since. Inthe meantime of course I'd come to know the names and styles of the different artists and usually I could match up my visual memory with the right artist even if I didn't know the exact chronology of changing creatve teams on the series in question, though I did make mistakes - for example, there were a few Avengers issues that Sal Buscema drew in the 60s that I would have bet big money on that it was John, going by my visual memories (and my lack of awareness of how Sal's art had changed from the 60s to the 70s). Of course I'm talking about the days before I discovered how easy it was to find info and images of old comics on the internet.
I took a break from comics in the early 70s and came back in the spring or summer of 1975, by which time I was 13 and thus was more aware of the creators involved so my visual memories from that time are much different to the earlier ones.
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Post by commond on Jul 25, 2021 8:56:52 GMT -5
I started reading comic books in 1988.
My mother took a trip to Australia to visit some family friends who used to live down the road from us. When we were sending her off at the airport, my father and I visited the book store. That was when I first discovered the comic book section. I was drawn to the superhero costumes, which I guess were similar to the toys I was interested in the time. It was around this time that I discovered professional wrestling as well, though I can't remember which came first. My father offered to buy me a couple of the comics I was flicking through, and I chose Uncanny X-Men #236 and Amazing Spider-Man #308. My immediate focus was on collecting the next issue of both titles. I succeeded with X-Men, but not Spider-Man. Creator-wise, Claremont was the first writer I was aware of. I remember thinking that it was strange when Uncanny X-Men wasn't penciled by Silvestri, as that was the artist I associated the title with. I was drawn to John Romita Jr.'s art on Daredevil and John Byrne on Avengers West Coast, and I was also a fan of Adam Hughes on Justice League International. Art Adams was an early favorite too.
For the most part, though, I was more interested in the characters and costumes than the creative team. Before I discovered comic book stores, I would spent a lot of time flicking through comic books at book stores or convenience stores. When I discovered comic book stores, I always took home the free newsletters/newspapers. I must have read those things a thousand times over imagining the stories that lay within the blurbs. I guess I got super into creators with the spec boom, but I definitely had an idea of what I liked from the get-go.
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Post by brutalis on Jul 25, 2021 11:53:31 GMT -5
For the most part, though, I was more interested in the characters and costumes than the creative team. No doubt! It was the colorful costumes and action which really captured my eye and imagination. Marvel ruled in this respect for me. Combine the frenetic powerful action of Kirby, Ditko, Romita with the highly creative designs of heroes and villains and what child wasn't hooked from the get go? DC however seemed to be lacking for the most part. A handful were standouts like Flash, Hawkman or others but Marvel just captured that WOW factor with the likes of Spidey, Iron Man, Thing, Captain America, Dr. Strange and even the villains were stylish like Galactus, Dr. Doom, Dormammu, Loki, Enchantress, Executioner, Green Goblin, Kraven, Magneto and others.
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Post by berkley on Jul 25, 2021 16:13:51 GMT -5
For the most part, though, I was more interested in the characters and costumes than the creative team. No doubt! It was the colorful costumes and action which really captured my eye and imagination. Marvel ruled in this respect for me. Combine the frenetic powerful action of Kirby, Ditko, Romita with the highly creative designs of heroes and villains and what child wasn't hooked from the get go? DC however seemed to be lacking for the most part. A handful were standouts like Flash, Hawkman or others but Marvel just captured that WOW factor with the likes of Spidey, Iron Man, Thing, Captain America, Dr. Strange and even the villains were stylish like Galactus, Dr. Doom, Dormammu, Loki, Enchantress, Executioner, Green Goblin, Kraven, Magneto and others. Yeah, apart from a few partial execptions, DC never captured my young visual imagination the way Marvel did in my earliest comics-reading days of the mid to late 60s. I liked the Batman tv show, but that didn't seem to translate into any special interest in Batman comics as opposed to superheroes in general. Even the Batman Big-Little book wasn't that good - in contrast to the FF one, which was probably my favourite of all the ones I read
One of those exceptions was The Creeper - by a Marvel guy, Ditko. I think another could have been but wasn't Wonder Woman - I think I would have become a young fan if the artwork and stories had been better, because I remember being interested in the character and reading 2 issues, but the stories felt empty, like something was missing, and the artwork didn't connect with me, so WW never did become a favourite, though she must have made an impression, because I remember those comics pretty well.
Marvel, though, had a visual flair that immediately caught and held my interest. It wasn't just the characters it was things like the machinery, the spaceships, the futuristic weapons. I remember an Avengers comic where the Black Panther is communication with someone on a walkie-talkie, but it wasn't just a walkie-talkie - the artist (I thnk Sal Buscema) made it look to my kid's eyes like the coolest thing in the world! That happened a lot to me with reading Marvel comics.
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Post by tonebone on Aug 20, 2021 15:53:35 GMT -5
I got into comics via DC in the early 70's... Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, mainly. Then the Justice League, through Superfriends. Then Batman through the reruns of the 66 series. All along, there were lots of Harvey, Archie, etc. It was a long while before I branched out to Marvel, mainly through Star Wars. Later I got hooked on Micronauts and Rom, and then Byrne's Fantastic Four. I rediscovered DC in the early 80's with Teen Titans and then all the wonderful crazy stuff they put out in the early to mid 80's.
All my life, however, I have been attracted to (obsessed with) anything comic book related.. even before I really knew anything about Spider-Man, I would watch Electric Company just to see the little "Spidey" segment. My mom made me a handmade Batman cape and cowl I would proudly wear on the playground in the first grade. I had an aunt that worked at a thrift store, and she would bring me a box of comic books and comic strip paperbacks on a weekly basis. If I wasn't reading comics, I was drawing them. In high school, I would draw my own mini-comics and trade them via the mail with other creators. I finally got hooked up with a couple of guys in Minnesota who would write stories for me to draw.
Once I got to college, I quit COLD TURKEY, due to lack of time, lack of money, and the discovery of girls. I didn't pick up the habit again until after college when extreme boredom took me to a comics shop where I picked up Sandman Vol. 1, and the Death and Return of Superman TPB. Loved them both, and have been collecting TPBs and Hardcovers ever since. I now have a house full.
But I guess this whole thread is about comics ARTISTS. I loved Infantino's Star Wars... I also loved his work on ... wait for it... Dial H for Hero when he returned to DC. I loved Mike Grell on LSH and on Warlord. That one issue of Star Wars (#38) by Michael Golden blew my mind, as did his Micronauts work. I loved Sal Buscema on ROM, and everything else he did. I loved the cartooning skills of Sheldon Meyer on Sugar and Spike. Charles Schulz was a god. Anything MAD was awesome.
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Post by majestic on Aug 20, 2021 20:06:24 GMT -5
IMO artists pre 1990s were storytellers. Their art could tell the story even without dialogue. A lot of today's artists draw beautifully detailed pictures but the art can't convey the story.
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Post by brutalis on Aug 20, 2021 21:36:47 GMT -5
IMO artists pre 1990s were storytellers. Their art could tell the story even without dialogue. A lot of today's artists draw beautifully detailed pictures but the art can't convey the story. YES! There was skill and talent in knowing how to lead the eye from panel to panel. How to lay out pages which were appealing while telling a story. How to build tension or fear. How to set up for a full page or double page spread. That knowing WHEN to do a full face panel or for pulling back to emphasize a scene. When to drop backgrounds and when to go crazy with backgrounds. An ability to have things look prehistoric or futuristic or functional and believable. Artists were cinematographers, directors, set and costume designers as well as the special effects supervisor. How to make a comic interesting and entertaining without being just poses or talking heads. There is more to artistic talent than having it look purty!
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Post by brutalis on Aug 29, 2021 17:09:46 GMT -5
Speaking of making things look purty. Big John Buscema is one who has that ability. I can count on JB to deliver the goods EVERY single time. From dynamic action, to quiet emotional scenes, to fantastic worlds like Agard to prehistoric jungles to barbaric realms to otherworldly realms, for powerful heroic figures to sultry sirens. Can anyone draw a better figure in repose upon a throne? I think not!
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Post by Graphic Autist on Aug 30, 2021 14:05:41 GMT -5
Speaking of making things look purty. Big John Buscema is one who has that ability. I can count on JB to deliver the goods EVERY single time. From dynamic action, to quiet emotional scenes, to fantastic worlds like Agard to prehistoric jungles to barbaric realms to otherworldly realms, for powerful heroic figures to sultry sirens. Can anyone draw a better figure in repose upon a throne? I think not! John Buscema has always been my favorite comics artist. My dad bought me a copy of How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way when I was about 10, and that may have a lot to do with it. I freaking LOVED that book.
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Post by impulse on Aug 30, 2021 16:10:46 GMT -5
I still have a copy. I bought it planning to eventually open it and draw again. I don't know that I've ever actually used it.
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Post by brutalis on Sept 6, 2021 10:56:22 GMT -5
Speaking of Big John, was browsing my Star Trek comic book DVD-Rom an saw there is a folder with Read and Play records which Neal Adam's company did way back in the day. Was rather sad looking to be honest.Who ever inked JB didn't place much effort into it. Though I can be honest and bet this was during the time JB was doing the loosest of layouts.
Even weirder was inside the writer has Kirk calling by name to characters Uhura and Sulu, EXCEPT they aren't drawn there! Buscema drew the communications officer as white with blonde hair, while the helmsman is black. Guess that the facial licensing rights couldn't be secured and someone forgot to tell the writer or he just didn't care to look at what was drawn on the page.
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