ComicBookMarks » Art

Flashback Friday: Superman #422

Andrew — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:00:16 +0000

In case you somehow lost your invitation, I’m starting up a regular theme over here at ComicBookMarks. I used to run Friday flashbacks on an old blog of mine where I’d post videos of cheesy old ’80s songs. It’s fun, nostalgic and, well, yeah, it’s fairly easy to stay focused if I have a theme. So in the spirit of keeping me motivated on CBM, I’m starting up Flashback Fridays right here, right now. (Cue Van Halen music…)

I figure I’ll sport some of my favorite comic covers of yesteryear and heck, maybe even tie it into an old cheesy video too if I can!

This week I’m spotlighting the cover to Superman #422 by the way-too-talented-for-his-own-good Brian Bolland. Seriously, I’ve bought many comics solely based on this guy’s cover. And sadly, the bulk of the comics suck, but I kept them anyways because of the covers. Hey, DC, how about putting out a gorgeous coffee table book collecting Bollands artwork?

Anyways, this issue saw Superman turning into a werewolf of sorts. And while I barely remember any details, I do remember thinking this was possibly one of the worst Superman comics I”d ever read in my life. Awful story. Mediocre art. And I really hate Superman to begin with, so that’s saying a lot. But again, you just can’t beat this killer cover. I think the shading and black and white treatment are what really put this one over the top.

Since we’re on the Superman vibe, here’s a non-cheesy (heh) video for you. It’s the Crash Test Dummies singing “Superman’s Song.” I’ve always loved this one for some reason.

Why haven’t you seen Tom Whalen’s art yet?

Andrew — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:27:30 +0000

There are so many great artists in comics today. And so many pretty mediocre ones too. So it always blows my mind when I stumble across a really unique and talented artist, who’d be perfect on a regular comic. Tom Whalen may not have the chops for sequential work (then again, he may; I have no clue), but he most certainly should be doing covers for Marvel and DC right now.

Tom’s gallery on Deviantart is full of superheroes, sci-fi characters and pop culture icons (like Weird Al!), all drawn in vintage movie poster styles. If these don’t look like posters you’d actually see in your local theater, then, well… you’re clearly going to the wrong movie theater. The colors, layouts and overall artwork are just crisp, clean and certainly refreshing. I’m hoping some editor at Marvel or DC catches wind and hires Tom to start cranking out covers, because his style is something that should be shared with the whole industry.

Here’s a few of my favorites:

Be sure to see Tom’s Gallery for tons more posters and pin-up art.

[Original Source: Abduzeedo]

The Battle for New York starts in Queens

Andrew — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:44:32 +0000

Don’t bother hitting your local comic shop for this summer’s latest Marvel Comics crossover. Uh uh. Instead, hop in your car and head to Queens, NY to see the work of street artist Gusto. Located at 86th Street and Roosevelt Ave., this giant wall mural covers the side of a T-Mobile building, which donated the space.

Done in a Simpsons-style (Gusto says he was inspired by Springfield Punx artist Dean Fraser), the mural depicts Marvel baddies Rhino, Doc Ock, Venom, Dr. Doom and Magneto versus the Big Apple’s protectors Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk and Wolverine. Five on four? Not a totally fair battle if you ask me; though Rhino is a two-bit villain. Numbers aside, my only question is where the heck is Captain America?

See Gusto’s original post and panoramic shot of mural:

[Source: io9.com]

Rob Liefeld’s Greatest Work

Andrew — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:27:58 +0000

Love him or hate him, you’ve gotta remember this classic Levi’s commercial from the ’90s. It features my all-time favorite superhero: The Spike Man! And of course the classic revelation that Rob’s never had any formal art training. Shocking I know!

A Different Kind of Sketchbook

Andrew — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:51:12 +0000

Anyone who’s ever been to a comic convention knows that artists will sit there sketching out doodles or detailed illos for fans. Usually in those little black hardcover books. Well, I may not be able to take this sketchbook home (heck, nobody could), but the Etch-A-Sketchist has done some amazing comic work. Yes, all on an Etch-a-Sketch.

Thanks to a little digging by Comicmix’s Karl Cramer, here are some pretty damn impressive pieces of Etch-A-Sketch comic art.

See more Etch-A-Sketch Comic Art including Hellboy and Joker.

Who Watches the Watchnuts?

Andrew — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:47:58 +0000

No slight on Dave Gibbons, but Evan Shaner may’ve just drawn the best Watchmen piece of art I’ve ever seen. Granted, he drew the Peanuts characters as Watchmen characters but I would totally love to read the entire series done in this style. Although seeing “little Chuck” on the big blue Dr. Charlie Brown Manhattan may be too much…

The Liefeld Lowdown

Andrew — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:07:42 +0000

Let me start by saying, I seriously enjoyed Rob Liefeld’s art on his original “Hawk & Dove” mini-series for DC. It was fresh, crisp and energetic. Real good storyline too courtesy of Karl Kesel. But then something happened. Liefeld got onto New Mutants and his art starting changing. Muscles grew exponentionally. Pouches started appearing at a Tribbles-type rate. And everyone started carrying around guns the size of houses.

I could go on and on about Liefeld’s art (Don’t get me started on his “no more A on Captain America” era…), but instead, I’ll just point you over to The 40 Worst Rob Liefeld Drawings courtesy of Progressive Boink. They did a bang-up job not just showing off some great, er, bad examples from Liefeld’s career, but the detailed commentary really gets the point across. Here’s a few of my favorite drawings to mock:

Stan Lee Art Tribute

Andrew — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:06:05 +0000

LA Weekly has a really cool slideshow covering the Stan Lee: Under the Influence art opening featuring some 41 photos from the event. The art tribute was held at L.A.’s Golden Apple Comics.

Here’s a few of my favorites from the show:

Dan Goodsell’s Mr. Toast

Green Tee, Desiree Fessler

**Artist Mark Bodnar with his painting, The Hopeful Bite.**

Thanks to Rob for the heads up!

Lando vs. Shaft

Andrew — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 01:54:03 +0000

Matt Haley‘s a pretty talented artist. Heck, I’d read the phone book every month if it were sequential art and Matt drew it starring any one of his female characters. (Particularly Ghost.) But he’s also always up for some fun, and just for kicks, he mocked up this fake Lando movie poster based off of the original 1971 “Shaft” movie posters. I would so go see this one in a heartbeat.

Matt Haley’s “Lando” movie poster:

And the original Shaft poster just for comparison’s sake:

Jeff Smith Rocks Out

Andrew — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 01:59:24 +0000

I was just over at Bone-creator Jeff Smith’s blog and was psyched to see he did the album cover and some spot illustrations for the band Say Anything’s new album “In Defense of the Genre.” I never heard of the band (though I’m a big fan of the John Cusack film of the same name), but I always love when any comic artist “breaks through” to the music medium to do album covers.

Here’s a look at what Jeff did for the band: