But soon enough he was using his real name to draw stories in Tales of Suspense. Kane really made his mark most at Marvel in this first visit on a hand full of outstanding covers he produced for about a half year that he was there from late 1966 to the summer of 1967. Above is each of those covers I've been able to locate at the Grand Comics Database, arranged in the chronological order of their publication from his very first on Sgt.Fury and his Howling Commandos to his last few on Fantasy Masterpieces and Tales of Suspense. Kane's style is distinctive, elegant and powerful.
Then Kane left Marvel.
He spent that time not only working for Tower Comics and Harvey Comics, but also producing his own creator-owned title His Name Is...Savage. But financial concerns forced him to return with a bang in late 1969 in time to take over the reins of the flailing Captain Marvel comic, and along with writer Roy Thomas essentially rebooted the title and sent it in a completely different direction. Kane would stay with Marvel off and on for most of the Bronze Age of comics. He became their primary cover artist for many of those years.
Ironically this gave him the opportunity in 1973 to re-do his very first Marvel Comics cover featuring Sgt. Fury. The emphasis this time is on the action and not the hero, but it's still a dynamite cover. They all are.
Rip Off
In 1967, I think I'd have to say Gil Kane was my favorite artist, both at DC and at Marvel. From my first BATMAN ("Death Knocks 3 Times") to those beautiful Cap and Hulk stories. Just amazing stuff! As his style developed, I didn't like it nearly as much.
ReplyDeleteI think the covers from his later Bronze Age stuff are real hit and miss. There's clearly a sense he was kicking them out at a furious pace. Many are pretty sweet, a lot are ho hum. I've noticed that the westerns brought out the best in him, as I've long thought his horses are among the finest in comics.
DeleteI think his style became increasingly cold as he progressed. Maybe it was the lack of a sympathetic inker, because guys like Tom Sutton, Dan Adkins, and Steve Mitchell really seemed to bring out the best.
Rip Off
After being a DC disciple for most of my life, recently I have started to appreciate the '60's and '70's Marvels. I just picked up a decent reader of Fantasy Masterpieces #9 this past weekend!!
ReplyDelete