Wayne Howard was a comics fan who got to do what he wanted to do, create comics, and he did it quite well. Finding a niche at Charlton Comics, Howard brought an updated dazzle to old-style horror tales in th EC vein for Warren and Charlton. His adoration for Wally Wood is evident,but somehow Howard took that inspiration and gave his work his own personal twist. He inked some fine stories for Marvel and would've had a grand career just doing those finishes. But he is best remembered by me as the mastermind behind Midnight Tales, a creative ghost book which featured some of Charlton's best new talent and had the offbeat gimmick of making all the stories linked, at least thematically. Howard's ironic covers featuring Professor Coffin and his alluring niece Arachne always get a chuckle from me. Howard had the distinction of being the rare African-American talent in a field which had not been all that rich in that area until modern times. He died much too young, there was much more for him to do.
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I found Wayne's work interesting at first, though it looked to me like it had been drawn by Wally Wood on a bender. I don't know that I ever saw any appreciable improvement in his abilities.I was unaware of his passing and am sorry to hear of it. I did purchase all his "Midnight Tales" books, though.
ReplyDeleteI prefer his earlier work to his later stuff which felt flatter on the page somehow, but I know what you mean by the "bender" line. Howard's stuff was askew somehow, but that gave it whimsy to me, a distinctive charm.
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If the first drawing in the article is indeed by Howard, I have to say I'm pretty impressed. At a glance, I thought it was Jim Aparo.
ReplyDeleteHoward's earliest work had more texture in it based on what I've seen. As he progressed it became flatter and a bit less interesting to my eye.
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