Big John's Barbarian Cover Gallery!

When John Buscema was named to become the artist on Conan the Barbarian it was the perfect union of a talent and a property. (Buscema had been first choice of Roy Thomas, but he cost too much per page for the untested new title, so they opted for the fresh-faced Brit Barry "Not-Yet-Windsor" Smith.) Buscema's robust and powerful lines gave the world of Conan the grounded realism it required to be taken seriously by readers. While the events might be fantastic, there was no doubt the world felt real, making Conan's struggles all the more striking and impressive.

And despite fan appreciation for the brushwork of Alfredo Alcala, Ernie Chan, Tom Palmer, and others, Buscema made no secret of the fact he preferred to ink his own work, and that he thought that made the work appear to its best effect.  The cover above is an example of raw Buscema, both pencils and inks showing what he can do. Below is the artwork for that cover, even  more impressive to my eye.

Buscema's figures have heft and weight and the composition captures the eye and the moment perfectly.  Below are some more covers by Buscema featuring his own inks. Big John's own brushwork has a softness other inkers often failed to bring. Are they superior? You be the judge.

Pretty damn impressive lot I say. Better than Alcala? Chan? The beautiful thing is we don't have to choose. We get to enjoy them all.

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Carmine Infantino!

I woke to the news that longtime comic artist Carmine Infantino passed away. Carmine had a rep as a somewhat irascible character with specific views on how comics ought to be made and how the history of comics had unfolded. His own role as an artist, editor and publisher in that history is impossible to ignore. I'll leave it to my betters to write up the story of this great artist's life, a good one is found here.

What I most remember about the once publisher of DC Comics is that he created some incredible cover art, in particular those covers he did in tandem with Murphy Anderson. Here are some of my favorite covers by that duo along with some others that came to mind when I was reflecting on the career of the late great Carmine Infantino.

I've been attracted to this particular Showcase volume, which tells the last great saga of Barry Allen in those long ago pre-Crisis days. 

I had a few issues at the time, but never really followed the story through. I do know that this is in many ways the last great epic by Carmine Infantino who drew with a gusto in his later career that put off many fans, but which I found full of energy and verve. I need to go to the local shop today and snatch up a copy. This weekend would be a great time to read this final classic Flash story by the Flash's greatest artist.

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Big John's Barbarian!

"Big" John Buscema is sorely missed. His brawny, bold draftsmanship took otherwise mild material and transformed it into something powerful and provocative. So it's no wonder that when he got his  mitts on something as potent as the Conan stories of Robert E. Howard that he'd make the most of the opportunity.Buscema's sullen-eyed Cimmerian has become in many ways definitive. 

I had the poor judgment to ignore much of Buscema's Conan work during the 80's and 90's. I'm getting the chance to rectify that oversight and enjoy though those stories now as Dark Horse reprints them in various collections in more recent years. It's a vast trove of "new" Buscema work for me to savor.

Indicative of what Buscema could do with the character is captured in the plates in this portfolio.Not all of them are represented here, but enough are for even the casual onlooker to get a glimmer of the connection between artist and subject matter. Like Frazetta before him, Buscema found something special in the Hyborian world, something he could identify with perhaps, and something he could share.

Here's a poor shot of the complete portfolio. I'd love to own it some day.

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She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed!

I just completed reading a novel I've been meaning to conquer for several decades now. I don't know what the particular hold up has been frankly, but I never ever seemed to get around to reading H.Rider Haggard's She: A History of Adventure, the original lost world novel. It might have been some bad experiences trying to get started on Haggard's King Solomon's Mines, but whatever the cause I've never filled this chasm in my fantasy knowledge. Now having at long last ventured to the source of this literary Nile, I am awestruck by Haggard's skill and the scope of the novel.

I trust most already know the story, but in a thumbnail two adventurers, the handsome Leo Vincey and his guardian the hideous Horace Holly travel to deepest darkest Africa following the vague but intriguing clues left behind by Leo's father about an ancient land and a terrible secret tale of dreadful love and betrayal. The two after much struggle find the land of Kor and ultimately the all-powerful queen of that ancient land, the one called "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed" or Ayesha. She's older than she looks and that detail and the deadly secret held by Leo are the keys to this fascinating yarn.

Haggard's descriptions of She are vivid and intoxicating. Her ancient beauty is held up as something too much for a mere man to endure, and this highly exaggerated notion works well within high romance confines of this novel to make Ayesha a terrible and at the same time positively attractive woman.

This is a Victorian novel after all though, and old-fashioned notions about race and gender abound, but safely closed off inside this ancient vessel of a tale are safe for modern handling. This story was apparently written by Haggard in something of a creative fury, and you get the sense that it wouldn't take a lot for the whole thing to tumble apart. So messing with the old out-dated ideas is a no-no on this one. Take it for what it is.

Alas that is not exactly what Merian C. Cooper, the mastermind behind the seminal movie King Kong did when he brought She to the big screen in 1935. Soon after reading the novel, I ordered and watched this vintage flick, once thought lost, for the very first time. This movie adapted by Kong scribe Ruth Rose has a number of charms within it, some elaborate sets, some interesting characters, but ultimately this movie is not a true success, not in the way its novelistic inspiration is.

Once again we have the story of Horace and Leo, but in this one Horace played by Nigel Bruce is the follower and Leo played by Randolph Scott is the lead. This is a mistake as Scott is the proverbial block of wood in much of this movie. Bruce just stands around a lot and his charms are mostly wasted after the first reel. "She" is played by Helen Gahagan who does a dandy job as Ayesha, but can't save what is mostly a lifeless flick. Helen Mack, fresh from Son of Kong is along for the journey and adds some small spark to the proceedings. In two small but interesting parts are Nobel Johnson in his typical savage chieftan mode, looking quite good in this, and Lumsden Hare as a greedy Northern explorer who disappears from the flick much too soon for my tastes.

The biggest problem with them movie though is the conceptual nature of Kor. Instead of Africa, the story is set in the frozen wastes of the Arctic. The exotic heat is replaced by cold white vistas. Admittedly Kor is hidden underground amidst volcanic warmth, but still the lurid quality of a naked Ayesha shimmering in the African sun is sacrificed for a lot of very prim if handsome costuming.

And that's the heart of it. The ancient rites of Kor, the ceremonies and rituals are realized on screen as nigh Busby Berkeley affairs, overly long dance routines with all manner of exotic costumes, few of which seemed really to connect to one another. There seemed to be a dozen cultures rolled into one, and all of them seemed to have recently spent time on a Broadway stage. The movie at what should be its climax pretty much stops as this nonsense unfolds at some length.

Then almost as an anti-climax we find the secret of Ayesha and the story wraps up in a flash. It's an odd construction to a story which I'd have thought would have told itself. There are charms in this movie, some fun moments, but overall it's surprisingly unimpressive given the pedigree of its creators.

Now though, having finished Haggard's She at long last, I can make another stab at King Solomon's Mines. Maybe I'll have better luck this time. 

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Bobo And The Bigfoot!

Mike Zeck
I'm a big fan of Bigfoot shows and movies. The attempts by modern men and some few women armed with some bits and some few pieces of modern technology attempting to grapple with the vast and abiding myth of the deep woods is fascinating to watch. Legends of these creatures called many things, but often "Sasquatch" are scrutinized, sometimes too-vivid eyewitness testimony evaluated and evidence, such as it is when it's found, is gathered and examined.

The search for Bigfoot has provided focus and entertainment for many over the last several decades, essentially since the first public showings of the Patterson-Gimlin film featuring a walking disinterested Bigfoot in the Pacific Northwest. One interesting study I've seen demonstrated that Bigfoot sightings did indeed exist before this famous, some would say infamous, film became part of the public consciousness, but since that time sightings have skyrocketed and have occurred all over the North American continent, not just in the Pacific Northwest.

Cliff, Bobo, Ranae, and Matt
That is the premise of Animal Planet's hit show Finding Bigfoot, which just wrapped its third season. On this most entertaining TV show, four researchers gambol across the continental U.S. looking for Bigfoot, talking to witnesses, examining evidence, and explaining the ways of this mysterious creature. Three of the four are Bigfoot believers, Matt, Cliff, and Bobo all have seen a Bigfoot they believe and are ardent followers of the Bigfoot path. The sole woman and scientist on the team, Ranae is a skeptic.

The show has become a bit of fad, as the team has looked for Bigfoot in the usual places like Oregon and Washington state, but they have also inexplicably spent time looking for the critter in Connecticut, Ohio, and New Mexico, not locales traditionally famed for Bigfoot. They inevitably wander around the woods using all manner of equipment and techniques to lure out unsuspecting Bigfoots and they inevitably fail or discover only tantalizing and at best ambiguous circumstances which might perhaps constitute evidence. Rarely alas is Occam's Razor applied to most of the "evidence" they encounter. This show is about true believers reinforcing what they believe and having a good time doing it.

Robert Crumb
I've learned a lot about Bigfoot ways watching the show. Bigfoot habitat is pretty widespread, essentially any copse of woods will be sufficient regardless of the relative presence of people, no place is safe from or for the Bigfoot, all places seem more or less "Squatchy". The shy yet curious creature which comes in all sorts of colors, at once is able to hide and pretend to be other creatures but inexplicably is drawn to play peeping tom on unsuspecting women in isolated trailers. Bigfoots (not "Bigfeet" mind you) use high-tension electric lines as paths to migrate across the continent. The Bigfoot might keep and train coyotes, which they can imitate along with owls, the Bigfoot might from time to time stay in abandoned human dwellings, the Bigfoot eat deer, squirrels, and such but Payday candy bars and donuts are their catnip (mine too). It's this never-ending lore which can be oddly fascinating, and never a word to explain how so much trivia can be known about a creature not yet formally recognized as even truly extant.

Bobo
The unofficial star of Finding Bigfoot is James "Bobo" Fay, a California Bigfooter and surfer who until his current TV status was working quite contentedly on a crab boat. Bobo who often pretends to be Bigfoot in recreations of eye-witness testimony is like most of the team an affable chap who finds kindred spirits all over the U.S. and elsewhere.

It is the charm of these true believers which in spite of my own skepticism forces me to treat each show with some measure of respect. I don't believe in Bigfoot. The actual evidence, discounting the difficult-to-disprove Patterson-Gimlin film is thin. There's never quite a clear photo, nor is there ever quite sufficient DNA. That there might be a lost  creature hidden in the deep woods of the Pacific Northwest, you might just convince me is barely possible. But that the Bigfoot is, not unllike alien abduction, ubiquitous across the breadth of the nation is patently absurd. It's nonsense, pure poppycock. But it sure is fun to watch.

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The Sons Of MAD!

I've been looking at The Sincerest Form of Parody from Fantagraphics for nearly a year. When I'm in my local Joseph-Beth Bookstore, I like to prowl the racks of course and I often come across this handsome Fantagraphics collection of early 50's MAD imitations. I perused it, I considered buying it, but then ultimately I'd  put it back. I did this for months and months, always finding something else a bit more urgent to earn my few nickels. A few weeks ago, I finally relented and brought this collection home. I'm glad I did.

First, as a diehard Charlton Comics fan, I'm happy to have examples of EH! magazine. This Charlton MAD imitator is pretty dang good and the cover below is a comic book classic, a visual pun of the purest order. This cover, along with all the others featured in this post are actually in this collection. John Benson is the guy who organized and who supplies his usual detailed background information about how the original MAD comic book from EC Comics made a huge splash on early 50's pop culture and how a myriad of companies tried to poach just a little bit of that success with a cavalcade of imitators, Atlas Comics had three different titles alone (CRAZY, RIOT, and WILD). Even EC imitated itself as evidenced by the last title in the gallery, PANIC. Harvey, St.John, Magazine Entertainment, they all jumped aboard.

Jack Kirby and Joe Simon
The collection is ripe with clever parodies of then modern movies, classic literature, comics, and even other parody books. The talent included is immense with stories by Jack Davis, Will Elder,  Jack Kirby, Joe Simon,  Dick Ayers, Howard Nostrand, Mike Esposito, Ross Andru, Bill Everett, Al Feildstein, L.B. Cole, Norman Maurier, Joe Maneely, Dick Ayers, and others.

The burst of these imitators launched quickly and like the MAD comic book itself soon gave way. Within a few years it was over. This collection does a wonderful job of capturing that brief exotic moment in comics history.  This link will let you take a closer look at a couple of the stories included. This one is highly recommended, don't wait a year like I did.

Unknown

Howard Nostrand

Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

Unknown

Hy Fleishman

Joe Maneely

Norman Maurier

L.B. Cole

Al Feildstein
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