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Post by dlw66 on Apr 21, 2009 19:59:40 GMT -5
New BRONZE Age resource -- saw it today on Marvel's solicitations. I'm not one to usually do the cut-and-paste thing, but I knew we'd have some Assemblers who would be particularly interested. I will be taking advantage of one of the discount sellers like Amazon or instocktrades.com, as the price of the Masterworks gets steeper and steeper!!
NOTE: In the same soliciations, a hardcover of Stan and Jazzy Johnny's first three full years of the Spidey newspaper strip is advertised -- $39.99.
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE INHUMANS VOL. 1 HC
Written by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway and Archie Goodwin, penciled by Kirby, Neal Adams, Mike Sekowsky and Gene Colan, cover by Neal Adams.
In 1965, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby gave a strange family of outcasts their debut in the pages of Fantastic Four. Responding to their Shakespearean pathos and Kirby's out of this world character designs, the fans loved them -- and wanted more! The mysterious origins of Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Triton, Karnak and the rest of their wondrous, secret world was initially revealed in a series of Thor features. But that only whetted reader's appetites -- and so came their first headlining series in Amazing Adventures! Launched by writer/artist Jack Kirby, the new series took the Inhumans to their roots, defending their kingdom against the aggressions of mankind -- especially against the ultimate threat of the Mandarin. Then a team with uncanny credentials, Roy Thomas and Neal Adams, took up the crown and sent the Inhumans on a mythical exodus into the world of man. It was a saga exploring the social issues of the era and, of course, topped of with a heavy dose of Inhuman action! Also featuring a rare Medusa and Black Bolt tale from Marvel Super-Heroes and a trio of satirical tales from Not Brand Echh by Stan, Jack and their blushing Bullpen! Collecting Thor #146-152, Amazing Adventures #1-10, The Avengers #95 & Marvel Super-Heroes #15 with bonus selections from Not Brand Ecch #6 & 12.
240 pages, $54.99
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Post by sharkar on Apr 21, 2009 22:41:08 GMT -5
MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE INHUMANS VOL. 1 HC Written by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway and Archie Goodwin, penciled by Kirby, Neal Adams, Mike Sekowsky and Gene Colan, cover by Neal Adams. In 1965, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby gave a strange family of outcasts their debut in the pages of Fantastic Four... Also featuring a rare Medusa and Black Bolt tale from Marvel Super-Heroes and a trio of satirical tales from Not Brand Echh by Stan, Jack and their blushing Bullpen! Collecting Thor #146-152, Amazing Adventures #1-10, The Avengers #95 & Marvel Super-Heroes #15 with bonus selections from Not Brand Ecch #6 & 12. 240 pages, $54.99 Be still my heart! This is one Masterworks I will definitely buy...the Inhumans are such magnificent visual creations that they need the full color treatment (the b&w Essentials format just wouldn't do them justice). I wonder if this exposure means the Inhumans are being prepped to assume a greater role in the Marvel Universe...perhaps there will be a regular ongoing series for them, after they're done with War of Kings? The Marvel Superheroes tale (from MSH #15) is one of my favorites from the Silver Age, featuring the misunderstood Medusa, who is here guided only by her heart. It's illustrated by one of my favorite '60s art teams, Colan-Colletta. In their hands Medusa never looked lovelier and more vulnerable, and it suited this story perfectly. The Not Brand Echh #6 story is another SA favorite of mine, in which the Human Scorch weds Gristle and meets his new in-laws.
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Post by Tana Nile on Apr 23, 2009 14:59:05 GMT -5
New BRONZE Age resource -- saw it today on Marvel's solicitations. I'm not one to usually do the cut-and-paste thing, but I knew we'd have some Assemblers who would be particularly interested. I will be taking advantage of one of the discount sellers like Amazon or instocktrades.com, as the price of the Masterworks gets steeper and steeper!! NOTE: In the same soliciations, a hardcover of Stan and Jazzy Johnny's first three full years of the Spidey newspaper strip is advertised -- $39.99. MARVEL MASTERWORKS: THE INHUMANS VOL. 1 HC Written by Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Gerry Conway and Archie Goodwin, penciled by Kirby, Neal Adams, Mike Sekowsky and Gene Colan, cover by Neal Adams. In 1965, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby gave a strange family of outcasts their debut in the pages of Fantastic Four. Responding to their Shakespearean pathos and Kirby's out of this world character designs, the fans loved them -- and wanted more! The mysterious origins of Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Triton, Karnak and the rest of their wondrous, secret world was initially revealed in a series of Thor features. But that only whetted reader's appetites -- and so came their first headlining series in Amazing Adventures! Launched by writer/artist Jack Kirby, the new series took the Inhumans to their roots, defending their kingdom against the aggressions of mankind -- especially against the ultimate threat of the Mandarin. Then a team with uncanny credentials, Roy Thomas and Neal Adams, took up the crown and sent the Inhumans on a mythical exodus into the world of man. It was a saga exploring the social issues of the era and, of course, topped of with a heavy dose of Inhuman action! Also featuring a rare Medusa and Black Bolt tale from Marvel Super-Heroes and a trio of satirical tales from Not Brand Echh by Stan, Jack and their blushing Bullpen! Collecting Thor #146-152, Amazing Adventures #1-10, The Avengers #95 & Marvel Super-Heroes #15 with bonus selections from Not Brand Ecch #6 & 12. 240 pages, $54.99 Hmmm...I'm tempted, but I own almost all of those books. Still it would be nice to have it all in one place. To be honest I thought Kirby's run on AA was pretty boring, but the stuff Roy and Neal did was interesting. I just wish they'd really let Thor and Blackbolt fight in issue 8!
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Post by dlw66 on Apr 23, 2009 20:13:46 GMT -5
I just wish they'd really let Thor and Blackbolt fight in issue 8! But isn't it a great cover??
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Post by Tana Nile on Apr 24, 2009 22:39:07 GMT -5
I just wish they'd really let Thor and Blackbolt fight in issue 8! But isn't it a great cover?? It's a great cover...but so misleading!!
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Post by Shiryu on May 29, 2009 16:03:20 GMT -5
I've almost finished reading George Perez - Storyteller and I'll share my two (Euro)cents on it. I'll borrow the format so proficiently used by Tana, Sharkar and Dlw in their blog for the Marvel Chronicle Review.
The good --> Art! A lot of great George Perez art, on glossy paper, large format. There are even one or two double splash pages, and several pencil sketches.
It's a more or less detailed history of Perez's career, from the very beginning and how he got into comics, to his most recent works. The highs, the lows and the whys are all there. The book flows well and there are some interesting behind the scenes moment, which give readers a glimpse of life at Marvel and DC office, or info about why CrossGen was born and eventually died. The writer knows his stuff and I could only find one small mistake in the book (in Marvel VS DC, Cap was defeated when the sewers were flushed, not by a gas granade).
At the end there is a full list of all the comics Perez has worked on, very useful for collectors.
The bad --> It's not really bad per se, but this book is really, only and exclusively on Perez. Unlike the John Romita interview book, other writers and artists hardly say something, and most of the times what they say is a compliment to Perez. George himself, while been quoted several times, occasionally for middle sized paragraphs, doesn't "tell" the book itself. The volume is basically a long essay by the author, occasionally using Perez's words to reinforce a point, and while very insightful, it feels disconnected from time to time.
Also, some things are skipped altogether, kind of relying on the readers' own knowledge, and there aren't many time references. I was surprised when I got at the part on Avengers V3, because I thought we were still at least 5 or 6 years before that. Again, it's probably partially me not being able to place the stories in time, but at least for the non Marvel/DC works, a few dates here and there would have been appreciated.
Finally, there are no real captions for the pictures. Some (most) quote an appropriate line or two from the main text, while others have nothing at all.
All in all, it's a pretty good book, a must for Perez's fans, worth a look for everybody else, but nothing that is really going to increase the understanding of the entire comics' world. I have the HC version (found it on Amazon at some 14$ + shipping), a slightly cheaper paperback - if it ever comes out - could be a better option.
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Post by Tana Nile on Jun 12, 2009 12:05:06 GMT -5
Shiryu, that book sounds similar to Modern Masters Volume 2: George Perez, but from what you describe, Storyteller sounds better. MM is all black and white, and there's no checklist. It's also just a long interview with Perez; it flows well enough but I would have liked to have heard from Perez' peers and collaborators.
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Post by Shiryu on Jun 12, 2009 12:29:47 GMT -5
Yeah, the art is a joy for sore eyes, some splash pages or double splash pages are just gorgeous (this is the hardcover edition, in case you look for it. Not sure if the paperback one is the same)
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Post by dlw66 on Apr 8, 2010 20:49:47 GMT -5
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Post by sharkar on Apr 13, 2010 18:59:23 GMT -5
Good review, Doug--thanks. I'm so glad the Sal Buscema book is finally available--its publication was delayed at least once. I remember my first exposure to Sal's work was back in Silver Surfer #4 and a few months later, Captain America #115. In both comics Sal inked over John's pencils, and I found the finished results sublime. They were a great team, and what better way to sharpen one's drawing skills than by inking over John Buscema's pencils? . When Sal moved over to pencils a bit later on, my first impression was that his characters were not as beautiful as his brother's renditions...but they were "cuter" and more accessible. Sal developed into a premier penciler, and his storytelling was always clear and straightforward (unlike some other, more celebrated, and oh-so-fanciful artists I could name)... and Sal's still doing comics today! In short, I can't wait to read this book!
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Post by Shiryu on Apr 22, 2010 15:18:06 GMT -5
For some reason I can't really like Sam Buscema's art. Ever since I came across it for the first time, during his stint on Spectacular Spider-Man (around the time when Tombstone was introduced, as well as the Inferno crossover, he was artist there for quite a long period), I found it too... I don't know, geometrical, with a lot of squared faces. I think it was partially due to inking, as I liked him much more later on when I read his work on old Avengers issues, but still not my favourite.
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Post by sharkar on Apr 26, 2010 20:19:03 GMT -5
For some reason I can't really like Sam Buscema's art. Ever since I came across it for the first time, during his stint on Spectacular Spider-Man (around the time when Tombstone was introduced, as well as the Inferno crossover, he was artist there for quite a long period), I found it too... I don't know, geometrical, with a lot of squared faces. I think it was partially due to inking, as I liked him much more later on when I read his work on old Avengers issues, but still not my favourite. I agree Sal's penciling became looser and less "finished" as time went on (which would explain the "geometrical", more abstract look)--IMO his penciling was certainly less complete than it was on his first stint on the Avengers. It seems that, as time went on, he (and some other pencilers) would just do layouts/breakdowns, and not complete pencils. Marvel seemed to want certian artists such as Sal to concentrate on quantity, leaving it up to the inkers and /or finishers to sharpen/enhance the quality. BTW, speaking of the Buscemas, look what's on the horizon for Johnny B fans! previews.diamondcomics.com/public/default.asp?t=2&m=1&c=23&s=128EDIT: replaced link to image
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Post by humanbelly on Apr 27, 2010 6:58:58 GMT -5
This is where my Incredible Hulk read-through helps keep me up to speed on a topic--! I'm up to issue #275, which means Sal has been the artist for a little over- wow- about 7 years at this point! And you even see here that his style begins to shift a bit towards that angular pencilling style that's more recognizable from his later work. He also has been inking himself at this point for quite sometime, which is where you definitely see him trying different things--- different lining and shading methods, possibly different applicators? (although I'm not savy enough w/ artistic mechanics to know what he'd be using). I also know that, coming up to issue 300, much was made of the fact that Sal made a conscious, determined effort to re-work and re-vamp his style, rather than just coast along on his already-considerable merits. While the result may be a matter of taste, I've always admired his desire to and ability to continue growing as an artist & technician.
HB
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Post by sharkar on May 3, 2010 21:40:59 GMT -5
...I also know that, coming up to issue 300, much was made of the fact that Sal made a conscious, determined effort to re-work and re-vamp his style, rather than just coast along on his already-considerable merits. While the result may be a matter of taste, I've always admired his desire to and ability to continue growing as an artist & technician. That's a really excellent point, HB. While age and/or deadlines may contribute to a less-polished product, there are also times when a change in art is brought about by the artist's decision to use new tools or techniques (as HB said). Sal, like others--his brother and Kirby to name but two--sought to experiment and develop their techniques. Sometimes this resulted in art that looked "unfinished" to comic book readers. For example Kirby's later comic book art (and his later non-comic art too) is far more abstract than his mid-60s Marvel work (which was not exactly realistic to begin with). So there may be a method behind the artists' (seeming) madness.
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