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Power Man and Iron Fist Gallery

2011-12-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

Bill Sienkiewicz Marvel house ad for Power Man and Iron Fist circa 1984

Power Man no. 17 (Feb 1974) Gil Kane pencils

Iron Fist no. 8 (Oct 1976) John Byrne pencils, Dan Adkins inks

Power Man and Iron Fist no. 50 (April 1978) Dave Cockrum pencils

Power Man and Iron Fist no. 54 (Dec 1978) Keith Pollard pencils, Frank Giacoia inks

Power Man and Iron Fist no. 73 (Sept 1981) Frank Miller pencils and inks

ROM no. 23 (Oct 1981) Al Milgrom pencils and inks

Power Man and Iron Fist no. 100 (Dec 1983) Ernie Chan cover painting

Power Man and Iron Fist no. 104 (April 1984) John Byrne pencils and inks

Power Man and Iron Fist no. 106 (June 1984) John Byrne cover pencils and inks

Power Man and Iron Fist no. 112 (Dec 1984) John Byrne pencils and inks

Power Man and Iron Fist no. 115 (March 1985) John Byrne pencils and inks

Power Man and Iron Fist no. 115 cover detail (March 1985) John Byrne pencils and inks

Power Man and Iron Fist no. 116 (April 1985) John Byrne pencils and inks

Marvel Two-in-One no. 94 (Dec 1982) Ed Hannigan layouts, Ron Wilson pencils, Chic Stone inks

Occupy Poster Art

2011-11-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

I'm included on this reading list at the Occupy LA website.

Wonder Woman Gallery

2011-10-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

José Luis García-López

Alex Ross

Darwyn Cooke

José Luis García-López

Ross Andru and Mike Esposito

John Byrne

Alex Ross

José Luis García-López

Mike Allred

Matt Fraction Interview

2011-10-19T11:30:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from my edited book, Inside the World of Comic Books.

Matt Fraction's writing credits include Casanova and the steampunk graphic novel, The Five Fists of Science. He is currently writing a range of titles for Marvel Comics.

On how the superhero concept has changed over time ―

Matt Fraction: The specifics have changed, maybe, but in broad strokes the song remains the same. Superhero comics always reflect their times, and the lives of the creators behind them, I think. Superheroes are the modern myth, and we create myths to solve impossible, inhumanly large problems.

On the influence and legacy of Jack Kirby ―

Matt Fraction: If Will Eisner gave comics its brains, Jack Kirby gave them their imagination. Kirby tapped into the purest visual power and, when he was creating his own work, their symbolic, imaginative power. He was plugged into some kind of primal creative source and his antennae were picking up broadcasts nobody else could hear ― it's like there wasn't any sort of governor or self-editing happening between his brain and the page.

In an interview between Gary Groth (publisher of Fantagraphics who have, indisputably, published some of the most profound and important comics in the English language) and Seth (cartoonist of 'It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken' and 'Clyde Fans' [published by Drawn and Quarterly]), they referred to Kirby's work as 'Savant Comics' ― and I can't think of a better way to categorize them, honestly. Kirby's mind moved in new ways, and his presence was so influential and so outrageous to the form that hundreds of people, even today, are hopeless but to repeat the same riffs.

On why superheroes have remained commercially and culturally relevant ―

Matt Fraction: Superheroes are the default idiom of American comic books. The Kefauver hearings saw to that, way back when, by snuffing out the EC line. In essence, government hysteria saw to it that comics were supposed to be for children. Publishers weren't foolish; they saw what happened to Gaines and fell in line. So, commercially, for the longest while, that was the only game in town.

I mean, even though the comic hearings were really about the mob syndicates controlling the manufacture and distribution, the end result was a neutered creative industry. As though the Hayes Code would've dictated that the only films that could be produced were musicals for children, you know? Imagine the film industry that would've been created.

Culturally, I think my favorite argument for that comes from places like Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, that the superhero, especially as created by first and second generation Jewish immigrants, gave a voice and image to the concerns of a people being oppressed and murdered wholesale. These characters were created by a people who needed the power of myth and legend to make sense and escape from the horrors of the modern world.

On what makes for great superhero comics ―

Matt Fraction: Escapism. A connection to myth. Characterization. Transformation. Props. Sets. Fantastic ideas married to equally fantastic visuals. Closure.

On comics as social critique ―

Matt Fraction: I'm going to answer your question about comics by talking about television. One of my favorite things in the world is a Rod Serling interview from The Mike Wallace Show, which was one of the earliest news and talk shows that CBS aired. Serling, at the time, was one of television's pioneers, credited along with guys like Paddy Chayefsky and John Frankenheimer as being the earliest artists working within this brand new idiom. Serling had made his bones with teleplays like 'Requiem for a Heavyweight' and 'Patterns' and other important, serious work within the medium. Overwhelmed by the success and pressure, he took a few years off.

So, Serling comes back and announces he'll be doing a new show at CBS called The Twilight Zone. This is why he's on The Mike Wallace Show, right? Shilling for his new show. And Wallace is visibly repulsed by the notion that one of television's bright lights would so obscenely pander his talents and ambitions on a children's show, science fiction. Wallowing in, Wallace attacked Serling for selling out, having decided before Zone ever aired that it would be tripe, that it was genre crap that would make Serling rich and make television a weaker place for his absence.

And Serling, of course, defended his decision. These bastardized and despised media and genres get away with much much more. Through allegory or metaphor or straight transliteration, these ignored venues were better equipped to handle serious and unpleasant issues of the day, because nobody really paid attention to them. They were unmonitored, uncensored, and otherwise considered irrelevant. So Serling creates a scathing indictment of the McCarthy era with 'The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street' and gets it broadcast on prime time television in a time (hell, on the same network) when Murrow daring to question McCarthy on 'See It Now' almost brought the whole network down. These media and genres, the ones that nobody takes seriously, are often the best delivery systems for controversial material.

On the interplay between words and pictures in the comic book form ―

Matt Fraction: Comics are about that interplay, comics need that interplay to truly become more than the sum of its parts ― too many comics are words overlaid by pictures. I mean, think about it: how many times have you read something on a comics page that's telling you exactly the same thing that the art shows you? Comics are a visual medium. The greatest works achieve a beautiful balance between the two.

Bob Layton Interview

2011-10-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Excerpted from my edited book, Inside the World of Comic Books —

Bob Layton is a comic book artist, inker, writer and editor. He was one of the creative architects of Valiant Comics, a co-founder of Future Comics, and is widely known for his definitive tenure on Iron Man with David Michelinie.

Jeffery Klaehn: What led you to pursue a career in comics?

Bob Layton: I learned to read from comics when I was only four years old. I skipped a grade when I entered the school system and wound up graduating high school at barely seventeen. If that isn't a powerful statement for the power of the medium, I don't know what is. The medium affected me in a manner that changed my life in a positive direction.

After high school, I met Roger Stern, who worked for a local radio station in Indianapolis, and we began publishing fanzines together. Contemporary Pictorial Literature was the name of our main 'zine. It turned out to be an extremely popular fan publication for its day and eventually led us into a working alliance with Charlton Comics, with Sterno and me editing and publishing the Charlton Bullseye magazine.

The close association with Charlton, and their production manager, Bill Pearson, led to my meeting Wally Wood and becoming one of his apprentices. Once I went to work for Woody, doors started opening up for me all over the place. I stared getting inking work with Charlton, DC and Marvel while continuing to do stuff with Woody and would occasionally deliver pages for him when I made a trip into NYC from Connecticut, which allowed me to get to know the editors at both companies. Eventually, I was able to strike out on my own, thanks to the connections I made through Wally Wood.

At DC, David Michelinie and I formed our partnership, working together on Star Hunters and Claw the Unconquered. After about a year, we had agreed to leave the company for greener pastures. We both sensed the impending 'Implosion' and didn't want to wind-up being casualties of it.

When we jumped to Marvel, we interviewed to work as a team there. We were given a choice of lower-end books to work on and I jumped out of my seat when I realized that Iron Man was one of those choices. That was the one book in the entire industry that I wanted to do more than any other. Dave was unfamiliar with the character but his lack of history with Iron Man mythology proved to be a tremendous asset, translating into a fresh approach to the character.

And the rest is history —

Iron Man no. 118 cover (Jan 1979) Bob Layton pencils and inks

Jeffery Klaehn: As a fan, what titles and characters most impacted you?

Bob Layton: My first comic was a Showcase issue featuring The Challengers of the Unknown by Kirby and Wood. I have to say that it made such an impact on me that it set me on my career path. Great art jobs come and go but what makes a classic is the kind of story that you carry with you from your childhood right into your adult life. That Challengers story was definitely one of them. And, obviously ― Iron Man. I've always gravitated towards characters that possess no inherent super-powers. My philosophy on the essence of the character is that Tony Stark doesn't play superhero. I believe he uses the Iron Man persona for two reasons ― to protect his various business interests globally and to ground himself to the 'real world.'

Jeffery Klaehn: What artists did you find most influential, powerful?

Bob Layton: In the beginning of my career, I was taught by the likes of Wally Wood and Dick Giordano. They hammered into me, time and again, that a good artist should be in service to the tale being told. Memorable words. I was very blessed to have been tutored by two such industry giants. Also, I'd have to say that I was heavily influenced by Gil Kane and Jack Kirby, as well.

Jeffery Klaehn: Your thoughts on Jack Kirby's impact, influence and legacy?

Bob Layton: Kirby was the Orson Welles of comics.

Click here to visit Bob Layton online.

Inside the World of Comic Books

2011-09-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

Click here to read a review of my edited collection, Inside the World of Comic Books.

Here's a newspaper article about me that was originally published around the same time the book released and is now online.

TARDIS Gallery

2011-09-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space

Carl Barks Gallery

2011-07-21T11:00:00.000-07:00

Four Color no. 189 (June 1948)

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories no. 95 (Aug 1948)

Four Color no. 223 (April 1949)

Four Color no. 238 (Aug 1949)

Four Color no. 348 (Sept 1951)

Four Color no. 386 (March 1952)

Four Color no. 394 (May 1952)

Four Color no. 408 (July/Aug 1952)

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories no. 146 (Nov 1952)

Four Color no. 456 (March 1953)

Donald Duck no. 35 (May 1954)

Uncle Scrooge no. 4 (Dec 1953/Feb 1954)

Uncle Scrooge no. 6 (June/Aug 1954)

Uncle Scrooge no. 10 (June/Aug 1955)

Donald Duck no. 44 (Nov 1955)

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories no. 204 (Sept 1957)

Walt Disneys Comics and Stories no. 212 (May 1958)

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories no. 216 (Sept 1958)

Walt Disney's Comics and Stories no. 218 (Nov 1958)

Uncle Scrooge no. 31 (Sept 1960)

Don Rosa Gallery

2011-06-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

Detail from Don Rosa's Uncle Scrooge no. 219 cover (July 1987)

Uncle Scrooge no. 219 (July 1987)

Detail from Don Rosa's Uncle Scrooge no. 224 cover (Dec 1987)

Uncle Scrooge no. 224 (Dec 1987)

Donald Duck Adventures no. 16 (Oct 1989)

Uncle Scrooge no. 262 (Jan 1992)

Uncle Scrooge no. 263 (Feb 1992)

Uncle Scrooge no. 276 (March 1993)

Uncle Scrooge no. 278 (May 1993)

Uncle Scrooge no. 281 (Aug 1993)

Uncle Scrooge Adventures no. 22 (Sept 1993)

Donald Duck Adventures no. 23 (Dec 1993)

Uncle Scrooge Adventures no. 25 (March 1994)

Uncle Scrooge Adventures no. 27 (July 1994)

Uncle Scrooge Adventures no. 28 (Sept 1994)

Uncle Scrooge Adventures no. 29 (Nov 1994)

Uncle Scrooge Adventures no. 30 (Jan 1995)

Uncle Scrooge Adventures no. 31 (March 1995)

Uncle Scrooge Adventures no. 39 (July 1996)

Uncle Scrooge Adventures no. 51 (Oct 1997)

Uncle Scrooge no. 317 (Jan 1999)

Uncle Scrooge no. 321 (Sept 2003)

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck (June 2005)

Uncle Scrooge no. 347 (Nov 2005)

Uncle Scrooge no. 357 (Sept 2006)

Uncle Scrooge no. 400 (Feb 2011)

Uncle Scrooge no. 401 (March 2011)

Top Ten Kirby Thor covers

2011-05-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

10. The Mighty Thor no. 162 (March 1969)