This woman, this warrior
Today's Comic Art Friday is dedicated to the memory of the late actor Jack Colvin (1934-2005), who passed away earlier this month at the age of 71.
Colvin played investigative reporter Jack McGee on the 1970s TV series The Incredible Hulk. Each week, he was the target of Bill Bixby's famous line in the show's opening sequence:
Regular readers of Comic Art Friday know by now that one of my favorite superheroines is Ms. Marvel. I've been surprised to discover how many other closet Ms. Marvel fanatics lurk among us — at least two of my favorite artists for commission projects, Bob Almond and Michael Dooney, have owned up to being fanciers of Marvel Comics' mightiest heroine. There's also an extensive fan site, This Woman, This Warrior, that's replete with great images of Ms. Marvel in her various incarnations (she has also gone by the names Binary and Warbird at times during her nearly 30-year career).
In those heady days of the '70s, Marvel Comics attempted to market Ms. Marvel as a feminist icon, much as Wonder Woman had been envisioned by her creator, William Moulton Marston. And, in fact, Ms. Marvel was one of the first heroines in the Marvel pantheon with the level of physical power usually associated with male characters. Until her advent, Marvel's female supertypes tended to possess the kind of superpowers (the Wasp's super-shrinking, the Invisible Girl's force fields, the Scarlet Witch's hex bolts, Jean Grey's telekinesis) that relieved them of the need to engage in hand-to-hand combat. Ms. Marvel was one of the first Marvel heroines who actually threw punches on a regular basis — and won.
Marvel recently announced that Ms. Marvel is being featured in a new solo series, debuting in February. In celebration of this auspicious news, we're pleased to feature a couple of gorgeous artworks from our collection of images of the Female Fury.
First up is this dazzling pinup by the tremendously talented Michael McDaniel.
Michael McDaniel, in my not-so-humble estimation, is one of the greatest little-known artists in the comics field right now. With a beautifully lush pencil line, and a design sensibility that recalls such artists as Dave Stevens (The Rocketeer) and the pinup master Alberto Vargas, Michael's figure work equals that of some of the most popular talents in the industry. (Note the anatomically accurate muscularity and proportion in the drawing above.)
And he's much more than just a "good girl" artist — I've seen some amazing pieces of Michael's work featuring such characters as Green Lantern and Batman. If there's a reason why he isn't drawing covers for the major comics publishers, I don't know what it is.
Next, Brazilian artist Alex Lei gives us his take on our beloved scarf-wearing superwoman.
Alex Lei is probably most familiar to current comics readers as the inking partner of star penciler Ed Benes on such DC Comics series as Supergirl and, presently, Birds of Prey. Lei's own work exhibits a ton of Benes's influence, especially the sleek lines for which Benes is renowned.
By the way, the bubbling black background effect Lei employs here is known to comics aficionados as "Kirby crackle," after its originator, the legendary artist Jack "King" Kirby (cocreator of such characters as Captain America, the Fantastic Four, and the original X-Men). Kirby crackle became one of the signature features of Kirby's work, especially in Fantastic Four and spacegoing series such as New Gods.
In next week's Comic Art Friday, we'll explore some of the intriguing parallels between Ms. Marvel and another of my favorite heroines, Supergirl.
Until then, don't make me angry. Because you wouldn't like me when I'm angry.
Colvin played investigative reporter Jack McGee on the 1970s TV series The Incredible Hulk. Each week, he was the target of Bill Bixby's famous line in the show's opening sequence:
Mr. McGee, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.Mr. Colvin, should you and Mr. Bixby encounter each other in the hereafter, remember that may still be good advice.
Regular readers of Comic Art Friday know by now that one of my favorite superheroines is Ms. Marvel. I've been surprised to discover how many other closet Ms. Marvel fanatics lurk among us — at least two of my favorite artists for commission projects, Bob Almond and Michael Dooney, have owned up to being fanciers of Marvel Comics' mightiest heroine. There's also an extensive fan site, This Woman, This Warrior, that's replete with great images of Ms. Marvel in her various incarnations (she has also gone by the names Binary and Warbird at times during her nearly 30-year career).
In those heady days of the '70s, Marvel Comics attempted to market Ms. Marvel as a feminist icon, much as Wonder Woman had been envisioned by her creator, William Moulton Marston. And, in fact, Ms. Marvel was one of the first heroines in the Marvel pantheon with the level of physical power usually associated with male characters. Until her advent, Marvel's female supertypes tended to possess the kind of superpowers (the Wasp's super-shrinking, the Invisible Girl's force fields, the Scarlet Witch's hex bolts, Jean Grey's telekinesis) that relieved them of the need to engage in hand-to-hand combat. Ms. Marvel was one of the first Marvel heroines who actually threw punches on a regular basis — and won.
Marvel recently announced that Ms. Marvel is being featured in a new solo series, debuting in February. In celebration of this auspicious news, we're pleased to feature a couple of gorgeous artworks from our collection of images of the Female Fury.
First up is this dazzling pinup by the tremendously talented Michael McDaniel.
Michael McDaniel, in my not-so-humble estimation, is one of the greatest little-known artists in the comics field right now. With a beautifully lush pencil line, and a design sensibility that recalls such artists as Dave Stevens (The Rocketeer) and the pinup master Alberto Vargas, Michael's figure work equals that of some of the most popular talents in the industry. (Note the anatomically accurate muscularity and proportion in the drawing above.)
And he's much more than just a "good girl" artist — I've seen some amazing pieces of Michael's work featuring such characters as Green Lantern and Batman. If there's a reason why he isn't drawing covers for the major comics publishers, I don't know what it is.
Next, Brazilian artist Alex Lei gives us his take on our beloved scarf-wearing superwoman.
Alex Lei is probably most familiar to current comics readers as the inking partner of star penciler Ed Benes on such DC Comics series as Supergirl and, presently, Birds of Prey. Lei's own work exhibits a ton of Benes's influence, especially the sleek lines for which Benes is renowned.
By the way, the bubbling black background effect Lei employs here is known to comics aficionados as "Kirby crackle," after its originator, the legendary artist Jack "King" Kirby (cocreator of such characters as Captain America, the Fantastic Four, and the original X-Men). Kirby crackle became one of the signature features of Kirby's work, especially in Fantastic Four and spacegoing series such as New Gods.
In next week's Comic Art Friday, we'll explore some of the intriguing parallels between Ms. Marvel and another of my favorite heroines, Supergirl.
Until then, don't make me angry. Because you wouldn't like me when I'm angry.
SwanShadow was randomly pounding the keyboard at 11:57 AM
0 insisted on sticking two cents in:
Post a Comment
<< Home