Personal blog - and temporary home page until new website is finished - of writer, editor and graphic artist Christopher Mills


Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Wednesday Cover: Superman & The Demon

DC Comics Presents was a monthly Superman team-up book (like The Brave & The Bold was with Batman) which featured various guest stars from the DC universe. This issue, illustrated by the legendary Joe Kubert, paired up the caped Kryptonian with Jack Kirby's supernatural creation against a resurrected druid sorcerer.. The story (by veteran Len Wein) was okay, but the art was stunning.

Of course, the main reason I remember this issue so clearly is that in 1984, when this comic was published, I was a student at the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon Art in Dover, New Jersey. At that time, Joe was doing very little comics work, instead concentrating on the school and its expansion plans (the following year, it moved to the larger building that it still occupies today), so a new Kubert comic was notable. In fact, Joe had us all go out and buy a copy of the book so we could devote an entire class to a panel-by-panel dissection of Joe's amazing visual storytelling. He literally explained the creative choices behind each and every drawing in the book.

I think that one session taught me more about narrative art than I got in the rest of my two years there. I still use what I learned that day every time I write a comic book script.

1 comment:

El Vox said...

I remember back when I was reading the Alan Moore Swamp Thing issues and also during that late 80's period reading that Steve Bissette had gone to Kubert's Cartoon School. I ordered a brochure just to see what it offered, not that I could ever go.

Neat cover though, I've enjoyed some of Kubert's work throughout the years. Did you ever see that mini series, over sized Tor he did back in the 80's? I unfortuately just picked up the first issue, but wished I'd gotten the full run.

Started getting back into comics lately after a dry spell. So far I've just gone thru some of my old long boxes to fish out things I've never read. I pulled out an Avengers #150 to read today.