Still in a spy-fi mood... Back in the early 80's, Bill Black's Americomics (AC) published a short-lived spy comic called Black Diamond. Now, I'm not sure if it was based on an unproduced Sybil Danning movie script or was a comic idea first, & attached to Danning afterwards. Either way, the blonde B-movie amazon was clearly the model for the lead character (See? Her name's right there on the cover!) and was featured in several photo spreads within the comic's pages.Most of the covers (after #1 by Black) were stunning pieces by the best "spy artist" in comics, Paul Gulacy. Here's his beautiful B&W cover for Issue #2. I remember at the time thinking it was a ballsy move on AC's part to go with a stark, B&W cover illustration - it really popped on the racks amid all their competitor's colorful offerings.
One of these days, I'll have to dig these issues out again and review them in my Guns In The Gutters blog....
2 comments:
I had this comic...and yes, the cover by Gulacy just drew me in to reading it...
Well, that and the Sybill Danning photo on the back.
I can provide a bit of info since I was directly involved.
I had commissioned Paul for a couple of pieces for my collection... a Bruce Lee/Shang Chi, Stallone as Rocky, Sabre vs the Kirk Douglas character... Bill Black is a buddy of mine. I put the two in touch and the rest is history.
The Sybill Danning contact also came through me and almost never happened. I was watching tv one night and received a call from a guy claiming to be Sybill Danning's agent. I had no clue who she was. The guy started telling me her credits and going on about how he wanted to do a comic with her through Bill Black. Bill's number was unlisted, but he found mine [not many Zablo's out there]. He looked me up because Bill had listed me as an editor on a couple of portfolios that he did where I had helped him get certain artists. Anyway... I told the guy I couldn't give him Bill's number, but I could take his and pass it along. He gave it to me. Because it was late I didn't call Bill.
The next day Bill and I were talking and I said, "Oh, by the way, I received a call last night..." Bill almost came through the phone when I mentioned Sybill Danning's name. I gave Bill the number and he called and they worked together on a few projects. The idea was that the comic would help to spur interest in the character. Nothing but comics ever came of it, but I know it was a lot of fun for Bill!
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