Steranko is great but......

[Comicopolis]

This cover is just weird. Look at the faces of Val and Clay Quatermain - what is going on there?

 

[RickL]

I always thought the anatomy on Val is very strange. The effect is kind of 'trippy'. I guess it's a 60s thing.

[ComicConnoisseur]

Steranko has great covers, but his stories don`t date well,especially the Nick Fury solo stories from 1968. I read them a few months back, and they were mediocre storywise. I know when I read them as a kid they were the cat`s meow, but now they are camp. Steranko was no John Buscema or Jack Kirby when it came to storytelling.

[RickL]

The camp adds to their appeal. I'm reading the Strange Tales run at present and find the stories a lot of fun.

[Hepcat]

Better than having characters who do nothing but grimace/snarl like in today's comics.

 

[ComicConnoisseur]

Steranko`s work reminds me of the movie 2001 A Space Odyssey.

Some people tell me how great they both are,but everytime I try to watch or read them I come away underwhelmed and bored.

Steranko`s stuff was confusing. I could see why Stan Lee fired him.

Herb Trimpe could tell a better comic book story. Steranko was just all flash and no substance most of the time. To me it looked like he was trying to copy Eisner`s work of a few decades earlier,and the kids of the 1960`s ate his stuff up. They never knew about Eisner, and thought Steranko was groundbreaking.

btw Steranko did amazing covers! Those I like!

[excelsior1986]

I've noticed too that steranko has a hard time with faces. I have no idea if its on purpose but some of them look way contorted. Awesome artist though.

[adamstrange]

This cover is just weird. Look at the faces of Val and Clay Quatermain - what is going on there?

Clay's face was almost certainly re-drawn by Marie Severin, just like she redrew the Hulk's face on Steranko's Hulk Annual Cover.

[Juswuh]

Steranko was just all flash and no substance most of the time.

 

Absolutely. X-Men 50 is a great cover, though.

[etanick]

Steranko was just all flash and no substance most of the time.

 

Absolutely. X-Men 50 is a great cover, though.

 

+1

 

Personally, i think he is a lot of thing but "Great" is not a word I will associate with him other than X-men 50.

[VintageComics]

Steranko is highly revered by those that grew up in the 60's and I can understand why. He captured that psychedelic "feel".

 

It wasn't about being anatomically correct (although he could be if he wanted to). It was about style, and he left a small but pretty magnificent body of work if you ask me.

 

His covers are awesome, many of his interiors are fun to read and over all I personally consider him a great artist although tastes will vary.

 

(thumbs u

[kimik]

I thought Steranko was viewed as being "great" more for his layouts than anything. As someone who started reading comics as a kid in 1987 there is nothing great about his work, but if I recall correctly didn't Adams do a cover/panel/page in a book (Deadman story in Strange Adventures?) in homage to Steranko?

 

Also, weren't his earlier Strange Tales covers/issues done based on Kirby layouts/inks? If so, that might be why the anatomy is out of whack.

[VintageComics]

His layouts are great but I also tend to like his line work which is somewhat remniscent of Barry Windsor Smith before he found his own style.

 

Both artists pay homages to Kirby.

 

 

[Ted Knight]

Steranko is highly revered by those that grew up in the 60's and I can understand why. He captured that psychedelic "feel".

 

It wasn't about being anatomically correct (although he could be if he wanted to). It was about style, and he left a small but pretty magnificent body of work if you ask me.

 

His covers are awesome, many of his interiors are fun to read and over all I personally consider him a great artist although tastes will vary.

 

(thumbs u

 

Absolutely true. Most people don't seem to get the number of influences that he synthesized into one masterful, pop, psychedelic style. Most of the posts in this thread are pretty rough on the guy. But then, maybe most collectors today were raised on 80s and 90s comics and Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane are the real greats to them.

 

You guys probably don't like Steve Ditko, Gene Colan, Carmine Infantino or Murphy Anderson, either.

 

His layouts are great but I also tend to like his line work which is somewhat remniscent of Barry Windsor Smith before he found his own style.

 

Both artists pay homages to Kirby.

 

 

This is very insightful, Roy. I've always sensed the same thing but never articulated it with Barry Smith's early work. A lot of similarities.

 

Kirby did mentor Steranko but he also recognized the Jim had a distinctive style that was evocative, atmospheric and genuinely original. Unfortunately, it just took Steranko a long time to produce work whereas Kirby was as prolific as can be, like most of the masters from the old days.

 

And Strange Tales 167 is a classic cover, along with Hulk Special 1 and Nick Fury 4. Simply great work.

[VintageComics]

His layouts are great but I also tend to like his line work which is somewhat remniscent of Barry Windsor Smith before he found his own style.

 

Both artists pay homages to Kirby.

 

 

This is very insightful, Roy. I've always sensed the same thing but never articulated it with Barry Smith's early work. A lot of similarities.

 

Kirby did mentor Steranko but he also recognized the Jim had a distinctive style that was evocative, atmospheric and genuinely original. Unfortunately, it just took Steranko a long time to produce work whereas Kirby was as prolific as can be, like most of the masters from the old days.

 

And Strange Tales 167 is a classic cover, along with Hulk Special 1 and Nick Fury 4. Simply great work.

 

I found that BWS and Steranko were kind of like Kirby, but with lighter line work. Although Kirby took some getting used to for me as a kid, I found that BWS and Steranko appealed to me almost immediately.

 

And yeah, Kirby mentored nearly everyone that initially came to Marvel...Buscema, Romita, Steranko...many of the greats had pointers from Kirby before they were "let loose".

 

What an awesome time to be at Marvel.

[RickL]

I'm gonna come in with some tougher support for Steranko right about here. So step back all you haters.

 

I'm up to 159 in my Strange Tales reading marathon and his style is really starting to come to the fore. Once he emerged from Kirby's shadow, his style became a unique one that totally captured the 60s feel and aesthetic. Realism is often eschewed for the kind of trippy effects and visual weirdness that get this reader all excited. Plus, I'd kill to get a pad that looked like Fury's NY apartment.

 

Steranko's writing follows on pretty nicely from Lee's too. Fury's constant crotchety sarcasm doesn't miss a beat. The stories certainly fare better than post Lee Doctor Strange.

[etanick]

and people why I am FDQ from this forum and hobby.

 

a) just because someone has a different opinion than yours, it is ok.

b) Yes, I started collecting in 1981 but I love Kirby to death so get your elitist out of head. Sheesh....If I don't like Steranko, I am uninformed? don't have good taste?

c) Plenty of people posted their dislikes for Kirby's artworks in the past 2 years since I joined and I didn't feel a need to defend him because..GO BACK TO A) ABOVE

 

The next time someone complains about Kirby's art, make sure you all jump to his defense ok? I know I won't since I don't need convince the world that HE IS THE KING.

[Comicopolis]

Calm down people.

 

Steranko is great.

 

That cover is great and it is a classic.

 

I still think it's a little weird.

[etanick]

oh this is calm for me

 

why aren't you in CG posting and bumping that wonderful thread "Hi" I can go nuclear in that thread. If I am not in a middle of selling, I would post a bunch of junks in there already to have that thread deleted and locked long ago and gladly take a strike and vacation from Arch.

[ComicConnoisseur]

Steranko is highly revered by those that grew up in the 60's and I can understand why. He captured that psychedelic "feel".

 

It wasn't about being anatomically correct (although he could be if he wanted to). It was about style, and he left a small but pretty magnificent body of work if you ask me.

 

His covers are awesome, many of his interiors are fun to read and over all I personally consider him a great artist although tastes will vary.

 

(thumbs u

 

Absolutely true. Most people don't seem to get the number of influences that he synthesized into one masterful, pop, psychedelic style. Most of the posts in this thread are pretty rough on the guy. But then, maybe most collectors today were raised on 80s and 90s comics and Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane are the real greats to them.

 

You guys probably don't like Steve Ditko, Gene Colan, Carmine Infantino or Murphy Anderson, either.

 

His layouts are great but I also tend to like his line work which is somewhat remniscent of Barry Windsor Smith before he found his own style.

 

Both artists pay homages to Kirby.

 

 

This is very insightful, Roy. I've always sensed the same thing but never articulated it with Barry Smith's early work. A lot of similarities.

 

Kirby did mentor Steranko but he also recognized the Jim had a distinctive style that was evocative, atmospheric and genuinely original. Unfortunately, it just took Steranko a long time to produce work whereas Kirby was as prolific as can be, like most of the masters from the old days.

 

And Strange Tales 167 is a classic cover, along with Hulk Special 1 and Nick Fury 4. Simply great work.

Actually I like Ditko,Colan and Infantino much better than Steranko.There probally is a reason why Steranko hasn`t produced any works of significance in the last 40 years.

He is similar to Neal Adams. If we look at Neal Adams latest work it is universally panned, the same thing would happen to Steranko if he drew a modern mainstream comic today. They were gods to us kids back in the 60`s and 70`s, but go reread that stuff now. I find that old re-runs of Gilligan's Island to be more enjoyable then sitting thru a read of Steranko`s run on Nick Fury. At least Gilligan's Island makes me laugh, and doesn`t bore me like that highly acclaimed run by Steranko just did.

Now if you like Steranko`s work on SHIELD that is just fine, but I didn`t. Did I hate it? No.

But it wasn`t the highly acclaimed masterpiece that people have told me it was.