Why were DC SA monsters so lame?

[Boba]

 

I must have subconsciously recalled this cover in my original post that started this thread.

 

I used to worship Gil Kane's art when I was younger. I especially loved the way he stylized superhero muscles. I also noticed how he used a lot of templates; i.e., circles guides, curves, ellipses, etc., etc., to design everything from monsters to spaceships. He was a wiz with a circle-guide and It shows with this creature who appears to have escaped from a art supply store.

[rjpb]

 

I must have subconsciously recalled this cover in my original post that started this thread.

 

I used to worship Gil Kane's art when I was younger. I especially loved the way he stylized superhero muscles. I also noticed how he used a lot of templates; i.e., circles guides, curves, ellipses, etc., etc., to design everything from monsters to spaceships. He was a wiz with a circle-guide and It shows with this creature who appears to have escaped from a art supply store.

 

I always liked Kane's DC work, but when he moved to Marvel the up the nostril compositions seem to become more common. His work, like many others, also suffered from the garish color palette Marvel used in the early 70s.

[Hepcat]

 

I enjoyed this pink monster that attacked GL....

 

Good pick! Bad monster.

 

[Hepcat]

This is a pretty feeble attempt at a monster too:

 

 

 

[Boba]

We can see he's sinister from the snort from his mighty nostrils

[Kevin.J]

When I was a kid I somehow acquired a copy of Showcase #24, I had it for 20 years before I saw another copy and realized how faded it was and that the monster had veins drawn in his eyeball

Seems really obvious now

C'mon, I was a kid....at least when I got it....eh!..... .....

 

 

 

[frozentundraguy]

When I was a kid I somehow acquired a copy of Showcase #24, I had it for 20 years before I saw another copy and realized how faded it was and that the monster had veins drawn in his eyeball

Seems really obvious now

C'mon, I was a kid....at least when I got it....eh!..... .....

 

 

 

Faded yes, but the veins in the eyeballs add to the errie-ness of the monster.

[rjpb]

The Khaki Lantern

[Boba]

The stoner pedigree

[frozentundraguy]

Here we have the Space ranger about to take on an alien dressed in a porcupine suit, in a scene replete with smaller aliens, crowding the arena, also decked out in porcupine suits.

 

I like the Space Ranger's odds.

 

[rjpb]

I'm guessing Space ranger found a way to win.

[Hepcat]

Myra actually looks remarkably placid given the situation.

 

 

[Boba]

Some context should be noted, consider the time period of the appearances of these wacky creatures, B movies with all kinds of crazy creatures were playing in the theatres and drive-ins and even TV shows like The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone were the most watched shows of their times. There was an explosion of science fiction in all forms of media following the atomic-age and the start of the space-age. These beasties didn't look so silly to most of us around in those times. Now we scrutinize every aspect because our expectations have been raised so much by how realistic everything in film and print has become.

[Prince Namor]

Some context should be noted, consider the time period of the appearances of these wacky creatures, B movies with all kinds of crazy creatures were playing in the theatres and drive-ins and even TV shows like The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone were the most watched shows of their times. There was an explosion of science fiction in all forms of media following the atomic-age and the start of the space-age. These beasties didn't look so silly to most of us around in those times. Now we scrutinize every aspect because our expectations have been raised so much by how realistic everything in film and print has become.

 

Agreed, but...

I think the whole point is the comparison between the REALLY lame DC monsters and the much cooler Marvel monsters. Over a two month stretch, it's obvious the difference:

DC

 

Marvel

 

 

 

 

[Boba]

No fair, they had Kirby

[rjpb]

The Mermen on that Blackhawk cover aren't too bad. Not great, but not ridiculous either. The Gil Kane cover on the Strange Adv. is pretty cool, but the sea monster looks oddly feminized - the purple lips and eye surrounds looking like lipstick and mascara, and the fins on the side of the head almost mimic eyelashes.

 

Sorry, I don't buy the "times were different" excuse for how silly some of DCs monsters looked. Not just Marvel, but Charlton and Archie, as well as the dino covers on SWSS all managed to be more convincingly threatening than most of the DC creatures in the superhero/sci-fi titles.

[Hepcat]

Some context should be noted, consider the time period of the appearances of these wacky creatures, B movies with all kinds of crazy creatures were playing in the theatres and drive-ins and even TV shows like The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone were the most watched shows of their times. There was an explosion of science fiction in all forms of media following the atomic-age and the start of the space-age. These beasties didn't look so silly to most of us around in those times. Now we scrutinize every aspect because our expectations have been raised so much by how realistic everything in film and print has become.

 

Good point! Look at how silly some of these Outer Limits show monsters look today:

 

 

 

And this beastie from 1964's Horror of Party Beach looks absolutely ridiculous by modern standards:

 

 

[Hepcat]

The Gil Kane cover on the Strange Adv. is pretty cool, but the sea monster looks oddly feminized - the purple lips and eye surrounds looking like lipstick and mascara, and the fins on the side of the head almost mimic eyelashes.

 

Gil was a long-time married man, that's all.

 

[Boba]

The Gil Kane cover on the Strange Adv. is pretty cool, but the sea monster looks oddly feminized - the purple lips and eye surrounds looking like lipstick and mascara, and the fins on the side of the head almost mimic eyelashes.

 

Gil was a long-time married man, that's all.

 

 

[Boba]

Some context should be noted, consider the time period of the appearances of these wacky creatures, B movies with all kinds of crazy creatures were playing in the theatres and drive-ins and even TV shows like The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone were the most watched shows of their times. There was an explosion of science fiction in all forms of media following the atomic-age and the start of the space-age. These beasties didn't look so silly to most of us around in those times. Now we scrutinize every aspect because our expectations have been raised so much by how realistic everything in film and print has become.

 

Good point! Look at how silly some of these Outer Limits show monsters look today:

 

 

 

And this beastie from 1964's Horror of Party Beach looks absolutely ridiculous by modern standards:

 

 

 

IMHO the best episode was I believe the premier of the series with Cliff Roberson, the Infinity Being I think it was called.

 

They really did a lot with so little back then

 

Oh, and cool cards - I remember having a few of them as a kid.