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War Comics
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Started by CycloneComics,

11,088 posts in this topic

comick1

comick1

Posted
Posted
Drucker!

 

I was just reading an Evanier essay where he ran into a pack of hot artists at a San Diego con and he told them he'd just spent a few minutes with the best artist in the room. Who's that, they asked challengingly. When he said Mort Drucker, they all said, Oh, yeah, you're probably right.

 

Oh man, I WISH that cover was drawn by Drucker!!!! It's actually a beautiful Grandenetti. Now I hope you're bracing yourselves, because what I'm about to say may be deemed by some as blasphemy. Here goes: That late 10¢/early 12¢ period of Grandenetti is as good as Drucker (and that's DAMNEDGOOD!). Love Grandenetti's stuff from that period more than life itself. Doesn't make me wish for a Drucker Mlle. Marie cover any less. Here's what I think may be the only Drucker Mlle. Marie sketch.

 

drucker.jpg

 

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Aman619

Aman619

Posted
Posted

d'oh!! Drucker was on the tip of my cerebellum I swear!

 

I always think of Grandenetti from his looser and heavily brushed work of ten years later on, (Spectre and mystery stuff). The pen work on this cover reminded me of Morts brilliant style.

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Aman619

Aman619

Posted
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Thanks, Larry. I've always liked that OAAW 117 in particular. It's a tough book in grade, but the composition of the cover showcases Kubert's unique vision nicely. The only complaint I have is that it has too many words. It would be among my all-time favorite covers if it was as wordless as the GIC 76 or 78.

 

 

I agree. the copy is placed neatly but another cloud or bkgnd element and NO words would have been awesomer.

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kagemusha7s

kagemusha7s

Posted
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Nice little threesome, Kagemusha!

Love those greytones.

I haven't posted too much in the 12¢ range, so here are some of my favs (speaking of greytones).

 

oaaw113.jpg

oaaw115.jpg

oaaw117.jpg

oaaw126.jpg

 

Wow Mick. All four of them are very sharp copies. (worship)

 

I have never seen the 115 before. Very nice.

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Jeffro.

Jeffro.

Posted
Posted
Now I hope you're bracing yourselves, because what I'm about to say may be deemed by some as blasphemy. Here goes: That late 10¢/early 12¢ period of Grandenetti is as good as Drucker (and that's DAMNEDGOOD!). Love Grandenetti's stuff from that period more than life itself. Doesn't make me wish for a Drucker Mlle. Marie cover any less. Here's what I think may be the only Drucker Mlle. Marie sketch.

 

 

 

I've been slowly developing an appreciation for Grandenetti. Not for his actual drawing ability, which is to me not that great, but for his cover designs. I love the tension and suspense of some of his cover. The angles and composition he often used were far different than others.

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FullBLOWN

FullBLOWN

Posted
Posted

"I've been slowly developing an appreciation for Grandenetti. Not for his actual drawing ability, which is to me not that great, but for his cover designs. I love the tension and suspense of some of his cover. The angles and composition he often used were far different than others. "

 

I totally agree with you Jeffro.

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comick1

comick1

Posted
Posted
"I've been slowly developing an appreciation for Grandenetti. Not for his actual drawing ability, which is to me not that great, but for his cover designs. I love the tension and suspense of some of his cover. The angles and composition he often used were far different than others.
"

 

I wrote this last year, but I copied it out in its entirety because I think it speaks to some of the qualities that make Grandenetti's work from this period so savory.

 

Speaking of GIC88, I was thumbing through it, and of course, the Heath art on HT Vs. Ghost Tank was brilliant as ever. Most of us have probably seen the Heath in reprint form dozens of times in one way or another, but the Grandenetti has never been reprinted to my knowledge. So it was a particularly welcome surprise. It's been some time since I've broken it out. It took me years to appreciate Grandenetti's interiors. Not much of a stretch to recognize the classic washtones he did, but then I started to dig some of his regular line-drawn covers, and then it was a slippery slide into being an interior Grandenetti line-work junkie. I think it was always good, but it seemed to get better and better as he approached the late 50s/early 60s. Not an expert at calling out the specifics, but I'm gonna take a crack at it here on an interior page.

<p>

gic88grand.jpg

<p>

Check out his inks on the drapery/clothing. It's heavy on the blacks WITHIN the forms of the clothing but the outside lines of the figures have a distinctly curvilinear quality and it somehow gives the characters a rugged look while giving them the appearance of constantly being in motion. Look at the arched shoulders and backs. That's quintessential Grandenetti right there.

<p>Check out his cover to OAAW 92.

<p>

oaaw92.jpg

<p>That cover always blew me away because it had a hugely Kurtzmanesque feel to it. But toward the end of Grandenetti's tenure with DC, he was growing more and more experimental. There was an economy of line that tended to elongate figures with these exagerated curves. Highly expressive stuff. Give me a late Grandenetti any day of the week. Does anybody know of any Grandenetti interior original art in existence from that time period?

 

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bigfiver69

bigfiver69

Posted
Posted

As a kid whose only exposure to Grandenetti were his tepid 1970s offerings in the form of back up stories in 'All Out War', and his humorous work in 'National Crumb', I really wasn't a fan of JG.

 

But as you rightly point out, Mick, his 1950s and 1960s work is amazing - in my opinion, he is the BEST DC war cover artist up the early 1960s, when Kubert took over.

 

Love those books, Mick... 'specially that OAAW #115. That blue just rocks.

 

Shep

 

 

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bigfiver69

bigfiver69

Posted
Posted

Hey fellas and Fay,

 

I've been swamped with work lately - just nutty. So I haven't been able to comment as much as I'd like on the books lately... but there have been some MONSTERS!!! Seriously, the recent weeks on this thread have been one large, gleeful war comics-fest.

 

Tonight was the first night in ages that I had a chance to sit and open a box and ogle some books. I know that right now, it seems that early DC G.I. Combats have been getting a lot of the attention (as well they should). But tonight, I dragged out books from my favorite title, Our Army at War.

 

Some of these don't get seen quite as often, so I'll share a few of my 10-cent faves..

 

 

oaaw54.jpg

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