And then Gil Kane said...

[Mighty Hal]

I love Gil Kane’s work. For me, he was the artist for THE GREEN LANTERN and THE ATOM. Especially the Atom: Nobody did ‘im like Kane. Probably undervalued for his place in comic book history, he was as distinctive and important an artist as anyone in his era.

 

And he loved comic art.

 

Which leads to this: I was reading THE ART OF THE COMIC BOOK by Robert C. Harvey and it had a quote from Kane – a quote originally expressed in The Comics Journal, almost 30 years ago. And Gil Kane said:

 

"Comics art is marvelous. It’s brilliant. It’s beautiful. I’m not talking about every piece of comics art done: I’m talking about, as always, the best of comics art, which is what anyone talks about in any area. Ninety percent of everything is tenth rate. But the best – that’s what you use as a yardstick – the best comics art is extraordinary; it’s affecting; it reaches right past all your needs to have some kind of consequential story, and it registers, and it makes an impact, and makes you respond purely on the strength of the lyricism, the drama, the action, the shattering effect, the imaginative quality of the drawing."

 

He’s exactly right.

[Point Five]

Great quote.

[Gingerbread Man-migration]

"Comics art is marvelous. It’s brilliant. It’s beautiful. I’m not talking about every piece of comics art done: I’m talking about, as always, the best of comics art, which is what anyone talks about in any area. Ninety percent of everything is tenth rate. But the best – that’s what you use as a yardstick – the best comics art is extraordinary; it’s affecting; it reaches right past all your needs to have some kind of consequential story, and it registers, and it makes an impact, and makes you respond purely on the strength of the lyricism, the drama, the action, the shattering effect, the imaginative quality of the drawing."

 

 

[Thomas]

How ironic that I got my first Gil Kane page this week, a Superman page from 83 and my wife thought it was the best drawn page in my collection. I personally don't think so but still think it's a great page or else I wouldn't have bought it. Ideally I'd like to add a Gil Kane Green Lantern page to my collection one day.