Posted By Dan Greenfield on Feb 6, 2024 | 2 comments

We kick off Pete Stone’s new feature with a three-issue Jonny Quest spinoff…

By PETER STONE

Adam Kubert is known primarily for his work at Marvel Comics, like Wolverine, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk and Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine. Meanwhile, at DC he worked on Batman vs. Predator, Doc Savage and Adam Strange. He has become one of the very best artists working in the industry today. He has also become a commercial artist for theme parks and merchandising. Adam is the real deal; the total package.

However, before all of that, Adam was just Joe Kubert’s son. A young artist who started his career as a letterer for Heavy Metal. Moving on, early in his career, Adam worked as an inker for his brother Andy, as a penciller for his father and on independent comics and some off-the-beaten-path DC titles.

Around the same time, the great ’60s animated TV series Jonny Quest was launched as comic by the now tragically defunct Comico. The Jonny Quest creator and master, Doug Wildey, drew the first story in the issue, followed by a William Messner-Loebs story drawn by…wait for it…Steve Rude. What a first issue! Adam Kubert soon became involved.

A little while later, Adam Kubert in 1988 drew a Jonny Quest spinoff called Jezebel Jade. I wanted to read it. Adam drew the covers and the story, by Bill Messner-Loebs, was pretty good. Remember, we were in a post-Raiders of the Lost Ark world, so the action and adventure was in places across the globe. The basic premise was that Jonny and Hadji were tasked with cleaning the house and as they did, they found Race Bannon’s diary. They of course, being kids, read the diary… and then the action starts.

I was entranced. I loved Jonny Quest and Hadji. Bandit was the best dog, even if he was small. He was feisty. Race was the father we all wanted. Or maybe the bodyguard we all wanted. I read those comics a hundred times, but the best part was the boys reading the diary on Race’s bed. Sometimes they were next to each other. Sometimes they were hanging off the side of the bed. Sometimes Bandit was causing trouble. It was the top of every page and I wished it would never end. I truly loved that series.

Then, I met Adam Kubert with my wife, Kris, at a convention. I loved his work and even my father-in-law Neal Adams used one of his Wolverine covers as inspiration and a color guide. Burning red and full of vengeance. Neal absolutely loved that cover. I told Adam that I totally loved his Jezebel Jade series. He sat back in his chair, laughed out loud and threw his hands into the air.

“I hated that series,” he screamed with humor. “It was a nightmare.” Then he paused and collected himself. “I made a terrible decision to create that border of the kids reading Race Bannon’s diary. Every single page had to have the kids in a different position on the top of the page. I used to wrack my brain to come up with new positions for them to be in. On the bed. On the floor. Jonny reading. Hadji reading. Hanging off the bed. I simply ran out of positions for them.” Then he laughed. “But it was a great series.”

Jonny Quest, perhaps Doug Wildey’s greatest contribution to modern entertainment, first aired in 1964 and featured an opening credits scene that is perhaps the best cartoon title sequence ever. The scenes that Wildey drew were amazing. Even as a kid I could tell when someone else was working on the animation.

Comico ended up with the license for Jonny Quest with covers by Wildey himself and the preeminent “good girl” artist at the time, Dave Stevens. They were amazing! The best cover Stevens did was a Jezebel Jade cover with Jonny and Hadji in the background. Personally, I think that was the reason Comico decided to create a three-issue mini-series featuring Jezebel Jade and Race Bannon. Messner-Loebs was tasked with the writing while the young Adam Kubert became the artist.

Dave Stevens

I was the right age for that series. In 1988, I had just graduated from college and was working with Neal already. He was teaching me about quality art so when Adam Kubert threw his hat in the ring, he was definitely someone to watch. I bought his series, remembering his work on war stories and the Warlord title for DC Comics. This series just felt like he was suddenly blossoming. He was coming into his own.

Every page is well drawn, carefully constructed, and emotional. Race Bannon is masculine and Jezebel Jade is sexy and dangerous. It is a great series and I highly recommend seeking it out. You will love it.

Issue #1

Issue #3

Was Adam desperate to make a name for himself? Possibly. I don’t know. All I know is that Adam is a hell of a nice guy. I sat in New Jersey’s Kubert School, surrounded by representatives from Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and others, and was asked by Joe Kubert himself whether artists should be taught hand-lettering. Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and the rest said no. Being brought up artistically by Neal Adams, I quietly raised my hand and said, “I disagree.” Joe Kubert was intrigued. “Tell me why.” I explained that balloon placement and display lettering were very important to artists. The artist knew what artwork to cover and what not to.

In one of the greatest moments of my life, Joe Kubert (co-creator of Sgt. Rock, Enemy Ace and Hawkman) agreed with me.

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MORE

— Introducing… BURIED TREASURE. Click here.

— To Neal Adams, STEVE RUDE Was the One Who Got Away. Click here.

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Peter Stone is a writer and son-in-law of the late Neal Adams. Be sure to check out the family’s twice-weekly online Facebook auctions, as well as the NealAdamsStore.com, and their Burbank, California, comics shop Crusty Bunkers Comics and Toys.