13 COVERS | 13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture

Mar26

13 GORGEOUS IMAGES: A JOSE LUIS GARCIA-LOPEZ Birthday Celebration

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Mar 26, 2023

13 GORGEOUS IMAGES: A JOSE LUIS GARCIA-LOPEZ Birthday Celebration

Going big with Superman vs. Wonder Woman and Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk… By PETER BOSCH José Luis García-López is one of the greatest comic book artists we have living today. Over the last several decades, I’ve looked with astonishment at practically everything he has ever drawn (I still have to get around to the several years of romance comics he did for Charlton at the beginning of his career) so it was with eagerness I jumped at the chance to do 13th Dimension’s birthday celebration for him this year (he was born March 26, 1948). However, I quickly found myself at a crossroads. In what direction do I go? So much of his great work leaves open the way for a dozen such columns: Deadman… Teen Titans… Wonder Woman… so many, many possibilities. It was an impossible decision. But there was one thing I did know I wanted to showcase, something I truly believe: While García-López’s covers are spectacular, they are nothing compared to his dynamic inner-page compositions. That is what made me a fan so many years ago. Once I remembered that, the solution to my problem came easy: I would go back to not just one of his early works for DC, but two of them, when he drew the spectacular, tabloid-sized (aka “treasury”) editions featuring Superman vs. Wonder Woman and Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk. His work in these is incredible, plus both are great adventure stories, the first written by Gerry Conway and the second by Len Wein. Both editions have been reprinted, so seek them out if you have never read them. You owe yourself that treat. Here are 13 incredible images: — All-New Collectors’ Edition C-54 (DC, 1978). Inks by Dan Adkins. — DC Special Series #27 (DC/Marvel, Fall 1981). Interior page inks by Dick Giordano. — MORE — JOSE LUIS GARCIA-LOPEZ: Dig This Groovy DC STYLE GUIDE Art Up for Auction. Click here. — 13 GROOVY ILLUSTRATIONS: Dig JOSE LUIS GARCIA-LOPEZ’s BATMAN ’66 Style Guide Art. Click here. — PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, has just been published by TwoMorrows. He has written articles and conducted celebrity interviews for various magazines and newspapers. Peter lives in...

Mar26

13 COVERS: THE FLASH of BRIAN BOLLAND

Posted by Dan Greenfield on Mar 26, 2023

13 COVERS: THE FLASH of BRIAN BOLLAND

A BIRTHDAY SALUTE… By PETER BOSCH Every dozen years or so, a new artist comes along whose style is so different from the comic book norm that they shake up the complacency of the field. Neal Adams was one of those. Alex Ross was another. And then there was Brian Bolland. Bolland’s career started in the United Kingdom, where he was born March 26, 1951. His first work appeared in fanzines and he made his first professional sale in 1971 to Time Out, a UK magazine. He worked on several British weeklies, including 2000 AD where he started drawing “Judge Dredd” in the late Seventies. Such an incredible artist gets attention across the pond and, in this case, it was his American friend Joe Staton who helped get him his first assignment at DC, the cover to Green Lantern #127 (Apr. 1980). Multiple DC assignments followed over the years, including drawing the Camelot 3000 maxiseries and his enormous breakthrough, Batman: The Killing Joke. Bolland’s popularity with fans grew steadily thanks to his incredibly dynamic covers, which could be seen on his lengthy run on Animal Man, as well as Wonder Woman and Batman: Gotham Knights, winning multiple awards including Harveys and Eisners along the way. Among my very favorites were the 23 covers he did for The Flash from #164 (Sept. 2000) to #187 (Aug. 2002), missing only one cover during that time. To celebrate the artist’s 72nd birthday, here are 13 of those, including a (Rogues) gallery of great Flash villains. — The Flash #164 (Sept. 2000) — The Flash #165 (Oct. 2000) — The Flash #167 (Dec. 2000) — The Flash #169 (Feb. 2001) — The Flash #171 (Apr. 2001) — The Flash #176 (Sept. 2001) — The Flash #177 (Oct. 2001) — The Flash #178 (Nov. 2001) — The Flash #181 (Feb. 2002) — The Flash #182 (Mar. 2002) — The Flash #183 (Apr. 2002) — The Flash #184 (May 2002) — The Flash #186 (July 2002) — MORE — 13 COVERS: A BRIAN BOLLAND Birthday Salute — 2022 Edition: WONDER WOMAN. Click here. — 13 COVERS: A BRIAN BOLLAND Birthday Salute — 2020 Edition. Click here. — PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, has just been published by TwoMorrows. He has written articles and conducted celebrity...

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