A BIRTHDAY SALUTE: One of comics’ greatest creators was born 74 years ago, on July 6, 1950… By CHRIS RYALL If you made a list of which comics creators have drawn themselves into their comics, whether on the cover, the interiors, or both, you’d have to start with… well, OK, you’d start with Sergio Aragones. But certainly up at the top would also be John Byrne, who’s celebrating his 74th birthday. Byrne has been drawing himself into his covers and stories for going on a half-century now — since his earliest days doing fanzines, working for Charlton, and then onward into his time at Marvel and beyond. So in honor of Byrne’s 50-plus years in comics and his June 6 birthday, I wanted to offer up 13 of his best self-portraits from across that span. What I mean is, I wanted to limit myself to the requisite 13 images but of course, that’s not my way. So what follows here are 13 primary images, supplemented and complemented by a few additional pieces as well. What can I say? He’s certainly earned the extra effort. Now, before I get into the list itself, I thought I’d share perhaps the earliest piece of John Byrne art. The earliest existing piece, anyway – and one that still hangs in Byrne’s house: this chalk train, done by little Johnny Byrne, age 5. That done, away we go! — John Byrne self-portrait, early ’70s. This 1970s piece is notable for the early appearance of Vindicator and also for Byrne’s Ollie Queen-like facial hair. — How to Draw Comics. Every artist needs their own Rockwell-like piece, and John created his early on. — The Art of John Byrne cover — Comics Interview covers. Technically two separate covers, four years apart (1985 and 1989) but I’m treating them like one image here. — John Byrne self-portrait. This one is equal parts amusing and disturbing. Mostly Colossus. — Fantastic Four #238 cover. With this one, John carries on a tradition of FF creators appearing on series covers, dating back to Stan and Jack’s cameo on the cover of FF #10. — Fantastic Four #262 splash page. I remember cringing about the fact that the generally silly Assistant Editor’s Month landed on the final chapter of the big “Trial of Reed Richards” storyline, and the fact that the...
A great himself, he worked with virtually all the greats — including Kirby, Romita, Kane, Infantino and so many more… By PETER BOSCH Frank Giacoia, one of comic books’ greatest inkers, was born 100 years ago, on July 6, 1924. He was treasured by pencillers for bringing out the special magic they intended in their covers and pages, and they knew he would never try to dominate their work with his own artistic style as other inkers did. Giacoia’s respect for them may have been because he started as a penciller himself. In his youth, he had gone to Manhattan’s School of Industrial Art, as well as the Art Students League of New York. His first published pencil work was in U.S.A. Comics #3 (Jan. 1942, Timely) with friend and classmate Carmine Infantino doing the inking (a situation that would be reversed in years to come). Over the years, Giacoia’s comic book art was seen in a great many titles from various publishers, and during the 1950s he expanded his career into the world of newspaper comic strips, among them drawing the daily and Sunday feature of Sherlock Holmes. However, early on in his career – and especially during the 1960s – he was sought after more as an inker for other illustrators’ work than drawing his own. (While acting as such at DC, he freelanced for Marvel under the name of “Frankie Ray” for a time. Other pseudonyms included “Phil Zupa” and “Espoia.”) In 1974, he was nominated for best inker in the “dramatic division” by the Academy of Comic Book Arts. In 2016, 28 years after his death (on February 4, 1988), he posthumously received the Inkwell Awards’ respected Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame Award. (Sinnott was once asked who his favorite inker was. He replied, “Frank Giacoia.”) In honor of Giacoia’s centennial, here are 13 examples of his work — including one of his own covers and 12 where he superbly inked different artists — including Infantino, Alex Toth, Gil Kane, John Romita, Jack Kirby and more. — — MORE — ALEX TOTH’s Enduringly Entertaining and Influential ZORRO. Click here. — AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1: A 60th Anniversary Tribute to One of the Greatest Comics Ever. Click here. — 13th Dimension contributor-at-large PETER BOSCH’s first book, American TV Comic Books: 1940s-1980s – From the Small Screen to the Printed Page, was...
Starring THE ATOM — a power-packed mighty mite!
The celebrated Mr. K pays a BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE to one of comics’ greats…
A wonderful gallery, colored by Sandy Jarrell…
