You guys put the 'E' in Kerby. It is an apt likeness though, and anything related to the master should be seen as being elevated in a positive light.
I enjoyed those swamp type creature stories while growing. My memories always stem to Swamp-Thing by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson followed by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and John Totleben versions. Frank Brunner and Mike Ploog art were other favorites on Man-Thing. A favorite cover that I love by Mike Ploog. I enjoyed horror comics of the 70s and below. Grabbing them at flea markets for 25 cents or 5 for a $1.00! Beautiful artwork with ghastly scenes like the ones that follow give me a chuckle.
Thanks for posting these awesome things. That Psycho cover especially sweet. I gotta ask, though, what's doing with this damsel's hair? Is it literally standing on end in fright?
@Odibex -It's hard to tell from the picture I provided. But her hair is being grabbed and pulled by the tree monster.
@chimply.kaiju Oh, haha, you're absolutely correct! What with Man-Thing and the girl, I'm not even sure I noticed the tree as a threat. A lot going on there!
Bought this one and read it the same day . . . . best GN i've read in a while. Its a proper grown-up story and beautifully drawn. Really great work. Highly recommended https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/03/just-so-happens-review-fumio-obata-graphic
That is a lovely batch, Anthony. You are right there, wonderful comics and some really spectacular artwork, especially those covers. Last year as a combined birthday/Christmas gift my brother gave me the collection of the PBs of Moore's Swamp Thing run he had found at a yard sale. It was a pretty cool random. I can totally relate to loving this old horror comic style, as well as digging through the used piles as a kid building your comic collection that way.
Thanks Steve. On top of having all the originals to Moore/Bissette/Totleben Swamp Thing I also have the older PB. One thing that annoyed me on the older PB's was that DC didn't include issue 20 as part of volume 1. I have to dig out issue 20 every time I am in the mood to read the entire run. The new HC and PB include issue 20 now. But I like the old PB because of the paper used reminds me of the old newsprint paper that the originals were printed on. This is a great read with interviews with Moore, Bissette, and Totleben on their Swamp Thing run. On top of having a Swamp Thing amazing cover. Comics Journal issue 93. Original art in all it's glory.
^^ Swamp Thing rules. Up there with my favourite Alan Moore. I still have the run of Titan TPB's . . . . they are in B/W. I heard all the other versions have been colourised. Is that correct? Or was it colour originally and the Titan ones published in B/W?
In the United States the Moore/Bissette/Totleben run of TPB have always been in color. But DC did release black and white versions as standard comic book issues under the Vertigo Essentials banner in the late 1990s. Maybe those Titan publications are stemmed from the Vertigo Essentials?
@The Moog Yeah, as far as I know just the Titan/UK ones were done in B&W, and were at one point really sought after, since no collected editions had previously been published. @chimply.kaiju I never really understood the reasoning behind the omission of #20 from the initial trades, but I am use it was something completely pointless. My trades are from the 2000/01 reprints, which have - unfortunate - probably the worst covers IMO of any Swamp Thing comic. That really bad 2000-era 'art' where it looks like some kind of fan interpretation or inspirational new-age book. [However, is very much Vertigo of the era] Not that I am knocking the artists, I just don't feel it does the proper justice to the material, or at least what made Swamp Thing great in my mind. I get that there were going for something different though. (you know, his 'sensitive, eco-warrior' side ).
Issue 20 is important since it establishes Swamp Thing's mental place that he is at peace knowing who he is until finding out what he really is which causes him to loose all mental control. It also explains why and how he ended up in the laboratory in issue 21. I believe I have the same TBP as you Steve. Yeah, most of those covers were not that great. Vol 1 cover by Michael Zulli was nice. But I would have liked to see an original art for volume 1 than grabbing Zulli poster art. Michael Zulli art for poster and volume 1 cover.
Swamp Thing takes me back! It and Boris the Bear were the first comics I ever bought. It was also the first comic con I ever went to, and I was quite overwhelmed!
I vaguely remember reading that issue 20 was not included with the Alan Moore collections because it was considered just a 'bridging' story between the old story-line and the new. I've never read it, and i always meant to grab that single issue but i've never got round to it . . . i always thought it was weird its not part of the collections.
The Zulli run on TMNT is by far my favorite, followed up by Sophie Campbell's run. On the Kerby tip... Y'all seen this Tom Scioli TF & gijoe stuff? ermahgerdThe alternate covers for Transformers vs. G.I. Joe issues 2, 3, and 4 go together by Jefferson Workman, on Flickr
The new publications in the US now include 20. My guess many complained over the years on why it was missing. @---NT--- Haha Boris the bear. I picked up his first appearance back in the days when it was first issued out simply because on the cover it stated he slaughters TMNT. I was a huge fan of TMNT back then. So many silly animal comics being pushed out back in the 80s thanks to the success of Cerebus, TMNT, Albedo, and a few others. @3wing - Zulli run was fun and the look on his artistic interpretation on the turtles was unique. I had the pleasure of meeting a lot of the artist that worked on TMNT from the 80s up to the late 90s including the original creators Eastman and Laird. I would have like to meet Zulli as well.
@3wing Those Scioli covers are fantastic, I definitely see the influence, even beyond the Kirby krackle. They are going to have to do an updated version soon with ROM, Micronauts, and MASK. more Anthony, I am so jealous! Not having attended any conventions, I have never had the pleasure of meeting any artists in person, but I am sure it was memorable. Eastman and Laird were a huge part of my reading as well, and the original TMNT still hold a place of great honour for me.
In 2005 I was working a comic booth at SDCC. Across the aisle was Heavy Metal with Kevin Eastman and Simon Bisley manning the helm. I finally worked up the balls to talk to him Sunday afternoon. I told him how much I loved the Turtles as a kid, and how I was left on the cliffhanger of issue #11 for years and years before randomly stumbling across the Return to NY story arc in high school. Kevin was taking shots while listening to the story. He then proceeded to make me a super cool sketch of Shredder in one book, Casey Jones in another, and then gave me a $50 art book signed and sketched for free. For being a muthafucking bad-ass fan, he said. I saw him at Meltdown a few more times after that, and he would say that he remembered me. Anyways, TMNT is awesome, Kevin Eastman is awesome, and he was a comic hero who far surpassed what I thought of him before meeting.
All first printings I bought at retail. The wait from issue to issue was a long time as it was quarterly when they started out. Fantastic reads. Peter Laird had sketch me this pencil drawing for free of Leonardo in 2002 at a Boston convention. I was literally jumping up and down with excitement that he was willing to do a full body. Many of the other people that requested sketches before and after me only got a head. Only reason I may have gotten the full sketch was because I chatted about the time I met him back in 1986 or 1987 at my local comic shop and I how I prefer the comic TMNT versions vs the commercialized versions. I did not bring that comic sheet of paper Laird did his sketch on. I actually bought the sheet of paper from comic artist Mitch Breitweiser that I had also commission artwork for at the show. I think he sold me the sheet for $1 or $1.50. It should be noted Peter Laird stop doing free art of the Turtles around 2004 or 2005. He won't draw the full bodies anymore. He mainly does head sketches in marker from the last few times I met him for $10. Some more swampy goodness from my collection.
View this post on Instagram Picked up Ben Marra's Blades and Lasers awhile back. Offset printed in fuschia and navy. Beautiful
Anthony, that Leonardo artwork is blowing my mind. You are so right, it is quite difficult to get any artwork at all from Laird, and pretty much non-existent now. I don't even know what to say. So very lovely. You have a real treasure right there, and I am sure it is something that holds an equal amount of value for you, too. Fantastic man, congratulations on a phenomenal sketch. I want to come over and just drool (well okay, not literally, if you insist) all over your collection. Wonderful.
I have another piece of art from Peter from the same convention drawn with a sharpie on Canson briston 300 series paper Also have a commission piece by Eric Talbot from 2005 who was the artist for the first TMNT series issue 17. Think I paid $30 for this commission.
