Jack Kirby, Curt Swan, Wally Wood, John Byrne, Jim Steranko, etc on a Silver-Bronze Age Jam!

Another Jam piece, commissioned by Martin Greim in 1978 to 1982!  This one is a doozy, one of the few times (perhaps the only time) that Wally Wood inked Curt Swan on Superman, and this unique team-up is complemented by what some would call the two greatest penciler/inker duos in the history of comics: Kirby/Sinnott and Byrne/Austin.

• Tom Sutton - Vampirella
• Ernie Chan - Hulk
• Ramona Fradon - Plastic Man
• Kurt Schaffenberger - The Original Captain Marvel
• Jack Kirby & Joe Sinnott - Captain America
• Michael Golden & Joe Sinnott - Ant Man
• Curt Swan & Wally Wood - Superman
• Joe Staton & Dick Giordano - Wonder Woman
• John Byrne & Terry Austin - Spider-Man
• Gene Colan & Klaus Janson - Howard the Duck
• ??? & Dave Simons - Doll Man
• Jim Steranko & Joe Rubinstein - Nick Fury
• Jim Aparo - Batman

How could you not be proud to own this fine piece?  Many of them are by classic Silver & Bronze age artists: Aparo on Batman, Swan on Superman (getting Wood to ink him was a real coup), Byrne/Austin on Spider-Man and Steranko on Fury--oh my!  It was also signed by Captain America co-creator Joe Simon!  Nuff Said.

MediaScene covers by Berni Wrightson and Barry Smith

When Jim Steranko’s magazine ComixC morphed into MediaScene, it was a meaty newspaper sized publication.  It was so big, in the early days, that it came in two sections.  The second section often had a cover illustration in black and white.  Berni Wrightson provided this illustration brewing up a scary concoction for a 1975 issue.  This image has been used many times, once as the cover to a Wrightson art book, and another time as the cover to Pacific Comics Master of the Macabre.

Barry Smith was also the maser of fine detail pen and ink illustrations during this period.  This one was also produced as a print for Smith’s Gorblimey Press.  At one point in my life I wanted to be an artist.  I couldn’t imagine how many hours it must have taken Smith to draw each little leaf and detail.  Staggering!  Nuff Said.

Sherlock Holmes by Jim Steranko

Here is a nifty poster featuring Sherlock Holmes by Jim Steranko.  From MediaScene magazine back in 1975.  Where is the outlet for all Steranko’s creative energy now?  Must be many pieces of unpublished artwork in his home  Nuff Said!

Talon Poster by Jim Steranko

Another MediaScene poster from the Greatest Stories Never Told category.  Jim Steranko’s Talon character was often mentioned and teased in the pages of Steranko’s publications, but no graphic novel was ever produced.

A while back I did this post on Steranko’s Comic Collector box covers which featured this Talon image as well.

For more Talon, visit the gallery at Drawings of Steranko!  Nuff Said.

Great Waldo Pepper Poster by Jim Steranko

This MediaScene 1975 cover by Jim Steranko features his rendition of the movie poster for The Great Waldo Pepper, a film written by William Goldman and directed by George Roy Hill.  The star, as you can see here, was Robert Redford!  The movie, which is quite good, is about a pilot (Pepper) who missed out on the glory days of World War I.  Margot Kidder and Bo Svenson co-star as his lover and rival.  Steranko does a great job of portraying the film’s key elements for this cover, while leaving himself room for cover copy on the left.

Steranko also did this illustration for the article on the movie production.  You can tell that he loves this period and he’s very good at drawing airplanes from this era.

What I really liked about MediaScene was Steranko’s enthusiasm for movies, books, pulps, and art.  He probably influenced my tastes more than any other person.  I started reading Doc Savage, the Avenger, Science Fiction films, etc., as a result of this publication.  Yet there was another influence as well, a love of history, pulps, and images from past eras.  Wish I still had a complete collection of MediaScene magazines.  Nuff Said!

Jim Steranko Knows The Shadow: Two Paintings from MediaScene in 1975

Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men?  The Shadow Knows.  And who knows the Shadow?  Jim Steranko!

In the 1970s, a lot of material from the pulp magazines were re-published as paperback books.  Conan and Doc Savage were the two most popular pulp heroes that found a new audience.  The Shadow followed, with a paperback series that featured some great Steranko covers.


You can find some of those Steranko covers on the Internet, but I will wager that many people haven't seen this fantastic Shadow cover from MediaScene #14.  Published by Steranko's SuperGraphics company in 1975, this issue was chock full of Shadow news and features.



The biggest news was a new fan club that Steranko announced, The Shadow Secret Society.  Similar to the fan club for Marvel (FOOM) that Steranko also launched, the SSS membership kit included an illustrated envelope, a pin, a membership card, newsletter, etc.  Looking back, I don't think any of that stuff was as exciting as these two paintings that Steranko produced for MediaScene.

Steranko's enthusiasm for the pulp magazines infected everyone who read his great History of Comics.  He made the connection between the pulps and the birth of comics, and introduced a new generation to Doc Savage, The Avenger, The Spider, etc.  Nuff Said!

Jim Steranko: Interplanetary Warrior and Babe, aka Hunt Bowman!

Barbarian sword fighters with laser guns is the craziest idea of all.  But come on, who wouldn't want to see something like that?  Jim Steranko sure would.



Steranko drew this illustration for MediaScene magazine in 1974.  No idea if this character is Gulliver Jones or Steranko's own creation.  Let's hope that Andrew Stanton's John Carter Warlord of Mars movie will realize the dreams these images have provided.  Nuff Said!

Update: Blogger Britt Reid revealed that this character is actually Hunt Bowman, a Golden Age character who appeared in Planet Comics.  See this article on Lady That's My Skull for more details.

Jim Steranko Comic Collector covers with Talon and Jungle Queen

In the 1970s, I was hungry for any magazine that covered comics and the movies I liked.  Jim Steranko's Comixscene magazine was published through his publishing company, Supergraphics, starting in 1972.  He covered not only comics, but movies and TV shows as well.  I remember that Steranko painted gorgeous posters of the big movies that were coming out at that time.  Pop culture was the topic, and Comixscene later was re-titled MediaScene. 

These magazines had a lot of tantalizing merchandise for sale in the ads.  One of these items, which I dearly coveted, but could not purchase, was Steranko's Comic Collector box.  This was before I knew about long boxes.  Steranko had a solution to comic book storage: put your comics in a standup box featuring his wonderful artwork.  The first box, that you see above, featured Talon, Steranko's barbarian character.  I think we only saw this character in articles and pin-ups.  No Talon stories were ever published.  If I am wrong, please let me know.  If I am right, what a shame, Talon was a great design for a sword and sorcery series.

Doesn't Talon's face look like a young Steranko?

On the spine, you can see a number of Golden Age looking characters, with a Shang Chi type of dude below them.

The second box featured a jungle queen character, reminiscent of Sheena.  It's a great pose and she's sexy as hell.  Very regal too--even the Lion she's riding looks up admiring her. On the spine there are the classic monsters which were popular at Marvel during this period.

What stopped me from buying these to store my comics?  I did the math in my head as a kid.  I think I figured I had to spend $65 to store my entire collection.  That was a fortune back then.  Nuff said.

Celebrate July 4th with a Steranko Superman

On July 4th, most people celebrate with barbecues and fireworks.  Sometimes I go do those things too...but usually my mind is trying to pull out images of super-heroes with the American flag.

This image of Superman holding the flag is taken from Superman #400, a giant-sized anniversary issue featuring the biggest names in comics at that time.  DC Comics managed to get Jim Steranko (an artist more associated with Marvel than DC) to write and draw a short Superman story, The Exile at the Edge of Eternity.  The story was about Superman's legacy as mankind expanded throughout the universe.

Sorry for the poor scan, but it's one of the most patriotic illustrations of Superman I've ever seen.  Nuff said.