I've always found Tuska to be a serviceable storyteller. While I'd never list his work among my favorites, I don't want to go so far as to merely say I "tolerated" him. No, it's more than that. There's a sort of "comfort" in his work, a familiarity that I do not find off-putting. As a comics reader with several decades of experience behind me, what I now find charming are Tuska's "stock poses", those movements and contortions that you will always find in a George Tuska superhero mag. I think the images below serve to show what I'm writing about -- enjoy!
*Thanks for checking out this space all week. Beginning Monday, I'll begin what should be my regular schedule. When you return in three days, look for a review of Ross Andru's Amazing Spider-Man Artist Edition. Then on Thursday we'll discuss John Byrne's Star-Lord. Have a wonderful weekend! -Doug
Maybe it is the set of books I had and the age at which I acquired them, but I liked George Tuska on the X-Men. The covers of X-Men #39 (new costumes), #40 (Frankenstein) and #41 (all red colored cover - battling a creature) were all classics to me.
ReplyDeleteI also liked his Iron Man - which may not be everybody’s cup of tea. I maybe did not appreciate it enough in my youth.
Tuska did some Avengers issues as John Buscema was beginning his run. These would be in the late #40s. Of note is the Tuska cover to Avengers #48 and the debut of the Dane Whitman Black Knight.
DeleteI think with Tuska, you have to be willing to get past his oft-cartoony faces. These show up on bad guys in particular. At times Tuska seemed a fan of buckteeth. Not sure if that was intentional, or just his style.
I remarked on Twitter earlier today that for us Bronze Age Babies, we most often saw Tuska's pencils under the influence of Vinnie Colletta's inks. Maybe that wasn't a good thing.
Doug
When I think of Tuska, I usually think of his long Iron Man run. There were some pretty good stories in that run, especially when Archie Goodwin was writing.
ReplyDeleteI think of that, too, even though I was not a regular IM reader. Notable Tuska runs for me included the Avengers in the #130s, the Champions, Black Goliath, and the rare times I saw the DC newspaper strip.
DeleteDoug
Tuska was so old skool he started off in the comic biz working for the Eisner & Iger shop, so I'm a little surprised to find that I mainly associate him with what must be the two most 70s of Marvel titles, Planet of the Apes and Luke Cage.
ReplyDelete-sean
Doug, I like the way you described his work as having this comforting quality. That's how I would put it. He was never one of my very favorites, but I still think he always produced really solid work. I'm mainly familiar with his work in Black Goliath and the Champions, and yeah, he was paired up with Colletta a lot. I have to wonder how his art would have looked if he had been paired with some other mainstays of the Bronze Age, like, say, Klaus Janson, Terry Austin or Josef Rubinstein.
ReplyDeleteEdo, you nailed it for me! Tusks was often paired with fairly standard inlets. Perhaps the impact of inlets such as those you mentioned would have brought out Tuska's strengths,
ReplyDeleteI encountered his work first in Daredevil and in those Avengers issues in the 130's. Fond memories of those books, among the first Avengers stories I read. The art was, for me, decent; if not particularly striking.
Hiya,
ReplyDeleteI guess we're going to agree to disagree on certain elements regarding this thread.
Tuska's occasionally comical faces never bugged me that much. That was just part of his style, check out his run on the Buck Rogers comic strip of the Fifties and Sixties.
Colletta's inks were mostly appropriate to the subject but, in regards to the World's Greatest comic strip, were a positive asset. I recently saw a Tuska/Bob Layton Iron Man splash page and wasn't particularly impressed but was left speechless by the black and white art work from Avengers 106 and 107 featuring the brushwork of Dave Cockrum over Tuska.
I do get where we all seem to have common ground. Tuska was a known quality and, if not particularly exciting, would always deliver a readable, competently rendered book.
He could also do it on deadline, a virtue that seemed out of reach for many of the Young Turks of the Bronze Age.
Seeya,
pfgavigan
It is always good to hear from you, PFG. Your thoughts on pencils/inks/process are always appreciated.
DeleteDoug
Alas, when compared with the 'greats' Tuska just didn't cut it for me.
ReplyDeleteI particularly identify him with Iron Man which may be part of the problem. Iron Man really needs clean lines and a comfort with hi-tech. Vince Collett may also be a factor.
Perhaps his Daredevil (for instance) will present better. Looking forward to reading those issues in due course.