Last month I featured some Monster of Frankenstein work by Mike Ploog. Today we'll take a gander at some of his Werewolf by Night splash pages. Enjoy - especially when you get to the final exhibit! Ploog Power, indeed!
Great splash pages! I've always been a fan of Ploogs Marvel monster work. I'd like to shine a little light on Frank Chiarmonte for the work he did on this series as inker when Mike wasn't doing the whole job himself!
Beautiful stuff! As Edo says there's a distinct Eisner influence running through all of Ploog's work. In fact, Ploog worked for Eisner in the 1960s, producing artwork for his military instruction magazine, P.S. That splash page image of Topaz is a definite homage to the classic Spirit femme fatale, Plaster of Paris: "I am Plaster of Paris, the Toast of Montmartre. I'll stick to my man until death do us part..."
Nice catch, Ploog could always deliver a good splash page.
Some really good timing in his comic career, if he had arrived earlier he would have been in the midst of the superhero explosion and his style really doesn't work to well in that genre. Too late and he would have missed out on the 'throw anything at the wall and see what sticks' boom and bust.
Not a terribly long stay but a truly remarkable one. Shame he never got the chance to do a Western comic like he always wanted.
Now as a strange coincidence I just wanted to mention something. As some of you know I hand out comics on Halloween. There was a nice price on some bundles so I ordered early this year and they arrived yesterday. In them I found a copy of the Ploog/Alex Nino collaboration "Weird World" with story by Doug Moench. . .
Hey Doug, need a guest column? There were a fair amount of Bronze Age material contained in that shipment, including two Red Wolf by Gardner and Shores!
Loved Mike Ploog's work, Frank Chiaramonte's inks not so much (sorry Doug). Just my opinion, but Ploog seemed more suited to the b&w mags, where he got to finish off his own work, whereas in the colour monthlies Marvel tended to pair him with inkers that weren't always complementary. (Weirdworld - Marvel Premiere #38 - would be the notable exception to that of course; normally I can't stand stories about elves, dwarves and whatnot, but who could possibly fault a comic drawn by the team of Mike Ploog and the mighty Alex Nino?)
Some beautiful pages there. Ploog remains my favorite 'macabre ' artist. Oh, the riches of the early 70's- Ploog doing monsters at Marvel and Wrightson doing horror at DC. Would have been interesting to see them teamed, Bernie inking Mike. One can dream...
The very best monster artist. I love how the werewolf looks so powerful, sinewy -more like a tiger or lion really than a wolf, ready to pounce on its prey. And whether he was drawing WBN, Frankenstein, Ghost rider -Ploog always brought that sense of atmosphere. You can feel the rain and hear the thunder looking at that page to the right. Wonderful stuff.
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Can't go wrong with Ploog; that first one with the lovely lady (Topaz) definitely shows that Eisner was one of Ploog's inspirations.
ReplyDeleteGreat splash pages! I've always been a fan of Ploogs Marvel monster work. I'd like to shine a little light on Frank Chiarmonte for the work he did on this series as inker when Mike wasn't doing the whole job himself!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful stuff! As Edo says there's a distinct Eisner influence running through all of Ploog's work. In fact, Ploog worked for Eisner in the 1960s, producing artwork for his military instruction magazine, P.S.
ReplyDeleteThat splash page image of Topaz is a definite homage to the classic Spirit femme fatale, Plaster of Paris:
"I am Plaster of Paris, the Toast of Montmartre. I'll stick to my man until death do us part..."
Hiya,
ReplyDeleteNice catch, Ploog could always deliver a good splash page.
Some really good timing in his comic career, if he had arrived earlier he would have been in the midst of the superhero explosion and his style really doesn't work to well in that genre. Too late and he would have missed out on the 'throw anything at the wall and see what sticks' boom and bust.
Not a terribly long stay but a truly remarkable one. Shame he never got the chance to do a Western comic like he always wanted.
Now as a strange coincidence I just wanted to mention something. As some of you know I hand out comics on Halloween. There was a nice price on some bundles so I ordered early this year and they arrived yesterday. In them I found a copy of the Ploog/Alex Nino collaboration "Weird World" with story by Doug Moench. . .
Hey Doug, need a guest column? There were a fair amount of Bronze Age material contained in that shipment, including two Red Wolf by Gardner and Shores!
Seeya,
pfgavigan
Loved Mike Ploog's work, Frank Chiaramonte's inks not so much (sorry Doug).
ReplyDeleteJust my opinion, but Ploog seemed more suited to the b&w mags, where he got to finish off his own work, whereas in the colour monthlies Marvel tended to pair him with inkers that weren't always complementary.
(Weirdworld - Marvel Premiere #38 - would be the notable exception to that of course; normally I can't stand stories about elves, dwarves and whatnot, but who could possibly fault a comic drawn by the team of Mike Ploog and the mighty Alex Nino?)
-sean
Some beautiful pages there. Ploog remains my favorite 'macabre ' artist. Oh, the riches of the early 70's- Ploog doing monsters at Marvel and Wrightson doing horror at DC. Would have been interesting to see them teamed, Bernie inking Mike. One can dream...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. This is a series I've barely read, this is a reminder to check out the recent reprints of Werewolf By Night.
ReplyDeleteThe very best monster artist. I love how the werewolf looks so powerful, sinewy -more like a tiger or lion really than a wolf, ready to pounce on its prey. And whether he was drawing WBN, Frankenstein, Ghost rider -Ploog always brought that sense of atmosphere. You can feel the rain and hear the thunder looking at that page to the right. Wonderful stuff.
ReplyDelete