Mirthful Marie Severin - a Marvel Mainstay!

Righting a wrong today, kids. If memory serves - and it generally fails me - today's the first celebration of a female creator. Too long in coming, I say.

What do you think of when you think of Marie? Her humor work? Her runs on the Incredible Hulk, Sub-Mariner, or Dr. Strange? What about her role as art corrector, colorist, and general "whatever it takes to keep this thing rolling" problem-solver? Whichever, I'm sure you'll find something to connect with in the exhibits below.

Continued "Thanks!" to all the fine people who share their original sketches and art pages so that the rest of us can "Ooh!" and "Aah!" at them.

 

 

And we'll sign off today with this tour de force of King Kull - penciled by Marie and inked by her brother, John Severin. Masterpiece!

The Unmistakeable Forms of George Tuska

What's your experience with the art of George Tuska (1916-2009)? When I think of Tuska's career, my attention tends to focus on Daredevil, Iron Man, and the Champions. Those were the books where I most often encountered his pencils, often inked by Vince Colletta. As I grew older and my collection began to reach back into the Silver Age, I found that Tuska had done work on some of my all-time favorite titles, including the Avengers and the X-Men. And how many of you remember the DC Super-Heroes comic strip of the early 1980s? Tuska.

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