Bernie Wrightson - Mangled Men, Monsters, and the Macabre!

 

I'm not vain enough to think I have anything to say about the brilliance and talent of Bernie Wrightson that hasn't already been said. So I'm just gonna slide out of your way and let you enjoy the output of a man gone too soon.

Thanks to those who own these images and have made them available.

 

Original pencils to the Bruce Jones/Bernie Wrightson masterpiece "Jenifer", from Eerie #63.

A Fitting Tribute Piece

 

Credit Where Credit is Due

Happy Tuesday, friends!

I am joining you specially today to right a wrong from a few months ago. If you'll recall, last June 20 I wished myself a happy birthday by posting some favorite sketches from across the Interwebs. I found this on an image search for Neal Adams and Batman, and tossed it into the post right away. Killer sketch, no? However, I had forgotten that a few months prior I had actually seen the image over at Dan Greenfield's 13th Dimension blog. Dan and I were in conversation this morning, and he'd seen that I'd retweeted the image from the Black & White and Bronze account. Hey, something this awesome needs to be shared more than once! Dan asked if I'd be kind enough to credit his ownership. You bet I would - while I secretly covet the piece from afar!

Do click over to Dan's original post - it's a great read, and I think you'll feel his joy in obtaining this wonderful work of art.

And come back to this space on Thursday, when we'll check in on some macabre men as rendered by Bernie Wrightson. October wouldn't feel complete without Bernie!

The Origin of Dracula - a Review from Dracula Lives! 2

Dracula Lives! #2 (September 1973)
"That Dracula May Live Again!"
Marv Wolfman-Neal Adams

Today's story was recommended to me a few years ago when I'd mentioned on Twitter that I was reading the first volume of the Tomb of Dracula: The Complete Collection. I was asked if it contained the material from the black and white magazine. Well, as you can see - yes, yes it does! Not long after the conversation, I got round to my encounter with this telling of Count Dracula's "origin", and all the accolades heaped upon it were realized to be true. It's quite a different looking Count, if you're only used to those wonderful Gene Colan renderings. But just about any character in the hands of Neal Adams is going to turn out special. Let's check it out.

100-Word Review:

We open on the battlefield in Transylvania, 1459. The Turks are pushing north and west from their Ottoman homeland, but the forces of Dracula stand in the way of Muslim advance across Europe. The battle rages, and eventually the prince is struck down and captured by the Turks. Dracula’s personal history is then related, bringing to light the legend of Vlad the Impaler. A Roma woman is enlisted to heal the prince; recognizing him, she instead curses him with the blood of the vampire. As Dracula’s Turkish captors torture him mind and body, he breaks free to enact his vengeance.

The Good: Hokey smokes, will you look at the art! I don't think I've ever seen a job from Neal Adams that I didn't just "ooh!" and "aah!" over (exceptions being some of the tinkering he's done on his reprinted Batman work), and this short story isn't going to change my mind. It is stunning. The panel layouts, the way figures cross barriers to almost leap off the page, facial expressions, the illusion of motion on the 2-D page, and the inclusion of that splash of red every so often all conspire to create a visual euphoria. Adams is great when he inks his own work; Tom Palmer and Dick Giordano were notable in their partnerships with Adams on the X-Men and Batman runs, respectively, but their absence here is largely not felt. Have I said that I like this?

 

How do you feel about Marv Wolfman? I know there are many fans who don't necessarily rank him among their top scribes, and I guess I'd be in that camp. As I look across his career, I don't hold him in the same regard as I hold Gerry Conway, Doug Moench, or Roy Thomas (to name a few). Yet when I reflect on Wolfman's tenures on Tomb of Dracula and Crisis on Infinite Earths, I'm left with warm regards. I think he must have really clicked with the character of Dracula (or Dracula the character clicked with him), because there is an ownership evident in this story. Wolfman is shepherding Vlad the Impaler through the seminal story of Marvel's version of the Dracula mythos and it's quite nice.
 

 

The story itself is brutal, from battlefield to conclusion. High body count, certainly R-rated events and themes, and a quandary for the reader: what does one do when both protagonist and antagonist are despicable human beings? The creators leave no doubt in our minds that we are to root against the Turks, and specifically their leader, Lord Turac. When Turac recounts the behaviors of Prince Dracula and his affinity for impaling decapitated skulls on lances, of running bodies through and then displaying the corpses, there's not a whole lot for which we can cheer. Then Wolfman and Adams put us in the position where we find Dracula to be the hero - when his wife details that she was gang-raped by the Turks and the infant son of theirs is threatened, our sense of justice hopes that Dracula prevails! I found it a tough road to navigate, and was left with a sense that I'd just read a quality comic book story.

The Bad: Nothing here. Amazing story.

The Ugly: Personally, I am repulsed by rape. It murders the souls of both victim and perpetrator, and leaves the victim with an altered perception of themselves at the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual levels. So although the gang rape took place off camera, I found it not much less impactful. As a literary device, confounding my "allegiances" to the Turks or to Vlad the Impaler, Marv Wolfman used the incident effectively.

The Illustrative Excellence of Nick Cardy

What do you think of when you think of Nick Cardy? Is it the Teen Titans? Aquaman? BatLash? For me, it's usually the Silver Age Teen Titans.

Cardy's illustrative style was endearing to me. Whether on the many covers he penciled or as a narrative storyteller, Cardy's work seemed to have a storybook quality to it. And although he was often working from a hokey script from Bob Haney (which I have come to appreciate as I've aged), Cardy always delivered the goods. From everything I've read about the man, he was a true pro.

Most of the man's output was for DC Comics. I found a few color jobs for Marvel Comics, but couldn't locate the original art. A shame, because it would have been fun to see Cardy get hold of some of Marvel's characters. I've included a Captain America sketch cover to whet your appetite for what might have been.

Leave a reminiscence of the man and his art if you're so inclined. And as usual, many thanks to the collectors who own these gems and provide them on the Internet for all our enjoyment!