CHRISTMAS COMIC COVERS

Art by Nick Cardy

CHRISTMAS COMIC COVERS

There is nothing like a good old SUPER HERO CHRISTMAS anthology. I used to get a kick out of the covers with SUPER HEROES decorating the tree and having fun sitting around like normal folk.

Art by JOHN ROMITA

the BRAVE and the BOLD # 118

WILDCAT was always.... to me an awesome character. I love Jimmy Aparo's work on these comics. He's got dozens and dozens of awesome BAT covers lending to his legend.

Everyone has a favorite BAT artist. JIM APARO is mine. This issue has my favorite cover and one of my favorite plots.....

"In Sparta Prison, Batman and Commissioner Gordon try to talk a prisoner named Dubek into talking about his former employer the Joker or risk staying in solitary confinement, to which Dubek refuses. The Joker, knowing that eventually his former stooge may crack, decides to put a plan in motion to silence him.When Ted Grant puts on a boxing match for the prison, Dubek is picked to be the best prisoner fight the fight (in spite of Gordon's express instructions not to let them out) This allows the Joker to slip in rare tropical disease into Dubek's water bucket. This also succeeds in infecting all the other prisoners, and a doctor gives them 72 hours to live. Thankfully, there is a dog named Spot which they have used to make enough vaccine to cure everyone.However, when they try to transport the special dog to the prison to extract the vaccine and cure the inmates, the Joker is there to attack. Although the Joker fails in capturing the priceless pooch, the dog manages to get away and run off into Gotham City. Batman and Ted Grant (reprising his identity of Wildcat) scour the city to try and find the dog. Spot is ultimately captured by the dog pound. With time running out, they put an APB out for the dog and learn that it was taken to the Gotham pound.However they arrive too late and find that the Joker beat them to collecting the dog. The Joker then contacts Batman and tells him that he'll turn over the dog to the police if he and Wildcat agree to a fight to the death. Both men agreeing they go to Gotham's Jefferson Square Garden for the fight. The Joker makes them wear the Cestus boxing gloves of ancient Rome. When the two men begin to weaken in battle, the Joker admits to them that he coated the Cestus' with the virus and that he intends to watch them both die. When the dog bites the Joker, he orders his goon to go throw the dog in the nearby river.Batman bluffs the Joker, telling him that the dog may have infected him with the virus with it's bite, forcing the Joker to save the dog in order to save himself, which leaves for an easy capture. When Wildcat asks Batman if it was true that the Joker got infected, Batman admits he doesn't know, but he was hoping the Joker wouldn't want to risk it one way or the other. "

Cover by Jim Aparo

JOE JUSKO SAVAGE SWORD COVERS. .part 1

Ok so one of them aint a SAVAGE SWORD cover..it was used for the cover of a TWO MORROWS publication. It's an homage to an old SAVAGE SWORD house ad MARVEL ran in the 1970's by JOHN BUSCEMA....it's beautiful right?

art by JOE JUSKO

JOE JUSKO SAVAGE SWORD COVERS. .part 2

This was kind of a tough one. Joe has done dozens of Savage Sword covers and choosing a top 10 was not easy. The covers I chose were due to some aspect of the composition or perhaps a facial expression or a pose or maybe it reminded me in some ways of someone elses work...Like FRAZETTA or JOHN BUSCEMA. Nevertheless I have chosen 10 covers solely for your entertainment. Joe Jusko's work is a brilliant display of talent and imagination. After all how many times can one paint CONAN? He's on a horse or he's swinging an axe or he's grabbing a girl or he's hurling some lout or he's just posing with a sword. Joe found a way each and every time to make his painting brilliant in some form or fashion.

I met Joe at a convention in NYC in 1991. He was just hanging out standing near a wall with his arms folded and I asked him to sign my SILVER SURFER graphic novel by John Buscema...Joe Painted the cover ( The one where each and every page was a splash page ) He said " If I sign it the book is going to be devalued. " I said " Sir...you signing the book is worth more to me " He smiled and signed the book. I shook his hand thrilled and ecstatic and went on my merry way to convene with my KUBERT school Pals

The dude is cool. He's just a nice guy....who the hell would care if my book was devalued?

I still have that book and all the other sketches and signed comics I got from all the artists who attended the CON that day.

After these favorite JUSKO SS covers I will move on to my top 10 OTHER THAN CONAN JUSKO covers.

But each and every time I look at a CONAN cover painted by JOE....I can Imagine what he'd look like if he were a real life flesh and blood person. I can also see what it may have looked like if JOE were painting over a BIG JOHN drawing.

People...you look at these covers and enjoy. Finding quality copies on line to swipe was tough.

But I was not hauling my SAVAGE SWORD collection into work just to scan some comics for a blog. I think maybe it's time I got a scanner at home...lol

art by JOE JUSKO

The art of Michael Maikowsky

In case you aint convinced of Mike's skill....lookie here at deese babies....impressive right?

Cover recreations by Michael Maikowsky

Today I would like to speak a little about an artist whose inspirations and tastes reflect my own.

While I am not on the skill level this fella is we both share a love for the same HERO...a man who really existed. A man whose face should be on the COMIC BOOK ART Equivalent of MOUNT RUSHMORE. Just exactly who should be on this monument with him would be tough to determine , Other than KIRBY. But JOHN BUSCEMA is in my estimation the GREATEST comic book artist/illustrator who ever lived. While I do love the art of COMICS and many artists are masters...I and Mr. Michael Maikowsky share the same feelings toward Mr. Buscema.

Here in this post you will find some highly skilled and very true renderings of famous illustrations created by John Buscema. Michael Maikowsky's perfect execution of Big John's CONAN , Ka-Zar and THOR kind of inspired me to post this today.

I have seen his work over the last couple of years and not only was I impressed but I was inspired as well. Mike inspired me to pick up the pencil once again and draw. I did not draw for years. Sure I doodled and made little scribble cartoons here and there but...I never really REALLY drew anything. Not for a long time.

After contacting Michael he allowed me to post some of his works here on my COVERS blog.

I would like to share with you...just in a case you may want an expertly crafted recreation OR original in the style of Big John Buscema. You can contact Michael Maikowsky through the info provided. In the copy below...taken from Comic art fans.com you'll find the links to contact Mr. Maikowsky yourself.

See below.....

" Michael is bringing us comic art fans a gift. Everything he does is inspired by John Buscema, a truly loved man and artist. Although Big John can no longer create new images or recreate old ones, through Michael, Mr. Buscema's magic can still grace the page. Please check out his whole gallery here on CAF or go to: http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=7456 If you would like to commission Michael his rates are as follows: 11 by 17 single figure with no background: $150. 11 by 17 recreation or reinterpretation: $300. All prices include shipping. A note from Michael: Fellow CAF member Michel Maillot triggered my interest for those John Buscema recreations. Michel saw my tribute portrait of Big John in issue # 21 of TwoMorrows ´Comic Book Artist Magazine´ and asked me for a copy of my drawing which I sent him along with a cover recreation I had finished just for fun. As a result of that, Michel ordered some more recreations in exchange for photocopies of his huge J.B. original art collection (the ´French Collection´, as I use to call it). Inspired by Michel's compliments, I got hooked and developed the nutty idea to recreate every one of Johnny B.´s penciled and inked covers, which I guess was my desperate expression of how much I miss the Big Man and his exceptional artistry. A big thank you goes out to artist supreme Joe Jusko who encouraged, promoted and honored me by presenting some of my artwork in his breathtaking gallery. As you can see, I definitely enjoy reproducing those magic images of John Buscema. It's something I find very inspirational and a valuable learning experience! It taught me more about anatomy, composition, dynamics, lighting, spotting of blacks, etc. than any how-to art book out there. (Btw, my recreations are 11x17 and done on quality two ply bristol board, solely inked with a brush. The title logos are hand lettered. No stats, no whiteout. To prevent confusion and misunderstandings, the artwork is signed with the usual "...after J. Buscema" remark.) Hope I can share some of the love I feel for Big John. I miss him terribly. Nuff said! Best, Michael "

" And here is the cut and paste of my correspondance with Mike. "

Michael MaikowskyNovember 30, 2010 at 3:42am
Re: info
Hey Michael, wow, I feel flattered and honored getting featured on your "Favorite Cover Blog", thanks, mate! Basically, some infos about me and my hobby can be found on the Comicartfans Gallery Room of my art rep Kirk Dilbeck: http://www.facebook.com/l/405ccVJOyVTuMXrDrS6H7YMeiQw;www.comicartfans.com/GalleryRoom.asp?GSub=76312Also, our mutual friend Joe Jusko was instrumental in getting some attention for me and my stuff. Here´s Joe´s gallery featuring some of my recreations: http://www.facebook.com/l/405ccsWZa98stIBz14-eDEyHfLg;www.comicartfans.com/GalleryRoom.asp?Order=Date&Page=1&GSub=54837If you still need additional info, don´t hesitate to ask.Best,Michael

THE BIG 3 ....

CAP , SUBBY and the TORCH!!! 3 of Marvel's very first characters were back in a comic book series set in the time of the WW II.

I of course at the time had no idea that these guys were in comics together in the 1940's until I bought the comic and read on.

Seeing them puching out Nazi bad guys and fly through the air together created an awe and thrill that can't be beat. I bought this comic right off the rack at 7-11...because it had CAP on the cover. Anything that had CAPTAIN AMERICA in it was on my must read list as CAP is my first and foremost favorite comic book super hero.

This JOHN ROMITA cover captured the essense of how a super team ripped through the enemy for a flawless victory everytime!

Cover by JOHN ROMITA

DANGER - DINOSAURS ~ Catain Comet!!!

As a kid I'd spent a lot of times in the hospital with kidney issues I'd say in my first 14 years of life I was in the Hosptal 11 times. If I remember right they were about 2 week long stays. I was on IV's and under observation for kidney failure and I was on prednisone an oral steroid just to keep my kidney's functioning.

It was a crummy time everytime I was in there because I just had this gross sick feeling all the time. BUT....there were times that made up for the lousy sick feeling. Like when my parents would bring me a new comic book or 2 and then all my troubles worries and cares would fly away as I'd get lost in the comic book.

This comic book right here was my favorite for a long time...who the heck was CAPTAIN COMET?

Why does he remind me of SUPERMAN and WOW he's punching a T-REX in the face!

I can't recall right now but I believe that Dino-man there's name was T-REX and he was trying to take over the world with a Dino-army

CAPTAIN COMET came along and foiled his plans. Yep..I read it a bunch of times until the cover came off and can't remember much about it right now but I know I loved it. I would stare at this cover for hours and it made me feel better.

Cover by Rich Buckler and Joe Rubenstein.

TOP 10 # 1 ~ CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS # 1 ~

No...sadly I do not have a REAL original run copy of this book...but I have umpteen reprints of it if that's worth anything?

It's worth like 200,000 bucks or something like that. Maybe when I hit the lottery I'll get me one. What makes this my all time fave # 1 ?....I love Cap. He's my favorite character of all time.

He always does the right thing and he's noble and brave and honorable. He's a man out of his time and his sensibilities are simpler. Like his young partner Bucky who is now the star spangled Avenger he's got heavy issues weighing down his conscience.

Another cool little angle about this cover is...HE'S PUNCHING HITLER IN THE FACE!!!!

Right there in 4 color process he's bashing Hitler's teeth out. Giving him a good old sock a roonie!!

The image of Captain America is an iconic one. Carrying his shield and wearing the stars and stripes with a big old "A" for America...what is not to love. He is the Hero of Heroes and always will be. Like Super man...Cap has a long line of comic creations based on him and the line is long I'll tell you.

But my love of comics and Cap....only makes it easier to like all those other imitators. The SHIELD may have pre-dated CAP in publication but CAP is the one who caught every bodies eye and attention.

Soon to be a major motion picture...CAPTAIN AMERICA IS...THE FIRST AVENGER!!!

COVER BY : JOE SIMON AND JACK KIRBY.

TOP 10 # 2...MAN-BAT!!!!

Probably one of the coolest macabre characters in comic books is Man-Bat. He's a Were BAT!

He transforms into a giant BAT MAN. WHAT IS COOLER?

What warrants this cover as an all time fave? The building...a haunted looking castle type structure, MAN BAT - he's flying at Bat's all menacing like and BATMAN himself walking on his batline.

At first ( I bought this comic off the rack at the newstand in Roosevelt ) I was scared and afraid of him but after reading the comic book...I feel bad for Man Bat...he's a sympathetic character.

As much as I love BATMAN and want him to catch the bad guy. I always root for MAN BAT to get away.

This cover was drawn by the late great JIM APARO...who in my opinion is probably THE greatest BATMAN artist ever. Everyone else is a close second

Cover by Jim Aparo

TOP 10 # 3 - CONAN THE BARBARIAN # 1

What how or why I like CONAN so much I can't answer I just do. CONAN is a man's man. He does everything for himself. He owes no one nothing and he takes what he wants when he wants including women's.

He has an indomnitable will and great strength. When he wants something done he just does it himself. These could be the reasons I like CONAN.

I had read TARZAN novels as a kid and discovered a few years later that CONAN also had some books out there. I got a hold of some ( Frazetta covers ) and read them...that was it I was hooked. REH's stories blended adventure , suspense and horror. Once I began to read I was hooked. It totally sent me in another direction completely as a teen. By 15 I wanted to draw comics and I wanted to do CONAN comics!

Alas..no I don't draw CONAN comics but I still dabble in art and draw when I have time.

John Buscema is my ultimate favorite artist for CONAN but everyone else who has ever done a CONAN comic book I am jealous of ( Laughing out loud ).

The truth is...I am not as good as I could be...( does that make sense ) I have the skill but I have absolutely zero patience. I can't sit and draw. I can't sit and do much for very long.

Maybe some over the counter drugs would have helped me focus...maybe booze who knows.

But I was not destined to draw comic books. As much as I wanted to I did not have it in me.

This comic book I got for Christmas when I was 15.

I still have it.....and I will ....always. Interiors and cover art by Barry Smith..or as he likes...BARRY WINDSOR SMITH. Whichever....he is certainly entitled. He earned it!