I can't believe that it has taken me so long to feature Jack of hearts on a cover. I've been a fan of this B-list (C-list?) Marvel character ever since his first appearances. I still fondly remember his self-titled Mini-Series back in 1984 with the great George Freeman artwork. His costume is crazy and busy, but I have always liked it. I'll bet it is a pain to draw and maybe that has been a factor in how infrequently he has been used over the years. I know he was killed off when Brian Michael Bendis first took over the Avengers, but I lost track of if his story continued after that. I think he got better eventually?
8 comments:
Cool!
Y'know I never really stopped to think about that. Artists usually make it look pretty effortless in the finished product, but I bet it takes hours and hours to draw 22 pages - once. Never mind edit changes!
I remember seeing his mini-series on the newsstands when I was in grade school. I never brought an issue (beyond by 2 comic book per week allowance limit)but I was enthralled with the artwork too.
Fred Hembeck did a satire about that once. He had himself interviewing the Jack of Hearts, but kept using closeups and odd angles so that he wouldn't have to draw much of the costume. Eventually, Jack figured out what was going on, and took Hembeck "off-panel" so that the readers wouldn't see what he did to him.
I love Jack and felt he was never given enough exposure. He had all the makings of a great Avenger.
But the writer above has given me a brilliant challenge for Ross... a DC/Marvel/whoever else you can find Hembeck mashup! That a would be a hoot!
As always, great work and originality on this blog Ross!
Gregg
I love Hembeck too, I have a great commission from him - But he already has teamed up so many cross company characters on his own, I doubt I could top what he has done!
I do remember a WIZARD interview where Keith Giffin said that the reason Jack's costume/armor was so simplified in his later appearances was because artists complained it was so time consuming to draw. I loved it, myself.
Just came across this. Nice job using that Jack piece I did as a commission.
Awesome image - you do a great rendition of the character!
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