On of my absolute favorite silver age artists was Murphy Anderson. He had a great eye for composition and I really liked his depictions of nature and animals as well as how he illustrated beautiful women. I loved him as an inker as well, it was always cool to see his polished work in combination with other artists.
Great choice of Captain Comet. I have always been a fan of this underused character. I agree with your comments on Mr. Murphy Anderson. His artwork was what first drew me to reading comics.
ReplyDeleteWas it Murphy Anderson who drew Apocalypse in that pose; or Mike Mignola? I only ask because, at first glance, I thought sure I was looking at the Anti-Monitor! Making me wonder if the latter preceded En Sabah Nur (in terms of real world publication as opposed to in-story chronology).
ReplyDeleteAnderson drew Cap, Mignola drew Apocalypse.
ReplyDelete@Cary: Summer 1985 by George Perez for the Anti-Monitor, Summer 1986 by Jackson Guice (with some tweaks by Walter Simonson) for Apocalypse.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Anti monitor was in spring preview as well in 1985.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what Murphy Anderson would have thought about the rebooting of Captain Comet to just Comet after encounter with the Weird. I like that kind of change a lot more than these constant world revamps.
I always called him "Captain Costume" because I thought his original look ranked right up (down?) there with the Wendell Vaughn as Marvel Boy costume. Not, we might say, the best day for either original artist. Not, perhaps, as bad as Captain Ultra or CrazyQuilt--but all four of those make Ma Hunkel's "Red Tornado" costume look like a model of restraint.
ReplyDelete"Captain Eyesore" and "Eyesore Boy" would have been a great team-up.
One more thing--the costume blather aside, I've always liked Captain Comet as a character. I think he'd pair well in an "opposite sides of the spectrum" role with Dr. Strange or the Phantom Stranger.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah! YEAH! Some Murphy Anderson is ALWAYS welcome! I loved how his style was always recognizable, but his characters had their own faces (a trait shared by Curt Swan, even though their pairing was not the best treatment for either artist.) His old series should be classroom lessons - Hawkman, the Atomic Knights, etc.) for how to draw people-looking people, background-looking background, etc.
ReplyDeleteAnd Captain Comet was probably the leading mentalist character in the DC Universe... or maybe second to Saturn Girl. Yes, Manhunter from Mars was a telepath, but that was rarely utilized until the character was revitalized in the 90s.
As for Apocalypse... meh. Another "big time super duper villain" for the X-Men (well, X-Factor) created solely because they needed a great big too tough super villain. So this cover TRULY speaks to me - lovely!!!
Thanks, Ross and Jay.
ReplyDeleteI think Apocalypse blocks Comet's telepathy(he is made of metal), but that flying speed, strong telekinesis plus vast superstrength in a much smaller body, sixth sense, and seeing into the future spells curtains for Apocalypse.
ReplyDeleteI’ve only recently learned of Captain Comet, and so far he’s become one of my top favorite superheroes. A heroic blend of metaphysical and psionic abilities, with a somewhat similar origin story to Superman, what’s not to like? Plus the fact he went on adventures in outer space, traversing the galaxy, fighting various villains and saving beautiful alien babes. Yup, definitely one of my favorite superheroes. Too bad he didn’t have a crossover with the X-Men, it would definitely have made for an interesting story. :)
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