Comic Book Resources

Wow. West Side Story Cap.

Is there any run of issues that looms larger while being based on very little than Sternanko’s “Captain America”?

Sternanko is in the conversation as the definitive artist for Cap along with Kirby, Byrne and … ummm … maybe Steve Epting. It is a really short list for such long-tenured character. By contrast, Superman, Batman and Spider-Man have about one definitive artist candidate per decade.

The nearest parallel is something like David Mazzucelli on “Batman: Year One” or Steve Rude on “World’s Finest” that was conceived as being limited from the start.

With criticism like that, who needs friends?

Ok, maybe Cap should have used a Life Model Decoy from SHIELD.

Thanks for mentioning Steranko, he does not get enough reminders of his work. (but here you are reminding us, hmmm) He is one of the greats.

He needs to do a new graphic novel.

More Steranko.

Yeah, that pose is a little “Bendable, Stretchable, Gumby Captain America”. And yet, it’s not as terrible as it should be — that’s how good Steranko is!

Wasn’t Cap in quite a few issues of Steranko’s SHIELD run? That might account for why he’s often associated with the character, despite only doing a few issues.

i was thinking that Steve must have studied under Mr. Miyagi. and then i remembered Steve was older than Mr. Miyagi. so it must have been his dad.

Crane technique – If do right, no can defense.

You are losing the most important detail. The silhouette walking out the cemetery is identical to the scene of Rorschach walking out another cemetery, in the ende of chapter 2 of Watchmen. A nice Dave Gibbons touch, I think (or maybe an Alan Moore detail).

>>Steranko is in the conversation as the definitive artist for Cap along with Kirby, Byrne and … ummm … maybe Steve Epting.

I’d throw Mike Zeck in there as well. Maybe Gene Colan, though offhand I have no idea how long he was on the comic.

I’d add Sal Buscema to the list – his classic early run on Captain America really defined Cap for me. Might also be due to it being the first Cap comics I read….

Cap:

And a 1, 2, 3, 4…

And PUNCH, and KICK, and THROW SHIELD, and JAZZ HANDS!

Inflated rubberized figures? Okay….

I’d add Ron Garney to the mix, as well.

I never got the adulation Steranko received. His handling of anatomy often approached Rob Liefeld bad. His page designs were usually tremendous, though. (Did Cap always let Bucky fight crime while on Valium? Look at those eyes.)

Part of the importance of Steranko was the conscious melding of “mod” graphics effects with classic styles. His layout on this splash is very reminiscent of Will Eisner’s work on Spirit, while the large splash figures for Rick and Cap are very much in the style of Simon & Kirby’s Cap. Kirby throughout his career sought to find fresh and unique action poses that might arise naturally from the scene, not looking like every other action comic. The result was an occasional appearance of awkwardness or even levitation in the poses, but if you stepped frame by frame through an action or martial arts movie you would see the same effect. Note that Kirby apprenticed in Eisner’s studio as well as being the first and definitive Captain America artist in the Golden Age.

Steranko begins his run in SHIELD as a solid, top-notch Kirby imitator, but by the end of the first year the reins were loosened and many of the touches he is hailed for today are already present. Kirby adjusted his style when Marvel took off and he was scheduled to produce FF, Thor, Avengers, X-Men, and so on. In any given month you might be able to buy four 20 page Kirby books, and his work tended toward the top of Marvel sales figures. Steranko was challenged producing 20 pages a month, but like Neal Adams during the same period, he was a perfectionist that tried to put the most into every panel.

Great comments KEC

The two page spread at the top is a good example of the kind of intensity Steranko put into his work.

Steranko’s worst is better than Frank Robbin’s best…and about 50 others off the top of my head.

Sternanko is in the conversation as the definitive artist for Cap along with Kirby, Byrne and … ummm … maybe Steve Epting.

Huh?!? What, no love for Gene Colan, Sal Buscema, Mike Zeck, or Ron Garney?

Frank Robbins… yuk!

See, this spread just proves why Captain America is the BADDEST superhero on the planet.

He will dislocate HIS OWN SHOULDER before he kicks your sorry butt, just to prove that he can whip you into submission with ONE GOOD ARM.

THAT’S what America is all about, BAY-BEE!