Spider-Man and MJ's Upside Down Kiss!

I have some new art up on ebay! It includes the above print AND the original art. They could both be yours! Check it out here!

Btw, Spider-Man kissing Mary Jane wasn't the first upside-down superhero kiss. Check out my older blog post from 2009.

DC/Marvel Treasury Editions Commission Edition

 I think that title makes sense. Here's a couple of commissions requested by the same person--

Underdog! Spider-Ham! Darkwing Duck! Hulk Bunny! Both are funny animal versions of two classic Treasury Editions!

I'm sure many of us thought the characters should have been switched, Superman vs. Hulk and Batman vs. Spider-Man. Those team-ups did happen later, but these were the first!

Commissions! Cartoons Addition!

 OMIGOSH! I've gotten waaaay behind on posting my commissions here. I'll catch up soon!

Here's a post I started last October. Yikes!

Quick background on this first one-- When Peter Parker first met Mary Jane in Amazing Spider-Man #42 (1966), it quickly became a very famous panel. But com'on... she's no Olive Oyl!

The person requesting this next commission planned to attend a convention and meet the voice actors for Firestar (from Spider-Man & his Amazing Friends) and Sheila the Thief (from Dungeons & Dragons). It looks a bit empty here, but it won't once it's signed. I wanted the signatures to be the stars!

The person who requested it was kind enough to post a signed version. (Sorry, low res.)

In the 70's, Spectre had a comic series where he punished criminals with appropriate, bizarre deaths. The person requesting this latest commission wanted Halo (from my Halo & Sprocket series) to be looking on disapprovingly. Ha ha! Odd, but fun to do!

This last one was based on a real person-- Captain Karate! He had already had a cartoon version of himself commissioned, which I'll post below my art. Fun piece!

Commissions! Avengers! Spider-Man! Harley Quinn! More!

First up-- The Avengers! This commission was for me to draw the iconic scene from the first Avengers movie into a comic panel, but using 60's characters. I tried a grey Iron Man and a grey Hulk, but they disappeared into the background too much. I'm fairly sure Tony couldn't look up in that outfit. I had to lean him back. 😋 Here's a frame from The Avengers movie.

Next, a horizontal version of All-Star Comics #4, with three more characters added. I had to do some rearranging! If you think Flash runs funny, I just assumed he could speed-walk and still beat everyone!

A few weeks later, that commission lead to another version, this time with Wildcat instead of Wonder Woman. It also has a different logo and a few other minor tweaks. I completely redrew/recolored it!

I originally drew the following Spider-Man in a sketchbook, in black ink only. I thought it would be fun to spiffy it up and give it a color treatment. 

It is, of course, based on Amazing Fantasy #15.

Oh No! That reminds me-- I never posted this poster I did for a local comic convention! Dang. It's already come and gone. I was there. It was fun!

Next, I was asked to merely draw Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. The situation was left up to me. I might have gotten a little carried away with roses.

Here's a commission of Golden Age Wildcat. As I was drawing it, I mentioned to my wife I’ve never quite understood the flappy things hanging down from his mask. She replied, "Oh, it’s like a bobcat." Ah. Bobcats DO have them. I guess it was the black costume throwing me. On a different note, I’m not sure how I neglected to draw pants on the bad guy. Insert your own story here.

Finally, a little-seen E-Man Annual printed by DC Comics, OR my latest commissioned artwork? YOU decide!

The Origin of SPIDERY-MAN!

I was lucky enough to create original content for MAD Magazine until they went to mostly reprints the last year or so. I enjoyed all of it, but one of my favorite pieces was this 3-page parody I wrote and drew of Spider-Man's origin.

Batman is often shown as a bat-shape in the comics, The first panel of my story is supposed to be "Spidery-Man" in a spider-shape. Not sure if it's obvious or not.

I didn't try to create an exact copy of Steve Ditko's art style. Instead, I drew in my own style as if it was heavily influenced by Ditko.

I thought it was a bit ironic that Marvel was known for their monster stories in the early 60's, but the radiated spider in Spider-Man's origin didn't turn into anything horrible.

Originally, I had a different last page written. Uncle "Ken" was at the wrestling ring where Spidery-Man fought. Uncle Ken lost all his money, betting on the wrong guy, and had a heart attack and died. "P. P. Poker" takes the money he won and skipped town to avoid all responsibility. It was fine, but this new one occurred to me and I like it much better.

Oh! The issue (MAD #3, 2018) also had a "cover" to this story.

Little Seen 60's Superhero art by Jack Kirby and Marie Severin

 

I recently created a post collecting all the Spider-Man art by Jack Kirby I could find. (It can be seen here.) Then, thanks to Stéphane Beaumort and Franz Hens, I discovered more! The new-to-me art can be found in the September 1966 issue of Esquire.

I found a beat up (cheap) copy of the magazine, with good pages on the inside, then scanned (and retouched) away! The superhero themed articles start with the double page spread seen below. Click on any image in to enlarge. Note: you need to "right click" on the image to open it actual size in a tab or window. It's much more readable.

There is a large Jack Kirby signature right below Spider-Man. But, I don't think Kirby drew him! This is all speculation on my part, but it's not exactly Kirby's style, and the layout of the characters would be very strong without Spidey in it. Did Kirby leave him out and someone else from Marvel crammed him in?

The most telling thing is that there is a thin "white" gap in the black line art between Spidey and the rest of the characters. This is what you would see if Spider-Man had been drawn separately, cut out, and pasted on the art. Here's a close up--

Edit: Artist Terry Beatty has informed me that he has seen the original Kirby art for this spread. It did not have Spider-Man in it. So, Spidey was added later, probably through the use of stats. Thanks, Terry!

On the following two pages, is the Spider-Man art that Kirby did most likely draw. As you can see from the first image, Kirby often added or omitted details from Spider-Man's costume. In this version, Spidey has no spider emblem on his back, but he does have webs running down the side of his legs. Both elements are "off model." Oddly enough enough, he appears correct on the next page.

I haven't yet commented on the article itself. It's an interesting read that talks about how America's university students have embraced Marvel Comics. It was great publicity in 1966, but some of the students say rather dumb things. Here's the first student quote (he misspelled three, easy words), "Marvel Comics have a wholesome, clean cut molecular arrangement. I have come accross [sic] many conformations and spatial arrangements in my day but Marvel is one of the most stablist [sic] compounds known. Show me a comic book that delivers some taste and I will show you a Marvel Comic. The minds of the Marvel writers and artist must be truely [sic] recessed. Marvel has soul. We're with you Spidey." Hmm, I just noticed he says, "writers and artist." Just one artist?

This issue also contained a few articles illustrated by the-not-talked-about-enough Marie Severin. The below pages highlight students and teachers from different universities. 

This looks like Joe Biden to me. Perhaps he could use it on his letterhead.

And finally, unrelated to superheroes, here's an handy chart to show you how to be rejected during a military draft.

As though I needed a reason to wear silk underwear.

A Gallery of Jack Kirby’s Spider-Man Art

 

The way Jack Kirby drew Spider-Man has long fascinated me. I love Kirby's inventive and powerful work, but his Spidey usually seemed a bit “off model.” The webbing on his mask was usually different from the standard renditions and he was often missing a spider icon on his uniform. For the last year or so, I’ve saved Kirby’s Spider-Man art as I stumbled across it online.

I decided to share what I've collected. I suspect others are equally fascinated. Since I initially did this for my own amusement, I didn't keep track of sources. After researching, I think a lot of the material comes from the Jack Kirby Art Museum or Two Morrows publications. I did not remove any watermarks.

 

Kirby's Spider-Man Sketches and Pencils  

To be fair, you can't expect characters to always be 100% correct when drawn on the fly. Click on any to enlarge.

This isn't a mere "sketch," but I can't find any information about it.

Alternative art for Toys For Tots poster seen in Inked Work below.

 

Kirby’s Inked, Miscellaneous Work

Marvel Comics poster from 1975

Art for Toys For Tots poster.

The finished Toys For Tots poster had a spider added to Spidey's chest.

From the Marvelmania Comic Art Portfolio, 1970

Created for a 1978 Spider-Man calendar, inker unknown.

Kirby’s Art Reworked for Final Product

Each piece was reworked/inked by John Romita, Sr.

Marvel 1977 Calendar

Spidey Super Stories #20

1970's Poster

Kirby’s Comic Covers

It's possible his Spidey was sometimes altered by the inker.

Amazing Fantasy #15, inked by Steve Ditko.

Strange Tales Annual #2, inked by ?

(I used this Spider-Man for the first image of my post.)

Fantastic Four Annual #1, inked by Dick Ayers.

Amazing Spider-Man #10. Cover by Steve Ditko, but Spidey was redrawn by Kirby.

Daredevil #1, inked by Bill Everett.

Tales to Astonish #57, inked by Sol Brodsky.

At first, I thought Spidey's eyepiece extended up his head.

It's actually just shading.

Avengers #11, inked by Chic Stone.

Was Spidey altered by Ditko? It looks like it, but I suspect the background webbing is all Kirby.

Fantastic Four #73, inked by Joe Sinnot.

Spidey was probably altered from the pencils.

Updated!

I left out a fun one! 

Fantastic Four Annual #3, inked by Mike Esposito.

Here's a close up of Spidey. The spider must have been left off of his costume, because it looks like it was added to his stomach, not his chest!

There was only one panel with Spider-Man in the story drawn by Kirby.

It looks like a pose based on Ditko's Amazing Spider-Man #19 cover. I wonder how the original Kirby's pencils looked.

Update #2!
Here are a couple of Kirby pieces from a 1966 Esquire. (To see more of this interesting issue, click here.)

And Finally--

I couldn't resist taking a couple of his pencil sketches and adding my own inks and colors. Just for fun! 😊