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| Copyright REBELLION |
Oh dear! Just one look at the clumsily-drawn caveman in the first panel of the above page demonstrates that even ALF, BART & COS could sometimes get it spectacularly wrong. What were they thinking? It's glaringly obvious the figure isn't drawn by LUIS BERMEJO, the superb artist responsible for the rest of the strip, published in FANTASTIC back in 1967.
There still seems to be some retouching of the caveman figure in places, as his appearance isn't consistent from panel to panel. It would've been nice if more skilled hands had been assigned the task, but I suppose the editorial team had to work with who they'd got in the office 'talent-pool'. I'd love to see the dodgy panels in all the episodes of this particular adventure restored to something like their original state by someone who can actually draw, but it's unlikely ever to happen unless I do it myself. (Now there's an idea!)
Bermejo's JOHNNY FUTURE really looks like he's flying in these panels, and the "You'll believe a man can fly!" line used for the 1978 SUPERMAN movie could well be applied here with equal accuracy. Never has a figure in flight in the pages of any comicbook been more convincingly portrayed, whether by SWAN, KIRBY, BUSCEMA, ADAMS - or any other artist you care to name.
Anyway, that's enough wittering from me, Crivvies - enjoy these captivating pages of classic comic strip art at its very best!
Those page counts really do vary, as we've discussed before, three pages in one installment, five in another. Now that he can take to the air JF is certainly racking up those frequent flyer points, and quite convincingly as you say. One wonders whatever possessed them to tack that tacky impression of a caveman in the first panel? I think even Fred would disown that brother. And how very British of young Rick doing the underwater lark in his best three piece suit. Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteWhy is Johnny Future fighting my ex-brother in law? (Sorry, kid, I just couldn't resist. Seriously, he was a piece of work)
ReplyDeleteAnother top notch installment of Johnny Future.
ReplyDeleteInteresting use of panels to tell the story. They are of all different configurations and shapes that convey the flow of action remarkably well.
It's a little odd that all the giants are male, one would expect some to be female.
Why were other "artists" needed to draw/ redraw the giant figure, didn't Bermejo do a good enough job in the first instance?
Do you know of any other work that Bermejo produced?
Phil, I guess the caveman was tacked on simply to dramatically establish who had flung the boulder, but it has less than the desired effect, what with ol' Cavey's half-hearted fling.
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Anon, he speaks highly of you.
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Jeff, Bermejo drew great a caveman, but he drew him either naked or with trunks. Editorial must have supposed that he either looked too naked ('though nothing would have been on display) or that the trunks looked silly and were unbelievable, given his origin.
Sorry to say that I'm not familiar with any other strip Bermejo drew, apart from maybe the occasional 'one-off' for the odd annual or two.
Yeah, I spotted that throwing figure on the first page, it's something of contrast from the excellent figure in the last episode. I do think the hair has been rendered a little more effectively with this instalment as well, there's some actual modelling going on.
ReplyDeleteStill a bit dodgy on page 3, DSE.
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