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The late RON EMBLETON was an absolutely fantastic artist who illustrated STINGRAY in the weekly periodical TV CENTURY 21. A single artist of his calibre was a coup for any comic, but TV21 had more than just one great illustrator on their books - MIKE NOBLE, FRANK BELLAMY, RICHARD JENNINGS and RON TURNER were also regulars, with occasional contributions from the likes of FRANK HAMPSON, DON LAWRENCE and DON HARLEY.
However, today it's the artistic excellence of Ron Embleton that we're interested in, so here's a complete Stingray adventure (16 pages) from 2065 to remind you of just how brilliant he was.
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Always been a great fan of Embleton's art, even before I had a name to put to the images, from when I first saw his distinctive work behind the end credits of Captain Scarlet to the reprints in Countdown and TV Action, where he was given a credit. (Mind you, speaking of credits - I should have read the ones at the end of CS and his name would have been known sooner!) Trouble with the reprints is that sometimes they would end up in the black and white pages of Countdown - good to see them all here in glorious colour. Nice one!
ReplyDeleteHi, Phil. Remember the Captain Scarlet action figure by Pedigree from the '60s? It always bothered me that it didn't look exactly like the puppet on the TV show, but a few years ago I realised it was a dead ringer for Ron Embleton's drawings in the end credits.
ReplyDeletethat was great!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it, Joe.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could appreciate this kind of stuff. but, it just looks so old-fashioned. I feel no impulse to read it. I was exposed to the 1960's Marvel artwork (in the British reprints; MWOM etc) so I still can look at it and enjoy it, but I do find the writing terribly corny and clichéd today (especially the Lee similia). But, the majority of British comic art you feature, in the main does nothing for me. Is it a cultural thing? Was I exposed to too much of the the American product at an impressionable age? As I understand, it was difficult to regularly get hold of American comics in the 1960's. Do you think if you had a regular diet of the original Marvel and DC in the 1960's that it would have altered your perspective of British comics? I remember that I stopped buying the British comics when I discovered the American comics. Is so-called "good art" always good art?
ReplyDeleteWell, I could go for a humorous response and say that you obviously have poor taste, but I'll resist the temptation.
ReplyDeleteThere could be several reasons why the art doesn't appeal to you. One may be that you really need to see it in its original published form, rather than in a not particularly great scan in a reduced size on a computer screen.
Another may be that, not having seen the strips as a youngster, you have no personal nostalgic associations with them from your childhood upon which to draw, fondly recalling earlier and happier days.
I'd say that the artwork of Mike Noble and Ron Embleton is right up there with the likes of Kirby, Ditko and Wood (or whoever you care to mention) at their best, so your underwhelmed reaction to it is a bit of a mystery, to be honest.
I'd say that such pages are not so much 'good art' as 'great art', and you're the first person to comment who has ever failed to appreciate them for what they are.
Even just on a technical level, they're simply stunning, in my estimation. Could it be that you're less than impressed because they're based on puppet programmes perhaps?
Kid, which issues do these come from,( approx. )? I have obviously missed them!
ReplyDeleteCheers
The Ghost Ship picture is from TV21 #30, so from somewhere around there, JP.
ReplyDeleteAha! Cheers, Kid, #23-30! Will swap them over! Keep an eye on me for inferior images!
ReplyDeleteWill do, JP.
ReplyDelete