By Jim Starlin and Steve Leialoha
Showing posts with label Steve Leialoha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steve Leialoha. Show all posts
Friday, December 4, 2015
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Monday, July 8, 2013
Monday, June 3, 2013
1984 - G.I. Joe #21 "Silent Interlude"
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21
March 1984
"Silent Interlude"
Writer: Larry Hama
Artists: Larry Hama/Steve Leialoha
One thing to keep in mind as you read this is that I didn't read G.I. Joe regularly in the 1980s. I picked up a couple of issues here and there, but I was never pulled into the Joe universe. Even this issue's impact and influence had escaped me. However, "The Most Unusual COMIC BOOK Story Ever!" is easily the first issue that gets mentioned when I talk to anyone about Marvel's G.I. Joe comic series.
The plot is pretty straight forward. A new Cobra ninja, Storm Shadow's first appearance, brings in a captured Scarlett. Fortunately, Snake Eyes came to her rescue, although she wasn't exactly a damsel in distress. The last page sets up a connection and back story between Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes as they had the same tattoos. That tattoo being an identifier for the Arashikage ninja clan.
While it wasn't the first time a comic didn't have any dialog or narration (see Will Eisner's The Spirit), but Hama pulled it off quite well. I believe one of the reason this works is that Hama not only wrote this issue, but drew the breakdowns. Interestingly, I spotted Leialoha's name before reading it and was on the look out for his work as it has its own unique style, which helped convey those subtle facial expressions. The backgrounds are minimal at best and it looks like it was intentional, allowing the reader to focus on the characters and their motions. The action is smoothly conveyed.
Since the issue spotlighted Snake Eyes, a character who didn't speak, it focused on a lot of action, delivering almost 22 pages full of action. Although there is one bit of fun narration that Hama sneaks into the story, the writing on a fragmentary grenade that's tossed at a charging ninja.
Larry Hama, in an interview with Dwight Jon Zimmerman, from David Anthony Kraft’s Comics Interview, explained his approach:
"I wanted to see if I could do a story that was a real, complete story – beginning, middle, end, conflict, characterization, action, solid resolution – without balloons or captions or sound effects. I tried to do it again, as a matter of fact, with the Joe Yearbook #3 story."
Hama actually pulled off a third silent issue in 2010 with G.I. Joe: Origins #19.
He revealed another interesting tidbit about the issue in an interview with joebattlelines.com (http://www.joebattlelines.com/interviews/larryhama1.htm):
"At first, readers hated it. They felt cheated that there were no words, that it could be “read” too quickly. That issue got LOTS of negative mail. But then, so did the annual that was drawn by Michael Golden. Readers complained that the drawing was too “cartoony.”
Thursday, January 31, 2013
1985 - Sal Buscema's Secret Wars II #1
You might recall this blog entry, http://marvel1980s.blogspot.ca/2012/11/1985-cover-to-secret-wars-ii.html, spotlighting Sal Buscema's cover to Secret Wars II #1.
I came across scans of the original art for the full issue drawn by Buscema over at http://artcomicenventa.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/secret-wars-ii-1-dibujado-por-sal.html.
Enjoy!
I came across scans of the original art for the full issue drawn by Buscema over at http://artcomicenventa.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/secret-wars-ii-1-dibujado-por-sal.html.
Enjoy!
Friday, December 21, 2012
1982 - Steve Leialoha's Spider-Man & Spider-Woman
Grabbed from the Spider-Man Chronicles by Fantagraphics.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Monday, July 9, 2012
Guest Blog: A Spider-Woman for the 1980s Part 1
By Jef Willemsen
Spider-Woman. Nowadays, she’s a popular Avengers mainstay and one of Marvel’s premiere heroines. How times change… Back in the early 1980s, no one seemed to have a clue how to deal with her. But all of that changed once Chris Claremont took over her book.
In all fairness, Chris Claremont really only wrote 12 issues of Spider-Woman. Yet, during that relatively short period, he crafted the defining take on Jessica Drew.
Who am I, really?
Lets be frank: The only reason there even is a Spider-Woman, lies in the simple fact that Marvel wanted to copyright a female version of Spider-Man before someone else did. Not exactly the most inspired launching pad and it showed in those early issues.
Before Claremont took over with #34, Jessica had been everything at one point or another. From her ‘she’s an actual spider evolved into a woman’ origin that, thankfully, got dropped, she went through a brief stint as an agent of HYDRA before an equally short arachnid anti-heroine phase, finally ending up as an LA based bounty hunter. Even with 34 issues under her belt, it was pretty hard to pin her down.
Leave it to Chris Claremont to quickly establish and redefine the character of Jessica Drew and through her, Spider-Woman. Within two issues, he had Jessica quit the bounty hunting business and move to San Francisco with her best friend Lindsay McCabe to set up shop as a private detective.
Pretty major changes to the status quo that, by all rights, should have felt rushed and forced.
Yet Claremont managed to pull off this course change with effortless ease and elegance, even making it seem like a natural, even necessary progression in the life of Jessica and her alter ego.
Something old, something borrowed, something blue…
But Claremont’s new direction was more than a thorough deck clearing exercise. Yes, he brought in new villains like Flying Tiger and called on Angar the Screamer from his days writing Iron Fist…
Yet, he distilled the essence of Spider-Woman to a core storyline that featured, among others, the medieval sorceress Morgana Le Fay, who first meddled with Jessica wayyy back in issue #6, the elder god Ch’ton and the mystery of her long lost mother Meriem who turned out to be Madame Hydra, better known as Viper. Claremont connected many dots that seem obvious in retrospect, but were revolutionary plot points thirty years ago.
Words and pictures
Lets not forget the contributions made by Steve Leialoha, drawing Claremont’s entire run and giving the book a consistant look and feel. At the time, many fans complained about Steve’s work, calling it bland and boring. While its true Leialoha didn’t have as energetic a style as say, John Byrne or George Perez, he made the book work, especially when his pictures were combined with Claremont’s often verbose scripting. Case in point: take the time to study this panel from Spider-Woman #35, as her fight against Angar the Screamer’s sonic illusions reaches its climax.
A spider for all seasons
Another aspect that added to the book’s appeal was Claremont’s ability to write the dark angel in a wide variety of stories that showcased her versatility as a character. With Chris behind the typewriter, Spider-Woman took on alien menaces, conventional and super powered criminals alike. She dealt with the in(s)ane wackiness of the Impossible Man and also mixed it up with arcane menaces like Morgana Le Fay and Ch’ton. Was she out of her league during some confrontations? Yes, but never out of place.
Weaving the web
Claremont was also the first to, pardon the pun, weave a web of continuity that made Spider-Woman feel like a part of the Marvel universe. This trend started when the X-Men showed up in issues #37 and #38 to aid Jessica in her fight against both Black Tom, Juggernaut and Siryn.
In return, Spider-Woman showed up in Uncanny X-Men #148 to help reunite Syrin with the X-Man Banshee who turned out to be her long lost father.
Not to mention Avengers Annual #10, in which Claremont had Spider-Woman rescue Carol Danvers after Rogue had robbed her of her powers and tossed her off the Golden Gate bridge.
An avid fan of Chris Claremont and Marvel comics in general, Jef Willemsen blogs about the many, many, many times Chris Claremont has resorted to mind control in his 40+ years in the business. Check out his reviews at: http://clarmindcontrol.blogspot.com
Spider-Woman. Nowadays, she’s a popular Avengers mainstay and one of Marvel’s premiere heroines. How times change… Back in the early 1980s, no one seemed to have a clue how to deal with her. But all of that changed once Chris Claremont took over her book.
In all fairness, Chris Claremont really only wrote 12 issues of Spider-Woman. Yet, during that relatively short period, he crafted the defining take on Jessica Drew.
Who am I, really?
Lets be frank: The only reason there even is a Spider-Woman, lies in the simple fact that Marvel wanted to copyright a female version of Spider-Man before someone else did. Not exactly the most inspired launching pad and it showed in those early issues.
Before Claremont took over with #34, Jessica had been everything at one point or another. From her ‘she’s an actual spider evolved into a woman’ origin that, thankfully, got dropped, she went through a brief stint as an agent of HYDRA before an equally short arachnid anti-heroine phase, finally ending up as an LA based bounty hunter. Even with 34 issues under her belt, it was pretty hard to pin her down.
Leave it to Chris Claremont to quickly establish and redefine the character of Jessica Drew and through her, Spider-Woman. Within two issues, he had Jessica quit the bounty hunting business and move to San Francisco with her best friend Lindsay McCabe to set up shop as a private detective.
Pretty major changes to the status quo that, by all rights, should have felt rushed and forced.
Yet Claremont managed to pull off this course change with effortless ease and elegance, even making it seem like a natural, even necessary progression in the life of Jessica and her alter ego.
Something old, something borrowed, something blue…
But Claremont’s new direction was more than a thorough deck clearing exercise. Yes, he brought in new villains like Flying Tiger and called on Angar the Screamer from his days writing Iron Fist…
Yet, he distilled the essence of Spider-Woman to a core storyline that featured, among others, the medieval sorceress Morgana Le Fay, who first meddled with Jessica wayyy back in issue #6, the elder god Ch’ton and the mystery of her long lost mother Meriem who turned out to be Madame Hydra, better known as Viper. Claremont connected many dots that seem obvious in retrospect, but were revolutionary plot points thirty years ago.
Words and pictures
Lets not forget the contributions made by Steve Leialoha, drawing Claremont’s entire run and giving the book a consistant look and feel. At the time, many fans complained about Steve’s work, calling it bland and boring. While its true Leialoha didn’t have as energetic a style as say, John Byrne or George Perez, he made the book work, especially when his pictures were combined with Claremont’s often verbose scripting. Case in point: take the time to study this panel from Spider-Woman #35, as her fight against Angar the Screamer’s sonic illusions reaches its climax.
A spider for all seasons
Another aspect that added to the book’s appeal was Claremont’s ability to write the dark angel in a wide variety of stories that showcased her versatility as a character. With Chris behind the typewriter, Spider-Woman took on alien menaces, conventional and super powered criminals alike. She dealt with the in(s)ane wackiness of the Impossible Man and also mixed it up with arcane menaces like Morgana Le Fay and Ch’ton. Was she out of her league during some confrontations? Yes, but never out of place.
Weaving the web
Claremont was also the first to, pardon the pun, weave a web of continuity that made Spider-Woman feel like a part of the Marvel universe. This trend started when the X-Men showed up in issues #37 and #38 to aid Jessica in her fight against both Black Tom, Juggernaut and Siryn.
In return, Spider-Woman showed up in Uncanny X-Men #148 to help reunite Syrin with the X-Man Banshee who turned out to be her long lost father.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
