Saturday, February 20, 2010

The Spectre: Legends of the DC Universe 80-page Giant #1

One of the oddest collaborations you're likely to see in a comic: A script by Peter David and Bill Mumy,  Steve Ditko pencils and my inks.  The note at the top of the art says "4" but this was actually page 1.



13 comments:

  1. I LOVE this collaboration. Those looks like pretty tight pencils for Ditko. I've heard of him just drawing the most basic of shapes for inkers to basically draw in. He even added shadows on this one!

    The final product looks like the prefect blend of Ditko & Nowlan, you keeping those unique Ditko touches all throughout.

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  2. WOW! this is AWESOME!
    Is it out already?

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  3. i contiue to find what qualifies as "finished pencils" these days, completely amazing. but in the right hands it's never a tragedy.

    peeace out

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  4. Sorry, I should have mentioned that this was published in 1998.

    Michel, I made many more changes on some of the later pages. Some justified, like the number of smoke stacks on the Titanic and the period clothing; others not so much, like the Spectre's face. It was a real mixed bag.

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  5. Overall what did you think of Ditko's storytelling?

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  6. It was crystal clear. And that's an under-appreciated part of the job; the kind of thing people only notice when it's done wrong.

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  7. This is great Kevin. Thanks for posting the pieces. And I dig that Betty Brant look-alike, right down to the hairdo.

    Did you have any Ditko cars to deal with in the story? Someone once mentioned that his cars always seemed to be stuck in the late 60s/early 70s.

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  8. There weren't any cars in the story but I can sympathize. If it were up to me I'd never draw anything newer than a Ford Edsel.

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  9. Kevin,

    Thanks for sharing. It's always great to see Ditko's pencils. Am I correct in assuming that Ditko handwrote the copy directly on the art before you inked it?

    Nick Caputo

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  10. oh i know, i read it in 98. the comment was directed more towards, if i were to draw this, and turn it in as finished art. it would either be sent back with a note that read, please finish, or it would get inked "exactly" like it was penciled.

    sorry for the misunderstanding Mr.Nowlan

    peace out

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  11. No problem, Arnie. I think I must have been responding to the earlier question, asking if it was out yet.

    Nick, you're right; Ditko roughed in the text when he did the pencils.

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  12. Hi Kevin:

    This is quite gorgeous!

    You tie with Craig Russell for being the best ever Inkers over Steve.

    Can you post more Pencils and Inks?

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  13. Hi Leesa. Thanks, but Craig has me beat by a country mile. He retains so much of Ditko's style and that's where I completely failed, especially on the later pages. I'll post some more pages later but they won't be pretty.

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