Active Topics | Member List | Search | Help | Register | Login
The John Byrne Forum MOBILE
Byrne Robotics | The John Byrne Forum << Prev Page of 3
Topic: History Lesson Post Reply | Post New Topic
Author
Message
Michael Penn
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 12 April 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 12791
Posted: 25 December 2024 at 1:22pm | IP Logged | 1 post reply

 QUOTE:
I understand all the criticisms against Colletta, but I enjoyed him on Kirby and Tuska and Heck and Grell and probably more.

I share this viewpoint. I can't help but love the look of all the "Tales of Asgard," for example. I love it. And yet, as I've learned how much was removed from Kirby's original artwork, I can't help but hate that as well.

As for Mr. Colletta being instructed to redraw JB's faces -- I suppose to fix them? -- this I cannot understand. It's hardly the case that JB by 1981 was some kind of comicbook rookie. What a weird dictate from Jim Shooter.
Back to Top profile | search
 
John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133711
Posted: 25 December 2024 at 2:00pm | IP Logged | 2 post reply
What a weird dictate from Jim Shooter.

•••

Almost redundant.

Back to Top profile | search
 
ron bailey
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 16 October 2016
Location: United States
Posts: 1100
Posted: 25 December 2024 at 4:47pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply
What I loved about the beginning of the FF run is that as writer, penciler and inker (which my young self had never seen before) there was a degree of creative ownership that other books didn't have, and when I started putting the work more in the category of comic strip artists rather than comic book artists where that was far more common. That, and similar to the comic strips, the tenure on the book was longer than most as well.
Back to Top profile | search
 
John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133711
Posted: 26 December 2024 at 1:29am | IP Logged | 4 post reply
You may have answered this before, but if you're going to have an established artist pencil a book, why would you ever want the faces redrawn? If you hire Byrne, don't you want Byrne?

•••

Can’t count how many times I’ve said that!

Back to Top profile | search
 
James Woodcock
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 21 September 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 7891
Posted: 26 December 2024 at 7:16am | IP Logged | 5 post reply
I remember when I first saw the JB FF inked issues - it would be in a UK
reprint issue, not sure which series reprinted those (I’ll have to hunt through
the garage @ some point).
They were a real shock - not a ‘I hate this’ shock, but a ‘wow, this is
different to anything I’ve ever seen before’ shock. & this included his X-Men
comics.
My memory of what really led to this reaction is that the FF were so thin &
that there was so much black on the page.

Important things to consider here.
The FF had been bulked up over the years & JB took Reed back to his
earlier, thinner days. @ the time, I did not realise that this was the same
artist who had drawn the Galactus/Sphinx fight just a few years earlier - at
the time that had been reprinted, I had not fully become aware of following
artists by name.

Now, the blacks thing.
UK reprints were in black & white. So we got the line art, not the colours -
which led to some interesting things if important visual points had been
made with holdouts - I remember one story had a hold out in the last panel.
For us, the inked character was just staring off into space. But I digress.

Lack of shadows, lack of backgrounds - these led to a lot of white on our
pages.
JB’s FF was dense! Shading all over the place. & the backgrounds! My word,
every panel was filled with background detail.
The page was black with ink, & I couldn’t figure out how he managed to get
so much detail in each panel & keep it so coherent.
Perez was also doing that, but it was different, I think he wasn’t using so
much shadow. The fabric folding on clothes was also something that JB was
doing different from the outset in his FF, while Perez’ clothes all tended to
have really clean lines.

Honestly, go look @ those issues & try to mentally remove the colours. Look
@ Diablo’s candles, Reed’s tech, things like leather jackets - there was so
much ink on the page.

I’d never seen anything like it but I knew I loved it.
Back to Top profile | search e-mail
 

If you wish to post a reply to this topic you must first login
If you are not already registered you must first register

<< Prev Page of 3
  Post Reply | Post New Topic |

Forum Jump

 Active Topics | Member List | Search | Help | Register | Login

You are currently viewing the MOBILE version of the site.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL SITE