Art Scans by Ande Parks
©2008 Ande Parks
I’m gonna try this and see if it sticks. My goal is to do something a little more interesting that simply promoting whatever crap I’m up to. I will do that, of course, but I don’t wanna just do that.
My plan is to scan a single image from my personal art collection and comment about why I think the piece is noteworthy. It may be a simple panel from a Frank Robbins daily. It may be a sketch by John Buscema. It may even be something modern… although I doubt it. If you don’t know who Frank Robbins is, this is a column you desperately need, my friend.
Conan is © and TM Robert E. Howard Estate.
And now, today’s art scan — a fantastic panel from the first page of original art I ever purchased. Few guys ever drew comics with more draftsmanship or authority than the great John Buscema. I think Big John’s enthusiasm for the material waned as time wore on, but his passion for Conan almost always shone through. I’m guessing that John liked the opportunity to draw real men, minus the spandex, doing heroic stuff in wild environs.
Buscema was inked by a large host of decent craftsmen on his Conan material, but none was more suited to the task than Tony Dezuniga. Dezuniga does everything an inker should do; he makes the work sing, adds his own stamp, but always lets the personality of the penciller shine through. Look at the depth in this panel, the textural richness, and the just flat out balls in every brush stroke. Masterful.
A couple of notes about this panel: this work was intended for publication in Marvel’s black and white Savage Sword of Conan magazine. Thus, Dezuniga relied heavily on Zip-a-Tone screens to add gray tones, ensuring that the printed page would look as lush as possible. In this era of production in Marvel’s bullpen, lettering was pasted on for some reason, and many of the balloons on this page have fallen off, hence the “holes” in the artwork.
Enough of my spouting! Enjoy the genius!
Acclaimed comics inker and writer Ande Parks has agreed to let ComicsCareer.Com showcase a series of short appreciation pieces that he’s written for his blog (http://andeparks.blogspot.com). The columns are edited and updated from the original appearance.