Category: Comics

Ken Meyer Jr.’s Ink Stains 59: Ordway, Beatty, Mazuchelli & More!

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If you’re a fan of fanzines, then you’ve got to check out Ken Meyer, Jr.’s monthly column Ink Stains.  Each month Ken (who is an amazing artist) posts… well, let’s let Ken explain…

I have a collection of over 200 fanzines from the 60’s-80’s that I plan to scan and talk about, one at a time. I hope to have some of the participants answer a few questions. Many of those participants are established comics professionals now, while some have gone on to other things. I will show a few snippets from each zine and give you a link to download a pdf of the whole thing, which I hope all of you will do!

For Ink Stains 59, Ken took a look at Fantafolio 3 from 1980 from Editor and Publisher: Peppy White

Fantafolio 3 features –

  • Cover by John Beatty and Jerry Ordway (Both who went on to long distinguished careers as comics pros)
  • Doug Herring Portfolio
  • Pin-Ups by David Mazzuchelli (Batman: Year One and Daredevil fame), Willie Blyberg & Doug Hazelwood (both who became comic pros)
  • Fandom regulars in the issue include: Larry Houston, Pete Iro, Mike Machlan, Don Secrease and others.
  • Tons of fan art, comic stories, spot illos and more.

This is a new one to me.  Interesting to see how many future comic super stars(Rick Burchett inked one of the stories) were included!

Ah, the memories of the glory days of fanzines.  Thanks to Ken Meyer, Jr. for making these available!

Ken Meyer Jr.’s Ink Stains 58: Blyberg, Beatty, Hembeck & More!

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If you’re a fan of fanzines, then you’ve got to check out Ken Meyer, Jr.’s monthly column Ink Stains.  Each month Ken (who is an amazing artist) posts… well, let’s let Ken explain…

I have a collection of over 200 fanzines from the 60’s-80’s that I plan to scan and talk about, one at a time. I hope to have some of the participants answer a few questions. Many of those participants are established comics professionals now, while some have gone on to other things. I will show a few snippets from each zine and give you a link to download a pdf of the whole thing, which I hope all of you will do!

For Ink Stains 58, Ken took a look at Fandomonium #1 from 1978 from Editor and Publisher: Russell Allen Stamets

Fandomonium #1 features –

  • Cover by Rueben Pharms and Willie Blyberg (Does anyone know where Willie Blyberg is these days?)
  • Frontpiece by John Beatty and Bill Mutschler
  • Spot illos by Fred Hembeck and others
  • Comic Story by Willie Peppers
  • Full pagers by A.J. Hanley, Willie Blyberg and others

Man, this one takes me back to the early days when I discovered comics fandom.  Very cool to see Willie Blyberg and John Beatty early stuff again.

Ah, the memories of the glory days of fanzines.  Thanks to Ken Meyer, Jr. for making these available!

Ken Meyer Jr.’s Ink Stains 47: Steranko, Wrightson, Zeck & More!

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If you’re a fan of fanzines, then you’ve got to check out Ken Meyer, Jr.’s monthly column Ink Stains.  Each month Ken (who is an amazing artist) posts… well, let’s let Ken explain…

I have a collection of over 200 fanzines from the 60’s-80’s that I plan to scan and talk about, one at a time. I hope to have some of the participants answer a few questions. Many of those participants are established comics professionals now, while some have gone on to other things. I will show a few snippets from each zine and give you a link to download a pdf of the whole thing, which I hope all of you will do!

For Ink Stains 47, Ken took a look at Fantastic Fanzine Special #2 from 1972 from Editor: Gary Groth and Publisher: Alan Light

Fantastic Fanzine Special #2 features –

  • Wraparound cover by Dave Cockrum
  • Spot illos by Dave Cockrum, Dennis Fujitake
  • Articles by Gary Groth, Jan Strnad, Martin Pasko
  • Transcript of James Warren’ keynote speech at the 1971 Comic Art Convention
  • Photos from the 1971 Comic Art Convention (the pros looked mighty young)
  • Coverage of The Parade of Super-Stars with winner Mike Zeck as Black Bolt!
  • Coverage of a Q & A with Steranko!
  • Berni Wrightson full pager
  • Plus more articles and fan art

 

I’d never seen Fantastic Fanzine Special #2 before.  To me the highlight is the Steranko Q&A, the photos from the 1971 con and of course see my buddy, Mike Zeck rockin’ it as Black Bolt!

Ah, the memories of the glory days of fanzines.  Thanks to Ken Meyer, Jr. for making these available!

RIP – Bernie Wrightson

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It was announced today that Bernie Wrightson has passed away after a long battle with brain cancer.  Mr. Wrightson was 68.

Known best for his drawings and paintings in the horror genre, Mr. Wrightson was a humble and soft-spoken man who appreciated his fans.  Wrightson was an artist’s artist.  Not only was his work loved by fans, but professional artists were also in awe of his talent.  Best known as the co-creator (with Len Wein) of Swamp Thing, Wrightson was also known for…

  • Being one of the young upstart talents of “The Studio” (along with Barry Smith, Michael Kaluta, and Jeff Jones)
  • His horror work at Warren Publishing
  • His Frankenstein project (beautiful pen and ink illustrations for Mary Shelley’s classic tale)
  • His work with Stephen King – creating the poster for the movie Creepshow and illustrating King’s Cycle of the Werewolf novella, illustrations for The Stand (restored version), and art for the hardcover editions of From a Buick 8 and Dark Tower V.
  • His comics at Marvel (Punisher, Spider-Man), DC (Swamp Thing, Batman) and IDW (The Ghoul and Doc Macabre – both with co-creator Steve Niles)
  • His conceptual art for films such as The Faculty, Spiderman, and George Romero’s Land of the Dead, and The Mist.
  • So much more

I was fortunate enough to meet Berni Wrightson a couple of times at HeroesCon.  He was kind and humble and appreciative of the praise fans (myself included) gave him.  On the first occasion, when my wife learned that Mr. Wrightson was a guest at the con she came into the show to meet him.  She wasn’t a real comics fan, but she did love Mr. Wrightson’s art, appreciated his talent and wanted to meet him.  When she spoke to him, he seemed genuinely touched. As we were leaving his area other fans were coming over to share their appreciation.  I’m glad Bernie Wrightson was aware of how much his art positively impacted so many people.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Berni Wrightson’s family, friends and fans.