The New Voice of the Comics Medium Also Inside: DAN
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™ $8.95 in the USA A TwoMorrows Publication No. 4, Winter 2014 THE NEW VOICE OF THE COMICS MEDIUM 0 1 over art Nowlan & color by Kevin C 1 82658 97073 4 also inside: DAN GOLDMAN • MORT TODD • MARK WAID • DENYS COWAN • ROGER STERN Winter 2014 • The New Voice of the Comics Medium • Number 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Ye Ed’s Rant: Ruminations on that “artist’s artist” of comics, Russ Heath ..................... 2 PLAYBOY W©©DY CBC mascot by J.D. KING COMICS CHATTER ©2014 J.D. King. Goldman’s Digital Ghosts: Hannah Means-Shannon reports on digital graphic About Our novelist Dan Goldman’s leap from pixels to print with Red Light Properties .................... 3 Cover Incoming: Is CBC really a “new voice” for the medium? Plus a few corrections ........... 8 The Good Stuff: Jorge Khoury discovers that Marvel makes good with a mammoth Art and colors by Omnibus devoted entirely to the Amazing Roger Stern’s Spider-Man epics .................. 12 KEVIN NOWLAN REMEMBRANCE Au Revoir, Rouge Enfant and Viscardi: Lamenting the passing of two greats......... 14 Hembeck’s Dateline: The Atlas-era Russ Heath “talking head” villain, The Brain, chats us up in Our Man Fred’s latest strip ..................................................... 15 Aushenkerology: Michael Aushenker learns about Mort Todd’s Ditko years! ............ 16 Irving on the Inside: The concluding installment of Christopher Irving’s career retrospective of award-winning veteran comics scripter Mark Waid ................. 20 The Human Gargoyles Return: Rich Arndt talks about a Skywald revival of sorts .... 25 Cowan the Conqueror: Part one of our interview with Milestone man and multitudinously talented comics creator and “animated” guy, Denys Cowan ................ 26 Art ©2014 Kevin Nowlan. One of our favorite artists in The Lost Father of Archie Andrews: Who was Vic Bloom, the man listed on the entire field,Kevin Nowlan, the first story featuring “America’s Typical Teenager,”and what happened to him? ...... 30 contributes this evocative portrait of our headline guest, SPECIAL RUSS HEATH SECTION Russell Deheart Heath, Jr., “That Crazy Bastard Heath”: Legendary writer and editor Archie Goodwin appropriately placed in a Western setting. As the tells us what makes Russ Heath such a great artist in a 1973 tribute ....................36 veteran comics artist revealed Beautiful, Sublime & True: The Art of Russ Heath in the career-spanning inter- view within, Russ has always S.C. Ringgenberg examines the artistry of a true comic book master .....................38 had an affinity for the frontier, Above and Beyond: The Russ Heath Interview though never had a true desire to become a cowpoke. When Comic Book Creator’s extensive career-spanning Q-&-A with the superb artist .....46 contemplating a tribute cover, Creator’s Creators: Christopher Irving shares his storied background ......................... 79 Ye Ed immediately thought of Kevin because of his lush style, Coming Attractions: Join us for Kitchen, Romita Jr., Cruse, Cowan, Everett & Tilley! .. 79 not too dissimilar to the Heath approach. Kevin’s career was A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words: A Brian Bolland classic — No joke! ......... 80 examined by yours truly in the Right: Detail from Russ Heath’s memorable G.I. Combat #130 [June 1968] cover. comprehensive and lengthy Nowlan interview, which We kid you not! Every issue of COMIC BOOK CREATOR includes a 16-page (sometimes more!) PDF bonus section containing exclusive material not found in the printed edition. So go and get your free CBC now! 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Cooke/TwoMorrows www.twomorrows.com comic book zeitgeist Goldman’s Digital Ghosts Dan Goldman’s odyssey from pixel screen to printed page in Red Light Properties by HANNAH MEANS-SHANNON has attracted attention for many reasons, from its psychedelic and occult themes to its sensitive portrayal of tense family Discovering doorways into the strange and unknown in his relationships and raw, realistic exploration of the impact local library made the young Dan Goldman a storyteller, picking of economic decline. It’s a comic about relationships and up volume after volume in the “weirdo-occult” aisle with his new their haunting legacies, whether regarding the Tobins’ lives or library card. Reading psychedelic and occult comics as a teen in the lives of ghostly murder victims making Miami properties drove him to write comics, but it was only after realizing the unsellable. There’s an edginess and depth of pathos in potential behind digital composition when he took up Goldman’s storytelling that’s only matched by his the stylus as both writer and artist to create the ability as an artist to convey supernatural experi- reluctant exorcist Jude Tobin and the condemned, ences in ways that are both moving and visually ghost-haunted Miami real estate of Red Light arresting. In many ways, Red Light Properties Properties. Now that the digital iterations of is a series Goldman has been building toward Goldman’s comic series are making their way since his earliest creative efforts, and the most to print, he is re-mastering and expanding the personal work he has yet produced. “case files” of an average guy who can talk “I want to tell adult stories organic to to ghosts to turn a buck on cursed homes where my other agents finding just too hot to handle. brain and Goldman has been making waves in both my soul digital and print comics since his 2006 debut are,” says of webcomic series Kelly on the creator- Goldman, owned site Act-i-vate Comix, followed by a state- major digital first comics and graphic novels ment that in a wide suggests variety of a certain degree genres, from of reflection at this 08: A Graphic Diary point in his varied of the Campaign career. He wants to Trail with Michael both create and read Crowley and Ctrl. things that make him Alt. Shift in 2009, to “feel something.” Red his Eisner Award Light Properties may nominated Shooting be a supernatural War with Anthony relationship drama, Lappé from 2007– but Goldman is 2011. Goldman has pragmatic about its found that exploring components and the ways in which they appeal to different genres and readers. He comments that in Red Light Properties styles has led him to the “ghost stuff on a level is incidental. It’s really more personal choices about relationships. But you just do relationship in subject matter and an opus all his own. His creative comics, who’s gonna read it?” There may be journey led him to develop his now long-running and some truth in the idea that readers want to be ongoing digital series Red Light Properties in 2010, and taken off the beaten path of relationship dramas TM & ©2014 Dan Goldman. Portrait Seth Kushner. Goldman is rapidly approaching a career milestone with into unexplored realms of narrative, but the fact the release of the first print collection of the series from remains that Goldman has long been fascinated IDW in January. Red Light Properties, which follows the by the horror and occult themes now found life of beleaguered haunted house exorcist Jude Tobin, his in Red Light Properties and so is particularly ambitious but estranged wife Cecilia, and their young son, equipped to wrestle them into narrative format. Red Light Properties represents a culmination of Goldman’s personal vision in Goldman’s childhood is a rich mine of storytelling and in artwork. It’s a watershed series for the influences and material that continue to find creator, and one that he expression in his work and also in his approach intends to pursue through to life. Born in Detroit, he became immersed in multiple print volumes, based on updated versions of Background: CBC photographer extraordinaire Seth his digital comics, into Kushner snaps cartoonist Dan Goldman in New York’s Grand new story lines. Central Station. Inset upper left: Dan illustrated 08: A Red Light Properties, Graphic Diary of the Campaign Trail. Inset left: The ©2014 the respective copyright holders. originally published on Tor. Anthony Lappé-scripted, Goldman-illustrated com, and now in digital Shooting War was nominated for an Eisner distribution through Monkey- Award.