Here ya go, Groove-ophiles! The past couple of Black and White Wednesdays have been leading to this: Jim Starlin and Alex Nino's legendary artistic pairing on "The Other Side of Night" from Rampaging Hulk #4 (cover dated August, 1977). One of the greatest fill-in/inventory issues ever, the story was plotted and laid out by Starlin, scripted by John Warner (who at the time was the editor of Marvel's black and white line), and inked/finished by the incomparable Alex Nino.Two of my favorite artists paired in a once-in-a-lifetime 30 page epic! I never in my wildest dreams would have imagined teaming Starlin with Nino, but man, did their styles ever work well together. You can still see the power of Starlin's figures (as well as their Ditko-esque poses), his mind-bending layouts, and his trade-mark freaky aliens, but Nino gives it all the otherworldly, hallucinatory edge that perfectly complements Starlin's pencils. I'm not gonna explain the whole story (it's another of Starlin's cosmic, self-destructive, end-of-the-world fables); if you wanna read it, pick up the Essential Rampaging Hulk--you'll be glad you did! Nope, I'm just picking out a dozen pages that demonstrate the power and cosmic-awesomeness of the Starlin/Nino team. You might wanna have a friend nearby so they can put your eyeballs back into their sockets when ya get through!
I sold all my Rampaging Hulks years ago in a moment of madness, so it's good to see this again. That double-page spread is awesome!
ReplyDeleteVery fondly-remembered, this one. First read it in the UK reprint, Rampage Monthly.
ReplyDeleteStarlin & Nino, it looks so wrong, but it looks SO RIGHT. My mind is blown.
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