Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Happy 75th Birthday, Jim Steranko!
Since James Steranko is one of the of the Fathers of the Groovy Age, there's no way Ol' Groove could let his 75th birthday pass without a little bit of huzzah! Jim's comicbook art (you can see many samples if you just click his name over in the Stream of Comicbook Consciousness) helped create and then define the Groovy Age. His use of advertising and pop-art motifs in our four color fantasy worlds turned the whole comicbook industry on its ear and inspired--inspires--new generations of artists to this day. Young Groove grabbed every comic with the name "Steranko" he could get his paws on, so, naturally, when Steranko's powerhouse paintings started appearing on the paperback racks, yers trooly hadda procure those for his own as well. While I never outgrew comics (as my teachers had hoped), I did "grow" enough to actually read "real" books like tons of Shadow reprints and the whole Weird Heroes series before high-school ended. Thank you, Mr. Steranko! You inspired me as a kid, and you continue to inspire me today in so many ways!!
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Well, happy birthday, Big Jim!
ReplyDeleteNice that you decided to go with his paperback covers here, Groove, instead of his more familiar (to use comic fans) comic book covers. I wouldn't mind having all of these books, but I'm happy enough with the two Weird Heroes volumes pictured here that I do own...
He's the design genius - virtually every comic story he touched is an innovative landmark - would have liked to have seen him do a few runs writing on some comic book titles instead of uh... other stuff..., but they would probably never really let him do his thing....
ReplyDeleteHow can Jim Steranko be 75 ? I must be getting old. His cover art to the Shadow novels and Weird Heroes sure brings back lots of memories...love it !!
ReplyDeleteJim has the best hair ever!!
ReplyDeleteJust like Sean Connery's hair in "The Hunt for Red October." ;)
DeleteSeriously, everything Steranko has done in comics and illustration generates (seemingly) effortless excitement. His work has always been riveting and memorably enjoyable. He really knows how to stimulate his audience on many levels---a consummate entertainer.
Chris A.
Those covers bring back many, many happy memories....
ReplyDelete