Monday, August 15, 2011

The Boys from Derby: "An Old Man" by Pat Boyette

Pat Boyette was one of those polarizing creators, like Frank Robbins, Don Heck, and others that people point to as either the best--or the worst comicbook artists ever. Young Groove found Boyette to be an acquired taste; kind of strange on superheroics like The Phantom, but perfectly suited to sci fi and horror. In those genres his otherworldly style could make the supernatural seem more natural due to his stiff-though-expressive woodcarving-like drawings. One thing that cannot be argued is the fact that Boyette was an innovator. He experimented in color and printing whenever the opportunity presented itself, eventually starting his own coloring and separating business. His innovations really shine in works like in this sci-fi fable, "An Old Man", from Ghost Manor #29 (March 1976).







3 comments:

  1. Count me as not the world's biggest Boyette fan but, as you say, you gotta give him kudos for experimentation! Recently got a copy of his & Denny O' Neill's famous 'Children Of Doom' and, though I find the artwork ugly and the story confused, love the mix of colour & black & white. Interesting too, how Pat actually did a remake of this story here for Epic ( it was called 'Survivor' )

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  2. One of my all-time favorite short stories published by any comic book company!

    Thank you!

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