Todd Klein's Blog, page 82

Incoming: ECHOLANDS 4, ECHOLANDS RAW CUT 3

[image error]ECHOLANDS © J.H. Williams III & W. Haden Blackman

The latest issues of this series I’m lettering have arrived. J.H. did the A covers of each, the B cover of issue #4 is by Gabriel Rodriguez, and the B cover of Raw Cut #3 is by Michael Avon Oeming. I enjoyed the plot developments in issue #4, especially the integration of the mysterious fortune teller from the last page of earlier issues into the main story. The art by Jim is fantastic, of course, as are Dave Stewart’s colors. The Raw Cut is for those who want to see Jim’s art before Dave’s enhancements, and with my lettering translucent so more of the art is visible. These should all be in shops shortly if they aren’t already, or you can order the A cover versions through the links below.

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GASPAR SALADINO’S COMICS ADS 1979

All images © DC Comics. From ACTION COMICS #491, Jan 1979

DC Comics was in dire straits, having been forced to cut their line of comics and staff by corporate bosses, and the upcoming Superman movie starring Christopher Reeve (released in December 1978) was something to pin hope on. This second movie contest had a cape worn by Reeve in the film as the first prize, a valuable item indeed, and the contest required readers to answer trivia questions salted across many titles, something DC hoped would help sales. Gaspar Saladino’s lettering, as always, helps sell the idea with exciting display lettering. Even though sales were down and new titles scarce in this year, DC turned to Gaspar for his skill as a company promoter.

[image error]From ACTION COMICS #493, March 1979

This is one of Gaspar’s most appealing ads of the period. He went all out on the top banner, and I think the holly at the sides is also his. One problem with the new DC Bullet is seen in the banner: the size of the outer band made it hard to get the DC the same size as words next to it unless you ran that circle behind them, which was not done here.

From ACTION COMICS #496, June 1979

You can see that there were no ads lettered by Gaspar in some months in 1979, though there were ads lettered by myself and others. That might have been a cost-saving measure, it’s hard to say. This house ad shows Saladino’s mastery of war themes. Those bursts are terrific. I don’t know if he did the background art, but he might have.

From ACTION COMICS #496, June 1979

DC was still trying to celebrate its history with issues and ads like this one, but at least the stories were new, and not reprints. Most ads for a specific issue show the entire cover, this one has only a vignette of the art.

From ACTION COMICS #496, June 1979

Wonder Woman’s live action TV show was in its last season, and perhaps the producers and DC hoped this contest would increase interest in both the show and Wonder Woman comics. The prizes were not as major, but the contest was not as difficult either. The lousy paper quality at the time made color photo reproduction a poor bet, and that’s why black and white halftones were used instead. Gaspar’s lettering makes this contest more appealing.

From ACTION COMICS #499, Sept 1979

By this time the financial success of the Superman movie (which DC would get a share of) was clear, and the restrictions by management must have been eased enough to allow DC to launch a few new Dollar Comics titles like ALL-OUT WAR and TIME WARP. Neither lasted very long. Gaspar’s fine ad lettering is greatly enhanced by excellent Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez art, including the Superman face on the dollar. Sorry for the sideways ad, but if I ran it the other way, the lettering would be hard to see.

From ACTION COMICS #499, Sept 1979

Another media success for DC was Super Friends, a long-running cartoon show and an equally long-running comic. Gaspar’s balloon lettering makes this busy ad more interesting, and DC was always trying to get subscribers to their comics, as they made more money that way, even with a discount.

From THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #155, Oct 1979

DC had success with their oversized tabloid comics, and were now trying digest-sized ones that could be sold in supermarkets and other stores as well as newsstands and comics shops. Many supermarkets and big box retail stores had a rack at checkout counters for this size magazine, and Archie Comics were already there in force. I think DC did pretty well with their digests, though I never liked the small size of the comics inside, and in many cases the lettering had to be made larger to be readable on cheap newsprint paper, mangling the the original page layouts. Gaspar’s lettering here works well, it’s much more interesting than the type, and he probably did the boxing glove too.

From HOUSE OF MYSTERY #273, Oct 1979

Toward the end of this year, DC again made a major effort to enlist subscribers, offering 12 issues for the price of 10. The ad lettering by Saladino also mentions they are mailed in protective wrappers, and I assume no longer folded in half. This ad is for the remaining three regular-sized “mystery” titles, as DC liked to call their horror line: GHOSTS, HOUSE OF MYSTERY and SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE. Gaspar’s work on the top display lettering is great.

From SGT. ROCK #333, Oct 1979

The same deal here is offered for the three remaining regular-sized war titles: SGT. ROCK, MEN OF WAR and UNKNOWN SOLDIER. Sorry for the poor image, it’s all I could find. Ad images are getting ever more scarce for these years and forward, as most online sources stopped including them.

From ACTION COMICS #501, Nov 1979

The Justice League of America, teaming most of DC’s most popular heroes, continued to sell well, and was not promoted much, so this ad is an exception. You have to figure if someone was a fan of any one of DC’s lead heroes, they would also want to read about him in this book. The art in this ad is kind of a mish-mash of pasted-up elements, but the lettering is fine.

From ACTION COMICS # 501, Nov 1979

Another subscription ad for the remaining three regular-size Superman-related titles: SUPERMAN, ACTION COMICS and DC COMICS PRESENTS. The art by Kurt Schaffenberger gives it a nostalgic look, but the lettering adds excitement in my opinion.

From ACTION COMICS #501, Nov 1979

Madame Xanadu from DOORWAY TO NIGHTMARE was also folded into the UNEXPECTED Dollar Comic, as seen here, and she and the other horror hosts such as Cain, Abel, Destiny and the Three Witches all stayed around for a while. About ten years later many were included in Neil Gaiman’s popular revamp of THE SANDMAN. I love Madame Xanadu’s balloon shape style by Saladino.

From ACTION COMICS #502, Dec 1979

Short phrases allow for very large display lettering, always a good way to attract reader attention, as seen in this Digest ad. I doubt Saladino did the hand art.

[image error]From ACTION COMICS #502, Dec 1979

The Green Lantern/Green Arrow team had begun with ground-breaking stories in 1970, but perhaps sales were falling and DC thought new interest could be generated by making this a solo series again. I think it worked pretty well, and sales must have increased some, as the book continued for many years. It’s interesting to see the silver age artist of the character, Gil Kane, being promoted for his cover on this issue, but he was no longer involved in the book with this one exception. Saladino’s lettering provides a clear path for the eyes through this ad from upper left to lower right.

[image error]From ACTION COMICS #502, Dec 1979

Here we see DC trying to increase sales by splitting Superboy off into his own new title, and making ADVENTURE an anthology again with two features, including nostalgic favorite Plastic Man. The Legion of Super-Heroes had a strong fan base and no longer needed Superboy’s support. This busy ad is divided by Gaspar’s layout into three distinct sections that all work together.

From ACTION COMICS #502, Dec 1979

The original run of SWAMP THING by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson was already a legendary fan favorite, and DC reprinted it many times, including in some Dollar Comics issues like this one. It’s surprising that Gaspar did not do more of his horror style in the ad lettering, but of course his Swamp Thing logo is there.

To sum up, I found just 17 ads lettered by Saladino in books with 1979 cover dates. There would be a higher amount in 1980. Other articles in this series, and more you might enjoy are on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog.

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Rereading: THE TIME GARDEN by Edward Eager

This is the only image I could find of the original dust jacket illustrated by N.M. Bodecker. My copy has none.

The fourth book in the “Tales of Magic” series by Edward Eager, as it’s now known, is just as delightful as the first three, and it has a particularly fun plot idea, which I’ll get to shortly.

The four children from the second book, “Knight’s Castle,” Roger, Ann, Eliza and Jack, are the protagonists, and all four of them have been sent to stay with an elderly relative in an old house on the south shore of Massachusetts while their parents all go to London where Roger and Ann’s father’s play is going to be produced. The children would rather be in London too, but the old house and its expansive garden by the sea turn out to be a good consolation, especially when the children discover a Natterjack living in a garden devoted to all kinds of thyme. As one might guess, this toad-like creature is another magic being who, with help from the different varieties of thyme, can send the children on magic adventures in different time periods. They are soon having adventures in the time of America’s Revolutionary War, helping a fugitive slave on the Underground Railway of Civil War times, and even entering the childhood of Louisa May Alcott…or is it really the story she wrote of “Little Women”? They also attempt to visit their parents in London, but end up in Queen Victoria’s time. The best adventure of all is when the magic goes wrong, as it so often does in these stories, and the children find themselves on a desert island with four other children also having magic adventures. In a wonderfully clever plot idea, this is the same story told from the other children’s viewpoint in the previous book, “Magic by the Lake.” The two stories present different angles and aspects, each filling in areas missing from the other. When I first read this, I thought it was the best plot idea ever, and I still think it’s good.

All these books are great fun, with memorable characters, appealing yet dangerous magic, humor, and clever dialogue. It’s no surprise that Eager’s main job was as a playwright. Highly recommended, but best read in order, and the whole set is readily available, though unfortunately without the original Bodecker covers, link below.

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GASPAR SALADINO’S COMICS ADS 1978

Images © DC Comics except as noted. From ACTION COMICS #479, Jan 1978

Several things happened in the time books with 1978 cover dates were prepared (fall 1977 to fall 1978) that affected the house ad work of Gaspar Saladino. He continued to be called on for what I think of as the highest profile ads, and DC certainly knew the worth of his lettering skills to attract readers, but other letterers were also being used. John Workman left staff at the end of 1977, but some ads lettered by him were still appearing in this year. I joined staff in the summer of 1977, and by early 1978 I was also being assigned house ads as freelance work. I did about 6 that appeared in this year. A few ads were also being done by production staffer Joe Letterese or by other production staffers using all type. But the biggest change of this year was the DC Implosion. Publisher Jenette Kahn had ordered an increase in production that planned to add eight page backups to all existing titles and launch new ones as well, and it was promoted as the DC Explosion. Ads for that push (mostly by me), and early examples saw print, but Jenette’s bosses at Warner Communications had been looking at sales figures, which dipped in early 1978 partly due to a blizzard on the east coast, and decided to not only reverse this plan but to make further drastic cuts, slashing the line by 40 percent and cutting staff in editorial and production. I think this happened in late summer of 1978, and it meant less freelance work for everyone at DC, and of course no work for those let go. Gaspar survived the purge, he was still lettering stories and covers, but logo work and house ads for him were cut back, as new projects slowed to a near standstill. Only the success of the first Superman movie in December of 1978 brought some income and better times to the company in 1979. If not for that, I’m not sure it would have survived.

The ad above is for a new idea at DC that began in 1974, a sort of in-house fanzine put together by staffers and focused on company history and behind the scenes material. They were promoted in the comics with house ads, but this is the first one lettered by Saladino. As always, he did a fine job.

From ACTION COMICS #479, Jan 1978

In early 1978, DC was full of new ideas and new characters, including these two. As with many titles promoted in ads this year, they would not survive the Implosion, but the characters did, and have had long DC histories and successes since. Note that, as he often did, Gaspar essentially made new logos for the characters and titles just for this ad.

From ACTION COMICS #480, Feb 1978

Next to the Superman movie, this was the biggest news at DC in 1978. The tabloid had been in production for a while, and came out early in the year, promoted not only by this fine Saladino house ad but by an actual press conference with Muhammad Ali at the Warner offices in the same building as DC, 75 Rockefeller Plaza, New York. It truly is an amazing book, and featured wonderful Saladino lettering inside.

From KID COLT OUTLAW #222, Feb 1978, image © Marvel

As I said last time, it’s now hard to know if work at Marvel that looks like it’s by Gaspar Saladino is actually by him, or by his closest imitator Jim Novak, but I do think Gaspar was kept on these Simon & Schuster ads. It’s a busy one, but the lettering and layout with helpful arrows makes it clearer.

From ACTION COMICS #491, March 1978

Another all-new tabloid featuring one of DC’s most popular and long-lasting teams and franchises. DC was still looking to sell them through the mail, suggesting many retailers were still not carrying them. Notice how skillfully Gaspar’s display lettering guides your eye through this ad by placement and size. DC was now saying the size was 10 by 13 inches, while at Marvel they claimed 10 by 14 inches. As far as I can recall, all the tabloids were the same size, which makes sense, as they were printed on the same machines by the same printing plant.

From SGT. ROCK #314, March 1978

The 1977 calendar had apparently done well enough to be followed by this one. Gaspar’s lettering sells it well, and this time he got to letter the names of the creators. DC was finally finding value in promoting those creators, and treating them better under the direction of Jenette Kahn.

From ACTION COMICS #482, April 1978

This generic tabloid ad could have been reused with later ones, but I’m not sure if it was. I don’t know how DC’s mail order business worked, it was off-site as far as I recall.

From ACTION COMICS #482, April 1978

Part of the ramp up of comics production leading to the DC Explosion was more Dollar Comics with all new material like these. Characters that had not survived in their own titles like Jack Kirby’s The Demon and Steve Ditko’s Creeper found homes in them. the layout of this ad is more rectangular than usual for Gaspar, but it all works fine.

From ACTION COMICS #482, April 1978

DC was looking for ways to reach more readers at comics specialty shops, and this newsletter, distributed to those shops, was a great way to do it. If you didn’t have a comics shop near you, you could also get it by mail. I doubt DC was making money on this, they were probably losing money, but if it led to more sales, it was a good trade-off. I don’t think Gaspar did the Direct Currents logo, but I don’t know who did.

From ACTION COMICS #483, May 1978

One-shot Dollar Comics were also appearing as part of the DC SPECIAL SERIES line. DC’s regular freelancers were quite happy with all this new work DC was asking for, and it gave new ones a chance to break in as well. Gaspar’s treatment of Gorilla Grodd is cool.

From ACTION COMICS #483, May 1978

DC’s first and longest-running tryout title reached issue #100 in this year, and presented an extra-long story that included every feature who had appeared there to that point. A great idea, and Gaspar sells it well. The SHOWCASE logo is the original one by Ira Schnapp.

From AQUAMAN #62, June 1978

The top half-page ad here is a new one by Saladino promoting what would be the final issue of DC in-house fanzine. The lower ad I think just reuses Gaspar’s lettering for the full page version above, and will not count as a new ad. Ads were often resized this way.

From AQUAMAN #62, June 1978

DC was always ready to celebrate their own long history, but in the past that usually meant reprints. Now they were doing new stories, a direction I approved of. Gaspar’s exciting lettering and attention-grabbing bursts made sure no one missed the news.

From AQUAMAN #62, June 1978

It’s ironic that the original Captain Marvel published by Fawcett, who had been shut down because of a DC lawsuit, was now owned by DC and battling Superman in the comics instead of the courtroom.

From ACTION COMICS #485, July 1978

No one lettered war comics better than Gaspar, and the same is true for war comics house ads. I know, I tried, and my efforts paled by comparison. Notice the subtle variation in treatment between SOUND and FURY.

From ACTION COMICS #487, Sept 1978

Here’s part of the DC Explosion promotion. I lettered those words at the top, the rest of the ad is by Saladino. SUPERMAN FAMILY and ADVENTURE COMICS survived the DC Implosion, the others did not. This was the last issue of SHOWCASE, BATTLE CLASSICS and DYNAMIC CLASSICS lasted only one issue.

From ACTION COMICS #488, Oct 1978

All new, no ads, what a great selling point! And those new stories are being promoted with titles and creator credits in Gaspar’s lettering, was another fine idea. It had taken DC a long time and some staff changes to get to this point, but now they were really competing with Marvel in the creator credits area. Of course, those no ad titles meant no need for me to look through them for ones lettered by Saladino.

From ACTION COMICS #488, Oct 1978

Any readers who subscribed through this ad were likely to be disappointed. Many of the titles listed would be cancelled by the time the subscription order arrived, and other titles were probably substituted. That might be one reason why subscriptions were not more popular.

[image error]From ACTION COMICS #489, Nov 1978

Most of DC’s long-running superhero titles did survive the implosion, though sometimes at reduced sizes and without the promised extra backup features. It was a sad time for DC fans and staff alike. Gaspar does a fine job of promoting these.

From ACTION COMICS #489, Nov 1978

This Dollar Comic featured perhaps the most unusual western story ever from DC, Jonah Hex in old age. It was the kind of creative idea needed to attract readers, and the kind of thing the Implosion brought to a halt for a while.

From ACTION COMICS #489, Nov 1978

Even while the Implosion was happening, DC was doing their best to put out material that would resonate with the upcoming Superman movie, like this tabloid. DC was so proud of it, they showed that SUPERMAN #1 cover twice! Gaspar’s lettering helped make it exciting, and it was to long-time DC fans who had never seen this landmark book.

From THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #145, Dec 1978

These titles survived the purge, and I like the fact that they are again using the creators to help sell them to readers, though Saladino’s lettering makes it more exciting too. I love his treatment of TRAITOR?

From THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #145, Dec 1978

The halftone gray photo of Christopher Reeve as Superman did not reproduce well on the cheap newsprint DC was using at the time, but Gaspar’s lettering does a fine job of making this idea exciting, in my opinion. Bleed through from the page on the other side of this one can be seen easily. Paper, ink and printing presses used to print comics at this time had continued to be downgraded to save money, and this was about the low point for paper and ink quality, with only the awful Flexographic process being worse as far as printing goes. Thankfully, things turned around in the 1980s.

From KID COLT OUTLAW #227, Dec 1978, image © Marvel

One final Simon & Schuster ad lettered by Saladino from Marvel, and after this I’m throwing in the towel on identifying ads he might have lettered for the company, as it’s equally likely they were lettered by Jim Novak or others. The top line on this ad is a fine example of Gaspar’s creativity and style.

To sum up, I found 24 ads in this period lettered by Gaspar, up from the previous two years. Other articles in this series and more you might enjoy are on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog.

The post GASPAR SALADINO’S COMICS ADS 1978 appeared first on Todd's Blog.

Incoming: REWRITING EXTINCTION PRESENTS THE MOST IMPORTANT COMIC BOOK ON EARTH

Cover by Jeff Langevin

Call me a jaded old coot, but saving the world through a comic such as this one, no matter how well intentioned, seems a stretch. I hope it does well and raises some funds for the impressive line of charities listed as recipients on the back cover, and certainly the list of contributors is a fine one, but does anyone really think this will save the world? Or that it’s the most important comic book on Earth? I received it because I lettered the four page story by Sir Lenny Henry and Mark Buckingham, and I was happy to do so. I will read the other stories with interest, but I don’t expect this $30 book to create more than a brief ripple of interest in the comics world, and I think it will have no impact on the world at large. Still, bravo for the attempt, I guess. Link below for those interested.

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GASPAR SALADINO’S COMICS ADS 1977

All images © DC Comics and Marvel Comics respectively. From ACTION COMICS #467, Jan 1977

In books cover-dated 1977, DC continued to promote their tabloid-size comics and to sell them by mail. This is the third one featuring Rudolph, a character which DC had had the comic book rights to for a long time, but hadn’t used for many years before that. I never saw this comic, but I admire the promotion of the poster inside as the BIGGEST ever seen in a comic. That could be so, as it was folded twice to fit into a tabloid size book. In this year, Gaspar regained some of his house ad business from DC, continued to do some for Marvel, and also landed a few paid ads, so his ad numbers are up.

From ACTION COMICS #467, Jan 1977

An ad lettered by Saladino, I’d say, for Ivan Snyder’s new comics merchandise company. It was working at Marvel, and Ivan expanded to include DC. I don’t know how much of his inventory was commissioned by him and how much was from other vendors, but there must have been a market, and I’m sure he paid royalties to the companies on everything he did himself. Some of the ad copy is amusing, like “One size fits all, even you!”

From KID COLT OUTLAW #214, Jan 1977

As I explained in my series of articles about Gaspar’s logos, it becomes harder at this point to identify some of his uncredited work for Marvel because of the similarities to letterer Jim Novak. Novak began working at Marvel in 1975, and like many of us letterers, he admired and copied the work of Saladino, but Jim’s work was the closest of any. Novak even imitated some of Saladino’s quirks and style points like his unusual block letter R shape. This ad looks like Gaspar’s work, and I think it makes sense that they would keep him on these Simon & Schuster ads, and there are a few others I feel sure about, but I can’t really be as certain about some other ads, they could be lettered by Novak.

From BATMAN #284, Feb 1977

DC ad copy writers definitely had explosions on the mind at this time. I like the exploding letters in the word here. This is an early use of the DC Bullet symbol designed for new DC publisher Jenette Kahn by the Milton Glaser studio. You can see how it relates to the one by Michael Uslan, but the solid ring with four stars and the thin outlines around everything set it apart. Those thin outlines often did not print well, as here, but I do think the design is an improvement, and the best version since Ira Schnapp’s bullet from the late 1940s. It would soon be appearing on every DC cover in the upper left, usually set at a jaunty angle as seen on the JLA cover here.

From DETECTIVE COMICS #468, March 1977

There isn’t a lot of Saladino lettering here, just the blurb at upper left and the last three lines on the right, though he might also have lettered HOT-LINE. The Direct Currents logo is by Ira Schnapp. I never tried calling this number, but I suppose some fans enjoyed it. At least DC was trying to connect fans with creators, something Marvel did much better to this point mainly through their “Bullpen Bulletins” page.

From ACTION COMICS #470, April 1977

This was a new format that Jenette Kahn instigated. Previously, DC had been publishing 100-page comics and Giants filled with reprints, but Jenette thought there was room (and budget) for larger comics like these with all new material. I think it was a smart move, and the branding as Dollar Comics was, too. Fans were willing to pay a little more for new material by this time, in my opinion, after so many years of reprints. Gaspar’s lettering sells it all well.

From KID COLT OUTLAW #217, April 1977

Another Ivan Snyder ad for Marvel that I think is lettered by Saladino. I don’t know that anyone else would have thought of that upper case D in ODD, and the rest is all familiar work by him. These ads are copy heavy and not as appealing as house ads, but they served their purpose.

From ADVENTURE COMICS #451, May 1977

Someone was a bit obsessed with the idea of 2nd here, or perhaps just desperate for something to make this ad interesting. The ad layout seems too open, as if it was rearranged from the one Gaspar did originally.

From ACTION COMICS #472, June 1977

This was a strange book from Steve Ditko, ahead of its time I would say, and it did not last long, eight issues, but later had a long run at Vertigo by other creators, and more versions since then. I wrote about the book’s logo HERE and in my article on Saladino’s 1977 logos. I think that the dot shading at least was done by DC production staffer Bill Morse, but I’m not sure if he designed the letters, and he wasn’t either when I spoke to him about it ten years ago. The rest of the lettering is certainly by Gaspar.

From KID COLT OUTLAW #218, June 1977

Hostess cup cakes ads were running in all the comics at this time, and each company prepared the ones used in their books, as far as I can tell. So is this one lettered by Gaspar or by Jim Novak? I’m not sure, but I’m going to say Gaspar. I could be wrong.

From KID COLT OUTLAW #218, June 1977

An Ivan Snyder ad that I’m more sure is lettered by Saladino due to small clues like the lower case THE in the coupon.

[image error]From ACTION COMICS #473, July 1977

All the display lettering in this ad is by Saladino except for ON SALE MAY 5TH, which was probably added by someone else when the date changed. DC was pushing things calling this a novel. Yes, it was tabloid size, so giant on that level, but nowhere near novel length, and comprised of four separate stories anyway. There have been comics called graphic novels at this length of 76 pages, but that term was not yet common.

From ACTION COMICS #473, July 1977

Lots of fine display lettering in this busy ad that’s more like ones Ira Schnapp had to letter. Jack Kirby had only been gone from DC for a few years, and DC was already returning to his Fourth World creations because fans loved them. They’ve been revisiting Kirby’s creations ever since.

From ACTION COMICS #474, Aug 1977

A major motion picture version of Superman was in the works, and both fans and DC were excited about it. This contest was meant to increase that excitement, though to enter you were supposed to clip coupons out of a bunch of comics, not something I would have done. Two fans did, and were given non-speaking appearances in the film in the scene where a young Clark is on the Smallville football team. As contests go, the prizes for this one were pretty impressive.

[image error]From KID COLT OUTLAW #219, Aug 1977

Another Hostess ad that could have been lettered by Jim Novak, but I’m calling it for Gaspar. Since Jim is no longer with us to weigh in I can’t be sure, but that’s my opinion.

[image error]From KID COLT OUTLAW #219, Aug 1977

And an Ivan Snyder ad that looks like Saladino lettering to me. The inclusion of the 1977 price guide shows how comics collecting was becoming more standardized and more of a business.

From ACTION COMICS #476, Oct 1977

A few people at DC had been ardent proponents of public service ads, with the main one being former editor Jack Schiff, but not many had been done since he retired. Jenette Kahn brought back some of that good publicity with ads like this one beautifully lettered by Saladino. Note that DC is now a Warner Communications Company.

From KID COLT OUTLAW #220, Oct 1977

One more Marvel ad from Ivan Snyder that I think was lettered by Gaspar. After this I believe his ads were handled by the Joe Kubert School, and I think someone there did the lettering, using Gaspar’s work as a model. Not bad, but not as good as Saladino.

From ACTION COMICS #477, Nov 1977

While John Workman and others were doing house ads at DC at this time, Gaspar did most of the ones for tabloids, perhaps reinforcing his image as DC’s best letterer being tapped for their best products. And finally they were beginning to do all new superhero stories in tabloid form. This is likely the first time DC’s fine new artist Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez saw his name being promoted in an ad.

[image error]From ACTION COMICS #478, Dec 1977

I don’t know who did the creepy border art for this ad, it’s not by Saladino, and the book logo is by John Workman, but Gaspar did the other lettering. Strangely, he did not go for his usual horror look.

From ACTION COMICS #478, Dec 1977

Two more tabloids with fine promotion from Saladino. That Rudolph one was the last for the character. I joined the DC staff in the summer of 1977, and one of my early freelance jobs was doing inking and lettering on the activity pages for it under the guidance of the great Sheldon Mayer. I had no idea of his importance to comics history at the time.

From KID COLT OUTLAW #221, Dec 1977

This Marvel subscription ad looks like it’s lettered by Saladino to me rather than Jim Novak, but it’s a tough call. Marvel had also reached the conclusion that subscriptions made money for them, and they were happy to promote the idea.

To sum up, I found 22 ads I think were lettered by Gaspar in books with 1977 cover dates, a step up from the previous two years. Other articles in this series and more you might enjoy are on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog.

The post GASPAR SALADINO’S COMICS ADS 1977 appeared first on Todd's Blog.

Rereading MAGIC BY THE LAKE by Edward Eager

Cover illustration by N.M. Bodecker

One of the best things about this series of seven books by Edward Eager, now known as the Tales of Magic, is that we get to revisit some of the children in previous books. This one returns to the family from Half Magic, and again takes place in the 1920s, not long after that book. Jane, Mark, Katharine and Martha are having a real vacation with their mother and new stepfather Mr. Smith. They’ll be staying in a cottage by a lake in the country, while Mr. Smith drives back to their home town on weekdays to continue running his bookshop. The children haven’t had a vacation like this before, and they’re looking forward to it, but the magical adventures they had earlier in the summer after Katharine found a magic coin that granted half wishes, are on their mind. The lake turns out to be a wonderful place, and it seems to the children as if it too could have magic in it. While boating on the lake, they catch a large turtle, who is not impressed with them, and as they watch it walk around inside the boat, Jane wishes they had a whole lake full of magic to make their summer even more exciting. “Now you’ve done it,” says the turtle.

Once again they are in the midst of magic adventures with rules the children must quickly understand before they are out of their depth. The turtle is held captive until he agrees to help, and he does, setting up a framework, like only once every three days for an adventure, and adults can’t see any of the magic, but of course magic is willful and wild, as well as scheming, and their plans still often go astray. The adventures involve mermaids, pirates, buried treasure, hostile natives, desert islands, and more, and when they are in the worst possible trouble, they meet some other children on a magical adventure of their own that readers of this series will recognize. Will these other children help keep our four from being cooked alive?

Another great, funny, wonderful book, they’re all great, and this one is no exception. Recommended.

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And Then I Read: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO COMIC BOOK LETTERING by Nate Piekos

Image © Nate Piekos

I happen to know how difficult it is to write a how-to book on lettering, I did one in 2003. Nate’s new book is an excellent one focused on digital lettering that exhaustively covers every aspect of the topic in much more detail than I could, and it includes up-to-date information and lots of time-saving methods and ideas that I had no clue about, or that weren’t possible when I did my book, which is now out of print. This is not only a worthy successor, it’s exactly what anyone wanting to know about digital comics lettering needs to get started, and everyone already doing so will find plenty of helpful information here to make their work faster and better. Nate’s text is clear and easy to follow, and the book is packed with step by step tutorials and examples. Chapter Five on Balloons, for example, has over 230 images. The large size of the book (8.5 by 11 inches) and the generous page count (256) make room for a wealth of information. The one area not covered is font creation, but these days there’s little need for most letterers to do that, and it could probably fill another book anyway. The foreword by Orzechowski is well done, and the printing and paper are great. This is a bargain at $16.99 if you can get it, I understand it’s already selling out, but I expect there will be more printings in the future. Well done, Nate, this is the way to do it!

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GASPAR SALADINO’S COMICS ADS 1975-1976

Images © Marvel Comics and DC Comics respectively. From CREATURES ON THE LOOSE #33, Jan 1975

Comics cover-dated in these two years again saw fewer house ads lettered by Saladino than the previous two, and about half were for Marvel Comics. The one above is full of great Gaspar lettering that’s not only informative, but fun to read. Marvel was way ahead of DC in that area. At DC, John Workman was hired in 1975, and house ads lettered by him began appearing in 1976. There were also some that used only type and some by others. Gaspar was no longer the sole style-setter for DC, as he had been from 1968 to about 1972, but his contributions and talents were still valued and turned to regularly. Using others to create house ads might have been a cost-cutting measure for DC, it’s hard to say, but Marvel was happy to pick up some of the slack. Note that this ad has a coupon going to the publisher, Simon & Schuster, not Marvel, so this was kind of a paid ad, but probably part of Marvel’s self-promotion.

[image error]From KID COLT OUTLAW #191, Feb 1975

Another great ad by Saladino for Marvel full of appealing display lettering divided into eye-catching shapes. This was a tabloid-size comic, Marvel had followed DC’s lead with those. They’re advertising the page size as 10 by 14 inches, a little larger than DC, but it seems to me all the tabloids were the same size. I no longer have any Marvel ones to measure, though.

From CREATURES ON THE LOOSE #34, March 1975

Marvel had also started a merchandising company run by Ivan Snyder that sold all kinds of non-comics Marvel items like these posters and belt buckles. Lots of ad text here, and it’s not as entertaining as other Marvel house ads we’ve looked at, but Gaspar does a fine job of selling the products.

From ACTION COMICS #448, June 1975

At DC, they were also promoting their tabloid comics heavily, usually a sign they were making money from them. In fact, they had widened the tabloid scope to include stories from the Bible, as seen here. I could be wrong, but I suspect the Famous First Edition of ALL-STAR COMICS #3 with the first appearance of the Justice Society of America was probably a better seller. Lots of fine ad lettering by Saladino, you get the feeling that even if he’s doing less ads, he’s working harder on them.

From THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #120, June 1975

More tabloids from DC, not quite as much lettering on this one. DC was still including mail order coupons for all their tabloids, suggesting retailers were not selling many, but that’s a guess. As a reader, I found much of the 1940s reprints disappointing as far as the reproduction of the art goes. I didn’t learn until much later that DC did not have any film negatives from most of that decade, and had to cut pages out of the old comics, bleach out as much of the color as possible, make photostats, and then have artists retouch the art and lettering as best they could to make it readable and viewable. Printing methods of the time could not reproduce photographs of the unretouched pages well enough to satisfy DC, so they went to those draconian methods to get something they liked. Much of the retouch work was inferior to the original printed pages, and far inferior to the original artwork, but most of that was long gone. Todays reprints on better paper and with more accurate reproduction can do much better with high-quality scans of old comics pages, or one can simply view them on a computer as scans and enjoy the original work more. To really see old comics art at its best, look for the few golden age survivors on sites like Heritage Auctions.

From CREATURES ON THE LOOSE #36, July 1975

I never ordered anything from Marvel Merchandising, but these ads are appealing to me because of the lettering by Saladino. At least they are now, I probably skipped right past them at the time.

From KID COLT OUTLAW #196, July 1975

A few months after than that earlier Marvel tabloid ad, they are now also promoting it as a mail-order item, suggesting that retailers were not selling many. You can hardly blame them, shelf space was always at a premium in any store, and these took up a lot of it. Many stores probably did not have a rack large enough, and even if they did, they made more profit on other magazines that were priced higher, most likely. I love Gaspar’s BARBARIAN at the top of this ad, but all the lettering is large and appealing.

From CREATURES ON THE LOOSE #37, Sept 1975

Stan Lee’s pseudo-mystical language style is all over this tabloid ad, in the usual over-the-top hype manner, and Gaspar’s lettering and layout makes it all work.

From ADVENTURE COMICS #442, Nov 1975

This was the first joint publication of Marvel and DC Comics. I can’t find an account of the details of how it came to be, but I think Marvel had prepared the book only to discover that DC had the comic book rights, so the companies came to an agreement, and DC did the sales and marketing. The partnership of rivals must have been a success, as it was tried a few more times in the coming years. Gaspar Saladino not only lettered the ad, he lettered the book under a pseudonym and also designed the logo.

From SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #130, Nov 1975

Leave it to Marvel to promote posters with the lovely word Pandemonium! Leave it to Saladino to make it exciting. I also admire Marvel for listing the artist on each poster, something DC would not have done then, I think. Around this time, Marvel sold their merchandising operation to the man who had been running it, Ivan Snyder. Snyder would soon be running his own ads in both Marvel and DC comics for comics-related merchandise, and would eventually open a line of shops named Heroes World.

From KID COLT OUTLAW #202, Jan 1976

These books authored by Stan Lee and published by Simon & Schuster not only helped promote Marvel’s comics, but gave them legitimacy in the wider world. The calendars were popular, too. It’s possible Simon & Schuster contracted Gaspar to do these ads for them, but I think it’s more likely it was all handled by Marvel. Certainly the ad copy is in the Marvel style.

From ACTION COMICS #456, Feb 1976

DC Comics had a long history with Rudolph, and putting him into a tabloid made sense. Brand new art by Sheldon Mayer might have been sitting around for a while since the previous comic-size RUDOLPH had been cancelled after 1962, or maybe it was truly new for this book, and a fine use of veteran Mayer’s talent. The other tabloid was equally festive, and DC did not shy away from the word Christmas. Saladino shows in HOLIDAY TREAT that he could do Old English almost as well as Ira Schnapp when needed.

From ACTION COMICS #461, July 1976

Two more tabloids in a fine Saladino ad. Bicentennial products were all the rage at the time, Marvel also had one in tabloid size by Jack Kirby, now returned to Marvel. Calling the JLA the WORLD’S GREATEST SUPERHEROES presages the newspaper strip of that name that would be starting in a few years.

From ADVENTURE COMICS #447, Sept 1976

You might think from these ads that DC was only promoting their tabloid comics, but there were ads for others, just not ones lettered by Saladino. John Workman did some nice ones. On this page, the blue plate is off-register, making the LEGION logo hard to read in both places. It was not a great design by Gaspar in any case.

From ACTION COMICS #464, Oct 1976

As you can see, DC was once again moving into comic book versions of TV shows. It had worked well for them in the 1950s and 1960s, and they were hoping it would work now. SHAZAM had already been running for a while, but all of these were successful except ISIS, which ran only eight issues, and well promoted by this Saladino ad. The DC TV logo at upper right only lasted about a month before being replaced by a better one.

From ADVENTURE COMICS #448, Nov 1976

After receiving only a few ad lettering commissions from DC in early 1976, more came out from Gaspar in comics from the last three months. This is another copy-heavy ad trying to cover a lot of bases at once, and reviving an old DC ad motto from the distant past. It was also in the current DC Bullet symbol, but Gaspar makes it interesting and avoids confusion and clutter.

From ACTION COMICS #466, Dec 1976

Did DC see Marvel’s calendars from Simon & Schuster and decide to do their own? I wouldn’t be surprised, the two companies in the same city kept a close eye on each other. DC produced and distributed their calendar themselves by mail order, but it was probably also in stores. The ad copy here is attempting to mimic the Marvel hype style, and does it pretty well, and for a change, DC is actually listing the artists. Marvel had been crediting artists since the early 1960s, while DC usually did not, but the dam on that was breaking, and writer and artist credits were becoming more common in the comics by this time.

From ACTION COMICS #466, Dec 1976

This is an ad from Ivan Snyder’s new comics-related merchandise company, originally named The Superhero Shop, later Heroes World. Early on he continued to have Gaspar letter some of them. Later he subcontracted his ads to the Joe Kubert School and I believe they were lettered by Kubert students.

To sum up, I found just 18 ads lettered by Gaspar in books with 1975-76 cover dates. I might have missed some, as the online scans I’m using for reference are now including ad pages less often, but Gaspar’s ad lettering was definitely lower in these years. Note that, while Gaspar did lots of logos for the short-lived Atlas/Seaboard line of comics, I found no house ads by him there. Saladino’s ad lettering would pick up some in 1977 titles. More articles in this series and others you might enjoy are on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog.

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GASPAR SALADINO’S COMICS ADS 1973-1974

All images © DC Comics except as noted. From ACTION COMICS #420, Jan 1973

In addition to doing plenty of work for DC Comics, including logos, cover lettering, story pages, and house ads, in late 1971 Gaspar also began working for Marvel Comics. At first he did mainly logos for them, then some story lettering, and in 1973 he began also doing a few of their house ads. Marvel had not used many house ads to that point, relying instead on their “Bullpen Bulletins” page of news and information in every comic to promote their products, but I’m guessing that once they had Saladino to turn to, the kind of house ads he was doing for DC became more appealing. There were never a lot of them from Marvel, and others like John Costanza also did some, but it was another income source for Gaspar that I’m sure he was happy to have. At DC, Gaspar was now only doing some of the house ad lettering, with some being done by production staffers like Joe Letterese, and others made using only type and assembled in the production department. So, even while picking up some additional ad work at Marvel, Gaspar’s total ad output was in decline. The ad above has Saladino lettering at the top, including a fine dry-brush version of the book’s title, but also some type below that, and the layout seems odd, as if it was restructured from a different sized ad, which may be so.

[image error]From BATMAN #248, April 1973

Here’s an example of the way DC often reused Saladino’s ad lettering when they could. This ad ran in 1971 titles, and here the 71 is changed to 73. This doesn’t count as a new ad.

[image error]From SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWING COMMANDOS #111, June 1973, image © Marvel

The first Marvel house ad lettered by Saladino that I’ve found is this one, and he also did the logo. I wonder if any readers of both Marvel and DC noticed the similarity in ad styles? Marvel’s ad copy was better written in my opinion, even if it was largely hype. At least it has appealing and slightly funny descriptions of everything, with a generous sprinkling of adjectives.

From HOUSE OF MYSTERY #216, Aug 1973

At DC, a new format was being tried, tabloid-size comics. At about twice the dimensions of a typical comic, they brought an immersive experience to readers that had not been available before, even in the golden 1940s when comics were somewhat larger than in the 1970s. Gaspar’s lettering does a fine job of selling this one. Marvel would soon follow suit.

[image error]From GIRLS’ LOVE STORIES #179, Sept 1973

In the romance line, DC continued to try to lure readers to their female superheroes (or in Lois Lane’s case, superhero girlfriend). This is kind of an odd mix of Saladino lettering and type, something that was becoming more common at DC. The block of type under the open character names would have looked better hand-lettered, and perhaps Gaspar did something there that was replaced with type. At least the art is full of action.

From ACTION COMICS #428, Oct 1973

One of the young creators being given work at DC was Howard Chaykin, and his creation Iron-Wolf had a tryout in the short-lived series WEIRD WORLDS. Again we see type (the black text in the red box) mixed with Saladino lettering. I don’t know who created the Iron Wolf logo, it could have been Chaykin, but I think the large version here is by Saladino.

From ACTION COMICS #428, Oct 1973

Another ad mixing type and Saladino lettering. KING-SIZE is his, and PLUS, and WATCH FOR IT! The rest is headline type from the headline machine in DC’s production department.

From THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #109, Oct 1973

I think this page has three third-page ads, each could be used separately. The SHAZAM ad is all Saladino lettering, the other two have only a small amount of his display work and are otherwise type. I’m not sure if this was a cost-cutting measure or DC trying to appear more mainstream, but to my eye the SHAZAM ad is much more interesting than the other two. While I will count this as three ads for Gaspar, they may have all been done on one sheet of art paper and billed as a single ad in this case.

From OUR ARMY AT WAR #261, Oct 1973

A specific ad for these two issues with fine display lettering by Saladino.

[image error]From ACTION COMICS #429, Nov 1973

This ad also looks like it was rearranged from a different format, leaving too much open space around the lettering. Perhaps it was originally a half-pager with a larger cover, and is now a third-pager.

From ACTION COMICS #429, Nov 1973

This tabloid ad has an interesting comparison to a regular-sized comic. I’m not sure how accurate the images are, but as you can see, the tabloids were a lot bigger. Almost all this lettering is reused from the previous tabloid ad seen above, and I will not count it as a new ad for Saladino.

From ADVENTURE COMICS #430, Nov 1973

A rare case of DC promoting a romance comic in their regular line, but they were promoting most of the new 100-pagers, all full of reprints. Both the cover itself and the ad have a mix of Saladino display lettering and type.

From ADVENTURE COMICS #430, Nov 1973

DC’s line of comics licensed from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. under the editorship of Joe Kubert brought them to my attention as comics characters for the first time, though I had read many of the Burroughs books. I thought they were excellent. Gaspar’s lettering here is great, too.

From ADVENTURE COMICS #430, Nov 1973

Another ad that seems to be revised from a larger one in the same way as the Supergirl ad above. Perhaps they were once each a half page, and are now each a third-page to fill spaces that needed an ad. The layout and smaller size lettering makes them less effective.

[image error]From BATMAN #253, Nov 1973

Here’s what Gaspar would do when he was commissioned to letter a third-page ad, and the space is used much better. This rounded lettering is perfectly appropriate for the subject, and shows how Gaspar tailored his work to match each assignment, something less creative letterers did not do as well.

From FALLING IN LOVE #143, Nov 1973

Another well-structured third-page ad for the romance line. Lots of ad text, but it’s all clear and divided by that black zig-zag.

[image error]From FALLING IN LOVE #143, Nov 1973

This line ad for the romance titles shows that there were now only five titles, and two: YOUNG LOVE and GIRLS’ LOVE STORIES have gone back to the Ira Schnapp logos, at least in this ad. Another mix of Saladino lettering and headline type. Again, this ad seems a bit desperate, promoting the advice columns.

From GIRLS’ LOVE STORIES #180, Nov 1973

Aha! As I suspected, those third-page ads for Supergirl and Wonder Woman shown earlier were reworked from this ad, and I’m sure this is how Gaspar prepared it. Not a new ad, but I thought it was worth showing. It’s so much better than the reworked versions.

From ACTION COMICS #430, Dec 1973

Another tabloid ad, and this one gives the actual size: 10 & 1/8 by 13 & 3/4 inches. Comics at the time were usually just slightly larger than 7 by 10 inches, so these tabloids were about 135% larger. Note that DC was finally trying to appeal to collectors by sending these in a “special crush-proof mailer.” Even with that more expensive mailing method, DC was still making more on these than newsstand copies by bypassing the percentages taken by the distributor and retailer.

From ACTION COMICS #431, Jan 1974

The lettering at the bottom of this ad is the same as the previous one, but there’s enough new lettering to count it as another ad for Gaspar. I’m not sure if the use of XMAS was a deliberate way to sidestep any religious connotation, or simply a space saver by Saladino.

From ACTION COMICS #433, March 1974

Again, about half the lettering on this tabloid ad is repeated, but there’s enough new work to call it a new ad for Saladino in my opinion. I wonder if he did that bat silhouette at upper right? At upper left is the new DC Bullet amended by Michael Uslan to include the motto “The Line of DC Super-Stars,” with two stars at the sides. I think this was the inspiration for the Milton Glaser studio revamp of a few years later.

From SGT. FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS #118, March 1974, image © Marvel

I might well have missed some Marvel house ads by Gaspar, as many of the scans I have access to online from these years don’t include ad pages. This is the second one I’ve discovered. The first line at upper left is headline type, the rest is Gaspar’s work.

From ACTION COMICS #434, April 1974

Less than half the copy on this tabloid ad is new lettering by Saladino, the top banner is headline type, and some of the rest is repeated. I’m not actually sure the new lettering is by Gaspar, it might be by Joe Letterese or someone else in the DC production department, so I won’t count this as a new Saladino ad.

From HOUSE OF MYSTERY #224, April 1974

This is kind of an elaborate next issue blurb, but also a house ad promoting a 100-page issue of the series. Lots of great Saladino lettering and just a small amount of type in the circles.

From KID COLT OUTLAW #181, April 1974, image © Marvel

Fine ad lettering by Gaspar here, and Marvel must have felt they got their money’s worth. Note the reversed areas in the black bad shape of the second half, something done with a negative photostat by Marvel’s production department.

From CREATURES ON THE LOOSE #29, May 1974, image © Marvel

Plenty of ad copy here, and if DC wasn’t making full use of Saladino’s ad talents, Marvel was. The language was much more interesting, too.

[image error]From OUR ARMY AT WAR #269, June 1974

By comparison, DC’s ad copy was usually stodgy and dull, though Gaspar did his best with it.

From CREATURES ON THE LOOSE #30, July 1974, image © Marvel

Again, this ad copy is so much more fun to read, even if you have no interest in the subject matter. Marvel’s ad copy writer had captured the Stan Lee style of humor and hype mixed with clever language.

From THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #114, Aug 1974

By comparison, dull throughout. Gaspar’s lettering is better than the words in it, though I’m not sure the heavy outline around BATMAN works.

From ACTION COMICS #439, Sept 1974

This ad for two more tabloid titles mentions they are swamped with mail orders. If true, that suggests comics retailers were often not ordering and displaying these large magazines, and mail order was the only sure way to get them. Also of interest is the blurb about the “spectacular oil painting of Superman never before published” on the cover of the Superman tabloid. This was a photographic reproduction of the huge Superman painting by pulp artist H.J. Ward commissioned by DC co-owner Harry Donenfeld to decorate his office in the early 1940s. When Donenfeld left the company in the 1960s, he took the painting with him, and its whereabouts were unknown at this time, but a good photograph had been taken of it, good enough to work on the cover of the tabloid, and later a larger printed reproduction hung in the office of DC’s president. The version seen in this ad is a line drawing, not the painting, which wouldn’t have reproduced well at this size and on newsprint.

To sum up, I found 28 ads lettered by Saladino in these two years, more in 1973 than in 1974. Other articles in this series and more you might enjoy are on the COMICS CREATION page of my blog.

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