Jim Steranko

Steranko had a history as a notorious hard worker who earned a lot of opportunities with his capable efforts. He built from Kirby's style (long after it was expected of him), and appears to have inspired Kirby himself to push some of his work into more experimental places. Healthy competition, IOW.
The artwork in this collection represents a new age of expectations for the artwork in comics - and there would be no going back (if artists knew what was good for them).

Sadly, it's really not show more well written - to the point of being unpleasant to read. There's a lot of timely racism, too - something to accept in historical context, but still cringe worthy when it presents as enthusiastically disparaging.

Some people celebrate Steranko as the best comic artist of all time. I don't think he holds a torch to Kirby (whom he never stopped emulating, and in a less dynamic or consistent way), and I guess the personality quirks show through in ways that make his work end up rubbing me the wrong way sometimes. If he'd been paired with a capable writer on this project it would have been soo much better.

The genre-spanning that closes the book (international, gothic, etc.) feels like flailing - and I never really got to find many redeeming qualities in Nick Fury - which is a problem, in a book about Nick Fury. show less

This slim volume gathers all of Jim Steranko's non-Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. work for Marvel. No, there's not a lot of material here, but what you do get is almost uniformly excellent. I'm not even a big fan of superhero comics as such, but it's impossible not to love the three-part Captain America story in which Cap and Bucky #2 (Rick Jones) battle the hordes of HYDRA, with special guest star the Incredible Hulk. Steranko's art elevates this piece from mere comic book storytelling show more into the realm of the magical; most filmmakers would kill to do something half as interesting as what the artist achieves here on the printed page. While it's always evident that Steranko owed a stylistic debt to Jack "King" Kirby (as, indeed, every comic artist does), it's equally obvious how far Steranko ventured into previously uncharted territory, and how successfully.

An earlier X-Men two-parter is okay, but the art looks like it was dashed off rather hastily. (And it ends on a cliffhanger: disappointing for folks who are reading just for fun and not to analyze Steranko's work.) You also get the award-winning horror story "At the Stroke of Midnight!" from Tower of Shadows #1, and a dated but visually arresting romance tale from the pages of Our Love Story. Adaptability is key for any artist regardless of medium, and it's fascinating to see how Steranko refashioned his style for non-superhero material. Near the back of the book, Steranko's Marvel covers are reproduced (including his archetypal illustration for the cover of Incredible Hulk King-Size Special #1). show less

These stories aren't great, but Jack Kirby's art helps, and when Jim Steranko comes on board, both the plots and art are strong (although Lee's dialogue never improves).

A bit of a mixed bag. The Arnold Drake-penned X-Men issues are not Steranko's best or most interesting work for Marvel. Aside from the Eisner-inspired title pages, there's little there that doesn't feel fairly mainstream even by Silver Age artwork standards.

Far better is the work on Captain America, leaving one to wonder if the X-Men pencils were done off of a more detailed script than Stan Lee's notoriously light story pitches. The faces still come out as occasionally off-model — always a show more problem with Steranko — but his trademark page layout and design sensibilities are present in full force.

Finally, the book ends with a pair of anthology tales, allowing a sampling of Steranko's work in mediums other than superheroes.

It's probably not the best introduction to Steranko, but given his limited output in the medium it's still a must for any fan. show less