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Graphic Showcase 2: Summer 1969
Publisher and editor: Tom Long

Hello again and welcome to another installment of my fanzine review column, Ink Stains! Please spread the word to any fanzine lovers you think might enjoy the column. This installment we focus on an early showcase (duh) of some artists that would later become mammoth talents and valuable assets to the comic book industry. The second issue of Tom Long’s high quality zine includes work from Michael Kaluta, Berni Wrightson and Steve Hickman, among others. Above you can see the cover by Kaluta. Obviously what you see is far below the standards he would set later, but keep in mind that illustration was done in 1968 when Mike was only 21 years old and professional comics were still a few years away! Mike contributes a couple of stories in addition to the cover and an illustration or two. Look below for a few pages from the first story (in collaboration with Steve Hickman), entitled Venificium Malificarum. Don’t ask me what it means.

Following the story above is something you die hard Wrightson fans will no doubt have seen elsewhere, Uncle Bill’s Barrel. You can see elements of Berni’s wonderful line work, those expressively contorted limbs and of course, the trappings of horror (albeit whimsical, in this case) that would become his trademarks later. Check out a sampling of the wickedness below.

Major Mishap is up next, by Jim Traylor. A bit of a let down from the other contributors’ work, it looks like Jim is trying a bit to emulate Jack Davis or Mort Drucker (was Mort doing work in 1969 for Mad already?), but unfortunately, he is not doing a great job of it. And hoooo boy, he did not get the memo about not having too many words on a page! See below.

A couple of pin ups follow, the first of which is by Mike Cody (who has two), then Kaluta and then a really convincing and visceral Hawkman by Hickman.

After the pin up gallery is finished, we are launched into the latest installment of the fanzine’s flagship character, Captain Infinity (Operation Brainstrike), by editor Long and HIckman. Visually, it is almost as if Kenneth Smith and Michael Kaluta had a baby, what with all the deftly rendered brushstrokes. Some of the body language is a bit stiff and the proportions a bit off (some large heads here and there), but again, this was early in his career. There are 16 whole pages in this sucker, so be sure to check out the pdf! See below.

Following Hickman’s story is an Edgar Rice Burroughs influenced story by Kaluta entitled Eyes of Mars (Kaluta would go on to do a really beautiful Carson of Venus for DC comics about four years later). Kaluta’s delicate layouts and finishes really fit the subject, as you can see below.

There are a few spot illustrations by Kaluta and Wrightson you can also see if you download the pdf that you can find on my site.

I am sorry the text portion of the column is a little short this installment (or maybe you should thank me?), but circumstances were such that I did not get to the column until close to the deadline. Don’t hold it against me! And please leave some comments below, share, and show up again next month for another pulse pounding excursion into the ink splattered zines of yesteryear!

Ken Meyer Jr.
kenmeyerjr@yahoo.com