The 40 Years of Comics Project Friday Magazine 20: Epic Illustrated #5, April 1981

There's really a lot going on in each of these issues. I'm of two minds about this. Sometimes it's nice to have so much variety - granted that it's restricted in this case by its genre(s), though you can really get away with a lot in Science Fiction and Fantasy - enough that you can read a 100-page magazine and not get bored at all. On the other hand, keeping track of all of these narratives, from the continuing to the tiny, can be a bit much every now and again.

That said, I'm absolutely loving Jim Starlin's "Metamorphosis Odyssey," which I did not know was the first place that his famed character Dreadstar appeared. Now I'm intrigued to read that as well (though I have no issues of the series in the collection, unfortunately). There's also some more stuff from Mirko Ilic, which I linked to in the review of the first issue of the magazine. His comics are, as I noted in that earlier piece, genius. I wish there were more. So there's a lovely example of what this magazine is doing right. An ongoing series that's definitely engrossing, and small snapshot pieces that are pushing at boundaries. Today's story "Satri," written and drawn by Margaret Gallagher (who's got a shockingly low online presence) is another wonderful and innovative piece.

I think I could do with less text-piece content. There's an interview with the Hildebrandt Brothers, very important artists in fantasy art, but it takes up soooo much space, and I can only read so much about people holding forth on their artistic processes. I think the shorter text pieces are pretty great, especially the ones commentating on the medium in this pre-Maus world (as I noted last week), but the long ones are just a bit much.

My opinion, I guess, for what it's worth. Onward!

The 40 Years of Comics Project Friday Magazine 16: Epic Illustrated #1, Spring 1980

Aaaaannnndd we're back!

I was lucky enough, a few years ago, to come into a rather large collection of "Adult Fantasy" magazines. Heavy Metal is, of course, the archetype of this form, though it's origins can be traced both in European publishing of the 60s and 70s and in the Warren horror titles of those same decades. In amongst this collection was a near-complete run of Epic Illustrated, a fairly strong competitor for Heavy Metal, at least for a few years.

It's easy to see why. This is a remarkable opening issue. Jim Starlin is telling one of his trademark cosmic tales, but without the constraints of any established continuities. Stan Lee and John Buscema contribute their own version of that tale through the mouths of the Silver Surfer and Galactus. There are big-name artists working here. Arthur Suydam's visceral fantasy art contrasts with Wendy Pini's more whimsical take on that genre. In the middle of the issue is "Lullaby of Bedlam" by Ray Rue, who tells a thoroughly archetypal tale of dream manipulation.

Epic is blessed with a diverse group of very gifted artists in this first issue. Some are new to the industry and some are veterans, but all produce top quality work.

I've read this issue a few times and not blogged it for some reason. Starlin's tale is the one I'm most excited for. I think I may have read ahead in that a few issues, though maybe not. The other revelation for me in this issue, this time around, is the work of Mirco Ilic. The three strips from this magazine, and two from subsequent magazines, can be found here. They're totally worth a read. I read up a litte on Ilic, and it turns out he's a widely respected artist. His comics are genius.

More next week!