I have Not read .....

[samurainoir]

^^^^
I've been rereading some normalman and it still remains some of the sharpest parody and commentary on the comics industry and it's tropes. Even Alan More has stated how influential norm was when he came back to Sueperheroes with 1963 (published by Vaentino's image imprint), Supreme and eventually ABC.

One really has to wonder where Jim Valentino would be today as a cartoonst if he had stuck to hs autobiographical and satirical guns instead of being essentially an Image second stringer chasing the trends of the nineties. Not that I blame him, I don't doubt that he's made mad Bank at Image, but it really felt like he had something to say in the eighties.

[kingdom warrior]

One really has to wonder where Jim Valentino would be today as a cartoonst if he had stuck to hs autobiographical and satirical guns instead of being essentially an Image second stringer chasing the trends of the nineties.

Probably a satisfied but very broke creator..........

[samurainoir]

Probably a satisfied but very broke creator..........

Speaking of broke... Or in this case, breaking...

[Figuremod73]

I remember Valentino mostly from Guardians of the Galaxy. He was a solid artist and i was disappointed when he left the title. Shadowhawk wasnt to bad though. Compared to some of the Image offerings it was pretty good.
He did Touch of Silver didnt he? Or am i confusing him with some one eles. I never read the book regardless. I had had enough of image about a year and half after they started. ( i probably ended up missing alot of good stuff, including Groo when it moved over)

[ctc]

>I've been rereading some normalman and it still remains some of the sharpest parody and commentary on the comics industry and it's tropes.

I think what made it so great was that Valentino had a good grip on comics in general; and could juxtapose stuff like the superheroes with Richie Rich, the stuff going on a First, Archie, etc. A lot of later parody stuff stuck to one genre, endlessly going over the same gags, pointing out the same REALLY OBVIOUS stuff....

"Normalman" was one of the first comics I read "seriously," and I still love it. It encapsulated the time.... early 80's, and the independant boom.... mostly because it WAS so inclusive. "Comic book" wasn't just superheroes, or kids books, or Japanese books.... it was ALL of 'em. At once.

*sigh* Now I haz a sad....

>One really has to wonder where Jim Valentino would be today as a cartoonst if he had stuck to hs autobiographical and satirical guns

He might have been Scott McCloud before Scott McCloud. "Time Marches On" is one of the greatest comics ever; and it's just one page. (AND needs a sequel, I think.) He certainly had the theoretical knowledge, if not the draftsmanship.

>instead of being essentially an Image second stringer

Oh man; DON'T get me started on "Shadowhawk!" That one always bugged me 'cos the character is a blatant rip of Randy Zimmerman's P'Jonn design.

Now I haz a mad!

*grrr!*

Don C.

[kingdom warrior]

Oh man; DON'T get me started on "Shadowhawk!" That one always bugged me 'cos the character is a blatant rip of Randy Zimmerman's P'Jonn design.

Now I haz a mad!

*grrr!*

Don C.

Really??? you have an example so I can see a side by side comparison cause I couldn't find one on the net......

[ctc]

>you have an example



P'Jonn is actually a birdlike alien, hence the three fingers. And he's short.

Don C.

[Figuremod73]

pretty close. what year was he created?

[kingdom warrior]

>you have an example



P'Jonn is actually a birdlike alien, hence the three fingers. And he's short.

Don C.

WHOA!!!!!!!!! Talk about straight up rip off..........or was it an Homage? did anyone ever bring that up to Valentino???

[Figuremod73]

This is pretty close to a "shame on Valentino"!
Things like this have happened before on accident though.

[kingdom warrior]

This is pretty close to a "shame on Valentino"!
Things like this have happened before on accident though.

when it came to the Image guys nothing happens as an accident...... those guys thought they owned the comicbook world for a brief moment

[samurainoir]

What I've always found kind of baffling was the fact that Valentino was the only one of the image founders that got his start in the underground comix, and he even depicts himself as being a bit of a hippy amidst the counter culture, in his autobiographical work.



Yet Shadowhawk seems to come from the exact opposite direction, and given how reactionary and humorless it is, you can't even say it's parody like Larry Weltz did with Captain Guts.


Which could explain this...


And just to drive a point home... Hs latest project features a tree as a main character.

[Figuremod73]

As an artist Valentino is pretty darn good. Im not as familiar with him as I am the "bigger names" that formed Image. I still think Marc Silvestri is the most talented of the group.
Ive been looking for something different though, maybe ill hunt some of Valentino's stuff down.

[samurainoir]

^^^^
start with the normalman collected edition.

Amazon.com: The Complete Normalman (9781582408156): Jim Valentino: Books

[kingdom warrior]

I think he was trying to cha-ching and create a Superhero character that would make him loads of money.....the independent style stuff may have not caught on with all the people buying the other books......but he should have least tried........