Gil Kane's Superman

[madmarva]

Got the Adventures of Superman by Gil Kane hardback today, and while I fondly remembered his run, I had forgotten that he and Marv Wolfman did some really cool stuff. I haven't re-read it yet, but it had team ups with Atom, Captain Marvel, Justice League, Teen Titans and the Forgotten Heroes, featuring Animal Man. Flipping through it brought back a lot of cool memories. Interesting, that there was no Hal Jordan appearances, despite just about every other key DC hero at least having a cameo.

Haven't been excited about Superman in quite a while. Too bad it's nigh 30-year-old stories. If you've never read these stories, you might give them a try.

[GordoCrisp]

Cool, I think I recall some of those.

I always really dug Atom as a character.

Does he exist for DC anymore?

[The Toyroom]

I enjoyed Kane's Supes run back then...with Wolfman in "Action" as well as the "Superman Specials" that he did. Good stuff!

[kingdom warrior]

I read and have that run. Gil was a Major influence on me.I have sketches still of me as a teen imitating his style. I had the honor of meeting and sitting down with him to talk about comics, Very awesome man....

[emeraldknight47]

GK was one of THE undisputed masters of dynamic motion, IMHO. No matter what book he was on, his particular style was instantly recognizable (even when he had some crapass inkers) and that's quite a nice legacy to leave behind!

[Earth 2 Chris]

When I was a kid, I both liked, and disliked Gil Kane's modern work. I loved the dynamic action he conveyed, but didn't like all the stray line work. I couldn't understand why he changed his style from the GL and Atom reprints in the digests.

Just like with Kirby, as I grew older I learned to fully appreciate his mature style. This was a great run on Action, and as much as I love Curt Swan's Superman, it was a shot in the arm Superman needed at the time. This was another instance that proved DC really didn't need a full continuity reboot, just some fresh creative personnel on their titles.

They also collaborated on the 88 Superman animated series, which I really enjoyed...and still do!

Chris

[Figuremod73]

Gil Kane is one of the best. I can literally sit and stare at his drawings in awe.
GILKANE.JPG

[madmarva]

It would have been interesting to see what Kane and for thay matter Infantino's pencils from the 50s and 60s looked like when their finished art had a cleaner look than later in their careers.

I suspect the cleaner look had more to do with the inkers and their choices than a change in style. When Kane began to ink his own work seemed to be when his style began to evolve or allowed to be seen.

We're lucky to see so much raw (un-inked) Kirby art, but I'd love to see more from other artists.

Like you Chris, i found Kane's style to be a more acquired taste like Kirby, Ditko, Heck and Infantino.

Kane's work on Spider-Man is probably my favorite along with his early 1960s Green Lantern covers.

[kingdom warrior]

Kane's Pencil work can be found on the net......

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UnyI8N9xtEs/SwtM1EOyZ2I/AAAAAAAABmY/JsBD-DEnnQY/s1600/green-lantern-pin-up-pencils.jpg

http://www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/uploads/JohnPeterBritton/2009-04-26_163122_gil_kane_pencil_art.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UnyI8N9xtEs/TSOQBr0-r4I/AAAAAAAADWs/it0AB8vAynk/s1600/rao-pencils-22.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o3Aytdmh894/UC2yaynGmYI/AAAAAAAAAbU/1smdnIwEoqg/s1600/Doomsday+Annual+p1.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hZPKmmCwCC4/T0TwF1dRICI/AAAAAAAADtI/bsWIbKK84kY/s1600/Kane%2Blayouts.jpg

http://images.ha.com/lf?set=path%5B1%2F3%2F9%2F5%2F1395094%5D%2Csizedata%5B450x2000%5D&call=url%5Bfile%3Aproduct.chain%5D

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RgGDFplYFUg/UOw0qZVSERI/AAAAAAAAMUc/NUJIXDzOJ4g/s1600/gil+kane+batman+389+1969+murphy+anderson+silver+age+batgirl+detective+rough+page+sketch+original+comic+art+dc+comics.gif

http://www.icollectcomicart.com/appraise/SoldImages/6573594790.JPG

[kingdom warrior]

This is some great stuff here.....

http://ripjaggerdojo.blogspot.com/

[kingdom warrior]

This is probably one of my Fav Superman Drawings Gil ever did......

[knight errant00]

Gil Kane's Superman from that period literally changed the way I visualize the character, seeping into my own sketches. I bought every issue of Action plus whatever else he drew him in at the time. That Superman Special cover ^^ is one of my all-time favorites, and the pose I think is as iconic as the classic fists-on-hips pose.

[Figuremod73]

My favorite is this one:
300px-Superboy_Vol_2_41.jpg