Dave Stevens RIP 1955-2008
I was saddened to read on Atom Bomb Bikini that the terrifically talented cartoonist and good girl artist Dave Stevens died yesterday. Mark Evanier wrote a fond remembrance of Stevens on his blog.
The Rocketeer made Dave's reputation and also spawned a resurgence of interest in fifties' figure model Bettie Page, whose likeness Dave used for the strip's heroine. But the strip was not profitable for Dave, who was among the least prolific talents to ever attempt comic books. It wasn't so much that he was slow, as his friends joked, but that he was almost obsessively meticulous, doing days of study and sketching to create one panel, and doing many of them over and over. Even then, he was usually dissatisfied with what he produced and fiercely critical of the reproduction...The image is a scan of the cover of Airboy No. 5 (September 1986) from my collection. LinkDave was truly one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life...and was certainly among the most gifted. Our first encounter was at Jack Kirby's house around 1971 when he came to visit and show Jack some of his work. As I said, Kirby was very encouraging and he urged Dave not to try and draw like anyone else but to follow his own passions. This was advice Dave took to heart, which probably explains why he took so long with every drawing. They were rarely just jobs to Dave. Most of the time, what emerged from his drawing board or easel was a deeply personal effort.
Previously on Boing Boing:
• New Jack Kirby coffee table art book by Mark Evanier
the latest
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"50 cents, 75 in Canada." They still print covers like that? That's gonna need updating.
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TMI Nik, TMI.
Dave was a great friend, are few reminisces and photos on my blog
http://williamwray.blogspot.com/
That Airboy cover was my first introduction to Dave Stevens, which I saw in an mid-80s issue of Comics Scene magazine. As a young teenage boy I was, of course, immediately struck and wishing once again we had a comic shop in my hometown. Once I had the access and the income to get a wider range of comics I was always on the lookout for Dave Stevens comics, but he just didn't seem to publish that much. A few Rocketeer issues was all I managed to get. I pulled them out the other day when I heard of Stevens' death and flipped through them again. He will be missed.
@#2 - Grow up. Are you even making sense? Do you even know who Dave Stevens is, or who his artistic influences were? His role in the Bettie Page renaissance in the 1980s? The only blatantly sexist thing here is your bizarre knee-jerk reaction to this cover. Sexism is certainly common in comics, but you won't find it in Dave Stevens' work. If you're looking for a soapbox, at least have the decency to find a post your qualified to comment on.
Nik, who is one of my favorite posters, is the love child of Ulysses and The Sound and The Fury. Reading his comments is like being kidnapped by the SLA: You either become Tania or you die.
@2
Sexism's okay in art. Comics are art. Comic writers and artists are sexist. Why? Because the majority of them are male and males like looking at women.
By the way, I'm a girl, and I shop at Thrift Town. My most expensive accessory are my ugly Insignia bluetooth headphones. The most I spend on clothing is when I have a military ball to attend and I want a nice dress.
Doing my best to reply to what makes no sense.
Mignon, yes, actually, some comics publishers do still print a higher Canadian price on their covers. A Canadian friend of mine, on a recent trip to NYC, went round to comics shops buying up lots of stuff that cost ~25% more at home.
Looking around for an example (which is tough, because I no longer buy many mainstream comics), the third volume of DMZ, published a few months ago by Vertigo (an imprint of DC) has a cover price of $12.99 US, $15.99 CAN. I don't know if the fourth volume (which came out yesterday, but I didn't buy it) does the same.
Nik (2), you're having some kind of out-of-control day.
ShortFatSteve (6), that's not a nuanced view of Nik's comment. Also? It's self-defeating to claim there's no sexism in Dave Stevens' art when the original entry includes the cover of Airboy #5.
I'm not saying it's bad art. I'm not saying Dave Stevens wasn't influential. I'm saying there aren't many explanations for Valkyrie's shirt being open to the waist (it doesn't even have buttons and buttonholes on it), or for her lovingly delineated nipples and pudendum; and all but one of those explanations are unconvincing.
Tenn, sexism isn't okay. Sexuality is.
@#10 : Teresa, let me see if I understand you right: because of the way Valkyrie was drawn, Dave Stevens was sexist? Or his art is? Or is it that sexism is in the eye of the beholder, regardless of the context or the intention of the artist? I'm not sure I follow the nuance of your logic.