Broken Frontier

Ed Hannigan might be the most influential artist you never heard of. Hero Initiative is introducing us to the artist this week in a way that helps him out in his time of need. 

There is a saying, “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” This maxim doesn’t always apply to comics. Sure, there are comic book covers that just feature the book’s cast standing around and looking tough. That makes it hard to guess what the stories are about. But that is not always the case.

The comic book cover is the readers’ introduction into the issue. It is supposed to grab their attention, draw them in, and entice them to read more. Some artists are better at crafting covers than others. This is why Alex Ross has more covers to his credit than he does interiors. This is why Adam Hughes is called to provide covers for books with female stars. They know how to grab the buyer’s interest.

Ed Hannigan ranks as one of the best cover layout artists in the history of comics. Some younger readers might be saying, “Who?” Some older readers might think the name sounds familiar. But if you bought any Marvel comic book in the early 1980s, you were probably influenced to do so by Mr. Hannigan.

Hannigan worked from the late 1970s to early 1980s primarily as a cover layout artist. He would do thumbnail sketches of a cover and then send it off to an artist to show what he wanted it to look like. Many times he worked up his thumbnail to a full cover by himself. He also worked on the interiors as well as both a writer and an artist.

As an artist, he stands as the co-creator of Cloak and Dagger with Bill Mantlo stemming from his work on Peter Parker: the Spectacular Spider-Man and came up with the design for the robotic Brainiac in Action Comics. With those two facts, Hannigan’s place in comic book history is set. But it’s his unheralded work as a cover artist that should make him a comic book legend.

He was an expert at perspective and use of color. He was great at composing the figures on the cover and creating action that looked like it would leap right off the paper. He remained true to the comic artists of the past while breaking with the conventional norm whenever possible. Go to the Grand Comics Database and enter Hannigan’s name and look at some of his work. Then you will see what I mean.

I personally blame Hannigan for the size of my comic book collection. There was many a cover he drew personally that enticed me to pick up a particular issue. Maybe I wouldn’t have done so, and one which led to me picking up the book on a regular basis. And that doesn’t even count the covers he laid out for other artists! Yes, Hannigan was responsible for my finding new and exciting ways to spend my hard earned allowance, and I’m sure I am not the only one.

But for as much impact as he had on a whole generation of comic book readers, he doesn’t get the amount of recognition artists from the same era like Frank Miller or John Byrne get. Perhaps, this is because readers don’t really know or understand the craftsmanship he displayed in creating covers. Well, the Hero Initiative is going to give us an education. This week’s Ed Hannigan: Covered will give us a look inside of his creative process and feature tributes from comic professionals he inspired.

The Hero Initiative is a charity that focuses on helping comic creators in need. The creator the charity is helping this time is Hannigan himself. Hannigan was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative auto-immune disease that attacks the central nervous system.  The disease has begun to affect Hannigan’s means of making money, and the Hero Initiative is stepping in to help the artist make ends meet.

So, if you want to learn more about a man who helped indoctrinate a whole generation of comic readers into the hobby with his excellent covers, pick up this benefit book tomorrow. If you want to pay a legendary artist back for the joy he’s given you over the years, pick up the book as well. And if you want to do your part to support a good cause, pick up the book. Either way, you’ll be glad you did.

Also out this week:

Amazing Spider-Man #617:

Some people would say that Spider-Man has the best rogues gallery next to Batman. Others may say he has the goofiest. Neither group is necessarily wrong. Spidey does have a great bunch of villains to battle, but he does fight a guy with a fishbowl on his head and an old man who dresses like a green bird.

The powers that be are trying to toughen up his classic villains and make them more of a threat with “The Gauntlet” event. This week, it’s the Rhino’s turn. When last we saw him, he was rethinking his criminal career. This is good because there is a new Rhino in town ready to take his place as a bad guy. Problem is, the first bad act the new Rhino wants to do is kill the old one. And, of course, Spidey gets stuck in the middle.

Joe Kelly (W), Max Fiumara (A), Marvel Comics, $3.99. Ongoing Series.

Weekly World News #1:

Supermarket Tabloids are often believed to feature stories that are completely made up, but one tabloid made that fact blatantly obvious. That would be The Weekly World News, and it used the tabloid format as a weapon of satire. Stories on Bat Boy, the World’s Fattest Cat, and Santa Claus being found in ice parodied a lot of the stories you’d find in the other scandal rags being sold in the newsstand.

The paper, defunct since 2007, also was home to many names from the world of comics. Peter Bagge, Ernie Colon, and Mike Collins were some of the comic creators to work for the paper. Now, the tabloid is finding a new life as a comic book. The wild, over-the-top stories are a perfect fit for the four-color world. The print version of The Weekly World News might have died 3 years ago, but it still lives on. Just like they said Elvis did.

Chris Ryall (W), Alan Robinson (A), IDW Publishing, $3.99. Four-Issue Miniseries.

Conan the Cimmerian: Weight of Crown:

Darick Robertson is a great artist, but did you know that he was a writer too? His first published work was on a title trying to take advantage of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles craze way back in 1985 called Space Beaver. He created the character and wrote and drew all 11 issues of the series.

Since that time, Robertson has been predominantly known as an artist, but this week he returns to the world of writing—on one of the most legendary characters in comics. He is writing and drawing this special one-shot featuring everyone’s favorite Cimmerian, Conan, as part of Dark Horse’s “One-Shot Wonders” event. In it, Conan works as a mercenary protecting the kingdom of the “Mad King of Gaul.” Conflict erupts when the men Conan serves with think he would be a better king than the one they have.

Darick Robertson (W/A), Dark Horse Comics, $3.50. One-Shot.

Muppet Show #1:

Roger Langridge’s work on BOOM! Studios’ Muppet Show was a critical and commercial success. The first issue sold out everywhere and went into a second printing and Langridge’s writing and art earned praise from the toughest critics you could find---the ones who grew up watching the original TV show.

They say that nothing sells like success, so it was a foregone conclusion that an ongoing series would soon follow. But would the creator that captured the tone of the Muppet’s humor so correctly remain on board? The answer is yes, as Langridge is at the helm of the new series. The first issues deal with the theater-less Muppets hitting the road as a travelling variety show. 

Roger Langridge (W/A), BOOM! Studios, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

Catwoman #83:

Catwoman is a title that is both a good and bad fit for a one-issue Blackest Night inspired revival. A major plot point of the series was Selina Kyle’s killing of the Black Mask in order to protect her loved ones. However, the title was essentially a crime noir series, with a realistic tone and the more conventional superhero tropes missing. Having a power ring-wielding zombie enter the equation seems a little out of place.

But a power ring wielding zombie version of the Black Mask is back and out for vengeance against Catwoman.  Selina Kyle has proven resourceful in the past, but will she be able to survive this time? Not if the sadistic Black Mask has anything to say about it. It looks like Selina is about to have her heart ripped out twice in two years.

Fabian Nicieza (W), Julian Lopez (A), DC Comics, $2.99. One-Shot.

Army of Two #1:

Legend has it that comic books based on video games, usually anemic sellers in comic shops, sell out in great numbers in video game stores. I have no proof of this—I rarely go into video game stores and when I do, I usually don’t see any comic books there at all. But there has to be some truth to the rumor because comic companies keep putting out adaptations of video games.

The latest comes from IDW and brings the popular “Army of Two” franchise into comics, just in time for the release of the latest game in the series—Army of Two: The 40th Day. This video game adaptation has something going for it that other adaptations don’t—it’s written by comic book legend Peter Milligan.

Peter Milligan (W), Dexter Soy (A), IDW Publishing, $3.99. Ongoing Series.

Marvel Super Hero Squad #1:

The Marvel Adventures line has been cancelled, the Mini-Marvels stories have been scaled back, so the only consistently kid-friendly series Marvel will be putting out is this one, a tie-in to a Hasbro toy line of the same name. Sheesh!

Not that there’s anything wrong with toy tie-in comics. Some of my favorite books have been adapted from toy lines. And, realistically, it makes better fiscal sense that if you are going to print a book for the youngsters that it help promote the toy line you get money from. But I doubt that this series will be as good as some of the Marvel Adventures and Mini-Marvels books. It might be, heck, it might be better, but I don’t see the reason why those other brands had to go by the wayside to make room for this one. Shouldn’t there be room for all these comics?

Todd Dezago (W), Mitch Schauer (A), Marvel Comics, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

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William Gatevackes is a professional writer living in Mamaroneck, NY with his wife Jennifer and daughter Vanessa. He also is a comic reviewer for PopMatters, has written for Comic Foundry magazine and is the comic book movie editor for Film Buff Online. Links to his writing can be found at his website, www.williamgatevackes.com.