SAMURAI SHODOWN original platform
arcade developer/publisher
SNK
The success of Capcom’s Street Fighter II resulted in a legion of imitators. SNK recruited some of the designers of the original Street Fighter from 1987, but considering how terribly that game actually plays it should come as no surprise that efforts like Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury were complete garbage. SNK finally righted the ship with Samurai Shodown, which incidentally plays much more like SFII than the previously-mentioned efforts, while maintaining the high special effects SNK became known for. The setting is feudal Japan and the cast consists of the great archetypes associated with that period. A whole series followed, although the later entries might be more accurately considered updates rather than sequels.
Samurai Shodown was inducted on November 6th, 2009.
MORTAL KOMBAT II original platform
arcade developer/publisher
Midway key personnel John Tobias (design)
Ed Boon (program/design)
Dan Forden (music)
Mortal KombatII offers the same as the original, but amped up in every way. The gameplay in particular is superior and the imagery is overall much more interesting.
Mortal Kombat II was inducted on November 6th, 2009.
LUCKY & WILD original platform
arcade developer/publisher
Namco key personnel Taro Okamoto (design)
S. Tohyama (design)
Y. Kounoe (design)
Etsuo Ishii (music)
By the early 1990s, there were legions of racing games and mobs of light gun games but Namco’s Lucky & Wild lets the player drive and shoot. This combination alone would perhaps just be a novelty but the game is well constructed and has lots of personality, ex: the great rear view mirror at the top of the screen displaying the title characters’ reactions.
Unlike many of the other illustrators in this series, Johnny Gruelle wrote most of his works. He secured his fame with his creation, Raggedy Ann (and Andy). He is best known for this series of books but he illustrated several others, as well.
Arthur Rackham, like Maxfield Parrish, still enjoys a following today. His legend extends beyond the world of illustrated books and there are several art books dedicated to his work currently in print. It’s difficult to point out works with which he is specifically associated, largely because he mostly provided illustrations for new editions of long-established works like Aesop’s Fables, Alice in Wonderland, Wind in the Willows, etc. The one original work of some fame that he illustrated is Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, which is largely overshadowed by its sequel, Peter and Wendy (aka Peter Pan). Anyway, read ‘em and weep!
Mr. Tenniel is the eldest illustrator featured thus far. Tenniel was not a full-time illustrator of books but rather spent most of his time working on editorial cartoons for Punch magazine. Still, the in addition to a version of Aesop’s Fables, he illustrated a couple of immortal whoppers, namely Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. And now gaze at his his handiwork!
Jim Lawson is best known for . . . illustrating TMNT comics. Most Mirage Studios artists focus on licensing art or toy design but Lawson has drawn a ton of TMNT comics. In fact, no one has drawn more, so eat up!
TMNT #20 (1989) pencils by Jim Lawson, inks by Eric Talbot
TMNT #28 (1990) art by Jim Lawson TMNT Adventures #7 (1989) pencils by Jim Lawson, inks by Gary Fields
TMNT Volume 2 #8 (1994) pencils by Jim Lawson, inks by Eric Talbot TMNT Volume 4 #2 (2002) pencils by Jim Lawson, inks by Peter Laird
Remember a couple of months ago when I started a series called 25 Visions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, ripping off Milo Prometheus’s 75 Visions of The Bat-Man series? I only completed a couple of entries before I petered out. The main issue was that I was tired of digging around all over the inter-netz looking for cool skanz to use. Additionally, I was looking for the most zip-pow images, so I included cover paintings for the most part at the expense of actual sequential, interior art. Well, now that I’m restarting the series, I will be focusing exclusively on interior art cuz that’s whut komix is all about!
PS – I’m restarting the series because I downloaded a ton of TMNT comics at comicsworld.wordpress.com so it’s no longer a pain in the ass to find scans. Amen. Without further ado . . .
KEVIN EASTMAN & PETER LAIRD
Eastman & Laird are best known for . . . TMNT, which they created.
TMNT #10 (1987) art by Eastman/Laird
TMNT #6 colorized version (1986) art by Eastman/Laird TMNT #14 (1988) pencils by Eastman/inks by Eric Talbot
TMNT #50 (1992) art by Eastman/Laird
TMNT #8 (1986) art by Eastman/Laird
Eastman and/or Laird were the primary artists on the following TMNT comics:
TMNT 1-7, 9-12, 14, 15, 50
Leonardo 1
Donatello 1
Michealangelo 1
Raphael 1
They also illustrated many short stories and provided inks (sometimes very heavy-handedly) on many other TMNT comics.
Did you even know there was a newspaper comic strip starring Spider-Man? The dang thing has been around for over thirty years and is interesting for a variety of reasons. First, the strip is and always has been written by none other than Stan Lee. Considering how famous this guy is in the world of comics you might think the strip would be somewhat celebrated as the only regular vehicle for Lee’s writing over the last three decades.
Stan Lee is so modern.
Originally, the strip was illustrated by John Romita, the well known artist that penciled The Amazing Spider-Man comic book from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. The strip has had a few different artists over the years, but Larry Lieber (Stan Lee’s brother) has been the day-to-day penciler for several years now.
Ugh, seriously?!
The aspect of the newspaper strip that holds the most interest for me is that it exists outside of the Marvel Comics continuity. Some common Spider-Man enemies from the comic book are absent from the strip and likewise there are villains that are exclusive to the strip. Additionally, various Marvel super heroes make guest appearances with qualities that differ from their comic book situations. Occasionally, major events will coincide between the book and strip, like Peter Parker’s marriage to Mary Jane Watson in the late 1980s or, much more recently, the “Brand New Day” storyline that ended the marriage (but which has been since reversed in the strip).
I hate all that wasted space at the top of the Sunday strip
In spite of its low profile, the newspaper strip must be read by many times more people than the actual comic book, which sells about 100,000 copies per issue. Think about it!
Maxfield Parrish might not be a household name, but he is quite famous within the world of fine art. However, before he made his name in the highbrow art world his talent was directed toward picture books (and magazine articles). Like the first and second entries in this series, Parrish worked with author L. Frank Baum on a book of nursery rhyme adaptations. Parrish then moved on to illustrating adaptations of famous epics like Arabian Nights and Ring of Nibelung.
Because of his enduring fame in the fine art community, there are many Parrish books in print, although many of them present his illustrations out of their original context and in a coffee table art book format.
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