Monark Starstalker by Howard Chaykin 1976

As previously noted in my Gideon Faust post by Howard Chaykin, I'm a huge admirer of his work. And while he's mainly thought of as coming into his own in the 80s when he created American Flagg for First Comics, his 70s output, when inking himself, is terrific as well. I'm not going to waste a lot of time talking up Chaykin here when you can read my thoughts on the Faust post but I would like to talk a bit about this particular story.

Chaykin wrote and illustrated Monark Starstalker which appeared in the October 1976 issue of Marvel Premiere. This is an absolutely stunning comic. Chaykin seems to be in full command of his design sense as well as his linework. His early DC work from just a few years earlier (1973-74) was already filled with great character designs and page layouts but he still seemed to be chasing a style. By the time he created this strip, he seems to be fully formed (at least he seemed to be until he took it to the next level with Flagg). This comic is filled with bold sharp graphics that show a strong Alex Toth influence. The writing is perfectly fine, it's a typical Chaykin character that combines a swashbuckling hero in a space opera setting (that last part isn't as strong here) that began with his character Iron Wolf for DC in 1973 and continued throughout his career, but it's the graphics that really shine.

The name Monark Starstalker sounds eerily like it could have been the name of a character in Star Wars. Below is a photo of Chaykin with Roy Thomas at the San Diego Comic-Con in July of 1976 promoting Star Wars, even though Star Wars #1 wouldn't be released until July of 1977. Chaykin, of course, was the artist on the first few issues of that comic. There was a Star Wars poster that was given away of the 1976 SDCC that Chaykin had painted, and it's also well known that Lucas hand-picked Chaykin to draw the Star Wars comic. I'm sure there was a slight influence, if not the concepts, then perhaps the name. Or not. Enjoy! 

Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin at the SDCC in July 1976

Marvel Premiere 32 October 1976

 

Johnny Craig at DC: 1978 - 1982

Better people than I have attempted to choose a favorite EC Comics artist. I can't do it. I just can't. Saying that I would have to put Johnny Craig in at least my top 6. Maybe top 7. Maybe top 8. Maybe I'll stop. I'll stop. EC is one of those companies that people tend to get obsessive over once you discover them, which is what happened to me around 30 years ago when Gladstone began reprinting EC comics when they briefly lost the Disney license. Soon the EC license moved to Gemstone who ended up reprinting complete editions of every New Trend, New Direction, and even a few Pre-Trend issues over the next decade and some change. Through those reprints, I discovered so much gorgeous artwork, among those being the work of Johnny Craig.

I'm not going to spend too much time going over Craig at EC because that's not what this post is about. If you want to familiarize yourself with his classic early 1950s EC work then check out these three Fantagraphics collections Fall Guy for Murder and Other Stories, Voodoo Vengeance and Other Stories, and The Woman Who Loved Life and Other Stories. I also recommend Extra! from Dark Horse which contains some of Craig's best artwork and some of his last for EC before they fell, strangled by the comics code.

After EC Comics canceled all of their titles except for Mad in 1955 Craig worked briefly for Atlas (Later Marvel) before going into advertising. He didn't return to comics until 1963 where he drew a few stories for ACG. He then moved onto Warren's black and white magazines in the late 60s where he produced beautiful work for the horror magazines Eerie and Creepy under the pseudonym Jay Taycee (J.C. get it?). He did this to avoid using his real name as he was still working in advertising. During this time he also tried getting work at DC and Marvel. He drew an issue of Brave and the Bold at DC but it was heavily retouched. Archie Goodwin (his editor at Warren) was working at Marvel at this point and hired him for Iron Man. He penciled a few issues but wasn't very well suited for superhero comics, so he became the inker on the book.

In the latter part of the 70s, he began penciling and inking short mystery and science fiction stories for DC, which is the work you can find below. I honestly don't know much about this work or his time during this period. It's solid work and you can see he still has his storytelling chops. As far as I know, this is the last comic book work he produced before semi-retiring. He went onto to create many great paintings of the EC horror hosts before he passed away in 2001. Enjoy.

Doorway to Nightmare #4 (July/August 1978)

House of Mystery #263 (December 1978)

House of Mystery #275 (December 1979)

Detective Comics #488 (March 1980)

Mystery in Space #114 (December 1980)

Mystery in Space #116 (February 1981)

House of Mystery #295 (August 1981)

Ghosts #108 (January 1982)

House of Mystery #300 (January 1982)