Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Space Shield!


The cover for the sixth issue Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD is one of the most famous images ever wrought by "Jaunty" Jim Steranko during his relatively brief, though doubtless potent tenure at the "House of Ideas". That scene of a raygun-toting Nick Fury clad in a Wally Wood-inspired space suit adrift in space in front of Earth's Moon is stunning while Earth explodes is a stunner.


It was used many years later as the cover to a reprint of the Steranko SHIELD stories.


It was one of several images lifted to develop posters for the 1970's fan organization FOOM.


Here is a lively recreation done by Steranko himself.


The cover has been homaged many times, one of the earliest and most notorious is this 1980's one for the last issue of Ka-Zar the Savage by Paul Neary.


Kerry Gammill and Denis Janke did this one for a 1989 issue of Superman.


Recently Dave Johnson rendered an homage for a 2011 issue of Deadpool.


Tim Sale did this one featuring Mike Allred's zany Madman character.


This 1993 cover done for a parody comic Wayne Faucher seems to be a variation on the classic image by Steranko. 


And as noted in this post, I wonder if this cover by Bob Powell for this 1948 issue of Shadow Comics might've been the inspiration for Steranko's 1968 original.

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3 comments:

  1. Nice collection, but I think the Deadpool one is actually DAVE Johnson, not Joe Johnson. Just thought I'd mention it.

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    1. Thanks for the correction. That's what I get for relying on my ever nimble memory. Aarrggh!

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