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Post by Slam_Bradley on Feb 25, 2019 11:17:19 GMT -5
Infantino left DC in January of '76. So a number of these covers post-date his tenure.
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Post by MDG on Feb 25, 2019 11:38:35 GMT -5
^^^^ These covers are busy enough that they don't need much more of a background. I don't know if the "blankness" would be as noticeable if they weren't left white, which certainly wasn't Chua's decision.
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Post by MWGallaher on Feb 25, 2019 14:27:01 GMT -5
Infantino left DC in January of '76. So a number of these covers post-date his tenure. True, Chan's tenure as main cover artist petered out around October of 76, and incoming art director Vince Colletta's inks start to show up on a lot of Chan's (and other's) covers in the latter half of the year, suggesting to me that Colletta inherited and used many of Chan's uninked covers. So it's hard for me to be confident just to what extent Infantino influenced Chan's covers. It is commonly claimed, with some evidence, that Infantino provided many, perhaps the majority, of DC's cover designs while he was publisher, so I think that explains Chan's use of many standard Infantino design elements, such as the symmetrical opposing characters, the stretched-out cityscape along the horizon, etc. It's not unreasonable to think that Chan continued on his own with an ingrained Infantino-esque design approach after Carmine departed, and it's also likely that many of Carmine's roughs were used even after he departed the company. |
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Post by rberman on Feb 25, 2019 14:33:02 GMT -5
My data set is quite limited, but on the basis of the ones I've seen, I wouldn't say that on the whole his covers were "great." The lack of backgrounds is a letdown compared to his peers of that era.
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Post by Mister Spaceman on Feb 25, 2019 15:11:05 GMT -5
Well, after seeing the DC covers that folks have posted, I got off the fence and voted "no". His DC cover art is, at best, workmanlike and generally pretty mediocre. Maybe I'm seeing his Incredible Hulk covers that I like through rose-tinted glasses but I think his subtly quirky style fits better with that character than, say, Batman. But I would never say he was a "great" cover artist.
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Post by chadwilliam on Feb 25, 2019 15:26:55 GMT -5
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Post by MDG on Feb 25, 2019 15:32:49 GMT -5
^^^^ I guess a big question here is: Was Chan designing these covers or working from someone else's layouts? After Carmine left was it a single person or did each editor work with someone?
When Coletta came in as "Art Director" was it to fill that role?
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Post by Icctrombone on Feb 25, 2019 15:36:09 GMT -5
I'm surprised that no one is savaging Colletta for being art director.
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Post by MWGallaher on Feb 25, 2019 15:56:31 GMT -5
    t I can only offer my opinions on his Batman work, but I think he deserves a lot of credit for covers which seemed to capture the single most riveting moment of a battle. I love that monster cover on the left - the Weird Fantasy cover Batman should have had in the 50's - and it says so much. Batman's unsteady balance due to the Creature's grip on his cape; fending the Creature off with fire clearly being a desperate measure on Batman's part as made clear by the uncertainty with which he's raised his right arm not sure if he should attack or defend with it; The Monster's fixed gaze on the flame while his right arm creeps towards his intended victims. You can tell so much from it. Same with the Detective cover - the way Batman's brain has realised his fate while his arm still seems to think it's in battle. I could almost swear that he's a moving figure, though of course, that's not possible. These characters seem in no way posed - just in the perfect position at the perfect microsecond and Chan knows how to capture it. I was hoping someone would offer up some exemplars of Chan's top-tier efforts, so thanks, chadwilliam. Those are definitely a notch or two above the ones that I tend to remember (and dislike). They've all got stronger figure work and anatomy, adequate background detail, depth, and energy. |
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Post by Icctrombone on Feb 25, 2019 16:01:07 GMT -5
There's someone that knows more about it than me but, maybe the " better" covers he was paid more. Maybe the Infantino layed out covers he was being paid chump change.
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Post by MWGallaher on Feb 25, 2019 16:02:52 GMT -5
^^^^ I guess a big question here is: Was Chan designing these covers or working from someone else's layouts? After Carmine left was it a single person or did each editor work with someone? When Coletta came in as "Art Director" was it to fill that role? When Colletta came in, Chan quickly disappeared off to Marvel. I don't know if Chan was let go before DC brought in Colletta, who started relying on Rich Buckler to pencil a lot of DC covers, or whether there was some overlap, or whether Chan just decided to move on. My impression, based on the continuity in design sense after Carmine left is that Chan was taking over as the cover designer. And perhaps, Infantino had ceded primary design responsibility to Chan quite ahead of Infantino being deposed at DC. |
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Post by tarkintino on Feb 25, 2019 16:22:19 GMT -5
It also appears he stuck pretty closely to Infantino's roughs, retaining clumsy figure work (such as Wonder Woman on JLA 132 above) when a better finisher would have refined things in the translation from rough to finished pencils (or to the final inks, on the frequent occasions when he inked the job) Its no secret that the success or failure of translating/building on a layout rests on the artist. To that end, Infantino had no trouble creating great cover concepts/layouts, and those who worked from them--including Adams, Kane, Cardy and other legends--rarely produced anything other than great-to-jaw-dropping end results, so the "problem" (if one actually exists) is with the one tasked to illustrate the cover. That said, Chan was a detail oriented, imaginative artist who had the talent to deliver great work, but like any artist, could rush through a few things if the schedule demanded it. Those demands should never be conflated with ability. Regarding the use and/or appearance of negative space in a composition: its not a...negative, as 1) Every cover does not need be overflowing with so much information or a sense of being literal with an environment that its just the equivalent of static--busy for the sake of it, if its not there based a real creative motivation. 2) Negative space--in the right hands--draws all attention on the subject as if its so important that all else in its "world" does not matter, like being trapped in a void with one focus. The greater covers conveyed that message, no matter the mood or tone of subject matter, as in these samples--  Chan's covers (like that of Batman #273 served the same purpose, as adding anything else (e.g., a room, furniture, etc.) would have sold the message more effectively that the stark image of Batman stretched in front of a cannon by his assailants. Nothing more needed to appear in that moment to work, like the examples above. |
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Post by rberman on Feb 25, 2019 16:38:48 GMT -5
It also appears he stuck pretty closely to Infantino's roughs, retaining clumsy figure work (such as Wonder Woman on JLA 132 above) when a better finisher would have refined things in the translation from rough to finished pencils (or to the final inks, on the frequent occasions when he inked the job) Its no secret that the success or failure of translating/building on a layout rests on the artist. To that end, Infantino had no trouble creating great cover concepts/layouts, and those who worked from them--including Adams, Kane, Cardy and other legends--rarely produced anything other than great-to-jaw-dropping end results, so the "problem" (if one actually exists) is with the one tasked to illustrate the cover. That said, Chan was a detail oriented, imaginative artist who had the talent to deliver great work, but like any artist, could rush through a few things if the schedule demanded it. Those demands should never be conflated with ability. Regarding the use and/or appearance of negative space in a composition: its not a...negative, as 1) Every cover does not need be overflowing with so much information or a sense of being literal with an environment that its just the equivalent of static--busy for the sake of it, if its not there based a real creative motivation. 2) Negative space--in the right hands--draws all attention on the subject as if its so important that all else in its "world" does not matter, like being trapped in a void with one focus. The greater covers conveyed that message, no matter the mood or tone of subject matter, as in these samples-- Chan's covers (like that of Batman #273 served the same purpose, as adding anything else (e.g., a room, furniture, etc.) would have sold the message more effectively that the stark image of Batman stretched in front of a cannon by his assailants. Nothing more needed to appear in that moment to work, like the examples above. A blank background can be a perfectly good choice for artistic reasons, especially on a symbolic cover like the Teen Titans one. It would be nuts to draw a detailed background on that Avengers cover due to all the figures; a cityscape or jungle scene behind them would just make it more difficult to see the foreground action. Different people will have different aesthetic senses about which images "ought" to have backgrounds and which don't. To me, the Batman and Spider-Man images look rushed and unfinished without a context. |
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Post by chaykinstevens on Feb 25, 2019 17:36:51 GMT -5
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Post by hondobrode on Feb 25, 2019 19:17:46 GMT -5
I definitely voted yes.
Big fan !
His work grabbed me by the throat as a kid, and, like Slam, got me to buy lots of copies.
Is he the best artist ? Not be a long shot, but it's dynamic and emotional and you can feel tension and power.
Crude sometimes, and sometimes surprisingly polished, but I really like his covers.
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