Original Art Friday 11/15/19 GENE COLAN

Even though I've traversed the nation to lovely New Orleans, thousands of miles away from the MV archive, I will NOT be deterred from presenting yet another offering on ORIGINAL ART FRIDAY, the made up day where all people of good cheer gather to look at some cool funny book art.

Today it's a very nice piece from Captain America #128, circa 1970, drawn by the great Gene Colan, inked by Dick Ayers, written by Stan Lee, and lettered by the great Artie Simek. In honor of this weekend's travel theme, here Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, has eschewed his costume for a time to cruise the country on his hog, only to run into a dirty rotten local cop who doesn't like the cut of his jib. Something tells me this won't end well.

I love love love the inking on this piece. The thick line, which reminds me of George Klein, compliments Colan's pencils perfectly. And the page, which is otherwise a bit static, still has drama through the staging and "cuts" between panels. In comics, you always want the last panel on the page to draw you to the next, and the close-up of Mr. Mean-Cop and his club certainly does that.

Since I did not ride my non-existent hog to New Orleans, I hope and pray I do not run into troubles like poor Captain America. Updates will be posted, including requests for bail, should the official clubs come out...