Comments on: The Art of Wayne Boring

The Art of Wayne Boring

interrobang — Sat, 27 Mar 2004 18:37:56 -0800

The other guy who drew Superman, Wayne Boring. Boring's style defined Superman in the fifties, and still looks nice today.

By: Hildegarde

Hildegarde — Sat, 27 Mar 2004 19:16:49 -0800

My goodness. That Superman is about four feet wide.

By: The Michael The

The Michael The — Sat, 27 Mar 2004 19:28:03 -0800

... and still looks nice today. Eh... it's kinda... boring.

By: Guy Smiley

Guy Smiley — Sat, 27 Mar 2004 19:46:38 -0800

For my money, the definitive Superman artist was Curt Swan.

By: interrobang

interrobang — Sat, 27 Mar 2004 19:51:49 -0800

I love Curt Swan, too. I just think Wayne needs a little attention. Even if it's far too late.

By: interrobang

interrobang — Sat, 27 Mar 2004 19:52:55 -0800

(And great link, Guy Smiley. Thanks.)

By: interrobang

interrobang — Sat, 27 Mar 2004 20:02:18 -0800

...here's a Wayne Boring story from Guy Smiley's awesome link. Thanks again!

By: wendell

wendell — Sat, 27 Mar 2004 20:20:01 -0800

Worst. Name. Ever. /comicbookguy

By: quonsar

quonsar — Sat, 27 Mar 2004 20:35:31 -0800

By: MegoSteve

MegoSteve — Sat, 27 Mar 2004 20:43:17 -0800

Thanks for those links, Guy. Swan's version of Superman is definitive in my book, too. I also loved the "I have to see a man about a heist" line in that Swan meets Superman tale.

By: SPrintF

SPrintF — Sat, 27 Mar 2004 21:39:54 -0800

I'm sorry, but I must disagree. As a young man reading Superman and Action Comics, I was always disappointed to see Wayne Boring's work between the covers. Even such rousing tales as "Superman's Return to Krypton!" suffered from Boring's "pulp fiction" style. Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson were the definitive Superman artists.

By: interrobang

interrobang — Sat, 27 Mar 2004 22:06:21 -0800

Sorry, I should have said "Boring's style defined Superman for a period in the fifties". I don't like Boring more or less than Curt Swan or Al Plastino. I like how awkward his Superman is: how he flies into the frame at such an insanely oblique angle, how he's three chests wide, how woodblocky the art is. That's all. The main thing is, I've been reading Guy Smiley's link for a couple of hours. Like Wayne Boring or not, this thread is a net plus.

By: bobo123

bobo123 — Sat, 27 Mar 2004 23:04:31 -0800

Great links, but I'm not feeling his art that much. I think a lot of 1950s comics have that sort of flat, stiff look to them. At the time I think the best artists were working over at EC, which I feel their stuff holds up and is as good if not better than todays stuff.

By: samelborp

samelborp — Sun, 28 Mar 2004 02:16:04 -0800

Oh thanks for the links interrobang, this is the Superman I grew with (I am not that older! but there was a reprint in the 70s of this Superman series). Actually, there's a collector comic book store in Barcelona where they have the whole collection (54 comic books in 9 volumes, and it costs more than 700$!!!!!!)

By: owillis

owillis — Sun, 28 Mar 2004 07:31:02 -0800

As a Superman fanatic, I was never a big fan of Boring's artwork. I hate it when they don't draw Supes as "Super" looking. When you see something like this from Alex Ross, you see "super"

By: grabbingsand

grabbingsand — Sun, 28 Mar 2004 10:16:35 -0800

I love Alex Ross, but for the pages of your typical comic book, I really liked John Byrne's Man Of Steel.

By: ZachsMind

ZachsMind — Sun, 28 Mar 2004 12:33:04 -0800

There is no single definitive Superman. The character has been in some great hands over the past century, both on the pulp page and in the audio/visual realm. Even when Superman is bad (anyone remember the musical?) he's still pretty damn good. In fact when Smallville first became a television series I winced and almost didn't give it a second thought, but I'm mildly surprised at where they've taken the initial idea. Superman Mythology has longevity because the story inspires the best from those who continue to share it, and a father would take no small amount of joy in sharing that with his son. I don't think it's any one artist that makes Superman great. Superman the myth has helped make a lot of artists some of the greatest artists in the history of comics. Or perhaps it's a mutual kind of thing. Greatness seeks out greatness, attracts it, and brings out the best in those with potential. Now the actual story writing? Not quite as consistently super. Ventriloquism? Multi colored kryptonite? The super menagerie? What drugs were they on back then?