Customer Reviews

Masters of Comic Book Art [VHS]

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This would have been better suited in an interview format. The giants of the comic book world are gathered in one place and spend about 6 minutes each talking about their work. A round table would have worked better, but it is too late for that as Kirby and Kurtzman have passed away since this tape was made several years ago. Ellison does a dandy job introducing the artists, but any one could have done it.Personally, I found his description of Jack Kirby as a CO-creator of Marvels characters a little disingenuous as Harlan must surely know by now that Stan Lee was nothing more than the boss' nephew taking credit while the creators were busy creating. We can be grateful that Stan Lee was not included as a Master of anything in this video. Still, in all, A nice bit of history from all involved. The Ditko bit was a bit odd, though. What with the man not wanting to appear on camera.... END

I'm a bit surprised by the lukewarm reception this video has received in the other Amazon customer reviews. I was thrilled to get to see some of these creators discuss their work when this came out back in the late 1980s, and have revisited this video every few years since then. Where else are you going to get interviews with this breadth of creative talent (especially considering some of them are now passed away)? If you can ignore Harlan Ellison's condescension (at one point he lectures viewers on the proper pronunciation of "Van Gough"), it's actually a great overview of many of the greats working in the medium up to this time. I know I treasure it as a vital part of my collection on the history of the medium. (I do wish somebody would release it on DVD, though.)

THE MASTERS OF COMIC BOOK ART was shot in 1994. Yet now over 10 years later, it's still not in DVD? What's up with that? Needless to say, I won't be buying it until it's released in its rightful DVD format!