Heidi MacDonald - Secret Teachings of a Comic Book Master: The Art of Alfredo Alcala

S ECRET T EACHINGS Of A C OMIC B OOK M ASTER

T HE A RT OF A LFREDO A LCALA

Copyright

Copyright 2015 by Dover Publications, Inc.

Introduction copyright 1994 by Elain Kane

Introduction copyright 1994 by Roy Thomas

Conan the Barbarian art copyright 1994 by

Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc.

All rights reserved.

Bibliographical Note

Secret Teachings of a Comic Book Master: The Art of Alfredo Alcala, first published by Dover Publications, Inc., in 2015, is a republication of the work published by the International Humor Council, Lompoc, California, in 1994.

International Standard Book Number

eISBN-13: 978-0-486-80811-6

Manufactured in the United States by RR Donnelley

80041501 2015

www.doverpublications.com

Special Thanks to:

Manuel Auad

Cheryl Navratil

Steve Herrington

Nina Paley

Joan & James Stoffen

Chris & David Meek

Introduction

By Gil Kane

Alfredo Alcala is one of the most disciplined and perceptive artists inking in comics.

During his best work, on the early black and white Savage Tales, which featured Conan, Alfredo achieved levels of tonality that I have seen equaled only by the engravers who worked over Gustave Dor.

When we both worked for the Ruby Spears animation company, I had the pleasure of seeing Alfredo render a presentation I had drawn into a black and white tone poem, in his classic style.

The years of distinguished work have earned Alfredo a special place in comics history.

Ais for Alfredo

A Personal Reminiscence by Roy Thomas

What can you say about a man whos had a comic book named after himself, and the whole schmeer?

Well, for one thing, you can say that hes probably one of a kind.

And that, Alfredo Alcala definitely is.

My own recollections of Alfredo and his art, of course, dont go back to the halcyon days when ALFREDO ALCALA COMICS was published in his native Philippines. As with most Americans, they begin when he and a handful of other amazing Filipino comics artists began to appear in the pages of DCs mystery comics, through an agency established by Tony and Mary DeZuniga.

In the late 1960s, all of us in the field were suddenly knocked out to learn that there were so many talented artists, and indeed an entire comics industry, flourishing in that island nation. Tony himself was one of the premier illustrators, as were a few others, which included Nestor Redondo and Ernie Chan.

And no one made a bigger, or more lasting impression on U.S. comic art than Alfredo Alcala.

Not only could he draw exceptionally well, and tell a good story (two things many comic book artists in both countries were less adequate at than you might imagine - and still are), but he embellished his art with a detailed and thoughtful inking style which nobody ever mistook for anyone elses.

Its not simply that there were a lot of lines on the paper. Thats easy enough to do, if you take enough time (though Alfredo was fast, to boot). Its that the lines made sense. They gave a texture and an integrity to a comics page that made it Alfredos own. One of the illustrators he was most often compared with, and not unfavorably, was Gustave Dor, whose visions of Don Quixote, the Bible, and other classic subjects are immortal. Alfredo brought much ofthat same style and elegance to the DC comics.

So naturally, we were happy to swipe him for Marvel when the opportunity came along.

I honestly cant remember whether Alfredo did any work for Marvel before Black Colossus in 1974s SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #2; but it doesnt much matter if he did. For it was his teaming with the penciling of John Buscema which suddenly put him on the American comics map in a big way.

As editor, Id been looking for a style of art for the new SAVAGE SWORD black-and-white comic which would be a worthy successor to the art nouveau-influenced look of Barry Windsor-Smith (then Barry Smith) in CONAN THE BARBARIAN and SAVAGE SWORDs Conan-starring predecessor, SAVAGE TALES.

I already had the penciler - John Buscema. Nobody in comics ever drew the human form (or much of anything else) much better. But since John preferred not to ink his own work, and often did only pencil layouts, I needed an inker who could not only draw as well in his own way as John could in his, but hopefully one who could give the finished artwork the same profusion of detail as Barrys later work, thus giving an illustrative reality to the stories.

The moment I saw the splash page of Black Colossus with Alfredos inking of Johns layouts, I knew I had what I wanted.

The readers responded immediately as well, and a team was born that lasted for quite a few years. Iron Shadows in the Moon, The Citadel at the Center of Time, The People of the Black Circle, The Slithering Shadow - almost any page of any of these Conan stories would be worth printing by itself as a poster.

Along the way, of course, Alfredo has done a considerable body of work, either as both penciler and inker, or as inker of other artists pencils, which has likewise done him proud. In the Robert E. Howard vein alone, hes done full art on beautiful tales of Conan and King Kull, as well as his own hero, Voltar. Alfredos linework makes the scenes look so real that you almost feel you could step right into them.

And if anything could ever surpass, in my eyes, Alfredos work on Howard material, it would be his exquisite renditions for Marvel of L. Frank Baums THE LAND OF OZ and OZMA OF OZ. (The latter was never published for various reasons, but I have a copy of most of its 70-plus pages - as well as the original frontispiece for the former.)

I knew, from the moment that Marvel elected to adapt some of Baums sequels to THE WIZARD OF OZ, that Alfredo was the perfect illustrator for them. He performed a difficult task - capturing the style of the major Oz illustrator, John R. Neill, and combining it with the MGM-influenced likenesses of the Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman and Cowardly Lion that we were legally required to do. There are few things in comics that Im prouder of than my association with Marvels Oz books, even if they never reached as large an audience as they deserved.

In case you havent noticed, Im a fan of Alfredo Alcala.

If you have any taste at all, so are you.

[Roy Thomas wrote and edited CONAN THE BARBARIAN and SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN from their 1970s beginnings until 1981, and has been the recipient of the Shazam and other fan and professional awards over the years, he is currently the writer of Marvels CONAN THE ADVENTURER, SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN, THOR, FANTASTIC FOUR UNLIMITED, and of Topps Comics CADILLACS AND DINOSAURS.]

On the Road with a Real Artist

by Phil Yeh