Inking the greats 2: Marc Silvestri
Added 2020-09-29 08:24:34 +0000 UTCMarc Silvestri's art on Uncanny X-Men was so exciting when I was 11. The costume designs in Inferno were racy and doubtless damaged me and many other pre-teen boys forever. These were lurid comics but within the framework of the Comics Code, a tension that I always think makes things better. I admire the nod toward equal opportunities in these comics; Havok endures a ripped-costume loin cloth that all but ensures that everyone in the late 80s X-family has seen his junk.
I inked this page purely because it features not one but two classic Silvestri up-the-nose shots. I landed the first one but not the second, I think he'd cheated with his nostrilry because you couldn't make it work if you considered the wider nose.
This page was originally inked by Dan Green. Dan patently didn't think the background X-Men in panel 4 deserved much attention. Fair enough, if I had to draw a team book, I'd lose the will to live on every page. Archangel's convoluted body pattern was clearly a "fuck it" moment, Dan just draws anything. Though for all we know, Marc just wrote the word "Archangel" in the space where the figure appears.
I couldn't find any consistency in Polaris' costume. What's going on in panel 1? Storm has got a handful of something that I'm not sure is actually present. The excitement of those choppy inks on the original hides a multitude of mysteries. To check the colours (and indeed, what on earth was going on with all that cross hatching), I found this beautiful contemporary page by Bret Blevins and Terry Austin. Check out those faces - peerless stuff. And if I may say so, that's a masterful trip up the nose in panel 2.
Comments
But no one did "up the nose" like Gil Kane. His were the upnose shots that all others aspire to. Anyhoo... I think I like your page better than the original, but I was always kind of unsatisfied with the art in X-Men at that time. I don't dislike Silvestri, but he was never a favorite, either. Doesn't help that Claremont's writing at the time wasn't his best, either. (And there were some serious 80s shoulder pads going on in those costumes; as bad as Storm and Polaris/Malice are, Psylocke in panel 4 is something else altogether...) So, all in all, I'd say you improved the page as much as it could be without redrawing it entirely.
Brian Perler
2020-09-29 16:55:54 +0000 UTCWell said, and well drawn. Your mention of Archangel reminds me how much I loved how Whilce Portacio (sp?) drew his wings in the early 90s. https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/X-Factor_Vol_1_65. Looking at it today makes me feel extensive empathy for how much work went into it.
Jeremy Impson
2020-09-29 15:42:11 +0000 UTC
