Sunday, March 23, 2014

Robotman, a Golden Age classic by Jimmy Thompson

Jimmy Thompson's deft draftsmanship is delightfully on display in this great Golden Age classic!
Robotman vs. Rubberman!
Comicbook legend, Jim Steranko said Jimmy Thompson was “a combination of Jack Cole and Will Eisner, in fact, some of Thompson’s work topped theirs.” in his 1970 book, The Steranko History of Comics Volume 1.That's big praise considering all the raves lavished on Eisner and Cole. And this coming from a comic legend himself.
Like comic legends Cole and Eisner, he was a complete creator, doing his own pencils, inks, writing, and lettiering all himself and all better then almost anyone! This is no small feat!
One of the things that set Thompson's apart from his contemporaries was that he came to the field comics already an accomplished graphic artist. He knew about tools such as the Leroy Lettering set often employed by architects of the time to letter their work. Though he used this tool, his titles and his design work are top notch! He had a slickness and a beautiful sense of design that are rare in the fast paced, assembly line that was called the comic book industry of the day.
Though it seems that comic studies is becoming more and more popular, even being taught in universities, it's refreshing that there are still fresh, exciting creators and works to be discovered in the world of comics!



1 comment:

  1. Hi, nice blog. I thought you might be interested in this short bioraphy of Jimmy Thompson's life I've just come across. .. http://pulpartists.com/Thompson.html

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