Sad day. I love his art.
Posted by Outdoor Miner on :
R.I.P. Jim.
I should pull out some of those old Brave and Bolds....
Posted by Tamper Lad on :
Aparo is to Batman is what Swan is to Superman.
[ July 21, 2005, 06:13 AM: Message edited by: Tamper Lad ]
Posted by legionadventureman on :
Oh no!!!!
How old was Jim Aparo?
He did a very nice Aquaman, too...*sniff*
Posted by Blacula on :
Aparo did a *GREAT* Aquaman! His run on Arthur in Adventure Comics during the infamous death of Aquababy period was when I first became exposed to his art and I've loved it ever since.
He was born to draw Brave and Bold too! He not only drew the definitive Batman but had such a good take on all the rest of the DCU as well.
Interestingly, long before I knew who any members of the Legion of Super-Heroes were, it was small image by Jim Aparo that made me curious about them. I think it was for one of those DC Specials of the the 70s or something and seemed to be an issue all about natural disasters. The picture anyway was of an earthquake about to bring down some buildings on top of Timber Wolf and a couple of other Legionnaires. All it took was that one simple image by Aparo and it started me on the road to being the Legion fan I am today.
Rest in peace Mr Aparo.
Posted by MLLASH on :
quote:Originally posted by legionadventureman: Oh no!!!!
How old was Jim Aparo?
He did a very nice Aquaman, too...*sniff*
quote:Originally posted by Pov:
Mr. Aparo was THE Bat-artist for me. Bar none. And 72 is too young.
Rest in peace, Mr. Aparo.
Posted by MLLASH on :
Blacula, that cover image featured Timber Wolf, Phantom Girl and Chemical King-- EARTH SHATTERING DISASTER, I believe it was called.
Oddly, published after Condo's death, iirc.
Posted by legionadventureman on :
I remember the death of Aquababy (Arthur Jr.?)
Positively the most chilling image anybody could render in comics at that time.
Mera (and Aquaman, natch,) went a little "nuts" after that, didnt they. Did Black Manta get his in the end?
Posted by legionadventureman on :
quote:Originally posted by MLLASH: Blacula, that cover image featured Timber Wolf, Phantom Girl and Chemical King-- EARTH SHATTERING DISASTER, I believe it was called.
Oddly, published after Condo's death, iirc.
iirc? Lash, u sound as if you have a bad case of indigestion...what the eff is an iirc?
Posted by Beagz on :
If I Recall/Remember Correctly
(Or at least it sorta fits.)
Posted by Pov on :
quote:Originally posted by MLLASH: Blacula, that cover image featured Timber Wolf, Phantom Girl and Chemical King-- EARTH SHATTERING DISASTER, I believe it was called.
Oddly, published after Condo's death, iirc.
Actually, Lash, the cover of DC SPECIAL #28 features T-wolf, PG and Brainy... and it's drawn by Al Milgrom:
The image Blacky's remembering is probably from the first page of that comic, though... a triptych-style splash page by Aparo, each running top to bottom for 1/3rd of the page. The third panel features the three Legionnaires from the cover.
I seem to remember that same image also being in DC's house ads for that issue.
Posted by legionadventureman on :
thanx Beagz, at least it wasnt tmi!
TTFN!
Posted by MLLASH on :
Thanks for the image, Povvins. i DEFinitely remember Condo being featured a player in the story, though he apparently didn't rate a cover appearance. *choke!*
Posted by MLLASH on :
Aparo's Tinya was pretty hot.
Posted by Pov on :
Yep, he's in the main LSH story.
I'll see if Gary or Scott can host some scans I made of the Aparo page and the old house ad.
Posted by Stargazer on :
A true loss...what a wonderful artist.
Posted by Nightcrawler on :
quote:Originally posted by Pov: Yep, he's in the main LSH story.
I'll see if Gary or Scott can host some scans I made of the Aparo page and the old house ad.
I have that issue in hand, but if you have them already scanned, send them along and I'll set them up for ya.
[ July 19, 2005, 09:34 PM: Message edited by: Nightcrawler ]
Posted by Lightning Lad on :
So did Aparo not get credit for the page? Here they are (the splash and the ad) but I don't see where he was credited as an artist anywhere in the issue.
Posted by SouthtownKid on :
At least you can see his trademark "JA" signature behind Brainy's knee.
I also remember he did a couple Legion covers around the time they finally found Ultra Boy, and that Wildfire origin issue (around 280-something). Maybe more, but those two pop to mind immediately.
Posted by Blacula on :
Hey yeah! That's the page I remember! Well done on finding it guys!
Question #1 - Is that an original Legion story or is a reprint of something that appeared in the Legion's own comic? If its an original I'm gonna have to track that issue down somewhere.
Question #2 - What was the DC Special series about? Was it all original stories? And is it worth getting?
Thanks.
Posted by MLLASH on :
It's an original story, for sure.
Posted by Lightning Lad on :
There were all original I believe. I'm not sure if there was a consistent theme throughout the series. Just special one-shot stories by different creative teams. This issue is definitely worth tracking down just for the Legion story.
Posted by doublechinner on :
Here's a link to an AP obit, which got a headline on the Chicago Tribune's web page today. I am so glad people are remembering Jim and his work.
Jim's art had a powerful effect on my earliest comics reading. His Spectre stories (backups in Action?) were gritty and chilling without being gory. His Aquaman was as fluid and expressive as anyone's. I think he drew the Superman Jr./Batman Jr. stories, too, didn't he? Those stories had (for comics) powerful emotions that Jim's art really brought to life. Looking at the posted pages, you realize that his art at its prime compared favorably to Neal Adams, without the extreme distortion of physique. I remember most Jim's regular guys. His Commissioner Gordon looked like a veteran cop with the weight of the world on his shoulders. The supporting characters in the Spectre stories look like real nighthawks who had been through the ringer.
Posted by Pov on :
The next (and last) issue features the origin of the JSA. Haveta track that down.
Posted by Director Lad on :
My strongest memories of Aparo's art will always be of the original Batman and the Outsiders series, though his cover of LSH#282 is a favorite of mine. Aparo's style was so wonderfully expressive. It was distinctive without being flashy. You always knew immediately that a comic was illustrated by him. I'm sorry to hear that his pencil has been stilled forever.
Posted by Stealth on :
What a terrible loss.
Thank you for mentioning the original Batman and the Outsiders, Director Lad. Even though it was before my time and I got into it through buying back issues, it's still one of my favorite comics ever published. Aparo brought such warmth and heart to those characters with just a few well-placed lines.
I have an early-80s issue of the original Comics Scene with one of the few extensive interviews Aparo did. I'm going to have to look for that, and re-read BATO.
R.I.P. Mr. Aparo. We miss you.
[ July 24, 2005, 10:12 AM: Message edited by: Stealth ]
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
Jim Aparo was one of those artists that was born to draw Batman IMO. He'll be missed.
Posted by Cobalt Kid on :
quote:Originally posted by MLLASH: Aparo's Tinya was pretty hot.
Posted by Outdoor Miner on :
quote:Originally posted by doublechinner: Jim's art had a powerful effect on my earliest comics reading. His Spectre stories (backups in Action?) were gritty and chilling without being gory.
If those are the ones I'm thinking of, it's when Spectre was the lead feature in Adventure Comics.
Posted by Omni Craig on :
I was sorry to hear about Jim too. He really had a definitive Batman, between the Brave and Bold issues and the BatO series... I've got to go reread some of those right now. At least he left us something to remember him by...
And condolences to his friends and family. Posted by Stratum on :
Bravo to DC for taking out the full page dedication in their books this month.
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