Marvel Artist - Jim Steranko

It wasn't just the Marvel stories that captivated me as a teenager, it was also the artwork. Marvel has a very talented crop of artists but my all-time favourite is Jim Steranko.

I first came across him in Strange Tales when he started illustrating Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. The artwork just seemed to be on a whole different level, heavily influenced by the psychedelia movement of the sixties.

One double page spread I was particularly fascinated by comprised of 16 panels without a single word, but which still was able to move the story forward!

My dream as a teenager would be to become a comic-book artist. But when I saw the fantastic detailed work of Steranko, I realised that I could never compete with such a talent.

So I suppose Steranko is responsible for shattering my childhood dream, but I bear him no grudges! In fact I was honoured to shake his hand at a Birmingham Comic Convention in 1979. I still have his autograph.

Nevertheless his artwork still inspired me, and I am quite pleased with an oil painting I completed representing a Steranko version of The Hulk.

One unusual aspect of this painting is that the Hulk has eyes! Because comic drawings are so small, artists used to leave these blank, or make sure that every superhero they drew wore a mask!

That wasn't good enough for Steranko, he went to the trouble of completing pen-and-ink eyes. So thanks Jim, it's the only painting I've got that I'm satisfied is finished!

John McNally