Complit 335 Introduction to Comic Art in North America

Adam Ford

Editors’ Note: Due to copyright restrictions, the images that Adam Ford included in this essay could not be reproduced here.

For decades, the Marvel vs. DC argument has been a common subject among comic book fans, as both studios have tenured histories and billions of dollars in revenue. Too often their premier heroes are compared, wondering which character or group would prevail in a fight. Yet in 2003, the world was given an answer to these questions with the release of ​JLA/Avengers​, a cross-universe series depicting DC’s finest team up with Earth Mightiest Heroes to stop an otherworldly threat. Many years ago I received a hardcover set of these issues, and as a young child I enjoyed looking at the wild battles between characters I knew and mesmerizing two page spreads. Later on, I revisited these comics, this time enjoying them for their inter-dimensional but straightforward plot, as well as trying to recognize as many heroes as I could, pinpointing the decades and eras that their costumes in each issue represented. However, reading this series today, I tried my best to look past the often obvious examples of fanservice. In this four issue storyline drawn by George Perez, I was able to find significant artistic value, particularly in its spatial elements. Despite the commercial nature of being a crossover between two highly successful properties, Perez’s art in ​JLA/Avengers​ brings an artistic integrity to the financially-driven miniseries, with its use of subtle and simplistic elements, innovative use of spatial backgrounds and elements, and depictions of size.

In the early 1980s, an agreement between DC and Marvel was established to create a crossover special between the Avengers and the Justice League, but after a draft was rejected by Marvel’s Editor in Chief, plans for a 1983 release fell through and the idea was ultimately scrapped. Written by Gerry Conway with art by George Perez, this draft had both supergroups manipulated by inter-dimensional beings, leading them to fight each other in a competition for powerful artifacts to benefit the antagonists. ​Still, this idea was not forgotten, and in 2002, another agreement was reached, this time with Kurt Busiek as the writer. In September 2003, the first issue of the four part series was released with over 191,000 issues sold, wrapping up in March 2004 at just below 144,000 (Miller).​ ​Just like before, this comic had the Avengers and Justice League manipulated by cosmic figures to fight for powerful weapons artifacts, this time being the truth-seeking Kronos and the wagering Grandmaster. After realizing they have been misled, the supergroups end their conflict and ally with one another, but not before Kronos’ ever-growing powers create an imminent collision between the DC and Marvel Earths. In a last ditch effort to stop this mad titan, both supergroups invade his fortified lair and ultimately stop him before returning to their own worlds.

Just like how this plot is an evolved version of the 1983 draft, the art of the finished product evolved greatly as well. On the left, you can see one of the few colored pages of the draft, an action shot showing both supergroups ready to fight one another. In issue #4 of JLA/Avengers​, Perez pays homage to his initial draft with the image on the right. Comparing these two, one can find similarity in the facial structure and shadow patterns between both panels, especially on Superman and Thor’s muscles. The glaring difference here though is that while the 1983 draft has one tannish color for everyone’s face, the modern version contains both a very light and slightly darker tan, mimicking side shadow on the heroes’ profiles. This light and dark combo can also be seen on the costumes on the heroes and a few of the non-human faces as well, thanks to the work of colorist Tom Smith. In the era before digital artwork, using multiple colors on a single face or article of clothing was very difficult if one of the colors was not black or very dark blue. After inking, shapes would be marked with a note containing the number of a singular color (of which they were only 64 to choose from), before printing (Wiley).​ ​With this lack of colors and combinations, Perez did not have much to work with, and thus relied more heavily on inking to create expression from his characters. Comparing the depictions of Red Tornado, Martian Manhunter and Starfox, the 1983 draft shows a lot more shadow and lines on their face, making them look angrier than their modern counterparts. Also, since different colors needed to be used for separate shapes, the outlines around a few characters are noticeable, most clearly Superman and Thor. This serves a second and possibly unintentional purpose though, that being attracting the reader’s attention. Even though the digitally colored 2003 version contains multicolored shapes allowing for secondary shadow, the lack of the shadows and lines as seen in the original version lead to the characters appearing less defined and less expressive. When reading through this miniseries, one begins to notice the frequent motif of lightning, first appearing in issue #2. During the fight between Kronos and Galactus, thin lines of white lightning go in every direction in numerous panels. Since real life lightning is also made up of simple white lines, this effect looks eerily real, especially after the reader has just seen the more traditional cartoony yellow lightning that the Flash emits while running. On top of appearing realistic, it also amplifies the emotion of the panels, particularly the close ups on Kronos’ enraged face. Despite being in the same general pattern on every page, Perez adapts the lightning to a different use in every panel. On a close up of Kronos yelling at Galactus, his red eyes lead the reader to assume that the lightning is coming directly from them, making his face appear every angrier. In the following two panels though, Galactus is shown feeling the impact of Kronos’ lasers and punches, making the lightning appear as if it comes from the punches’ impact. This makes the attack look stronger, once again amplifying emotion and feeling from the reader. Finally, the powerful but weakened Grandmaster is shown in a panel, knocked down to the ground but casting a spell on the combatants. With his glowing hand in the foreground, the lightning appears as if it is caused by his spell, making the panel even more chaotic than it previously was. Over the next two issues, this motif continues to appear, and every time adding chaotic elements. While simplistic in its design, Perez’s use of lightning helps contribute to the otherworldliness and cosmic nature of the story, bringing chaotic emotion and anger to the characters and actions in every panel the effect appears in.

When discussing a comic’s art, one could argue the cover is the most important piece. After all, it is the only art a customer will likely see before deciding whether to purchase the comic or let it sit on the shelf. As a result of this, cover art often contains the most detailed and flashy designs in a comic book, all to entice a reader. Despite being heavily driven by financial motivations, a cover of a comic is often thought to have the most artistic integrity to it, and Perez’s work in ​JLA/Avengers​ is no exception to this. Every cover in this four issue miniseries contains artwork on the front and the back, uncommon for most comics. Typically, advertisements for another comic are placed on the back, but by combining two superhero universes, Perez wants to show as many superheroes as he can, leading to the two sides. Issues #1-3 of the series contain a significant amount of superheroes on the cover, with an increasing number for every installment. The cover of Issue #3, drawn on an extremely large size of paper, contained every single superhero who appeared in the series, and was so time-consuming and difficult for Perez to draw that he actually developed tendonitis, leading the series to be delayed a few months.4​ ​With these crowded covers, comic book fans were certain to spot a character they liked, incentivizing them to purchase the issue. In fact, there are so many heroes that the title had to be printed in clear font so no character could be made unrecognizable in being partially blocked by it. There is no doubt that this is one of the most skilled covers ever drawn in Perez’s career, let alone the entirety of comic history. So for Issue #4, the final installment of the mini-series, how could Perez top this?

Viewing the series from a social context, Issue #4 of the ​JLA/Avengers​ miniseries had a lot to live up to, and Perez likely knew this. After all, the first three issues were released in September, October and November of 2003, yet this final installment was released a whole four months later in March. It is entirely possible that some readers of the first three issues had completely forgotten about this series, and would need a powerful cover to bring them back in. So, to reestablish interest for the final chapter, Perez created a simplistic but powerful cover, depicting an angrily weary angry Superman on the front, with Marvel and DC’s colliding Earths on the back. However, this was not just any angry Superman, as he wields both the invulnerable shield of Captain America and Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer which can only be carried in dire moments by those worthy. This image was actually the first idea Perez had conceived when drafting in the early 1980s, and is extremely fitting in serving as the final cover for the miniseries. While it may appear to be an obvious appeal to fanservice, this art does have merit to it, and not just because it is a change of pace from the crowded covers seen before. For example, there are cracks on Thor’s hammer and Captain America’s shield, both thought by the reader to be indestructible objects. By building upon the reader’s preconceived notions about these characters and objects, Perez offers a subtle indication of how dangerous whatever Superman’s opponent, likely Kronos, is. Another subtle detail is how the stars are colored. Throughout the stars, colorist Tom Smith has typically followed the traditional approach of a black background with stars represented as white dots, but as seen here, part of each page is covered with a slight red-orange, most noticeably turning the stars into an orange color. This color is seen closest to the title and Superman, giving the impression that both are emitting this sort of light. For the title, this effect may appear to be possibly breaking the fourth wall, as it is a common trope in comic books for titles to have an impact on the background. For Superman though, this orange light he appears to be emitting makes him look even more powerful, especially since in this image he has red glowing eyes. For the previous three installments, subtle effects like these would have gone largely unnoticed, but with the choice to showcase just one character in the final issue, Perez brings artistic merit to a simplistic work as well.

In ​JLA/Avengers​, space is often used as a background, and as described in the last paragraph, the design is simply just a black background with white dots as stars. What’s surprising and innovative about this miniseries though is how characters interact with this background, particularly the character of the Grandmaster. As a comic being, the Grandmaster has some control over space and time, and this is seen firsthand in Issue #1 during a fight with the mad titan Kronos. After feeling the impact of one of Kronos’ strikes, the Grandmaster is knocked down and begins to pull himself upward. However, the way his hands and body are resting would indicate he is on the ground or some floor when in fact he is still floating in space. To draw this, Perez must have created a flat line somewhere in the panel to base the position of the Grandmaster off of, and erased it when the sketch was complete. Yet as the reader views this, the position of the Grandmaster in a space environment like this makes no sense, leading them to re-envision that line Perez drew. Whether knowingly or not, Perez stimulates the reader in an example of Gestalt’s Law of Closure, manipulating their minds due to how well he captures a character’s reaction to a floor-like surface. Oddly enough, this is not the only use of Gestalt laws in space backgrounds to better enhance his art. For all four issues, the Marvel character of Eternity or his DC equivalent make an appearance on the title page. These characters look as if they are made of space, appearing to be drawn as cutouts of a full page space background. Normally, this would look lazy, but with subtle facial and clothing features, Eternity looks alive, appearing as a humanoid figure but maintaining the stone-faced expression and mystique that a cosmic being should. In fact, another one of Gestalt’s laws comes into play again, this time the Law of Proximity. Only half of Eternity’s face is drawn, but due to a light blue star on the right side of his face, it appears that he has a glowing eye. Most likely intentional, this means that instead of cutting Eternity out of a full page space background, the opposite process occurred. Perez likely traced a rough outline of where Eternity would stand, placed one of his blue stars on the right side of this outline, then drew the rest of the background within the cutout’s boundaries correspondingly. Another decision especially smart by Perez is to place this character in front of a white background. After all, to most humans “the great unknown” is pictured as the depths of space, filled with mysterious celestial bodies. But when you have a character made up entirely of this great unknown, then it is difficult to portray their otherworldliness if you place them in front of an earth-like or even similar space-type background. Backgrounds like these would make Eternity look more like a “normal” character, constrained by the planet or area they are in currently in. Thus, in order to keep this character fully grandiose, the only sort of background that Perez could place this character against was a white background. This whiteness draws the reader’s entire undivided attention to the cosmic being of Eternity. Surprisingly this does not appear out of place, as completely white backgrounds are commonplace in space-age media, often symbolizing emptiness or something far beyond what humans can perceive.

When designing comic panels, there are typically two specialty types: the splash and the spread. A splash page is usually a panel that takes up one page of the comic, while a spread fills up two. In ​JLA/Avengers​, Perez makes little if any use of the splash, as when trying to depict as many characters in a panel as he does, fitting them into a panel the shape of a vertical rectangle will prove difficult and likely compromise the quality of the art. However, a two page spread can, and Perez takes full advantage of this, particularly in the opening issue as the Avengers are introduced. In this spread, Starro the Conqueror rains down mini versions of itself onto New York in an attempt to hypnotize the population, and the Avengers are at the ground level fighting their corrupted allies. Because this is such a large panel, Perez is able to convey two key points to the reader through the art. The first is showcasing Starro’s vastness, as with this expanded panel, the reader notices the subtle effect of glimmers on the character’s edges. From these bits of light, it is inferred that Starro is so massive that he is literally blocking the sun’s rays from hitting the heroes. Without this large two page spread, this detail would have gone unnoticed and likely not even drawn in the first place. The second detail conveyed through this spread is the grounded nature associated with the Marvel brand. When compared to DC, Marvel superheroes are typically considered to be more “down-to-earth”, both in more realistic personalities and possessing weaker abilities (Hatfield).​ ​Thus, while the Justice League is introduced flying through the air in multiple panels, Perez takes this social context into consideration, and introduces these grounded characters in an up-close look. Not only do the Marvel heroes appear closer, but with the use of a low angle point of view, their facial expressions and musculature are better defined, conveying their prowess and heroic nature in a grittier and more realistic way than the laser-blasting and sonic-speeding of the Justice League. If this was just a singular panel on a normal page, then these ideas would go unnoticed, but in the spread format, the reader can better interpret the panel. With the decision to create elaborate two page spreads, Perez can depict more detail in his art, making it easier to emphasize specific qualities in his characters and better connect his work to the social context of comics.

While Perez’s work in ​JLA/Avengers​ contains a strong but subtle style full of artistic integrity, this does not mean his work on the miniseries is perfect. For example, in Issue #4 as both supergroups are assembling a vehicle to invade Kronos’ lair, both Batman and Green Lantern look exactly the same from the chest up. Although only for a few panels, this highlights Perez’s struggle to create unique faces for male characters. If a male character does not have facial hair and is not wearing a mask, then Perez usually gives them a basic-looking face. This is fine in Issue #2 when Mr. Fantastic is introduced, as he is the only character on the page to contain the basic facial structure, but in Issue #4 when multiple characters contain the same facial shape on the same page, then the design looks lazy. In his design of characters, Perez shines best through the character’s costumes and accessories, and since it is rare that two characters with basic facial patterns will appear on the same page, it makes sense why he does not concern himself with altering it. However, for Superman and Thor, who both do not wear masks or have facial hair, Perez makes sure to give them the unique facial features traditionally associated with those characters. Many artists have portrayed Superman’s face in different ways, but here the universal look of a cleft chin and strong jawlines is used. Thor is given a more square-like face, with a line marking his labiomental fold to emphasize the size of his chin. Both of these caricatures are not bad by any means, but they are not unique by any means, highlighting the miniseries’ other issue: a lack of originality in the depictions of both supergroups.

To be fair, some of the blame could be placed on writer Kurt Busiek for not introducing a single new character, but with the characters he is given, Perez only creates one unique design, a color change of DC’s Green Lantern’s outfit for a few panels as he absorbs the energy of Marvel’s Cosmic Cube. One would think by combining both universes, the miniseries opens many opportunities for new superhero uniforms. With so many battles in the upper atmosphere and space, Perez could have created spacesuits for normally grounded heroes to wear, but instead chooses to depict them in their normal garb. Another missed opportunity was the lack of combined costumes, as since both supergroups teamed up to fight the same enemy, seeing a DC character in Iron Man armor or a Marvel superhero with a Batman-style utility belt would have given them a refreshing look. Instead, every character is drawn in their traditional garb, looking the same as they would in a solo series. While Perez’s use of subtle and simplistic elements to enhance his art certainly work for the miniseries, these more outward elements of new character designs and costumes can only appear in a cross-universe comic like this. The space backgrounds and lightning motifs are smart decisions and have merit to them, but these effects could be used for any comic, unlike combining costumes of heroes from two different companies. His only chance to work on a story like this, Perez fails to capitalize on the opportunities that a collaboration like this offers.

Particularly in the 1980s and 1990s, team-ups between Marvel and DC characters were fairly common, whether it be the X-Men and Teen Titans team-up in 1982, or ​DC vs. Marvel​, a 1996 miniseries containing one on one matchups of each company’s most popular characters. However, almost seventeen years after ​JLA/Avengers​’ last issue, there has not been any more crossovers between these two companies. Many of the artists and executives behind these works have either retired or changed jobs, and with movies the current money-makers for both companies, attempts to create a new miniseries would likely face even more delays than Perez’s drafts did. With this in mind, ​JLA/Avengers​ is the last representation of both the DC and Marvel universes in a single comic, and from an artistic perspective does great justice to its story and characters. On its covers, Perez draws what is needed to bring in sales, but does so a skilled way, whether through the explosion of characters in Issue #3 or the simplistic but powerful image of Superman in Issue #4. Motifs like the lightning in battles scenes and simple backgrounds like space are purposefully used, conveying emotion or reaction from the reader whether they know it or not. With the use of two page spreads, the smallest of details are conveyed, heightening the reader’s reactions and understanding of panels. For a series containing some of the world’s biggest commercial properties, it is the use of subtlety in Perez’s artistic techniques which make the series impactful.

Works Cited

 “1983 – JLA/Avengers Crossover (also Known As the Team-Up Controversy).” ​Marvel Comics of the 1980s,​ 19 June 2011, marvel1980s.blogspot.com/2011/06/1983-jlaavengers-crossover-also-known.html. ​Accessed 1 Dec. 2020.

“GEORGE PEREZ Reveals the One Image Destined to Be in JLA/AVENGERS.” ​13th Dimension, Comics, Creators, Culture,​ 8 Sept. 2019, 13thdimension.com/george-perez-reveals-the-one-image-destined-to-be-in-jla-avengers/.

Hatfield, Charles. “Jack Kirby and the Marvel Aesthetic.” ​The Superhero Reader​, edited by Charles Hatfield et al., University Press of Mississippi, JACKSON, 2013, pp. 136–154. ​JSTOR​, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt24hvr5.20. Accessed 1 Dec. 2020. Miller, John. “Comic Book Sales by Month.” ​Comichron: A Resource for Comics Research,​ www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales.html. Accessed 3 Dec. 2020.

Wiley, Natalie. “The History of Comic Book Printing Dot By Dot.” ​Printivity Insights,​ 14 Oct. 2020, www.printivity.com/insights/2019/08/08/the-history-of-comic-book-printing-dot-by-dot/.