Primal Force #5, Page 9

Artists: Ken Hooper (Penciller) , Barbara Kaalberg (Inker)

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Artwork Details

Title:	Primal Force #5, Page 9
Artist:	Ken Hooper (Penciller)
Artist:	Barbara Kaalberg (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	FS
Views:	673
Likes on CAF:	0 1
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	12/24/2015
Comic Art Archive:	Primal Force Issue: 5 Page: 9 View

Description

Primal Force is far from the most fondly remembered title of the 1990s; in fact, it's barely remembered at all. Launching with DC's line-wide zero-issue month (the first time around, in the wake of Zero Hour), Primal Force was a team title featuring a motley collection of lesser-known (and lesser) heroes. When Red Tornado is the book's star power, you know it's going to be an oddball group of characters. Rounding out the lineup were D-lister Jack O'Lantern and an effort to retool and reincarnate Claw, a DC Conan clone from the 1970s, as well as characters created especially for the book: Meridian and Golem. As its title suggests, it was very much a creature of the 1990s, and it never really had a chance. It ran a total of 15 issues (which is about twice as long as it would've run if it had debuted 20 years later). The book was noteworthy for a couple of reasons: it was written by Steven T. Seagle, so you knew it was going to be unconventional; and it featured distinctly a non-'90s art style.

An eBay seller was offering two pages from the same issue a few months ago, and bidding wasn't all that active on the item (not surprisingly). The seller either didn't care about these pages or didn't know much about comics, as the listing was for two pages from "Prime Force." I'm always up for cheap boards, even from obscure or lesser titles, so I decided to throw in a low bid and landed the listing.

This first of the two boards -- Page 9 of the story, but a red mark at the upper right corner denotes it was Page 11 including ads and other pages -- is a rather mundane, talking-heads scene in which the only hint of the fantastic is the Golem's appearance in the first panel. Still, I really like the Golem's look and penciller Ken Hooper's effort to include non-super physiques among some of the peripheral characters as well. Mind you, Meridian's seemingly Flashdance-inspired look is a flop, though, apparently geared to draw the reader's attention to her chest. One of the things I like about this page, though, is how Barbara Kaalberg has employed some heavy inks, notably in panels 2 and 3, to grant an otherwise bland scene a noir, eerie atmosphere.

The other aspect I appreciate about this board is Willie Schubert's letters. The first thing to really grab one's attention in the first panel is the Golem's speech balloon. Schubert manages to convey the gravelly, weird and simple quality of the stone creature's "voice" incredibly well. Like many original art collectors, I prefer hand-lettered pages, as it gives one a greater glimpse of the collaborative and creative process. I like how one can see the original line art behind Schurbert's pasted-on balloons here. I also like the stylized page number he's included in the middle of the bottom of the page.

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About the Owner

	Don MacPherson
Joined:	September 2012
Last Login:	April 2021
Ebay Id:	comicbooksource
Website:	http://www.eyeoncomics.com
Country:	CANADA
On CAF:	Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

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