DEADMAN #1 p.20 - Peak Garcia-Lopez!
Artist: José Luis García-López (All)
48 Comments - 979 Views - 37 Likes
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DEADMAN #1 p.20 - Color!
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DescriptionWhen I entered the comics hobby and began reading and collecting in 1982, I was immediately captivated by the work of Neal Adams, which I could only admire by flipping through back issues and wall books at my local shop. His ability to bring realism from the advertising world of illustration into the comics medium was revolutionary. Around the same time, the stuff at DC that stood out to me the most, artistically speaking, were the many in house ads for DC superhero merchandise like calendars and restaurant giveaways and tie-ins such as Slurpee cups, as well as certain specific Superman/Action Comics back issue covers by José Luis García-López, whose dynamic figure work stood out far above all others at DC and reminded me in some ways of Neal Adams' work.So when 4 years later I heard García-López was going to be doing Deadman, one of the very characters Adams had redefined, I was all in. I first went through the back issue bins to look at García-López's earlier Deadman work from the 70's to get a feel for what it might look like and it made me giddy with anticipation. When the first issue of the 1986 series hit the stands with that gorgeous cover, I was in love. When I flipped through the copy at the store, it was one of the few and rare times that I was blown away by the artistry being so much higher level in quality than almost anything else on the stands at the time. The other time I remembered feeling like that was when I saw New Mutants #18 hit the stands. Forget the great cover. As I flipped through that 1st issue, it was page after page of absolutely stunning images, each seemingly better than the last. Then when I got to page 20, it stopped me dead in my tracks! Yes, the multiple images of Deadman were stunning, but it was more than just that. It wasn't that the figure work was so damned natural looking and incredibly dynamic, it was the attention to even the smallest details in the figures that stood out to me, especially THE HANDS! I know most fans don't pay much attention to that, but in fairness, that's mostly because the majority of artists don't have either the time, skill or desire to put so much work into that body part. But to me, when a fabulous draftsman like García-López is involved, I can't help but notice the hands because he puts as much work into the hands as he does on anything else on the page. As much drama and emotion as the figures and faces emote, so to do the hands amplify that emotion twofold! The largest of the Deadman images in the final panel was especially seared into my brain and I never forgot it. Fast forward a few decades and I always wanted to own a nice example from his Deadman mini-series, what I and many others still consider to be García-López's finest work. For some unknown reason, very few pages from this mini-series ever surfaced over the years. But then one day, several years ago now, I had the pleasure to not only acquire a page from this mini-series, but it turned out to be the page that most stuck with me, several decades after publication and that page is the one you see here. I was willing to pay 7 or 8 times what they were going for at the time, because for me, this wasn't just A page from the series, it was THE page! I've always collected with the idea in mind that when the "best of" examples turn up and you want them, you have to be willing to pay far more than the going rate to ensure you come away with them. Thankfully, I didn't need to pay as much as I was willing to though! In the intervening years, I ended up owning approximately 25% of the pages from this mini-series, an embarrassment of riches, but ultimately decided I really only needed to have one excellent example. So when it came to parting with all the pages, there were a couple of others that were very high level in quality, but I ultimately felt that this one, the first one I ever acquired, was still the absolute best example out of all of them and it is now the one and only García-López Deadman page I own and am thrilled to finally share it with other fans of the artist and/or character! Social/Sharing |
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Comments on this Artwork
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Kavi H 
Member Since 2018
1 - Posted on 3/22/2022
never been into the character from a reading perspective, but always appreciated the character design and art on the title from Neal and Garzia-Lopez especially. Awesome page to have held onto for your collection, thanks for sharing!
Heidjer Staecker
Member Since 2004
1 - Posted on 3/22/2022
That's a super piece! For me, JGL has always been THE Deadman artist!
Will K
Member Since 2006
1 - Posted on 3/22/2022
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez inking himself is always atreat. I'll agree with your comment re: hands. In the Twilight series, I noticed a great panel with really well drawn hands. When I saw that page was for sale, I definitely had to buy it.
F M
Member Since 2005
1 - Posted on 3/22/2022
No kidding on an incredible page! That middle panel is exceptional. Such intensity (no doubt inspired by Adams’ work on the character).
(and don’t tell him that but not having experienced the Adams revolution when it happened, I’ll take Garcia Lopez over Adams any day of the week).
I always loved how on this series, he always used element from one panel to lead the eye to the next.
I too am a hands art fetishist and he surely excels at drawing/using them to convey emotions (Ditko, Gammill, Big John or Ploog also come to mind as being great in that category).
I wish you still had those 25% as I would love to own an example of that mini (I do own some of his great later Deadman effort though).
Steve Lipsky
Member Since 2008
1 - Posted on 3/22/2022
Congrats on one of the best pages in your collection! This is right in my wheelhouse, Ruben. I wholehaertedly concur that Jose Garcia-Lopez is without equal and one of the all-time greatest artists in comics! (See my collection of Garcia-Lopez art for further proof) Bob Layton once told me, "Steve, know what all of his fellow artists call Jose? The Maestro, because he's so damn good!" Truer words were never spoken!
Johnny M
Member Since 2014
Forum Moderator
1 - Posted on 3/22/2022
Everything is jumping off the page. I think this new artist is going to do great things! :)
Rich Cirillo
Member Since 2004
1 - Posted on 3/22/2022
Beautiful page by and an incredible artist and even nicer person! Great choice to keep this one!
Jason Hussa
Member Since 2017
1 - Posted on 3/22/2022
Another beautiful post to your gallery, Ruben - thank you for sharing this one with us here after all this time!
I love your 'hero's journey', too, with this page and the others you owned from the series; you started with this one, went out and acquired many others, then 'came home' and realised this was the single one you truly needed. And no one can fault you your choice; gorgeous layout, incredible attention to detail, superb Adams-like DM, and more circles all over the place than anyone has a right to expect. Call me weird, but my favorite elemement here are the first three panels, and the efforts lavished upon the vortex (and struggle to escape it) - the tension ratchets up as the unyielding panel borders seem to close in and make everything SO claustrophobic...
In truly thematic Deadman fashion, I couldn't help but notice that you even posted this in your "PANEL PAGES (Marvel)" section (where it's obviously possessing a spot that is from a plane of existence other than its own). Very meta, Ruben! :) Congrats on this beauty!
Fisch Benz
Member Since 2019
1 - Posted on 3/22/2022
That first panel has me thinking...Kirby is always given credit for the
"Kirby crackle," but who gets credit for that crackle sworly/swirrely thingy? I've seen Frank Brunner do it a lot in the early Dr Strange stuff. I've seen Starlin do it on the early CM stuff. Did Kirby start it? Who gets credit for the Sworl???
* bronze-is-gold
Member Since 2007
1 - Posted on 3/22/2022
Deadman depicted as originally envisioned (the way he ought to be) by a master of the craft and with so many exceptional images. Exceptional page!
E DLS
Member Since 2005
1 - Posted on 3/22/2022
Yeah, yeah! I know I don't have a Garcia-Lopez piece yet. Go ahead and rub it in, why dont'cha. Seriously though, this was a phenomenal series. When I first started seeing the house ads for it, I could barely contain myself. And when it hit, it certainly didn't disappoint. Superb example Ruben, congratulations! I would write more, but I have to go scour the Internet to see if I can find my own JLGL piece.
Marcus Wai
Member Since 2005
2 - Posted on 3/22/2022
As I watch you move, across the swirly room
There's so Neal Adamsness in your drawings
Tomorrow using Cleve, Rama knows no reprieve
God give me strength when monologging...
So praise your hands of Deadman today
That pages be back together someday
Jose Luis Garcia Lopez
Brand me into darkness
Rama, you calm my restless dead
You revel in sadness
William Butler Yeats, lines run down the face
I whisper words of death, so softly
Emotion it attains, it's driving me insane
Without your brush, life will be lonely
So praise the hands of Garcia Lopez
This page that comes together someway
Tonight, I need your sweet carcass
Bold inks in the darkness
Tonight, you calm my restlessness
Page relieves my sadness
K Gearon
Member Since 2011
1 - Posted on 3/22/2022
Not hard to see at all why this is the one you kept. Your first and personal best example. A masterclass in storytelling AND pure illustration by Garcia-Lopez. I'm not familiar with Deadman comics, but I've always liked the character visually, and how you can play on his design and powers in terms of art. Prime example here. Every panel's got its own money image, and even with that being the case, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Also, a real essence of the character page. Can't beat that. Big congrats, Ruben!
J H
Member Since 2019
1 - Posted on 3/22/2022
And I thank you for selling, because that is how I got my García-lopéz Deadman page (which I love). Deadman is one of my very favorite character concepts and designs. And this page is a stunner! That middle panel is perfect. Those zipatone portals are so cool. And it's hard to beat having your favorite page from a series. :) Big congrats!
Amir E
Member Since 2020
1 - Posted on 3/22/2022
Ruben this piece of art is STUNNING! Thanks for sharing!
Nick - Barry - Matt - Hal - Namor
Member Since 2015
1 - Posted on 3/22/2022
Now this is a HOLY SH!$ fantastic page! Congrats man! Best page uploaded today!
Hart R.
Member Since 2004
1 - Posted on 3/23/2022
A Master Draftsman at work...Brilliant page Ruben!
Michael McIsaac
Member Since 2020
1 - Posted on 3/23/2022
WOW! I've seen a few pages from this mini floating around over the years, but this one is absolutely the best! Just a thing of beauty! As much as I enjoy the work of Kelley Jones, I could never get into his version of Deadman because THIS is what Deadman is supposed to look like in my mind. Stunning!
David Roach
Member Since 2012
1 - Posted on 3/23/2022
I think you know how much I love Jose's artwork, and this is one of his best, from ne of his best titles. Congratulations, though I'm sure I could never have parted with any of the others.
Neon Dragon
Member Since 2017
1 - Posted on 3/23/2022
You're right, Ruben. This is an incredible page and impossible to improve on. The middle and immediate following panels are amazing graphics!
Wolvie Fan
Member Since 2020
1 - Posted on 3/23/2022
Killer page, Deadman at his finest when drawn by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. Beauty!
John Espinoza
Member Since 2014
1 - Posted on 3/23/2022
And such a fine example that you kept! I like your history write-up for those who weren't there.
Paul P Spiderversity
Member Since 2011
1 - Posted on 3/23/2022
Wow, what a great story! It's so cool that you kept the ONE page that made such an impact on you years ago. And you and I have talked a lot about having to pay like 7-8 times what a page is actually worth, just to get THE page. Looking at this one, I can totally see why you went the extra 7000-8000 miles. Beautiful!
Duke Fleed aka #1 Groo Fan
Member Since 2013
1 - Posted on 3/24/2022
A really strong example..not only is the storytelling fabulous with all the effects and pairing, but the emotion on this page is really palpable. Love it!
Lee P
Member Since 2011
1 - Posted on 3/25/2022
Great pick up! I especially like the close up followed by that great combo on the bottom
Jordan Joanou
Member Since 2008
1 - Posted on 3/29/2022
I agree with your title....Jose at his peak,
Dave W
Member Since 2006
1 - Posted on 3/30/2022
JLGL gold - his Deadman is awesome! Congrats, thanks for sharing!
Chris Lutes
Member Since 2016
1 - Posted on 5/26/2022
Tough to think of a better example of JLGL's work on Deadman and you would know after having so many beautiful pages in your hands to make the decision 😄 I'm always in awe of the masterful way Garcia Lopez moves figures and the reader through the page and it really highlights his incredible draftsmanship.
Tom McDonald
Member Since 2019
1 - Posted on 6/22/2023
This page makes me want to see a Deadman movie.
But I am also a huge Green Lantern fan, and remember wanting a GL movie . . . so maybe not.
Tom McDonald
Member Since 2019
1 - Posted on 7/27/2023
Tom McDonald wrote:
This page makes me want to see a Deadman movie.
But I am also a huge Green Lantern fan, and remember wanting a GL movie . . . so maybe not.
I had a dream about this page last week . . . not kidding. I love it!
Ruben DaCollector
Member Since 2008
Posted on 7/27/2023
Tom McDonald wrote:
I had a dream about this page last week . . . not kidding. I love it!
Tom, file this under "You know you're a hardcore collector when....". 😂
Steven Dilworth
Member Since 2012
1 - Posted on 6/30/2023
Peak Garcia-Lopez? Did he ever have any valleys?
Awesome page!
David Matheny
Member Since 2021
1 - Posted on 9/8/2023
this is a beautiful page and maked me really put in some effort to find a collection of Lopez's work on Deadman. thanks for sharing.
Peter Roe
Member Since 2009
1 - Posted on 5/30/2024
Ruben, I share your focus on how well an artist draws hands. It's always disappointing when I really like a page then see poorly rendered hands. I want to raise my fist to the sky in frustration! That Deadman image in the middle is searing. I enjoyed the description. Congratulations on a key piece of nostalgia and fine art!
David Kwock
Member Since 2012
1 - Posted on 8/6/2024
This is a spectacular page! I love this character and artist. Peak indeed. Major congrats!
Timothy Finney
Member Since 2006
1 - Posted on 3/8/2025
Hands down, this has just about everything you could want in JLGL Deadman page. Cheers!
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