Superboy 68 page 14 by Tom Grummett & Mike Manley

A great page from the also great Kesel/Grummett Superboy run, a title of which I have great memories.

I had recently missed on a great Superboy/Demon page. It sold on CAF then popped up again. I expressed my interest to the owner should he decide to sell and he then decided to ignore that interest to lose money on the page on and to ebay a very shot while after acquiring it. I also missed on a great page years ago because the asking price was a bit steep.

So, out of frustration after two misses I was on a lookout for a similar page. I found this one which was less spectacular but pushed all the right buttons

It comes from that great issue in which Superboy confronts Etrigan the Demon. Grummett is the best Superboy artist ever for historical reasons and he draws a fantastic Etrigan (all his own while paying homage to the Kirby version and legacy). Nice bonus, an appearance from the Guardian in panel 1, another one Tom draws well and has often been associated with.

The crouching Etrigan in panel 2, the great close up in panel 3 and the full body shot in the fifth were the main incentive for me on top of the Superboy shots.

Mention to the great layout, use of angles and shots in order to keep things flowing and interesting on the page, proof of great sortytelling skills in action.

The inks of Mike Manley nicely supplement Grummett’s pencils, adding more blacks and lushness than Kesel’s, another fantastic inker on Tom.

To finish, I love the lettering on Etrigan’s speech here. The chaotic form of the word balloons, the use of bold font and the dot inside the letter “O” all make for a distinctive “voice” on the page.