Greg Goldstein :: Collection

Jack Davis, Two Fisted Tales #21

Artists: Jack Davis (All) , Harvey Kurtzman (Layouts)

3 Comments - 902 Views - 3 Likes

Jack Davis, Two Fisted Tales #21 Comic Art

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Artwork Details

Title:	Jack Davis, Two Fisted Tales #21
Artist:	Jack Davis (All)
Artist:	Harvey Kurtzman (Layouts)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	902
Likes on CAF:	3 4
Favorited on CAF:	1
Comments:	3
Added to Site:	6/10/2020
Comic Art Archive:

Description

As many fans would guess, this is actually the fourth issue of EC�s Two-Fisted Tales. William Gaines � and other publishers � used a variety of title and numbering gimmicks to ensure they didn�t lose a slot in the challenging newsstand system.

It�s a Korean War story � ongoing at the time of publication � and one of many published prior to the �ceasefire� that ended the war.

Davis, in one of his early war stories, does a fantastic job following � and enhancing � Harvey Kurtzman�s very specific layouts.

Very specific layouts? Kurtzman was obsessive about the storytelling and the detail. If he couldn�t draw the story himself, e wanted to ensure that the finished result would be as close to his own material as possible. Again, because this is an early Davis war story, even the art style itself is mimics Kurtzman�s in places.

Davis and Kurtzman (and others) discussed Kurtzman�s methodology at the 1972 EC fan convention, and took a question from the audience�

QUESTION: I�d like to know how the individual artists felt working with the very strict layouts.

KURTZMAN: I�d like to hear that, too.

DAVIS: I don�t know. I think the end product came out pretty good � the detail and all. There are a lot of people that appreciate detail and there are a lot of people that don�t. Once you do something you like it to be authentic. Where doing the horror books you didn�t have to be authentic, this was something that you�d like for it to come across as true, and Harvey felt very strongly about truth � the way the weapons worked and everything. We did the best we could, and I enjoyed it. It wasn�t that bad. I�d hate to do it all the time.

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	Greg Goldstein Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	September 2008
Last Login:	September 2025
Country:	UNITED STATES
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Jeff Singh
Member Since 2004

Posted on 6/11/2020

I can understand how Kurtzman's layouts might stifle some artists creatitivty but they gave such a distinctive look to everything he touched. As a reader and art collector, I prefer EC pages with Kurtzman's fingerprints all over them. This is another great example of the Davis/Kurtzman synergy, neither artist looked better on thier own.

Benno Rothschild
Member Since 2003

Posted on 6/11/2020

I might echo Jeff on the war art Kurtzman layed out, but in the horror stuff and even in the humor material where Kurtzman also shined, I think artists like Davis needed no help. This is a superb example of their collaboration though and there is little doubt that the sum is greater than the parts here-just a great example of how good their combination could be.

Comics Superworld
Member Since 2007

Posted on 6/11/2020

Kurtzman was a great layout man. Davis' art here reflects greater detail and more precision than Harvey would have done for the finished product. Great looking page!

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