Captain America #137, page 19

Picture yourself descending in an elevator, alone except for an unkempt but otherwise nondescript middle aged man, who also stares blankly at the door as the floors count down. Then, the lights flicker, and the elevator comes to a groaning stop between floors. The control panel is unresponsive. After a minute of tapping buttons and shifting from foot to foot, you slowly turn to your fellow captive, nod and sigh. Ten minutes pass in silence. Then, he turns to you and says, in a voice like James Earl Jones on quaaludes "Colan/Everett art is the unruly passion of my collecting hobby."


I admit to a degree of cognitive inflexibility in my comments about Colan/Everett artwork. I have, long ago, substituted repetition for insight. If you're here, you probably agree that Gene Colan and Bill Everett made some cool artwork together fifty years ago. There is an asymmetry in the conversational 'give and take' between us. You're nodding politely, but I am ignoring all your signals and body language that say (perhaps not loudly enough) "I'm not so interested in what you're saying, I'm here for the art."


You know who else made some of the greatest pen and ink artwork of the 20th century? Frank Frazetta (I'm trying to be spontaneous). Anyway, that's a dissertation for another day, and perhaps best left to the experts.


If you're the internet, you're offended that John Romita provided touch-ups on pages like this (on panels 1 and 4). You are best qualified to decide if the unaltered artwork was best left as-is, and untouched. Stand on principle! Acceptance is a dish best served cold. John Romita started his own truly wonderful Captain America run with #138, the issue following this one.