Comic Media #8 pg 10

Comic Media #8 (vol. 2, #1)

Dec. 1972. Nick Landau (UK). 32 pgs. 15p. [id].
Cover: Among others a small B&W pict from “Rowlf”.
Pg 10: “Richard Corben – an assessment”, by Tom Greeniones. 3 B&W picts.

Back to Main page

Page 10:

Richard Corben – an assessment

Preface, Corben’s work has appeared extensively in the underground comix – known generally as Head comix – but his best work has appeared in the 8½ x 11 offset fanzines such as ”Voice of Comicdom”, “Anomaly” and “Funnyworld”. While work of his has appeared professionally in Creepy, it is by no means his best work. Tom believes that outlet to be mainly for the money. The profits from his work in Head comix ore realised over o much longer period of time.

To my mind, Richard Corben is the most gifted artist to have begun work in comics since Neal Adams. But his advent is much too recent to tell what impact he will have on the medium as a whole. Only just now can Corben’s influence be seen in the work of his fellow artists in Skull Comix and Slow Death, two head comix.

Even to the untrained eye, Corbe n is outstandingly talented. There is little chance that his work could be mistakenly lumped with the output of the New York professional comix scene ; his intensity, maturity and craft are on too high a level. Without even trying, Corben has outdistanced the majority of pros in quality of writing and drawing. Apparently, he has little interest in the money he could make working with the pros, preferring to retain his freedom to do what he likes and remain isolated in Kansas City. The only pro who has a comparable degree of freedom is Jack Kirby, and he is certainly a special case. Even there , Kirby has been given freedom only within the realm of the commercial form, he may wish to go no further; but it would be difficult to imagine Corben limiting his imagination even in this way. Corben takes fuII advantage with his medium with the grip of an artist working in a fine arts medium.

We are fortunate that Rich Corben and Neal Adams, two of the best men in comics, rely heavily on realism for their effects. The general pubIic is always more responsive to artwork possessing decided photographic clarity rather than to any artwork emphasizing subjective vision. Exposure to either of these two will make a bigger impression on people for accepting comics as a legitimate art form than exposure to any other artist or writer.

A comparison may be in order, to show the worth of Corben’s work. Doubtless, many fans enjoy the work of Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson on Superman and believe it to be a high point in realistic and craftsman – like comic art. Pull out a recent story by Corben and a recent story by them and place them side by side. What the two samples do share is a slick professional surface and an ability to create a believable atmosphere. However, the Superman example, besides its basic feeling of solidity lacks a variety of effects. It is characterized by a deliberate sameness in characterization and drawing style, but this is no
flow by the standards of New York pro comics. But contrarily, in the Corben piece, we see a full range of effects and attitudes in his storytelling and characterization. The point is, that while bath appear similar in their high degree of craft, only one complements this craft with a comprehensive use of the potential of this medium.

All of Corben ‘s work has been fantasy so for, mostly either ancient period pieces or science fiction or both, This is for the best as he excels at making the remote, immediate. Besides, it allows him to draw what he likes best. To draw worlds with violent dangers and crowded with monsters. If the scores of monsters and unfathomable demons, both hostile and benign, are any indication of what he identifies with, then Corben must see himself as the most monstrous of us monstrosities.

Now, take for example the people in Corben ‘s stories. They are usually very well defined and acted characters. They can be extremely and convincingly intelligent, or equally dumb. His caricatures of contemporary kids are so telling that the character’s in Robert Crumb’s work are the only comparison. Corben’s kids are also parodies or all the super ordinary (therefore grotesque) boys and girls that have populated regular comics all these years to the exclusion of real people. Just compare how similar his people look to Archie and Jughead. If we really look like Corben draws us, we must really be some freaks.

The most interesting aspect in assessing the work of any artist is understanding his vision of our world. In the work of sincere and dedicated men, this arises from every part of their work, but it can always be seen most clearly in the thematic statements. For some time, I wondered if Corben was neglecting theme to concentrate on his incredible feel for sensuous imagery. But by and by I picked up an undercurrent of theme. It is a vision of strong, active characters who know the meaning of power. However, as often as it is shown to them how much a part of the earth that bore them they are, and how they are inevitably bound to the repercussions of their use of their powers, they remain aloof and disinterested in their origins. This almost conscious ignorance makes us see them as ludicrously naive, if still lovable. Rowlf is the archetype here. Even though he is the protagonist of his story and is in relative control of the situation at the end, his path there was at no time certain. Both his limited intelligence, animal strength combined when he, as a dog was made half human, are shown as much as liabilities as assets.

In some ways, Rowlf is a super hero of sorts. But Corben ‘s theme is a sharp contrast to that found in all super hero tales up to very recently. In them, the model is taken from Greek mythology. The hero is an individual with great power and is in complete rational control of his power for use toward his own desires. The old Green Lantern, while not the best handled character, is closest lo this model.

This conception has been outdated for decades, however it persists unmodified in most pro super hero comics today. Most adults, familiar with comics through reading the super heroes through WW 2, believe that the level of creative intelligence has not risen above the thematic content of that time. Indeed, this is nearIy true. It’s good that Rich Corben provides a radical department from comics as they have been, in a mature and contemporary direction.

A deeper assessment of Corben will have to wait until we have seen more of his major works and can batter plot his development, and also till we see how he affects the medium as a whole . No doubt he will. Partial listing of currently available work selected as being of high value and/or characteristic.

Note: Both the contents of Rowlf and Fantagor were originalIy published on 8½ x 11 stock of good quality. Both pieces suffer greatIy from the reduction in size and lessening of printing quality in the Head comix. I urge you to purchase these stories when and if they become available again in the larger format to appreciate their fulI effect.

Rowlf – all of parts one and two. 50c
Fantogor – reprint of Corben’s own one-shot fanzine. 50c
Tales of the Plague – documentary horror strip
Slow Death 2 – “How Howie Mode It In The Real World”. 50c
Up From the Deep 1 – both q colour and a B&W story. $1

This article first appeared in a shortened form in ETC/The Comic Reader, published by Paul Levitz. Copies of TCR nos. 87-89 will shortly be available from Nick Landau at 15p per copy, followed by 90 in a months time.