To DC fans of my generation Curt Swan is inevitably remembered as THE Superman artist - to the extent that there was nearly always a sense of deep disappointment whenever we bought a comic on the strength of one of his iconic covers only to find the interior was drawn by somebody else. For me Al Plastino, who passed away yesterday at the age of 91, was the one exception to this rule with an uncanny ability to draw more like Swan than Swan himself.
Here's his version of Superman as it appeared during the late 1960s in the pages of the British comic Smash! where the Man of Steel briefly co-starred with Batman and Robin:
- Phil Rushton
Al Plastino RIP
Re: Al Plastino RIP
Saddened to read of his passing. I always enjoyed his work.
Despite that I was happy to open a comic and find that Wayne Boring had illustrated a story. There was something in his work that appealed to me.
Despite that I was happy to open a comic and find that Wayne Boring had illustrated a story. There was something in his work that appealed to me.
Re: Al Plastino RIP
For me opening a Superman comic to find it was drawn by Wayne Boring was rather like opening a Marvel comic to find it was drawn by Don Heck instead of Jack Kirby. As with Heck I learned to appreciate Boring in later years (and funnily enough I loved his version of Thor), but his Superman just never looked right to me.
- Phil R.
- Phil R.