The Great Comic Book Heroes Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Review of Jay Piscopo's Sea Ghost #1!
Jay Piscopo is the man! I've been seeing Jay Piscopo's fantastic creations on Facebook for a few years now. He is the kind of friend you want to have on Facebook! It seems like every day Jay is posting new and incredible drawings of the most interesting super heroes that you've ever seen! Jay has an incredibly inventive mind and prolific output.
Jay's done a number of books from the Cap'n Eli universe. I got to see Sea Ghost, a 30 page, full color one-shot. It’s a great book!
Jay's fit a lot of info into a very small space here! Not only does he introduce Sea Ghost and his children, Coral and Triton, but he gives a quick origin of Sea Ghost AND to top it off he has a whole slew of characters popping up on what seems like every page, and he does it seamlessly without slowing down the fast pace of the book! Now this is what superhero action comics are suppose to be (Marvel take notes)!
He even has a fascinating text page explaining his influences; people like legendary Ramona Fradon, who actually does a pinup for the comic; Noel Sickles; and most notably Alex Toth. Jay states, "Mr. Toth's body of work in comics and animation is vast and deep. Anyone looking to work professionally should study his work and philosophies."
With Jay's work you can really feel the Silver age Marvel, Kirby influence, as well as the great action cartoons of the 60's and 70's like Space Ghost (this influence being the most obvious) and the Herculoids! But you never feel like he is copying or ripping them off. No this is the best kind of homage that is all Jay!
One thing about Jay's work, like the Saturday morning cartoons they are influenced by, it is geared towards kids, ages 5 and up. Sea Ghost, as a character, is a strong man ready for any adventure and yet at the same time a loving father and devoted husband. This a great book to read to your children or indulge in yourself!
I highly recommend Sea Ghost to any lover of action and adventure! You can see more of Jay's great work here at his website -- The Undersea Adventures of Cap'n Eli.
