Art deco and the comic scene

Art deco and the comic scene

I've always thought that the art deco style was hip as hell, and I've begun to actively search for it in some of the comics I buy. Well, the art deco/German Expressionism style. That paranoid, retro-futuristic just looks so cool to me. I've found a few comics and two cartoon serieses that typify this kind of style.

First of all, check out some of the pages from the new Adam Strange:




Dig that great coloring.

Another comic I found was the first volume of a comic called Mister X:




Obviously Adam Strange takes a more modern approach to the city of the future while Mister X is a throw back to good ol' Metropolis. I haven't read any of Adam Strange; I've only "thumbed through". Mister X on the other hand is drawn in the style of the old Dick Tracy comics. It involves the creator of The City of Tomorrow trying to undo his creation before it destroys everyone living in it. You'll find the influence of Mister X in everything from Dark City to a character you'll find my next find, Batman: The Animated Series. That character is Mr. Freeze.


Compare the look of Mr. Freeze to Mister X.

The 1960's had their Adam West. We have our animated Batman. I do believe that the 1960's got the raw end of the deal. Batman: The Animated Series was so smart and so good that the comics actually stole one of its characters: Harley Quinn.

The last item is Max Fleischer's classic take on Superman from the 1940's. When I was a kid flipping through the stations as a kid on Saturday morning, I sometimes stumbled across some of Fleischer's shorts playing on AMC between movies. If you've never seen them, do so. They are, to me, the quintessential take on Superman, and I don't even like the bastard.

Anyway, that's what I've been reading and watching for the past few days. All but the Fleischer Superman. That I just ordered tonight.

D