My love for Jim Steranko’s work started a little differently than for most Steranko fans. 

When I was a kid, my super-supportive dad fielded my passion for comic book by finding the things he liked so we could share them.  The Phantom and Prince Valiant were longtime favorites of his, but he’d soon come to really enjoy series like Jonah Hex and Master of Kung Fu.

We both liked Steranko’s artwork.  One day he surprised me by ordering Steranko’s History of Comics. I immediately devoured it.  Then he subscribed to Steranko’s Comixscene (which soon become Mediascene). But when I read it, I was perplexed by the peculiar cutouts.  Turns out, my mom had intercepted it from the mailbox, and took her scissors to essentially censor all the sexy pictures from it.

Soon after, Steranko’s The Supergirls arrived – which were gorgeous Steranko pinups, mostly topless, of women in superhero costumes. That one was hidden from me for about 25 years.

So it’s particularly fascinating to me the J. David Spurlock explained to me that he’s done 25 projects with Jim Steranko over the past 25 years.  Continue reading “With Further Ado #002: Steranko & Vanguard: 25 Projects in 25 Years” →