Namor the Sub-Mariner Appreciation 2020

[The Doctor]

Welcome to the thread!

Were you looking for a specific screen shot? Sadly, we haven't had many appearances of Namor this year, much less high quality appearances. ;p The Marvel Snapshots Sub-Mariner was the magnificent exception.

I definitely picked up the Alex Ross Timeless cover with Namor. It's amazing! I was tempted to pick up all of them, but I waited too long to pre-order them, and it would have been pricey. So I only picked up the 4 FF characters.

Thanks! I was just trying to fly through 40 something pages of this thread to see if I could see a picture of the cover just to see what people were saying about it. Faster to look for a picture than it is to read all of that lol

[Reviresco]

Attachment 101807

I like the way this looks right now so I think I'm going to leave it like this. I'm afraid if I do too much more that I'll mess it up.

I might try to do a second image in color using ink markers. I just have to experiment with blending the colors.

Looks good! I think you made the right choice. I usually mess with it until I've erased a hole in the paper. LOL!

You are a brave man. Stelfreeze's color work is so detailed.

[Reviresco]

Thanks! I was just trying to fly through 40 something pages of this thread to see if I could see a picture of the cover just to see what people were saying about it. Faster to look for a picture than it is to read all of that lol

O_O

Yes, that's quite a few pages to read -- or scan. I did a search on the thread and couldn't find the first announcement either. I'll have to check again tomorrow.

We did admire the sketch variant here:

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...=1#post5157100



And I posted this Alex Ross piece. I wish this was a cover or, even better, a poster.

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...=1#post4920442

Alex Ross posted the Namor pic I'd only seen on a bad pic of a museum wall!




https://twitter.com/thealexrossart/s...98022185467908

[The Doctor]

That is a gorgeous! In some ways, I like this pencil sketch better than the finished painting. But that variant is too pricey for me.

And YES! I am definitely looking for that Bruce Timm Invaders shirt. May take me awhile to find it, but I'm on the hunt!

Well since you linked me to it, I actually like the finished one more than the sketch. But Ive never been too into the sketch variants of any comics. I like the blank covers though where you can get a sketch done.

[Ravin' Ray]

Even though Atlantis Attacks #4 isn't out until next week, and still has no preview, Marvel already has a B&W sketch preview of #5. May or may not be spoilery so I won't include the images here which show Namor, just a link.

https://www.marvel.com/articles/comi...more-questions

[Marvell2100]

Thanks Rev!



Astounding! Your skill is amazing and I cant wait to see the finished art!



Very cool. I do like how Amora and Namor are incorporated into Ove's design when usually creators tend to copy/paste Namor's son (HoM son of Namor I am looking at you)

I argued with fans on Twitter who called Namor "Wakanda's Hitler" the other day, it's so frustrating to see willful ignorance when it comes to critically reading comics. One storyline is not a character who has 80 years of history entire worth. It was played up for drama. Namor canonically hates Hitler and any Nazi.

Looks good! I think you made the right choice. I usually mess with it until I've erased a hole in the paper. LOL!

You are a brave man. Stelfreeze's color work is so detailed.

Thanks, much appreciated . I'm so afraid to touch it because I think I'll mess it up.

But I do think that I'll try a second one in color and then I want to try an original Namor pic at some point.

[Marvell2100]

Even though Atlantis Attacks #4 isn't out until next week, and still has no preview, Marvel already has a B&W sketch preview of #5. May or may not be spoilery so I won't include the images here which show Namor, just a link.

https://www.marvel.com/articles/comi...more-questions

That pic with Shang- Chi is really nice!

[ImperiusWrecked]

Yeah, there was zero differences in HoM.

I'm cautiously curious about Ove. Is he going to be an adversary or an outright villain? Will we get any background on him and Namor? Too many of the the alternate Namors have been throwaway characters.

Oh, IW. Most the time, those folks have their minds made up and don't care to learn anything about Namor. It's a waste of time, and energy, to engage.

I have little hope for a Namor sighting with Ove, maybe a flashback? But I'm still checking the comic out.

You are right of course Rev, I will try to stay out of petty internet fights with trolls in the future. lol

Even though Atlantis Attacks #4 isn't out until next week, and still has no preview, Marvel already has a B&W sketch preview of #5. May or may not be spoilery so I won't include the images here which show Namor, just a link.

https://www.marvel.com/articles/comi...more-questions

I was just coming to post the pages but I will hold off until after issue 4, I'm guessing there is some kind of twist in issue 4 that Marvel doesn't want to reveal until its released.

[Thor-El]

Nice artwork Imperius Wrecked and Marvell2100!

Just found out Gene Colan worked briefly during the Golden Age on Human Torch and Captain America. In an interesting chapter from the book "Secrets in the Shadows: Gene Colan" when they go over Tales to Astonish Colan says he didn't like the character of the Sub-mariner when he took over the book with Stan Lee. He felt he didn't relate to the elements of science fiction at that time and seemed to hate the Frankenstein head with the flat top that Everett had given the character and it was one of the reasons he rounded the head, and made the character his own that later Buscema and Severin followed.

Hoping not to sound like a broken record but I'm really put off by how artists today make Namor look like a supermodel with flowing locks and a hint of a widow's peak in the water when part of his identity was the weird bullet head or Frankenstein top both with a Dracula's deep widow's peak . Yes he started with flowing red locks in the very beginning and then by the very end of the Golden Age in Atlas Comics he also had clearly slick black hair and even lost his wings and looked like a normal guy with only pointy ears but this was quickly corrected again once Lee and Kirby reintroduced him. Namor with flowing hair simply looks too human and pretty, you cannot cast him out with rogues like the Hulk anymore.

[ImperiusWrecked]

Thanks Thor-El. This is interesting but Everett's Namor never got the triangle head until Carl Pfeufer and others after him started making it more monstrous and weird. Early Namor shows him with a normal head. IIRC Rev once said that Everett had to scale back the look of the head until it was back to normal. Then of course by the time the Silver Age came along it was Kirby who opted to give him the flat top look and other's followed.

I know a lot of people like Colan but tbh I'm neutral on his work. I feel like an artist who loves the work really shows it in their work.

[Marvell2100]

Thanks Thor-El

[Doombot]

Gene Colan is one of those artists that is really difficult to define. Often his drawings can look..ugly, for lack of a better word, especially if you're looking for good draftsmanship in terms of like figures and environments etc. Where Colan stands above the rest is with how his drawings feel. Everything is almost alive with movement and wild energy. It's almost as if Colan missed his true calling as an animator. I wouldn't pick out many single Colan drawings of Namor as favourites, the same goes for his Dr Strange and Dracula, but damn do I love seeing those characters come alive through the page when Colan does his thing.

[Thor-El]

Thanks Thor-El. This is interesting but Everett's Namor never got the triangle head until Carl Pfeufer and others after him started making it more monstrous and weird. Early Namor shows him with a normal head. IIRC Rev once said that Everett had to scale back the look of the head until it was back to normal. Then of course by the time the Silver Age came along it was Kirby who opted to give him the flat top look and other's followed.

I know a lot of people like Colan but tbh I'm neutral on his work. I feel like an artist who loves the work really shows it in their work.

I don't think that's correct. The image below is all Everett's and if that is not a triangle head I don't know what it is.

[Reviresco]

Just found out Gene Colan worked briefly during the Golden Age on Human Torch and Captain America. In an interesting chapter from the book "Secrets in the Shadows: Gene Colan" when they go over Tales to Astonish Colan says he didn't like the character of the Sub-mariner when he took over the book with Stan Lee. He felt he didn't relate to the elements of science fiction at that time and seemed to hate the Frankenstein head with the flat top that Everett had given the character and it was one of the reasons he rounded the head, and made the ch+66aracter his own that later Buscema and Severin followed.

Hoping not to sound like a broken record but I'm really put off by how artists today make Namor look like a supermodel with flowing locks and a hint of a widow's peak in the water when part of his identity was the weird bullet head or Frankenstein top both with a Dracula's deep widow's peak . Yes he started with flowing red locks in the very beginning and then by the very end of the Golden Age in Atlas Comics he also had clearly slick black hair and even lost his wings and looked like a normal guy with only pointy ears but this was quickly corrected again once Lee and Kirby reintroduced him. Namor with flowing hair simply looks too human and pretty, you cannot cast him out with rogues like the Hulk anymore.

Well, I'm disappointed that Colan considered his work on Subby in Tales to Astonish as his least favorite. But it's cool that it was his first work for Marvel!

I've always liked Colan's work, so I enjoyed those pages, Thor-El! Now I need to hunt down the magazine. Thanks for posting them.

What? You don't like the inky cloud of hair for Namor? Next thing you'll be telling me is that you don't care for skinny Namor. ;p Joking, of course. We all have our favorite looks for Namor.

Thanks Thor-El. This is interesting but Everett's Namor never got the triangle head until Carl Pfeufer and others after him started making it more monstrous and weird. Early Namor shows him with a normal head. IIRC Rev once said that Everett had to scale back the look of the head until it was back to normal. Then of course by the time the Silver Age came along it was Kirby who opted to give him the flat top look and other's followed.

I know a lot of people like Colan but tbh I'm neutral on his work. I feel like an artist who loves the work really shows it in their work.

I don't think that's correct. The image below is all Everett's and if that is not a triangle head I don't know what it is.

I believe I meant that Pfeufer was the first guy that made Namor look like a space alien, with the exaggerated triangle head -- which gave Namor the flat head and more the Frankenstein monster look that I think Colan was talking about. Everett did give Namor a long, face with a pointy chin, but he gave alot of his characters that look. Take a look at that first panel. The red headed guy has the same sort of triangular face that Namor does. I think it's more of an elfin look, than a Frankenstein monster's look.

[Reviresco]

Gene Colan is one of those artists that is really difficult to define. Often his drawings can look..ugly, for lack of a better word, especially if you're looking for good draftsmanship in terms of like figures and environments etc. Where Colan stands above the rest is with how his drawings feel. Everything is almost alive with movement and wild energy. It's almost as if Colan missed his true calling as an animator. I wouldn't pick out many single Colan drawings of Namor as favourites, the same goes for his Dr Strange and Dracula, but damn do I love seeing those characters come alive through the page when Colan does his thing.

Not sure I would say ugly, but I agree that Colan's work is high energy and dynamic. Colan does exaggerate the form to achieve that energy and movement -- you can see him taking Kirby's words to heart and being inspired by his energetic style. I think Colan's style is better suited to stories that have lots of shadows, like mystery and horror and dark fantasy. That's why his run on Tomb of Dracula is amazing. Likewise his Doctor Strange. His Tales to Astonish work suffers from being inked by Colletta, who I can only assume ignored the large swaths of inks that Colan normally employs, and made it far too bright. When you see his Namor work under other inkers, like in the Dr. Doom arc or the post Severin issues, it makes you want to cry, for what we were deprived of. His Atlantis and undersea setting is far more mysterious and atmospheric.

One of my favorite Colan Namor covers.