I've decided to be really anal and annoying about this. The new Marvel postage stamps (as discussed here) credit John Buscema with the Hulk image. Reader Joe Frank found its source. It's off the cover of The Incredible Hulk #200 and that cover is signed "Buckler & Romita," meaning Rich Buckler and John Romita. John Buscema had nothing to do with it.
And let's also notice that the Hulk has no stomach muscles in the stamp. This is because the drawing was clipped from that cover and someone had to paint out the image of Bruce Banner that was superimposed over the Hulk. But the person who took out that figure only partially completed the drawing to fill in the empty space…so the Hulk has non-washboard abs or whatever you'd call 'em. There are supermodels who'd kill for a tummy that flat.
Okay then. Let's review and correct the twenty stamps, starting with the ten that depict Marvel covers of the past…
- Amazing Spider-Man #1 (Credited to Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko) – I think they got this one right.
- Marvel Spotlight #32 (Credited to Gil Kane) – First appearance of Spider-Woman. Gil pencilled it but he sure didn't ink it and I'm not sure who did. Might be Klaus Janson. John Romita did a lot of retouching on it, however.
- The Incredible Hulk #1 (Credited to Jack Kirby) – Probably right. Kirby definitely pencilled it and it looks like he inked it, too. If he didn't, Paul Reinman did…but my money's on Jack.
- Captain America #100 (Credited to Jack Kirby) – Jack pencilled it and Syd Shores inked it. This is the famous cover where Shores got carried away and redrew Captain America's face in his own style…because, as we all know, Jack Kirby never knew how to draw Captain America. Marvel wound up taking a Cap head from an earlier Kirby/Sinnott story and pasting a stat in to put the hero's head back to Jack's style.
- Sub-Mariner #1 (Credited to John Buscema and Sol Brodsky) – They got this one right, probably because I identified Brodsky in an article I published some time ago. And I just have to say that I wish one of their two Sub-Mariner images was by the character's creator, Bill Everett, just as I wish one of their Spider-Man images was pure Steve Ditko.
- X-Men #1 (Credited to Jack Kirby) – Actually by Jack Kirby and Sol Brodsky.
- Daredevil #176 (Credited to Frank Miller) – Correct, I think.
- Fantastic Four #3 (Credited to Jack Kirby) – Kirby and Brodsky again.
- Silver Surfer #1 (Credited to John Buscema) – John Buscema and Frank Giacoia.
- Iron Man #1 (Credited to Gene Colan) – Colan inked by Johnny Craig.
And here are the ten that depict these characters in portraits…
- Spider-Man (Credited to John Romita) – I don't know where that drawing's from but it sure doesn't look like Romita inking to me. I'm not even all that sure he drew it unless it's John Romita, Jr.
- The Incredible Hulk (Credited to John Buscema) – As noted, this is from the cover of The Incredible Hulk #200 and it's by Rich Buckler and John Romita.
- Captain America (Credited to John Romita) – Again, as noted, this is from the cover of Tales of Suspense #59 and it's by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.
- The Thing (Credited to Jack Kirby) – Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott, from an interior page of Fantastic Four #53.
- Spider-Woman (Credited to Carmine Infantino) – I don't think Infantino had anything to do with this. As far as I know, this drawing was done to be the corner cover box on the Spider-Woman comic series that started in '78. It first appeared on the cover of #1, which was drawn by Joe Sinnott, but I believe the corner box was the handiwork of John Romita. And you know, we wouldn't have to do most of this if Marvel had just shown these stamp designs to John Romita before finalizing them. He could have identified most of these and could even have drawn some stomach muscles on The Hulk.
- Sub-Mariner (Credited to Gene Colan) – This is a John Buscema drawing, a fact which Gene Colan himself noted this morning on the Gene Colan Mailing List. I'm going to demonstrate how much useless knowledge I have about old comics by telling you that it's from a unique 4-page pin-up section that ran in Fantastic Four #128. Ah, but that's not the real trivial part of the story which I'll post here tomorrow if I remember. Anyway, the drawing was pencilled by Buscema and inked by John Verpoorten.
- Silver Surfer (Credited to Jack Kirby) – Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott, taken from the mirror world and the cover of Fantastic Four #50.
- Elektra (Credited to Frank Miller) – Someone will need to double-check me on this but I think this is from a panel in Daredevil #168, my copy of which is in a box under another box behind a whole bunch of boxes. If it's from that issue, it was pencilled by Frank but inked by Klaus Janson.
- Iron Man (Credited to John Byrne) – I don't know this one but that looks like Bob Layton inking to me.
- Wolverine (Credited to Dave Cockrum) – It's Cockrum but it's either from a very fuzzy stat or someone else inked it. Does anyone know the source of this drawing?
For that matter, does anyone have any corrections to or arguments with my list? An artist's work appearing on a stamp is a very big deal. Some of the artists represented on the DC stamps called it one of the great honors of the careers. It would be nice to let the Marvel artists who are represented and/or their families have a thrill that has the proper names attached.