"SPROUSE SUPREME" in NEW JACK CITY
With one GLARING flaw.
(If you don't already know what I am referring to I'll get to it in a moment.)
It seems apparent that Alan Moore's original intention for this issue was to have his two main artists (when he was writing the issue that would have been Spouse and Veitch) work together on the artwork to create the "character in a foreign land" vibe he was going for.
Using the sophisticated interplay of their wildly differing styles to move his story along, would enable him to quietly convey various perspectives and associative notions. (Moore would do this later in Promethea with J.H. Williams III.) It is something comics, and Moore in particular, do to great effect.
But with the fall of Awesome, writers and artists had moved on to other projects. By the time the issue was being produced, Chris Spouse had already moved on to Tom Strong and ABC was beginning to take off.
Apparently Rick Veitch had done his art duties (maybe even before the company collapsed?) on several of the final issues.
Some of his best work on the series is included on this run. But it is ALL topped by his magnificent realization of the ultimate Kirby Tribute issue that ends the Supreme publication run at Awesome. (Sadly just two issue shy of Moore's Year Two finale.)
Veitch's incredible work on this issue could almost make us forget that we were witnessing the end of such an amazing series.
In an attempt to reenter the market, Liefeld retitled the series Supreme: The Return and began releasing the final issues of Supreme that had been scripted by Moore before the company's collapse.
He hired artists, to this point, unassociated with Supreme to complete the artwork for the final completed scripts. The significance of this is Alan Moore's attention to detail and tendency to write to the strengths of the artists he is working with.
In this case, this was impossible as he was no longer at Awesome.
When it came time to assign the art duties for Issue #62, Liefeld found someone who was associated with Supreme. Intimately.
And by putting this particular artist on the project, whose style was anything but sophisticated, he created a FLAW in the artwork that I believe actually undercuts and changes the original intention of the story.
The artist chosen to do the art duties was Rob Liefeld himself.
And the work he turned in on this particular issue seems to be one of his laziest efforts in his career.
I've never been able to see past the GLARING FLAW in this comic. It has always pulled me out of the story.
It added to my sadness that not only was Supreme over due to Mr. Liefeld's questionable business savvy and ethics, but here he had also ruined a potential masterpiece of comic book art!
The unintentional meta-text of the story is that Liefeld's Supreme is back. And he looks even more out of touch in the majestic Kirby landscape that Veitch and Moore created.
Such a shame Mr. Sprouse wasn't available to save the day.
(And as much as I am STILL upset at Mr. Liefeld for letting it all fall apart, I have to give him credit for getting it all started by hiring Moore in the first place. And I give him credit for having the sense at the beginning, if not at the end, to stay out of Moore's way and let him create a masterpiece!)
It bothered me so much in fact that I concieved of fixing the problem. Mr. Vietch's art was the great majority of the issue. If somehow the Supreme figures could be changed...
I mean what if I could commission Mr. Sprouse to draw in his portions of the art?
Financially that seemed a bit daunting. Maybe there is another way?
I thought maybe there is enough material in the Supreme issues we already have to borrow from and insert into this story. I decided to give it a go. And so many obsessive hours later I have a fantasy version of the comic I wish had been created.
You can be the judge if it was worthwhile. I for one am happy to see what might have been. Even if it is just a fantasy!
(Also, this recent image by Alex Ross sure seems to fit the style of the cover... )