Monday, December 04, 2006

'They Look Like Felix The Cat's'

The above is a quote (as near as I can remember) from Mary Jane, describing the Spidey eyes during the Revenge of the Sinister Six storyline (Spider-Man #18-23), written and drawn by Erik Larsen I think. And it's true, Larsen did draw those eyes freaking huge on the Spider-Man costume, but he used them as a form of facial expressions. They narrowed when a person would narrow their eyes, either from concentration or anger. They seemed to get wider and rounder when Peter had a "Holy crap, what am I doing?!" moment.

True, it didn't really make much sense, when Larsen also drew them getting frequently cracked (Spider-Man had a tendency to get tore up during Larsen's stint on Amazing), which suggests they were made of a glass or plastic, which wouldn't seem to lend itself to that kind of shape-altering (I'd actually wager this was addressed at some point in the letters pages, but I can't swear to that). Still, I did think it was kind of nifty, as one of the problems with drawing characters who have full masks is giving a sense of what they're thinking or feeling (or at least not contradicting what the writer is telling the reader the character thinks or feels), and this seemed helpful in that regard.

I don't know whether Larsen started this or not. Running through Spider-Man artists I remember, there's a Ditko cover (I think it's Mysterio's first appearence) where the eyes seemed narrowed, but Ditko drew the eyes so much smaller than Larsen did anyway, I'm not sure if he started he was going for emotional representation or not. I can't recall either Romita doing it. Maybe MacFarlane, though the main thing I recall of his work (what with not having any of it at my current residence) was him drawing little lines around Spidey's head to signify him being surprised. It's not something Bagley does, nor Sal Buscema. I just really can't think of anyone else who tried, which may say something about whether it was a good idea or not, or maybe just that it was regarded as part of Larsen's essential style, and so unless your art was similar to his, probably best not too copy it.

My questions to those fellow Spider-fans in the audience, who remember the Larsen Spider-Man Eyes, are as follows:

One, was this something that was uniquely his, or was it something done by an earlier artist and Erik Larsen decided it was a cool idea and brought it back?

Two, did you like the expressive Spidey eyes?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

1. I have only a vague feeling on this, but I think I had seen the expressive eyes done before...definitely in one of the Peter Davis slapstick Amazing's, like the one with the Toad. I was thinking Larsen may have been the first to apply it to Spidey, after it was done in Spider-Ham or something.

2. I really like the expressive eyes, but it depends on the story. Totally wouldn't work in Civil War, for instance.

Deadpool's mask also follows his facial expressions. As well it should.

CalvinPitt said...

googum: I think you're right about Spider-Ham, and the expressive eyes not working for a Civil war-type deal.

And I have to admit, when Deadpool smiles through his mask, it kind of creeps me out.

Anonymous said...

I was going to answer your question by looking through some old Larsen comics, but then I got hypnotized by Felicia and Mary Jane's spherical, perfecto breasts.

So my answer is, INDOORS, and I wagered, I HEART BOOBS.

CalvinPitt said...

dan: And once again, no money has been raised for charity. What a sad day.

Anonymous said...

This has been Marvel Fanboy Jeopardy!, I'm going home to stick a gun in my mouth/.