hypothesis: the only silver age artist able to draw rear ends accurately was gene colan
method: rigorously test this hypothesis by researching evidence against it (next five images (c) marvel comics, various dates in the 60s)
giant man’s bum by don heck (not his best work)
the invisible girl’s bum by jack kirby + joe sinnott
spiderman’s bum by steve ditko
conclusion: the impression of gene colan being the only silver age artist who was any good with superhero posteriors must have been down to his frequent use of low angles looking up at them
iron man’s bum by gene colan
the buns are higher in the frame + for this reason are more likely to make an impression on the viewer
daredevil’s bum by gene colan again
even in this instance with its higher angle
despite their different uniforms note these two characters + by extension perhaps all of colan’s characters would be difficult to tell apart based solely on images of their behinds. perhaps this is also the case with other artists + is something they should think about
what, I hear you ask, is the rationale underlying this article: it concerns my own artwork. for some reason (time?) I draw the shoulders, neck, arms + head first, try to get the position of the legs right so the figure looks like it’s in balance + distributing its weight realistically (which is difficult), + at some point after that I lose interest + fail to complete the pelvic area
or just get it wrong as in the example above on the right
there was no sense really in publishing any of this but once you’ve done the research it’s a waste not to
addendum jul 2017
it’s difficult to work out who is finding this post + the mind boggles about what search criteria they’re using but as it seems to have struck people as interesting here are some additional points
1 colan also drew the submariner, who is similarly indistiguishable from his rendering of iron man + daredevil when seen from the rear: only their uniforms identify them as distinct individuals. because each of these characters have girlfriends there is the potential for one of the girls to mistake a different superhero for her boyfriend when she catches him getting changed: without the uniform there is no way she could have known which one it was
obviously some sort of romantic event could be initiated in error. in such a contingency:
if tony stark had consumed enough alcohol (which is highly likely) he would probably just think ‘what the hell’
matt murdock is as blind as a bat + might not even notice it isn’t the right girl until they have passed the point of no return
only namor would be expected to be the perfect gentleman in such a situation, but you can never be sure until it’s actually happening how you would react
this sort of liason with another person’s girlfriend, however short lived + whatever excuse the pair of you come up with for it, would at best make relations frosty between people who are supposed to be fighting on the same side, + at worst precipitate a war between the united states + the lost city of atlantis
