Superman Sketchbook #6

Today's sketch is a real treat from a Superman artist who kinda got the short end of the stick, Ivan Reis.

The spring of 2004 was a time of rebirth for the Superman titles, as the Loeb/Kelly/Casey era was wrapping up, paving the way for all new creative teams. Superman was given to Jim Lee and Brian Azzarello to sheppard, while The Adventures of Superman was left in the capable hands of Greg Rucka.

And Action Comics? Visually, it was on the right track with Ivan Reis on hand for the pencils. And boy, did that book look good. As for how it read, that's another question entirely, as teamed with Ivan was none other than Chuck Austen! While his run on Action was nowhere near the train wreck that Uncanny X-Men was under his guidance, he did give it the old college try. That, however, is probably an avenue best left explored in some posts of its own right.

For today, let's just look upon some unencumbered pencils from the now superstar artist, Ivan Reis.

Pencils by Ivan Reis
Inks by Marc Campos

Ivan Reis Brand Lemonade

So I was thinking the other day that this blog has definitely been skewed toward the Bronze Age Superman of late. I guess you can lay the blame for that square at the feet of the world's greatest comic book store by having some killer auctions lately where I've been filling in the blank spots in my bronze age collection at a nice, brisk pace.

So I made the mental note to try to get some more posts featuring newer material up and posted.

And that got me thinking to the rather sorry state of the current Superman books over the last two years (don't worry Cornell, that broad brush attack exempts your Action run).

And that got me thinking to the last time the Superman books were nigh unreadable, back in the summer of 2004.

There was, however, one shining beacon of competence in that era and that was Ivan Reis. I may have read one or two other issues by him before he came aboard with this issue, but his run on Action made me a fan and I've dutifully kept up with each of his new projects.

Unfortunately, he was paired with the (...looking for a polite adjective...) one-of-a-kind Chuck Austen. It's a shame, as he had the energy and the action to make a really solid run, but the story was just all over the place and ended up getting ghost written for the last two issues.

Enough about that unfortunate bit of business, let's look at some of Ivan Reis' work from his debut issue. And because you've all been so polite during my preamble, I'll give you a page with no dialogue so we can enjoy it that much more.

Script by Chuck Austen
Pencils by Ivan Reis
Inks by Marc Campos
Colors by Guy Major
Letters by Comicraft

Action Comics #814
Another Day At The Office
June 2004
Copyright (c) DC Comics