Number 912
All eyes on George Evans
Suspense Detective was a short-lived crime comic from Fawcett, published in 1952 and 1953. It expired after five issues when Fawcett management decided to shut down their comic book line. George Evans, who bunked at Fawcett for a couple of years before they shut down, then found a home at EC.
The best way to spot George Evans' artwork is through the eyes. His characters have some of the most expressive eyes in comic books. Evans used them to increase the tension in an otherwise average panel.
The story, "A Short Step to Oblivion", from Suspense Detective #1, 1952, has a B-movie plot: innocent man about to go to the chair while wife and detective race against time to find evidence of his innocence. I think I saw that more than once in old movies. Whatever shortcomings the story has are overtaken by Evans' fine artwork.
One of my favorite Evans non-EC stories is "The Vanishing Hitchhiker," from a Classics Illustrated special, The Story Of Ghosts. You can find it in Pappy's #78.
3 comments:
Pappy: Whenever I think of "old School" (meaning those older generation cartoonists and artists that could do all aspects of comic book art well); I always think of George Evans (not long after I think of Will Eisner). These guys did pencils, inkes, letters the whole shooting match. I love that next to last page - all those magnificent perspectives. And, of course, you nailed it about his eyes. Just great stuf.
Mykal, I don't know if Evans ever drew a bad story. This is a powerful example of how he could build mood.
Nice story and art. Great storytelling, placement in the panel, and compostion. Nice "acting" by the characters.
Looks like Jimmy Stewart might have been in mind when Evans was drawing the leading man? Evans is underrated - at least in my mind. Will be looking for his work more!
Was there any connection between him and Will Eisner?
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