Category: VINCE COLLETTA - Page 4 - ROMANCE ART IN COMIC BOOKS

How to Draw Beautiful Women -The Perfect Swipe File

February 17, 2024January 17, 2024 by Vince Colletta

When an artist needed a visual reference, they relied on their “swipe files” … file folders cataloged and filled with images that were culled from any magazine they could get their hands on. Creating a swipe file is the learning method most professional comic book artists use to improve their work. Roy Lichstenstein famously pirated the art of Vince Colletta, Dick Giordano and others to create his signature pieces of pop art. I remember my father poring over the work of artist Hal Foster and his Prince Valiant books as an inspiration for how he wanted to ink THOR and Tales of Asgard. Artists study other people’s content and create a collection with proven examples. If you want to draw people with massive,bulging muscles, swipe from Jack Kirby or Frank Frazetta. If your goal is creating oddball art, Steve Ditko’s work qualifies. If your goal is learning how to illustrate beautiful women, look no further than the art of Vince Colletta.

WHO’S YOUR DADDY, THOR?

June 6, 2024January 17, 2024 by Vince Colletta

This is an impressive man, er…God would be a more appropriate nomenclature. A pinnacle of superhero art. In comic book lore, Odin is a Norse God widely-known as the father of Thor, the Thunder God. Henry Petersen’s doctoral dissertation in 1876, proposed that Thor was the indigenous god of Scandinavian farmers and Odin a later god proper to chieftains and poets. Odin appears in Marvel Comics and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the king of Asgard and as the father of Thor and the adoptive father of Loki. In the comics, he was not drawn without his missing right eye for years.

Odin has been a source of inspiration for artists working in fine art, literature, and music for centuries.

Odin sits atop his steed Sleipnir, his ravens Huginn and Muninn and wolves Geri and Freki nearby (1895) by Lorenz Frølich.

Odin throws his spear at the Vanir host in an illustration by Lorenz Frølich (1895)

Is it Art? Or, is it Comic Book Art?

February 17, 2024January 17, 2024 by Vince Colletta

Have a look at the drawing that accompanies this article. At first glance, you would correctly conclude that the illustration came from a comic book. Upon closer inspection, however, the man and the woman resemble real people rather than cartoon characters. In the 1940s and 1950s, the Golden Age of Comics, the human form as illustrated by the comic book artists of the day hardly resembled actual people.

This particular example of romance art was published in 1954, long before most comic book aficionados were born. Prior to the Vincent Colletta-era of comic book illustration, the human form was depicted by employing thick, graphic lines to denote shadows and depth. These were augmented by evenly-spaced, carefully measured lines. Colletta created with pencil, pen and brush, what many artists working in oils were unable to match for realism. This creativity was on full display for many years to come as Vince came to illustrate hundreds of pages of romance covers and stories.

Romance comics fell out of favor when the superheroes began capturing the attention of teenage buyers. Art work such as this ceased to exist. This glimpse into the past offers us a chance to appreciate the evolutionary process as well as the passing of true illustrative art in comic books.

ALEX GRAND: “I’ve never met the guy, but I wish I had, and will look at his past work with some degree of appreciation, as part of the variety of 20th century comics.”

Dazzler Art by Frank Springer and Vince Colletta

February 17, 2024January 17, 2024 by Vince Colletta

A tour de force of inking by Vinnie. Look closely at how the spotted blacks are graduated into Dazzler’s mask by thin accent lines.Trademark gloppy mascara and detailed eyes. The same thin accent lines appear at the edges of the shadows on Dazzler’s lips. A small white strip at the bridge of the nose, a swoop of black inks in her chin and thick, simple hair lines above and below serve to further highlight her face.

A sexy repose showing a sleeping Dazzler on realistically-inked fabric against the shadowed steel wall in the background.

Very trippy inks over Frank Springer pencils. The only being deemed capable of entering the black hole and moving into its darkness is Dazzler, thanks to her ability to radiate unlimited luminescent energy. Galactus enhances Dazzler’s powers and hurls her towards the hole. Inside the hole, Ali confronts Terrax, who is well aware of her mission to bring him back to his former master.

Romance-style art by Springer and Colletta. Simply inked to express the beauty of the subject.

Props to the colorist who neutralized the main figure, preferring to place the reader’s focus on the three smaller figures in the background.

JACK AND VINNIE – FROM START TO FINISH

February 17, 2024January 17, 2024 by Vince Colletta

Jack Kirby and Vince Colletta – together forever in both fame and infamy. The Kirby legacy is the architect of numerous memorable comic book characters, penciler of dramatic scenes and contributor to the stories we read throughout his career. The Colletta heritage includes being acknowledged as the illustrator of the most beautiful women in comics, go-to guy when deadlines loomed as well as the most prolific creator of any artist in the industry.

Jack and Vinnie worked tirelessly for decades, forgoing vacations and family time in order to earn the incomes necessary to support their respective lifestyles. Both artists made life-changing decisions to escape city life in order to provide their wives and children with upscale environs where they could thrive. These choices meant they would have to spend countless hours each day at their drawing boards. Kirby was a relentless creator while Colletta became the tireless icon of the industry’s need to meet critical cut-off dates. Jack can be credited with originating the stories. Vince can be credited with saving the books.

Pencilers and inkers are typically a different breed from one another. Both require specialized skills. Kirby and Colletta began their careers doing both. Jack drew cowboys, monsters, superheroes and other genres while Vince mainly drew romance books in addition to the occasional fantasy, crime and jungle stories. Each man became preeminent on his respective path. Eventually, however, an artist will come to rely on his or her strong suit in order to succeed. Kirby was not a production inker while Vinnie was. Vinnie did not have the capability of creating insanely-complex machinery and outlandishly rough-and-tumble panels while Jack did. Comic book historians have come to regard Kirby as primarily a penciler and Colletta as principally an inker. Perhaps it was inevitable that they became one of the most enduring art teams in history.

In the early 1960’s, Kirby was penciling stories featuring the character THOR for Marvel Comics. Colletta had a considerably different vision of what the THOR stories should look like. Based on the Hal Foster Prince Valiant books, Vinnie created samples displaying his vision of the Asgardian word of THOR. He took these drawings to editor Stan Lee who instantly fell in love with the illustrative look. Thus, after discussing the proposition of a separate feature with Kirby, Tales of Asgard was born in Journey into Mystery 107 in August, 1964. Shortly thereafter, beginning with Journey into Mystery 116, THOR began it’s lengthy run with Kirby and Colletta as the principal artists.

The Kirby and Colletta team created countless memorable books together but the unquestionable highlight was THOR. In March 1966, the character was given his own book, THOR 126. By this time, Vince was the primary inker over Jack’s exquisite pencils. Dissimilar to all other comic book drawings, the finished product resembled fine art from an earlier time. While all of Kirby’s grandeur was retained, gone were the graphic swipes of India ink used by all other inkers to depict both the characters and their surroundings. The departure drew raucous praise from readers and art aficionados alike. While this elegant look was not suitable for most comic books, in THOR it found a home.

While both men prospered beyond any of their peers, success was not without the attendant criticisms. Kirby had adversarial relationships with management at both Marvel and DC while Colletta developed a reputation for taking short-cuts in order to make his job easier. They have been the subject of many tales and rumors throughout the years. Anyone who succeeds in reaching the top inevitably has to deal with the arrows and slings that are hurled their way in the form of gossip. Since there are so many rumors involved, it is difficult for people to determine whether the claims are factual. What is evident is that without Jack Kirby, Marvel Comics would have very few of the popular superheroes that they own and exploit in books and movies. What is also evident is that without Vince Colletta, hundreds of Marvel and DC monthly releases would have been a regurgitation of seemingly-endless reprints that could have significantly altered company destinies.

The lawsuits involving Kirby and DC editor Jack Schiff surrounding the Skymasters newspaper strip resulted in Jack’s banishment from DC Comics. His issues with Marvel over ownership of characters are also well-documented. While the publishers were less than happy with him, comic book fans mostly sided with Kirby. With Colletta, the main controversy was that he erased and otherwise simplified the penciled art. Most people do not understand the role of what is essentially a publisher’s mercenary. Marvel and DC knew that Vinnie was both willing and capable of making up for the shortfalls of others in order to meet printing deadlines so they exploited him. While the publishers loved him, many pencilers and comic book fans alike voiced their displeasure.

In 1971, tired of quarreling with Marvel, Jack was welcomed back to DC Comics. The publisher created banner advertisements heralding the coming of Kirby who was now more well-known by readers. He brought with him a vision that he named The Fourth World. While never achieving the successes at DC that he did with Marvel, the concepts were innovative. Colletta had been working with DC Comics at the time leading to management’s decision to put Vinnie on Jack’s Fourth World books, including The New Gods.

Kirby had worked with Colletta for years and understood that, in addition to his own stories, the editors were also giving Vinnie an armload of other books each week. Almost all of these were late jobs due to pencilers or editors foul-ups but they needed to be completed quickly so Vinnie hacked them out. The finished art lacked most of the abundant illustrative flourishes he was known for but they were always accurately-inked and the work got done. In the past, Kirby was fine with whatever alterations Vinnie made. Some say they made the pages more readable while others abhorred them. Jack was eventually convinced by those around him to confront Vinnie about some of the liberties he was taking. Their meeting resulted in the end of an acclaimed art team. Colletta always lavished great detail on the main characters and assured Kirby that it would continue. But the inker simply could not promise to ink every line, every doodle, every background building, every tree, etc. without sacrificing his other assignments. A Jack Kirby splash page showing intricate machinery would take most inkers a week to finish. Jack was fortunate to find another competent inker who had no other assignments and could focus on just inking Kirby. And so, a handshake sealed the deal. Both Jack and Vinnie continued on their respective paths without a harsh word between them. It is one of the most important things they had in common. Both men were gentlemen.

THE LOVELY WONDER WOMAN

February 17, 2024January 17, 2024 by Vince Colletta

At last, in a world torn by the hatred and wars of men, appears a woman to whom the problems and feats of men are mere child’s play. A woman whose identity is known to none, but whose sensational feats are outstanding in a fast-moving world. She serves as a symbol of integrity and humanity, so that the world of men would know what it means to be an Amazon. With a hundred times the agility and strength of our best male athletes and strongest wrestlers, she appears as though from nowhere to avenge an injustice or right a wrong! As lovely as Aphrodite- as wise as Athena- with the speed of Mercury and the strength of Hercules – She is known only as Wonder Woman! – Written by William Moulton Marston

Michael Netzer: Vinnie did me good on the inks every time. The Wonder Woman story he inked was sweet and delicate. I was never disappointed with him.

Dan Forman: Just got in a really cool Wonder Woman story from the early 70’s. I love the way Colletta inked women… hubba!

Droid714: I recently picked up a run of Wonder Woman comics from the late 70’s. As I was reading through them, I was struck by the quality of the artwork and by how strong, yet feminine Wonder Woman looked. It wasn’t until I had read a number of these books that I discovered, to my great surprise, that the inker was none other than Vinnie Colletta!

In comic book fandom, the most beautiful of the female superheroes was undoubtedly Wonder Woman. Here, she appears in the long-running newspaper strip, The World’s Greatest Superheroes. The original creators of this feature were Martin Pasko, George Tuska and Vince Colletta.

Vince Colletta became an instant legend in the genre of romance comics for the reason that his portrayal of females was equally realistic and idealized – a tricky recipe for an illustrator to master. His art work put both the beauty and the individual uniqueness of women on full display. Wonder Woman was the perfect subject. In the artist’s deft hands, Diana blossomed into a super heroine every bit as beautiful as she was unconquerable. DC Comics deserves much of the credit both for naming Vinnie art director and pairing him with inventive pencilers such as Mike Netzer (Nasser), Jose Delbo and Jose Luis-Garcia to create a celebrated strip that revealed the most stunning interpretations of the character.

TALKING TRASH ABOUT VINNIE

February 17, 2024January 17, 2024 by Vince Colletta

It was my privilege to know someone as well-rounded as Vincent Colletta. A true renaissance man, he boldly ventured where other men dared not. His life required constant demonstrations of his skills, his personality and his determination. Possessing a work ethic like no other, Vinnie became the blood, sweat and tears of Marvel Comics. While creators such as Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko chiseled a magnificent and monumental landscape, it was the likes of Colletta, Verpoorten, Severin, Shooter, Romita and others whose names are remembered by only a few, who carried the load; making sure that Marvel’s comic books got to the newsstands on time – every time. What began as a labor of love for Vinnie, became a struggle for survival. Throughout his life, he was punching above his weight which translated into his taking on too much work. Yet, despite all of the time crunches, the four AM drives into Manhattan, the countless nights spent catching a few hours sleep on the office couch after inking rush jobs, Colletta managed to produce some indelible work.

Jack Kirby took action-art to a whole new level. His exciting layouts as well as the characters he helped to create, were primarily why the public stood up and took notice of what Marvel was doing. Jack became God-like himself to a throng of adoring fans who discussed him reverently and defended “The King” from anyone or anything that wronged him. Even a perceived slight would incite swift and hateful rebukes from Kirby’s ardent fans.

Vince Colletta was a frequent collaborator. Having cut his teeth as a portrait and mural artist before discovering comics, he gravitated toward romance stories and instantly became the most sought-after artist in the genre. It wasn’t easy – attempting to transfer his oil painting sensibilities to a medium as different as pencils and ink on paper. From the start, Vinnie attempted to depict comic book characters as realistically close to human beings as he had the tools and ability to craft with his paints. Yet, as astonishing as his efforts were, the reality of the business soon afterward became clearly defined. The more work you produce, the more money you earn. The days of creating museum-quality comic book art were over for him.

Getting back to Kirby and Colletta…Once superheroes became the prevalent variety of art work available, Vince found work inking the fiery action stories at Marvel. While his inks can seen on every Marvel character; and in collaboration with every penciler in the place, what became his defining work was Thor. Perhaps inspired by the Prince Valiant comic strip created by Hal Foster, Vinnie sketched a few pages of how he thought the character should look. Stan Lee was impressed enough to suggest that Colletta ink the backup stories in the Thor books called Tales of Asgard. Those collaborations between Lee, Kirby and Colletta would go on to define the appearance of the characters and their environment forever.

Much has been made of how Colletta “changed” Kirby’s pencils. Many of Jack’s more enthusiastic followers claim that Vince’s inking “diminished” the energy portrayed in the layouts. Jack Kirby is purported to have penciled AND inked the image on the left showing Thor swinging his hammer. Most of his fans – going by what appears online in debates that will seemingly never end – prefer unadulterated Jack. If comic books could be reproduced from pencils, they would prefer that no inker ever touched his art. But the inks were necessary for the images to be replicated by printing presses. Compare the side-by-side images of Thor…All Kirby on the left and Kirby–Colletta on the right. Is there more vigor in the Kirby image? Does Colletta’s inking reduce the dynamism of the picture?

One comic book reader wrote: “Granted, Colletta’s inks do not work for every penciler, but anyone who doesn’t recognize the majesty of how Colletta inked Kirby on THOR simply does not have an eye for mythology. Thor and the Asgardian gods have never looked more massive and imposing as when Colletta inked them. Kirby’s art is easily gold all by itself, but when it came to rendering the gods, Colletta made them hulking and sinewy and savage-looking, their bodily frames monstrous, beastly and hirsute.”

And, another comic-book reader wrote: “I am an artist and Colletta is like bad music. He can’t draw faces, and for all his “fine lines” important details in the pencils disappear with his inks. I am sick to death of seeing this ongoing representation continuously being posted- it’s not the Kirby I fell in love with, so many, many examples of inkers who did right by him, including himself. Because I don’t like one of them devalues my opinion? Colletta is no Hal Foster, no Alex Raymond, no Caniff or Kubert. Colletta is not suitable for or deserving of inking Jack Kirby’s pencils.”

A TIMELY AWAKENING FOR ROMANCE ART IN COMIC BOOKS

February 17, 2024January 17, 2024 by Vince Colletta

Vince Colletta Romance Art Covers — TIMELY-ATLAS ROMANCE COVERS BY VINCE COLLETTA

For comic book aficionados, the Vince Colletta story begins in 1952. After art school and a brief career as a portrait painter and muralist, he was introduced to the world of publishing by a family friend who suggested comic books.

Passionate Embrace Art by Vince Colletta

Standard Publications was the first door he knocked on. It turned out to be Vinnie’s lucky day. He was given an assignment – just a few pages of a romance story, “then we’ll see how it goes from there” his editor said. My dad was excited. A young husband and father, his foray into oil painting was a critical success and earned him a living but it hardly proved lucrative. Manhattan now beckoned.

Only a few months passed before Colletta was also drawing stories for Timely-Atlas Publishing -the company that one day would become mighty Marvel. What a crazy transition going from portraits to cartoons but, in a way, an organic circular progression for the boy who loved to draw pictures on paper bags in his father’s grocery store.

Stan Lee ran the show at Timely back then and the way Vinnie illustrated females excited him. Thus began an “all work you can handle” career that spanned 40 years. It wasn’t just the provocative poses and sensual embraces but also the illustrative details that, before then, had never been seen in comic books.

By the late 1950s, Vinnie began to focus on production art. The girls were just as beautiful but the art took on a simplicity unlike previous years. As the volume of work mounted, he took on assistants who would do everything from layouts to inking backgrounds. It became known as the Colletta Studio and became a stopping point for famous artists such as Wood, Baker, Sinnott, Steranko, Giordano, Giacoia and Orlando.

Eventually, the implosion of the comic book trade happened which pretty much ground an entire industry to a halt. Those publishing companies that survived severely cut back the number of titles. Never one to wait for opportunities, my father solicited work from small publishers such as Charlton and Dell – a Godsend not only for Vinnie but also the artists who came to depend on him to bring in the work.

The early Timely-Atlas romance art by Vince Colletta is a joy to look at. It has the depth one expects to find in fine art and it’s evocative. You want to plant a kiss on every one of Vinnie’s girls. The most beautiful women on earth. Who knew they could be found in the pages of a comic book?

From an interview with Vinnie’s daughter Roseannette:

Q: Vinnie’s women are considered to be the most beautiful in comics. Why do you think he had such a talent for drawing females?

A: Because he thought women were beautiful. He was born in Sicily which is steeped in hundreds of years of sculpture and painting of the human form. It’s embedded in the culture and maybe in the genes

DRAWN TO BEAUTY, VINCE COLLETTA – LIFE AND ART is a gorgeous book featuring a compelling memoir of the artist. I want you to be so immersed in this world that you can’t put it down. It’s a view into a different time, place and culture. You’ll also read many comments and conversations, an extraordinary number of them apologetically praising his work. And there’s those incredibly gorgeous women. Very few of Vinnie’s contemporaries ever matched the realism he provided with pencil and pen.

THE SINISTER HOUSE OF SECRET LOVE

February 17, 2024January 17, 2024 by Vince Colletta

Calnan and Colletta Art The Sinister House of Secret Love — THE SINISTER HOUSE OF SECRET LOVE #1

Surprise kiss — THE SINISTER HOUSE OF SECRET LOVE #1 ART BY CALNAN AND COLLETTA

A VINCE COLLETTA REMEMBRANCE BY ALAN KUPPERBERG

February 17, 2024January 17, 2024 by Vince Colletta

I suppose I first met Vinnie nearly forty years ago. And he was a friend. He invariably greeted me with his deep, gravelly, laconic voice, saying, “Hallo, handsome.” Probably because he couldn’t remember my name.

I was first consciously exposed to his work when he began to ink Jack Kirby’s THOR in Journey Into Mystery. If my memory serves, Vinnie followed Frank Giacoia as inker on the main feature. That is a very tough act to follow. In my opinion, Frank Giacoia (another very dear friend) was as good an inker as there ever was in comics. And I thought he always made Kirby look sensational. That being said, It wasn’t as though I hadn’t had a chance to warm up to Vinnie’s inking on Tales of Asgard.

Vinnie was a good guy and he didn’t have to cut throats to get his assignments. Editors knew what they were getting when they hired Vin. They were getting their job done. Someone or several of the creators involved in producing a book hadn’t acted professionally, and the editor had to call in the pro’s pro to save the book’s deadline. Vincent Colletta — ta DA!

Vince inked my first professional page in 1971 for National’s Young Romance. “Page Peterson’s Do’s & Don’ts of Dating.” Editor Dorothy Woolfolk bashed out a typewritten, one page script for me as I hovered over her shoulder.

I struggled over the pencilling, and I quickly discovered that I was out of my depth. However, eventually I turned in my page and Vinnie inked it. And do you know what? Vinnie had made me look like a real comic book artist. Vincent Colletta had made me a professional comic book artist, God bless him.

Then as now, I was a fan of Neal Adams’ work for National. And he was in the office every day, as was I. And I used to tease Neal about the, “But Bork Can HURT You!” Brave & Bold issue that Vinnie had inked over Neal (and that Neal had extensively re-inked over).

As early as 1971 Neal was saying that Vinnie was the worst inker in the world. But that’s just Neal being gratuitously cruel. Neal prides himself on knowing exactly where to put the “needle” in, and he was literally trying to hurt Vinnie. The animus that came to a head in the whole Jeanette/Neal/Vinnie incident had been engendered much earlier.

I’ve been inked by the best! Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, Wallace Wood, Joe Sinnott, Rudy Nebres, Frank Giacoia, Frank Springer, Jack Abel, Jim Mooney, Jim Fern and Gray Morrow. And these professional, super artists made me look like a pro as well. But those occasions were too few and too far in between.

I was more often inked by guys like Mike Esposito, John Tartaglione, Joe Giella, Chic Stone, Pablos Marcos and others that made my work look just like it was; adequate.

Then there was a third group of inkers that I’d get. These chaps shall remain nameless. But these guys made my stuff look like crap.

So, when I’d get Vinnie on a job, I’d at least know I’d come off looking like a pro. During my run pencilling Thor, I often begged the editor to put Vinnie on my pencils. Finally, for my very last issue (just before Simonson took it over), Vinnie did the inks. My Thor finally looked like THE Thor!

When I was a kid, an unsophisticated snot with more opinions than ability, I could not see the merits of a lot of fine artists. I remember, in particular, one autumn morning in 1971, Jack Abel and I were talking in National’s production room. And I made a stupid, denigrating crack about Ross Andru’s abilities. And Jack gave me a queer, puzzled look, as though I had just spoken an unknown language to him. And Jack said, “Stupid kid. Ross Andru is a master!”

Because I did not know enough to be able to see past a few artistic quirks which Ross possessed and appreciate what he was actually doing. A lot of work horses were like that. Like Vinnie. The guys who sat behind their boards for twenty, thirty — fifty years, turning out good, solid comic book pages that we loved so much. These are the guys that MADE the business. Vinnie’s work may have hurt the tender sensibilities (sometimes justifiably) of some artists and fans, but he did no harm to the business.
In my opinion, guys like Neal don’t live in the real world. Neal lives in the cult of Adamsland. He is surrounded by sycophants and ass-kissers, 24/7. But Neal didn’t make the business. Guys like Vinnie did. Neal was a snob who dropped into the business for a few years and shook things up. Until he decided that the business didn’t deserve him any more.

But Adams purposefully started the process of elevating comic books. And that elevation has continued unto this day.

And you know what? Comics have been elevated. Elevated right out of their shoes. What had been a ubiquitous item, an inexpensive mass medium has lost its mass. They have become an over priced, over-produced niche item for dedicated hobbyists, a small, insular circle of snobs.

So, let’s hear it for ALL the Vinnie Colletta’s of the world. The guys who NEVER did anything to hurt the business, the guys who, in fact, made the business run. The guys who hit their mark and made their deadlines every time.

Vince, you was a Prince.

Alan Kupperberg –May 2008

I just finished the book. You left me in tears. You’re right, “nothing was impossible,” to Vinnie. God Rest His Soul. I will e-mail within a day or two with my thoughts. Thanks again.

Alan Kupperberg -January 2014

Alan Kupperberg passed away in 2015. His name is memorialized in the dedication page of DRAWN TO BEAUTY. Alan was a special soul who was loved by all.

How to Draw Beautiful Women -The Perfect Swipe File

WHO’S YOUR DADDY, THOR?

Is it Art? Or, is it Comic Book Art?

Dazzler Art by Frank Springer and Vince Colletta

JACK AND VINNIE – FROM START TO FINISH

THE LOVELY WONDER WOMAN

TALKING TRASH ABOUT VINNIE

A TIMELY AWAKENING FOR ROMANCE ART IN COMIC BOOKS

THE SINISTER HOUSE OF SECRET LOVE

A Night to Remember — A Day to Forget! In this 12 Page horror-romance-suspense story, the ghost of Neil Anders tries to drive two lovers apart.

Some of the other titles John Calnan and Vince Colletta worked on together at DC Comics were The Unexpected, The Superman Family, The Witching Hour, Young Love and The Flash.

A VINCE COLLETTA REMEMBRANCE BY ALAN KUPPERBERG