The Comics Rack

The Amazing Inking Wonder

   Don't know why, but I was ruminating on the career of Vince Colletta the other day. For those of you who have never heard the name before, Colletta's name was once synonymous with hack, at least as far as comics were concerned. Valiant Vince was an inker and reviled throughout fandom for the lack of detail to be found in his work. If Artist A drew a crowd scene and Colletta was his inker, you could rest assured that that half the crowd would disappear, so that Vince didn't have to ink all the figures. Want a face with sparse detail? How about thin sketchy lines instead of thick areas of black? Look no further, Colletta's your man!
   Now, in his defense, I must say that Colletta did some fine work during his career. The early romance work he did in the 50s stands on a par with some of the work of Alex Toth. Some, although not all, of the inking he did on George Tuska's Iron Man was good, if not downright beautiful, at times. There is also a strange melding of styles when Colletta inked Kirby on Thor (although it might have been interesting if Bill Everett had handled the book on a regular basis, at least from the look of the later issues) that seems to capture the raw power of gods in battle. But, except for a few scattered instances, the majority of his Marvel and DC work is forgettable and abysmal.
   With such a dubious legacy, it was with great surprise that the fan press reported in the 80s that Vince Colletta had been appointed art director of DC Comics. Shock and dismay seemed to be the general reaction with a smattering of "whys" thrown in for good measure. I was among those who couldn't understand the appointment and, if not for a chance conversation shortly after the announcement, I would still be puzzling over Vince's elevation to this day.
   I was in Las Vegas at the annual trade show put together by Glenwood Distributors and, after the events of the day had ended, a bunch of us went casino hopping to pull handles and, of course, soak up all the free liquor we could absorb. On this particular night, I was traveling with Glenwood's LA manager and a couple of comics professionals (who shall remain nameless). During our travels throughout the town, the subject turned to comics and names of favorite characters and artists were exchanged faster than you could say "Shazam!" When I brought up the subject of Colletta's promotion, one of our merry band, who had worked for a time in the DC offices, gave me a very logical answer and what I assume is the true story.
   It seems that for many years, Colletta had been the inker who Marvel or DC would go to if they had a very short deadline. The pages I, and others, had so reviled over the years were the result of deadline crunches. Colletta was known to turn out completed books virtually overnight, so the deadlines on the comics could be met. The lack of detail, in many instances, was simply a way to get the finished product to the printer on time. DC understood this and, by appointing him art director, made sure that he would be available to handle all the deadline crunches they could throw at him. As proof of this, my source related that it was a regular thing at the DC offices to arrive at work in the morning to find Colletta asleep on the couch in his office and a stack of finished pages sitting on his drawing board; another all-nighter behind him.
   True story? Probably. I trust my source on this one. I realize that this doesn't explain all the quirks of Colletta's style, but it is at least a relief to know that he wasn't necessarily made art director for his artistry, but rather for his ability to get the job done. Now, if only somebody could explain why his work looked so bad when he didn't have a deadline, then I could rest easier at night.