Obviously a tribute to Joe Shuster's Superman artwork, I decided to draw as if Mr. Shuster were more interested in hamsters than superheroes. I'm not sure why I started this. I guess it's because hamsters look cute when you pose them as humans.
I've been studying Joe Shuster's artwork recently as well, so that's another influence. I've come to the conclusion that his art style did not mature until after he was kicked off Superman by DC Comics. I feel that it is theme and solid, simple visual structure rather than artistic merit that made the early Man of Steel so iconic.
I wanted very much to redraw the cover of Action Comics #1, the world's most celebrated comic book. Superman was a late addition to the inaugural issue, and both Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel had to rush to adapt some unsold comic strips they had in their possession into a book form usable by the publisher.
The cover was a rush job, and re-creates a panel inside the comic where Superman is angered by mobsters and so destroys their car by throwing it against a nearby rock. The publisher hated the cover, but its power and simplicity created a best-selling issue.
To my eye, the cover is practically just a sketch in ink. Shuster must have worked at top speed to get it done. Since I don't have to create the cover from scratch like Shuster did (although he must have used the similar frame in the comic as his reference), I'm finding I can work pretty fast in this style as well. Even so, this concept is not complete so I will finish it another day.
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