Attentive. Sympathetic. Still.

What makes a good comic book artist?

Economy. A strong sense of composition. An understanding of body language. Inventiveness. The ability to suggest motion. A feel for evocative images. A knack for visual storytelling.

Which brings us to Jack Cole. Cole is best known for his over-the-top, often grotesque images and explosive scenes of mayhem...

but the natural complement of the ability to suggest motion is the ability to suggest stillness. Take a good look at the second of these two panels. It's a beautifully composed shot that perfectly captures the sad, quiet moment. Check out how Cole depicts each characters' attitude. (and keep in mind this is the same artist who gave us the image of a hypodermic about to puncture an eyeball.)


Of course, like all good comic art, this is best appreciated in context...

Gay Hitler

The Marksman was a minor back-pages feature in Quality's Smash Comics, home to a number of fondly remembered characters such as Wildfire, The Ray and the great Jack Cole's Midnight. Given that company, it's easy to see how the Marksman has been overlooked. Other than an odd but useful alter ego as a Nazi officer, there's just not much reason to remember the series, but it did give us this example of wartime propoganda based on homophobia instead of racism.