I Could Use a Primer on Certain Quality Artists

[Mr. Izaj]

 I could use a slight primer on how to identify the artwork of such Quality staffers as Al Bryant, Dan Zolnerwich, and Alex Kotsky. Any one have any ideas?

[JVJ (RIP)]

Yeah, couldn't we ALL?

Wish I were able to distinguish them. Problem with Quality is the INKERS. They drive me batty. I was looking through some Crack Westerns to update the index cards before sending them to RangerHouse for scanning and I SWEAR I'm seeing some Bernie Krigstein pencils under those heavy, monotonous Quality inks. He's never been known to work for Quality. After the books get posted, I'll have to ask for some feedback from viewers...

Peace, Jim (|:{>

[mykey3000]

Of anyone, Jim here (above) has done the best job of it. Those notes are in his comic scans. AFter writing the Quality Companion, I started keeping some more detailed notes on exactly those artists, too. Sadly, I haven't had sufficient time to finish this research. Al Bryant is a major penciller whom I'd like to index. So underrated!

[Bob Hughes]

Check out my Quality artists id page:

http://dccomicsartists.com/quality/QUALITYART.htm

I'm particularly interested in feedback where I've mis identified people.  Also people whose work I've missed entirely.

[mykey3000]

How did I miss your page?? This is fantastic and makes me want to start digging again. I'm sure you've already researched these well, and I have lots of questions. Do you think John Celardo did the first Wonder Boy story? Of the ones on your page, the most questionable in my mind are the Charles Nicholas, Zolnerowich, Mazoujian, Celdardo because they're all wonky in similar ways.

Also, I'm pretty adamant against the whole Mac Raboy on Kid Eternity thing. It's in all the past research, but Busy Arnold himself said Raboy never worked for Quality.

How are we able to place George Tuska on Archie O'Toole? The cartoon style is so unlike his other stuff.

This is nice because it also corroborates some of my opinions that I've been too unprepared to speak upon.

[Bob Hughes]

Mac Raboy never worked for Quality. You'll notice there's no sample there.  I just haven't decided whether to just remove him from the list- or put in an explanation as to why it's just a myth.
So many artists so little time.

Not sure how Tuska was placed there.  Probably based on Bails' interviews and artist contacts.
George's pre- crime comics work doesn't look much like his later stuff.  All your other artists have signed things from time to time.  I try to go back to signed samples when ever possible to make comparisons.  Having a large enough monitor to run several pages at one time is really helpful.  I have no idea how people did this when they had to flip pages of disintegrating comics constantly.
Jerry Bails used some trick he discovered with a fax machine back in the sixties to create black and white line drawings. No idea how that worked- but I'm sure it helped him a lot.

[Mr. Izaj]

 If Mac Raboy did do a few Kid Eternity stories, I wouldn't be surprised if Ed Herron - who was writing scripts for various Quality strips at the time - had something to do with it. Up until 1942, Ed Herron was Mac Raboy's editor at Fawcett and - according to James Steranko - Raboy did much of his best work at Fawcett under Herron's guidance.