INKING TUSKA Inkers generally come in one of two types—the inker who attempts to faithfully follow the rendering of the penciler, and the inker who imposes their own style over that of the penciler. The former approach is not necessarily better, although the result will more closely reflect what the penciler intended. The latter approach can also produce a favorable result that is a blending of the composition of the penciler with the style of the inker. In some cases, an inker was assigned a job precisely because they would exert their style. Over the years, the pencils of George Tuska were inked by a variety of artists. On the pages that follow, you will see examples of both types of inkers. There is also an example of Tuska inking his own pencils—a situation most artists preferred if given a choice. That situation was definitely the exception, though, when it came to Tuska. Publishers typically preferred to have him do his usual tight penciling job and then hand the pages off to whatever inker was available. Even a weak or inexperienced inker could ink Tuska’s pencils, although the examples that follow are mostly veteran inkers.
(right) Dick Ayers inks Ayers used a fine line in inking this last page from the 1971 Angel backup story in Ka-Zar #3, allowing Tuska’s rendering to clearly shine through. (below) Vince Colletta inks Colletta has frequently been criticized for his inking of Kirby, but when it came to the World’s Greatest Superheroes strip, his inking over Tuska’s pencils reflects details that would not even have been visible when reproduced in the newspaper. This Christmas strip from 1981 is a good example.
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