#alfredo alcala

[retroscifiart]

Art by Mike Nassar & Alfredo Alcala from 1984 magazine Feb 1979

[chernobog13]

Ookla by Jack Kirby, possibly inked by Alfredo Alcala.

[browsethestacks]

Original Art - Savage Sword Of Conan #089 Pg 06 (1983) by Alfredo Alcala

[pulpsandcomics2]

Conan by Alfredo Alcala

[thebristolboard]

Original double-page pin-up by Alfredo Alcala from Conan Saga #67, published by Marvel Comics, 1992.

[coverpanelarchive]

Swamp Thing #73 (198?)

[curtvilescomic]

Conan The Barbarian by Alfredo Alcala

[writing-for-life]

Morpheus meets Matthew—The Rest Is History…

Swamp Thing: Final Payment (#84, March 1989)—Rick Veitch (writer), Tom Mandrake (penciller) & Alfredo Alcala (inker)

I’ve been itching to share these for our community re-read of “Into the Night” (#15).

Some of you might recognise these panels, but not everyone has read Swamp Thing (or watched the one season they gave us), and this is the first and only time Morpheus appears in it. So for those of you who don’t know and always wondered who Matthew was before he became a raven, here comes a bit of background info (spoilery, so skip if that’s not your thing):

Matthew Cable has been part of Swamp Thing since the very first issue in 1972. He was a government agent assigned to protect scientist Alec Holland and his wife (who were developing a biological formula to end world hunger) but failed to save them. He then mistakenly believed the Swamp Thing was the killer of Holland (the Swamp Thing initially also believed he was an altered form of Alec—all very convoluted, partly retconned at some point, too, but in short: When Alec was killed, his body was drenched with the formula, which affected the plants in the swamp. They basically formed a new organism that held his memory).

Lots of stuff happened in the years in between, and I won’t go into it all here, but suffice it to say that when Matthew the Raven admits he’s not always been a good person, that’s a bit of an understatement.

The Sandman #15, “Into the Night”

In short: He basically lost his mind, but that also gave him powers (to alter reality no less, ha! No wonder he piqued Dream’s interest 🤣). Unfortunately, Matt didn’t exactly use those powers for good (since he could only really access them when drunk or severely distressed, he had “wonderful” ideas like manipulating reality for creations he could have sex with, and those acts got more and more grotesque as time passed). That obviously wasn’t great for his marriage to Abigail Arcane (or rather: Holland at the time he meets Morpheus). Now you know why he got so excited about strip clubs in Brief Lives 🙈.

Matthew then had a car accident while driving under the influence in 1984.

Swamp Thing #84, cover art by John Totleben

Lots of goings on between this point and issue #84, but again long story short: Matthew eventually ended up in a coma, and since he was an organ donor, a corrupt hospital administrator uses him as an organ farm. Enter first Eve in dreams (ha! again) and then Morpheus, who basically advises him to end his life so his ex-wife Abby can exist in peace after all these years (she is pregnant with… something, which Morpheus also cryptically alludes to here. Plus the hospital administration tries to land her with a nearly 3 million dollar bill for all the years Matt has been on life support). Before Abby can unplug said life support herself, Matthew comes to, gathers all his strength for one final time and destroys the machines that keep him alive to spare Abby the guilt. In his final moments, he asks her to forgive him and move on. Also: He quite strictly did not die in his sleep, so how did that work? 🧐 Dream logic 🤣

Morpheus’ cameo had been agreed upon with NG at the time (he is mentioned in the credits). And since issue #84 has been published in March 1989, you can also tell that we’re pretty firmly in Sam Kieth territory, and that Mandrake & Alcala tried to replicate Dream’s look accordingly. Plus: The first issue in which Matthew the Raven appears in The Sandman (“Moving In” of The Doll’s House arc) was published in October 1989. So they had this cooking for a bit.

Oh, John Constantine also makes an appearance in that issue. They worked really hard at the time to tie it all together…

[sandmandaddy69]

Alfredo Alcala

[splooosh]

“for if it prosper”

Mike Hernandez - Alfredo Alcala

[evilhorse]

Power to evil!

(He-Man and the Masters of the Universe minicomic: The Obelisk)

[ultrameganicolaokay]

John Constantine, Hellblazer by Jamie Delano Omnibus Volume 1 by Jamie Delano, Rick Veitch, John Ridgway, Richard Piers Rayner, Alfredo Alcala and more. Cover by Dave McKean. Out in October.

"The story that defined John Constantine! For the first time, experience the series as it was meant to be read with the interweaving narrative between Hellblazer and Swamp Thing restored and the story of Constantine in the wake of Moore’s saga finally told. Collects John Constantine, Hellblazer #1-22, John Constantine, Hellblazer Annual #1, Swamp Thing (vol. 2) #65-77, and The Sandman #3, along with a foreword by Garth Ennis, an introduction by Delano, and more!"

[beyondthespheres]

All-Alcala ish, except for the cover and its opening page, and it features the most offbeat style I've ever seen him delivering... and believe me, have read tons of his stuff.

(Cover art by Nick Cardy)

[browsethestacks]

Original Art - Man-Thing #014 Pg 11 (1975) by Alfredo Alcala

[tomoleary]

Alfredo Alcala and Alex Niño "Elric vs Conan" Illustration Original Art (1976)

Source

“Niño drew Elric here and Alcala drew Conan.”

[dreamconsumer]

He-Man by Gerald Parel.