A belated post, noting the June 23 death of one the greatest comic book artists, Golden, Silver and Bronze Ages...
Gene "The Dean" Colan, as Stan Lee nicknamed him in the credits of their 1960s Marvel collaborations.
I grew up during/reading/collecting the Silver Age of Comics, primarily the titles of Marvel and DC. Gene Colan was a big part of those childhood memories, and I can still remember the first Colan title I bought at the local drugstore's newsstand...
Daredevil # 30, with Daredevil and guest hero Thor on the cover (still have that book in my library). Marvel of the 1960s is usually defined by the artwork/legacy of Jack Kirby, but Gene Colan's work was distinctive and never in the Kirby mold... it was Gene's style, and only Gene's. It was Gene's work at Marvel that paved the way for Jim Steranko, Neal Adams, Frank Brunner and other comic artist innovators that followed during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
He had memorable runs on Sub-Mariner, Iron Man, Captain America, Dr. Strange, The Avengers, Captain Marvel, others. In the 1970s' Bronze Age, Colan teamed with Marv Wolfman and Tom Palmer for
Tomb of Dracula, an effective continuation of the classic Stoker story while still placing it in the "Marvel Universe." Gene moved to DC in the early 1980s, and left his distinctive mark on Batman, Wonder Woman and other characters.
Mark Evanier blogged a nice memorial last week, and I understand that he will host a Tribute Panel to Gene Colan at Comic-Con on July 24. My friend Paul Castiglia also has some nice things to say on his website
Scared Silly.
