Comic Book Artist Gene Colan RIP
June 24, 2011 10:44 AM Subscribe
Comic book artist Gene Colan died on June 23, 2011. Colan began his comic book career in 1944, and after service in WWII went on to illustrate a wide range of comic book characters for both Marvel and DC. The artist might be best known for his 70 issue run in Marvel's Tomb of Dracula in the 1970's. Colan's lush moody style was also well-suited to Batman, as evidenced by his work on Batman and Detective Comics in the 1980's. Other titles and characters associated with Colan include Howard the Duck, Daredevil (including an 81 issue run from 1966-1973), Doctor Strange, and Captain America.
An interview with Gene Colan from last year.
Colan was 84.
in lieu of flowers
An interview with Gene Colan from last year.
Colan was 84.
in lieu of flowers
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posted by Faint of Butt at 11:03 AM on June 24, 2011
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:03 AM on June 24, 2011
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posted by Smart Dalek at 11:04 AM on June 24, 2011
posted by Smart Dalek at 11:04 AM on June 24, 2011
I own so many Batman comics from when I was a kid and almost all of them were illustrated by Gene Colan. To this day, if I close my eyes and think about Batman, it's his Batman that I see.
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posted by phelixshu at 11:07 AM on June 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
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posted by phelixshu at 11:07 AM on June 24, 2011 [1 favorite]
Fantastic art and an underrated artist, thanks for this.
posted by stinkycheese at 11:13 AM on June 24, 2011
posted by stinkycheese at 11:13 AM on June 24, 2011
One of the greats. He had a very distinct style, scenes and people that appear to be emerging from shadows (so very appropriate for Dracula and Daredevil). Also a very nice guy.
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posted by doctor_negative at 11:24 AM on June 24, 2011
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posted by doctor_negative at 11:24 AM on June 24, 2011
I always loved his work. RIP for a wonderful artist.
posted by tdismukes at 11:37 AM on June 24, 2011
posted by tdismukes at 11:37 AM on June 24, 2011
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posted by MrBadExample at 12:11 PM on June 24, 2011
posted by MrBadExample at 12:11 PM on June 24, 2011
The first comic book artist I ever saw who published directly from his pencils ( The art in Bloodscent was a revelation: a comic book without an inker?!?). Colon called this technique "Painting With Pencils."
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 12:24 PM on June 24, 2011
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 12:24 PM on June 24, 2011
The first artist that made me notice the use of a lot of black in the frame. Really set the sense of mood.
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posted by djrock3k at 12:42 PM on June 24, 2011
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posted by djrock3k at 12:42 PM on June 24, 2011
He drew real people. You'd look at the page, and the characters would be alive, looking out at you from the swirling blacks.. Not only one of the greats, but very, very unusual, both in the realism of his representation and his flowing lines, seeping around the grid.
Gerber said that the thing he liked about working with Colan was that he could trust him implicitly, and knew he wouldn't have to write captions explaining what was going on.
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posted by Grangousier at 12:45 PM on June 24, 2011
Gerber said that the thing he liked about working with Colan was that he could trust him implicitly, and knew he wouldn't have to write captions explaining what was going on.
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posted by Grangousier at 12:45 PM on June 24, 2011
A true titan and an original. They just don't make cartoonists like Colan anymore.
All the best to his family and great thanks for his legacy and his irreplaceable contribution to American mythic tradition.
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posted by EatTheWeek at 12:59 PM on June 24, 2011
All the best to his family and great thanks for his legacy and his irreplaceable contribution to American mythic tradition.
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posted by EatTheWeek at 12:59 PM on June 24, 2011
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I both loved and hated his work. I remember the first time I saw his Vicki Vale, she looked like a hot mess. Cowboy boots and frizzy hair, I think. But after seeing other people's versions that were so much slicker, so much more sophisticated and polished, they never felt quite right. They were too perfect. I realized that I liked the less-than-perfect look that his sketchy, soft pencil lines gave some of his characters.
His work displayed a wonderful sense of movement. Ironically it was best shown when the character was being clumsy and awkward -- Batman starting to fall after the line from his batrang had been snapped, for example.
He always left me with the impression of being an artist first and foremost, unlike some others who seemed more like cartoonists first and artists second. I know that doesn't quite sound right. I don't mean to put down the skills of cartoonists. I just mean that I could easily see somebody commissioning Gene to create an expensive portrait to hang in a gallery, and having the end result look like it would fit in with the work of the other masters on the wall. He always seemed as if he were drawing real people.
posted by sardonyx at 3:02 PM on June 24, 2011
I both loved and hated his work. I remember the first time I saw his Vicki Vale, she looked like a hot mess. Cowboy boots and frizzy hair, I think. But after seeing other people's versions that were so much slicker, so much more sophisticated and polished, they never felt quite right. They were too perfect. I realized that I liked the less-than-perfect look that his sketchy, soft pencil lines gave some of his characters.
His work displayed a wonderful sense of movement. Ironically it was best shown when the character was being clumsy and awkward -- Batman starting to fall after the line from his batrang had been snapped, for example.
He always left me with the impression of being an artist first and foremost, unlike some others who seemed more like cartoonists first and artists second. I know that doesn't quite sound right. I don't mean to put down the skills of cartoonists. I just mean that I could easily see somebody commissioning Gene to create an expensive portrait to hang in a gallery, and having the end result look like it would fit in with the work of the other masters on the wall. He always seemed as if he were drawing real people.
posted by sardonyx at 3:02 PM on June 24, 2011
A criminally-underrated genius; after reading a few Colan-drawn comics, the work of his peers looked like coloring books.
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posted by Halloween Jack at 3:14 PM on June 24, 2011
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posted by Halloween Jack at 3:14 PM on June 24, 2011
I don't really know what to say about this, because while it's sad that he's gone, he lived a very long life and left behind so much work that you could spend ages catching up with it all. I love the man's work so much, and I just realized reading this that I don't think I've ever read an issue of his Daredevil...the book he worked on for like seven years. Like Kirby, I think Colan will prove an artist much loved in life whose work only increases in stature as time goes on. Ironically, my guess is there are a lot of young-ish comics fans who are only (or just about only) seeing his work for the first time as the tributes pour in. I think they'll want to see more.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:53 PM on June 24, 2011
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:53 PM on June 24, 2011
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posted by Phlogiston at 4:02 PM on June 24, 2011
posted by Phlogiston at 4:02 PM on June 24, 2011
His Daredevil was always my favorite. I'm glad I was able to meet him and will always cherish the sketch I got from him.
posted by Lokisbane at 4:04 PM on June 24, 2011
posted by Lokisbane at 4:04 PM on June 24, 2011
I've got an original page of Gene's art from this book:
http://freesf.posterous.com/conan-the-curse-of-the-monolith-gene-colan
It was my prized possession as a 14-year old. It's still one of my most prized possessions today, actually. I was always so impressed with the expressiveness of the pencil and ink on paper. And it was one page of many, done in a tight time frame, I'm sure.
Thanks Gene. You gave me a lot of happiness as a kid.
posted by superelastic at 4:52 PM on June 24, 2011
http://freesf.posterous.com/conan-the-curse-of-the-monolith-gene-colan
It was my prized possession as a 14-year old. It's still one of my most prized possessions today, actually. I was always so impressed with the expressiveness of the pencil and ink on paper. And it was one page of many, done in a tight time frame, I'm sure.
Thanks Gene. You gave me a lot of happiness as a kid.
posted by superelastic at 4:52 PM on June 24, 2011
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posted by Minus215Cee at 5:59 PM on June 24, 2011
posted by Minus215Cee at 5:59 PM on June 24, 2011
That's a nice page you got there superelastic, hang onto it.
And it was one page of many, done in a tight time frame, I'm sure.
That's one of the things I really admire about Colan, he turned hundreds of monthly books year after year, always with a consistent high quality. The guy worked.
posted by marxchivist at 6:25 PM on June 24, 2011
And it was one page of many, done in a tight time frame, I'm sure.
That's one of the things I really admire about Colan, he turned hundreds of monthly books year after year, always with a consistent high quality. The guy worked.
posted by marxchivist at 6:25 PM on June 24, 2011
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posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 3:50 AM on June 25, 2011
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 3:50 AM on June 25, 2011
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posted by suburbanbeatnik at 10:58 AM on June 24, 2011