When I started reading my first batch of comics, Gene's work was amongst the pile of books my older brother Albert had given me. Included in that collection (dating from about 1968-70) were several titles drawn by Gene Colan, including DAREDEVIL, CAPTAIN AMERICA and IRON MAN.
By 1975, I was buying my own comic books off the shelves at 7-11, King Cole Market, McCoy's Market and anywhere else I could find them. For 25¢ a copy, it was a pretty sweet deal for a kid with a buck or two from mom!
Besides all the superhero titles I was buying from Marvel (SPIDER-MAN, FANTASTIC FOUR, HULK, CAPTAIN AMERICA) I picked up, with much curiosity, HOWARD THE DUCK, written by Steve Gerber and illustrated masterfully by Gene Colan.
Howard fights the Kidney Lady on a bus bound for Cleveland!! How's that for a teaser of a cover...?
As a kid, some of Gerber's writing may have been above my head, but Gene Colan's artwork had my eyes glued to the page. At the time I'm sure I didn't appreciate the fact that he could draw spandex-clad superheroes as easily as he could a talking duck. But as I grew older I realized just how talented Colan was to be able to so deftly imbue Howard with as many personal attributes as he did. Just look at that image of Howard waddling down the aisle, angry determination on his face.
One of my favorite covers of all time is this one:
Again, look at that angry indignation on Howard's face. He get's drafted to run for President of the USA by the All Night Party, and it looks like he's mad as hell and isn't going to take it any longer! Colan's great skill in displaying so much real emotion on a cartoon animal, combined with his naturalistic drawing abilities, gave HOWARD so much humanity. And of course with writer/creator Steve Gerber using Howard as a great sounding board for his own outsider sensibilities, it made for such a memorable book.
During the same time Colan was chronicling the adventures of the Duck, he was doing perhaps his most atmospheric work ever (certainly my favorite of his entire career):
Colan's Dracula was all swirling capes and smokey mists. Like a ghost trying to live amongst humans. The scripts called upon Colan to conjure up haunted houses, nighttime cityscapes, demonic horrors and a grand design for Dracula, the proud Prince of Darkness, former king and corrupter of souls. All of which Colan handled with masterly skills. Credit must be given also to Tom Palmer, who inked Colan's painterly pencils with such precise attention.
And this is another one of my favorite covers of all time:
Gene Colan's career spanned about 7 decades. Almost 70 years drawing comic books. His strengths to me were his unmistakeable style of drawing, his flair for dramatic camera angles, his sense of movement in his figures, and that overriding sense he gave to all his characters of being alive, whether they were aliens, robots, undead monsters or talking ducks from Cleveland.
Growing up with comics, taking them to heart as much as I did, makes me sad to hear of the man's passing. I never had the privilege of meeting Gene Colan, but feel so fortunate to have known so much of his work. His dedication to his craft, and his joy at doing what he loved, will always provide me with warm memories. And of course, I have so much of my favorite works of his at hand. Thank you, Gene Colan.
You can read a quick obituary about Gene Colan over at writer Mark Evanier's site.
Gene's close friend, Clifford Meth, who has been handling Gene's affairs since Gene's wife Adrienne passed away a year ago, has a very lovely final interview with Gene done just a few weeks ago, at his hospice bedside.
3 comments:
Thanks, Javy! This was the Colan tribute I was waiting for. Great breakdown of that robot-in-the-closet issue. A beautiful summation of one of the all-time great artists - and that's not an empty phrase, after Kirby and Ditko, Colan is probably the most accomplished influential artist of that era.
I personally place him ahead of Adams because Colan mixed an Adams realism with a gothic somberness that was more romantic and emotional. And he was more versatile, as Howard the Duck proved...
The only slight omission to your trib that I would add on to: some of Colan's vintage Iron Man work, which, like Howard, was also a character he made his own. The Iron Man with the nose (a la Tuska) in Colan's recent montage at the bottom of your post does not come close to showing off the power, stature and elegance he brought to that character.
There was nothing like Colan's art in his heyday-- the late '60s and throughout the 1970s. He raised the industry's A game for sure!
Thanks Mikey, I appreciate your comments.
I didn't mean to slight Gene's work on IRON MAN. His work on that character, as well as Daredevil, remain excellent high points on both those titles. I have a huge attraction to the Romita Jr./Layton version of Iron Man as well.
I was just trying to offer my own personal preferences of Gene's many works. The man was indeed as master of all he created. And like I posted on Blake Bell's recent Gene Colan tribute, I think Colan exceeds Mssrs. Kirby and Ditko in terms of virtuoso drawing skills.
No need to rank my favorite artists, of course, but Gene's mastery of emotional expressions, coupled with his character's dynamic anatomy, creates a singular style. And as you mentioned, he added a gothic pathos to the equation which gives it that signature flair.
I read somewhere that Colan was the bridge from Kirby to Adams. Not an inaccurate assessment. I think it fair to say Colan should rank at the very top of all comic book artists.
Yeah, you're right, it's not worth ranking -- Kirby, Ditko, Colan and Adams are all tops and basically apples and oranges. They had the right styles for their respective books.
In the case of Iron Man, Kirby kicked it off, Ditko redesigned the armor, and Colan streamlined and embellished Ditko's design. They all had a hand in building Iron Man into the Bronze Age icon he became...until Tuska ruined things and put a nose on him! ...But I love Tuska's art, too!
Yeah, I know you love Colan's Iron Man, too .There's just so much to Colan's career and in so many directions, one can go on for miles about how great this artist was and how important. I think he really gave much style and, especially, sophistication to the Marvel characters he touched. He brought them from a simpler '60s style to the refined, professional and perfect-looking Marvel style of the '70s.
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