Tom Gill, Lone Ranger Artist Dies

[Beta Ray Bill]

Sad news...

http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=46859

[Lone Ranger]

This is very, very sad news - but this gentleman (as he was in the truest sense, according to accounts I have read) led a full and happy life.

This is a man who could tell a story with pictures. For anyone who hasn't read a copy of Dell's Lone Ranger, I highly recommend picking one up for dirt cheap on eBay and taking a time machine back to an era when comic book stories were told one panel at a time, and your eyes were moved along the page at a gentle canter.

Don't get me wrong - these books are anything but boring - as his action sequences were dynamic and his depictions of the scenery in the Old West helped to bring it to life.

Tom Gill's style would not work in today's splash-page oriented, 'look at me and my cool pencils!' books. His artwork shows that often less is more and that sometimes the simplest thing can be the most beautiful.

If my computer at home was working and the whole darned house wasn't one big dustbin, I'd post some of my favourite pages.

RIP Mr. Gill and thanks for the memories

[Cei-U!]

Very nice eulogy, LR. I chatted briefly with Mr. Gill at SDCC 2004 and he was every bit the gentlemen you've heard he was: a friendly, modest man who seemed delighted to learn his life's work meant so much to so many.

Cei-U!
I summon a moment of silence!

[Lone Ranger]

Thanks Kurt - that's great you were able to meet him. I am very impressed that he had the stamina to deal with a convention - I would have loved to shake his hand and say 'thanks'.

I only 'discovered' the old Lone Ranger comics 5 or 6 years ago - was first lured in by the painted covers, but fell in love with the stuff between the covers.

[Sir Tim Drake]

I almost got to meet him-- I was standing next to Greg Hatcher (I think that's who it was) as Greg was telling Mr. Gill how much he enjoyed his work. From that little glimpse, I got the impression that Mr. Gill was a kind old gentleman. I'm saddened to learn that he's no longer with us.

[Slam_Bradley]

Sad loss for the industry, his family and his fans. RIP, Mr. Gill.

[Rob Allen]

Someone on one of my yahoo lists interviewed Mr. Gill less than a week before his death. The interview is scheduled for an upcoming issue of Hogan's Alley magazine.

[Jeff O.]

God Bless you and your family always, Mr. Gill. Hi-Yo, Silver! Away, but never forgotten.


I had the pleasure of meeting Tom Gill at a convention in Manhattan, probably 15 years ago. I think I saw him introduced on a panel, first. I actually don't think I had ever heard his name before he was introduced, but he quickly had my attention. My friend and I had a nice chat with him, later on, when he was sitting at his table. He was very friendly, as has been already noted. We also looked at these beautifully-colored 8 1/2" by 11" (or smaller) drawings he brought to sell. I also noticed him at another Manhattan convention, a few years ago, but didn't get to talk to him that day.

When Jerry Siegel and Tom Gill brought back The Owl --

THE OWL No. 1 (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/oddball/index.cgi?date=2001-04-26)

THE OWL No. 2 (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/oddball/index.cgi?date=2004-11-26)

signed: Siegel & Gill (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/oddball/closeup.php?image=theowl-splash.jpg)