RIP Gene Colan

[Ravin' Ray]

Two of the comics I got this week (Incredible Hulks #633 and Ultimate Fallout #3) have a black-and-white tribute page to Colan, with a self-portrait set against a watermarked backdrop of a Captain America, Daredevil, Sub-Mariner, and Iron-Man montage.

[Jim Thompson]

I'll always love his ... stint on Doctor Strange, his excellent Tomb of Dracula work ...

For me, these are the high watermark points of his career (and that's saying something for a career like his), particularly his work on Dracula. I honestly don't think anyone ever portrayed that character better than he did.

[NickFury90]

I wanted to bump this because 1) I've been reading a lot of his old Tomb of Dracula work, and I forgot how much I enjoyed these, and 2) to give my condolences to the man, who gave so much of himself into comics and Marvel and he wasn't paid back NEARLY enough.

[Iron Maiden]

I wanted to bump this because 1) I've been reading a lot of his old Tomb of Dracula work, and I forgot how much I enjoyed these, and 2) to give my condolences to the man, who gave so much of himself into comics and Marvel and he wasn't paid back NEARLY enough.

It always saddens me when you read about some of the guys who really played a big role in the Silver Age needing to have fund raising projects done in their behalf because their retirement benefits are so crummy. IIRC he was still doing commissions last year to make extra money.

The Bill Mantlo story that was posted here was heartbreaking too.

[Frank]

The Man was a Giant in this field. He made comic stories and drawings more than comic artwork, it became almost another Universe that had its own feel.

Another sad part of this is that I wished Gene would have done more Marvel characters. Especially after his TOD run into the 80s. I would have loved to have seen a Thor run from him. A Hulk run. A FF run. I think he would have owned Wolverine, turning a character just known for slashing into a more epic classic hero.

[Blind pugh]

Wow, I can't believe I missed this thread before.
RIP Mr Colan. The Tomb of Dracula comics I had passed down to me as kid were the coolest things I'd ever seen & still retain that position.

[NickFury90]

It always saddens me when you read about some of the guys who really played a big role in the Silver Age needing to have fund raising projects done in their behalf because their retirement benefits are so crummy. IIRC he was still doing commissions last year to make extra money.

The Bill Mantlo story that was posted here was heartbreaking too.

The man pretty much worked himself to death. He had to use amphetamines to keep up his two pages a day rate for three issues a month, trying to raise his four kids. He redefined Daredevil, co-created Blade, the Falcon, Howard the Duck, did brilliant work on Tomb of Dracula, but because he's a freelancer he doesn't see a cent beyond standard page rates. Marvel doesn't give the man any kind of life insurance even after he's had a heart attack. He pretty had to live off his fan commissions and donations.



This is pretty much the extent Marvel cared about the man: a tiny gesture of remote pity by an immortal giant watching the lives of the people who built it pass more quickly than they should. It is a hypocritical expression. A lie.

My love of comics is almost eclipsed by my disgust for what goes into the business of creating them.

[Iron Maiden]

The man pretty much worked himself to death. He had to use amphetamines to keep up his two pages a day rate for three issues a month, trying to raise his four kids. He redefined Daredevil, co-created Blade, the Falcon, Howard the Duck, did brilliant work on Tomb of Dracula, but because he's a freelancer he doesn't see a cent beyond standard page rates. Marvel doesn't give the man any kind of life insurance even after he's had a heart attack. He pretty had to live off his fan commissions and donations.

This is pretty much the extent Marvel cared about the man: a tiny gesture of remote pity by an immortal giant watching the lives of the people who built it pass more quickly than they should. It is a hypocritical expression. A lie.

My love of comics is almost eclipsed by my disgust for what goes into the business of creating them.

The part that I don't think is just is how some mediocre talents who shall remain unnamed have worked on some of these Marvel properties yet became far wealthier than the guys who built the foundation. They've benefited from the more liberal ways the companies compensate the talent these days. But Marvel's parent company back in 1980's (and perhaps earlier than that) had a paragraph printed just below your check that basically affirms the work for hire relationship. That came up in the recent Ghost Rider suit Marvel (or I guess we should say Disney) won against Gary Friedrich.

[argon31pf]

R.I.P. Gene Colan

Even when I was a kid and wasn't as mindful of who the artist was, I could always tell a Colan panel just by looking at it. No one could do shadows like the Master of Shadows. No one.