Jack Kirby, Curt Swan, Wally Wood, John Byrne, Jim Steranko, etc on a Silver-Bronze Age Jam!

Another Jam piece, commissioned by Martin Greim in 1978 to 1982!  This one is a doozy, one of the few times (perhaps the only time) that Wally Wood inked Curt Swan on Superman, and this unique team-up is complemented by what some would call the two greatest penciler/inker duos in the history of comics: Kirby/Sinnott and Byrne/Austin.

• Tom Sutton - Vampirella
• Ernie Chan - Hulk
• Ramona Fradon - Plastic Man
• Kurt Schaffenberger - The Original Captain Marvel
• Jack Kirby & Joe Sinnott - Captain America
• Michael Golden & Joe Sinnott - Ant Man
• Curt Swan & Wally Wood - Superman
• Joe Staton & Dick Giordano - Wonder Woman
• John Byrne & Terry Austin - Spider-Man
• Gene Colan & Klaus Janson - Howard the Duck
• ??? & Dave Simons - Doll Man
• Jim Steranko & Joe Rubinstein - Nick Fury
• Jim Aparo - Batman

How could you not be proud to own this fine piece?  Many of them are by classic Silver & Bronze age artists: Aparo on Batman, Swan on Superman (getting Wood to ink him was a real coup), Byrne/Austin on Spider-Man and Steranko on Fury--oh my!  It was also signed by Captain America co-creator Joe Simon!  Nuff Said.

Gene Colan and Bob McLeod Team-Up on Captain America, Daredevil, Doctor Strange & Dracula

Looking back at my art scans, I found these Gene Colan commissions inked by the great Bob McLeod.  Four of Marvel’s heroes that Colan made his mark on.

Captain America.

Daredevil.

Doctor Strange.

Dracula.

Nuff Said!

Link: Bob McLeod website.

Gene Colan Commissions: Flash, Wonder Woman, Silver Surfer, Shazam vs Dracula, Howard the Duck

I have been hoarding these scans of various Gene Colan commissions—most of them were done in 2000 or 2001.  I’d like to share them now to celebrate his life and memory.

Shazam! Captain Marvel versus Dracula, the most unlikely battle of all, inked by Jerry Ordway.

The Flash!  After seeing this piece, I think Gene Colan had a very unique method of drawing speed—not only does the character look great, but the background blurs and warps around him.

Wonder Woman. 

Silver Surfer.

X-Men.  I love how he put romantic touch here with Jean Grey and Scott Summers in the center of all the chaos.

Howard the Duck on a skateboard! 2001.

There you go, I thought all of these commissions by Gene Colan were remarkable.  Nuff Said!

Farewell, Gene Colan

Sad to hear of Gene Colan’s passing yesterday.  As many fans like myself are already well aware, Colan was one of the giants of the comic book industry.  To my taste, there are a number of artists which belong to an elite group for true originality in style and substance: Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Gil Kane, John Romita, Berni Wrightson, etc.  Gene Colan was certainly in that list as well. 



Everyone who loved Colan’s artwork knows what I mean.  He approached comics like a film director, drawing a comic book panel as if he were looking through the lens of a movie camera.  Tilting the camera a bit for the best angle, sometimes tilting the entire panel (from a time when all panels were strictly rectangular) to get the best image.  Colan did tons of research as well, in a time there was no internet or Google, compiling photographic references.  Check out the panel above for Daredevil #87 in 1972, the first issue where DD moved to San Francisco.  Coit Tower, Lombard Street, the Bay Bridge, etc., all the famous landmarks appeared in Daredevil and gave the series a fresh look.



Three Marvel Comics series are forever locked with my memory of Gene Colan.  The first one was Daredevil, as I noted above.  Another was Doctor Strange, where he drew this iconic 1968 cover of Doc adopting his new “superhero” masked costume: Hail the Master!  When I wrote about my love for this cover on Giant-Size Marvel, a few people said I was totally nuts and this was the worst thing that ever happened to Doc.  But Gene Colan made this costume work in my mind—it was such a great cover that it was sold as a poster.  Even so, when Colan returned to Doctor Strange in the early 70s (sans mask), he did a superlative job as well.



Tomb of Dracula, of course, is the other series.  I still have the entire run of comics plus the Omnibus edition.  While Colan did a great job with superheroes, in some ways he was better suited to different genres like romance, mystery, and horror.  Marv Wolfman gave Colan all types of scenes to draw in the Dracula series. 

I mourn the passing of this great legend.  Farewell, Gene, you will be missed.  Nuff Said.