Colan died at age 84 in 2011. “When a World Went Mad” is from Marvel Tales #118, “Vampires Also Die” is from #127. and “While Death Waits” appeared in #131.
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn Gene Colan. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Hiển thị các bài đăng có nhãn Gene Colan. Hiển thị tất cả bài đăng
Number 1490: Gene Colan's Marvelous Marvel Tales
Người đăng: Unknown on Chủ Nhật, 15 tháng 12, 2013
Colan died at age 84 in 2011. “When a World Went Mad” is from Marvel Tales #118, “Vampires Also Die” is from #127. and “While Death Waits” appeared in #131.
Gene Colan, RIP
Người đăng: Unknown on Thứ Hai, 27 tháng 6, 2011
Another Silver Age legend falls by the wayside. Colan was best known for his long, terrific runs on Daredevil, Iron Man and Batman. I'm reposting here some of my favorite panels from various issues:
From the brief Black Widow series in Amazing Adventures. As you can see, he could draw some exceptionally beautiful women.
From My Greatest Adventure #74. Note the almost photographic quality of her face.
Note the action, and again the photographic realism of the man's face. It looks easy.
Colan created the Falcon, the first actual African-American superhero (the Black Panther doesn't count, as he was not American). Here he is in an early appearance:
His run on Iron Man was legendary:
As was his long tenure on Daredevil:
More about →
From the brief Black Widow series in Amazing Adventures. As you can see, he could draw some exceptionally beautiful women.
From My Greatest Adventure #74. Note the almost photographic quality of her face.
Note the action, and again the photographic realism of the man's face. It looks easy.
Colan created the Falcon, the first actual African-American superhero (the Black Panther doesn't count, as he was not American). Here he is in an early appearance:
His run on Iron Man was legendary:
As was his long tenure on Daredevil:
Iron Man Run Part 4
Người đăng: Unknown on Thứ Bảy, 23 tháng 5, 2009
I'll pick back up with Tales of Suspense #72, which is a one-off story featuring the Mad Thinker (a whiz at predicting the future) and his giant android. Senator Byrd is demanding that Stark reveal Shellhead's true identity, because Iron Man's armor is valuable to the government as a weapon.
This gives the Countess, whose advances Stark spurned, an idea of how to get back at him. She approaches the Mad Thinker, who agrees to solve the riddle of Iron Man's true identity. His android kidnaps Stark, who only gets away because the Thinker mistakenly opens Tony's briefcase:
Thus allowing Tony to switch into Iron Man's uniform and defeat the android.
The next issue returns to the subplot of Happy's near-death at the hands of the Crimson Dynamo in #71. Happy's been kidnapped from the hospital, and the only clue is a hoofprint on the windowsill (three stories up). Iron Man naturally comes to the conclusion that the Black Knight must be to blame (especially since he kidnapped Happy in an earlier story as well). He tracks the BK down and defeats him. BTW, here's a classic Stan Lee cliche`:
I only intended for you to die, not me! Incidentally, this issue introduces a longtime artist on the feature, Adam Austin. Say what? Adam Austin? I assume that Gene Colan was using a pseudonym for some reason because you can see this is his work:
I'll see if there's an explanation in the Bullpen Bulletins in the next few months, but it's so obviously Colan's style that I don't have any hesitation making the call. Update: Here is the announcement from the Bullpen Bulletin for TOS #78:
After calling for an ambulance for Happy, Iron Man collapses. He manages to contact Pepper, who drives to the Black Knight's castle and recharges him from the car battery. We see that at this point Pepper's in love with Iron Man (and despises Tony Stark). Poor Happy, he's always the backup!
Speaking of Happy, he's doomed if he doesn't undergo experimental treatment with Stark's Enervator Ray. Unfortunately, it's experimental:
When Iron Man gets to the hospital, he learns that Happy has indeed been changed into a freak, a mindless but powerful opponent. And unfortunately, IM didn't fully charge, so he's weak. He tries to lure the Freak back to Stark's plant, but runs out of power at the gate. The Freak continues on, searching for Pepper, who's in a meeting with Senator Byrd. Although the Senator has been portrayed as something of a weasel in the past, he shows courage here:
The Freak carries Pepper to the window, where he appears ready to jump. The police reason that if they shoot him, he might fall backward into the building, but he doesn't; instead he drops Pepper. Fortunately Iron Man has just enough charge left to save her with his repulser ray. He manages to convert Happy back into a normal human being, but his buddy has suffered the convenient memory loss that afflicted almost anybody in the Silver Age who learned the secret identity of a hero.
Senator Byrd demands that Stark come back to Washington with him immediately. But as they are being driven towards the capital, the Mandarin teleports Stark into his castle. This infuriates the senator who orders Stark's plants shut down. Meanwhile, the Mandarin is showing Stark his latest evil genius creation, a giant android called Ultimo who shoots laser beams from his eyes. But Stark angers the Mandarin, who blasts him from his sight, assuming he has killed Tony. Due to his chest plate, he survives and is able to recover his briefcase and change into Iron Man. He manages to defeat Ultimo by conning the android into shooting at a critical place, unleashing the force of a volcano.
But when he returns to the US, Tony's got nowhere to turn to with his factories closed and a warrant out for his arrest. Which seems like a good breaking point.
Comments: By this point, Iron Man was hitting on all cylinders. Lots of subplots, lots of interesting characterization, excellent villains and oh, that Colan artwork! If the series has a significant negative, it's that Stan falls back a little too often on the "undercharged transistors" excuse. This is very similar to the "Odin reduces Thor's powers as punishment" theme that was common in Journey into Mystery at the time. Having created these incredibly powered superheroes, Stan found it tough to put them into serious danger.
More about →
This gives the Countess, whose advances Stark spurned, an idea of how to get back at him. She approaches the Mad Thinker, who agrees to solve the riddle of Iron Man's true identity. His android kidnaps Stark, who only gets away because the Thinker mistakenly opens Tony's briefcase:
Thus allowing Tony to switch into Iron Man's uniform and defeat the android.
The next issue returns to the subplot of Happy's near-death at the hands of the Crimson Dynamo in #71. Happy's been kidnapped from the hospital, and the only clue is a hoofprint on the windowsill (three stories up). Iron Man naturally comes to the conclusion that the Black Knight must be to blame (especially since he kidnapped Happy in an earlier story as well). He tracks the BK down and defeats him. BTW, here's a classic Stan Lee cliche`:
I only intended for you to die, not me! Incidentally, this issue introduces a longtime artist on the feature, Adam Austin. Say what? Adam Austin? I assume that Gene Colan was using a pseudonym for some reason because you can see this is his work:
I'll see if there's an explanation in the Bullpen Bulletins in the next few months, but it's so obviously Colan's style that I don't have any hesitation making the call. Update: Here is the announcement from the Bullpen Bulletin for TOS #78:
After calling for an ambulance for Happy, Iron Man collapses. He manages to contact Pepper, who drives to the Black Knight's castle and recharges him from the car battery. We see that at this point Pepper's in love with Iron Man (and despises Tony Stark). Poor Happy, he's always the backup!
Speaking of Happy, he's doomed if he doesn't undergo experimental treatment with Stark's Enervator Ray. Unfortunately, it's experimental:
When Iron Man gets to the hospital, he learns that Happy has indeed been changed into a freak, a mindless but powerful opponent. And unfortunately, IM didn't fully charge, so he's weak. He tries to lure the Freak back to Stark's plant, but runs out of power at the gate. The Freak continues on, searching for Pepper, who's in a meeting with Senator Byrd. Although the Senator has been portrayed as something of a weasel in the past, he shows courage here:
The Freak carries Pepper to the window, where he appears ready to jump. The police reason that if they shoot him, he might fall backward into the building, but he doesn't; instead he drops Pepper. Fortunately Iron Man has just enough charge left to save her with his repulser ray. He manages to convert Happy back into a normal human being, but his buddy has suffered the convenient memory loss that afflicted almost anybody in the Silver Age who learned the secret identity of a hero.
Senator Byrd demands that Stark come back to Washington with him immediately. But as they are being driven towards the capital, the Mandarin teleports Stark into his castle. This infuriates the senator who orders Stark's plants shut down. Meanwhile, the Mandarin is showing Stark his latest evil genius creation, a giant android called Ultimo who shoots laser beams from his eyes. But Stark angers the Mandarin, who blasts him from his sight, assuming he has killed Tony. Due to his chest plate, he survives and is able to recover his briefcase and change into Iron Man. He manages to defeat Ultimo by conning the android into shooting at a critical place, unleashing the force of a volcano.
But when he returns to the US, Tony's got nowhere to turn to with his factories closed and a warrant out for his arrest. Which seems like a good breaking point.
Comments: By this point, Iron Man was hitting on all cylinders. Lots of subplots, lots of interesting characterization, excellent villains and oh, that Colan artwork! If the series has a significant negative, it's that Stan falls back a little too often on the "undercharged transistors" excuse. This is very similar to the "Odin reduces Thor's powers as punishment" theme that was common in Journey into Mystery at the time. Having created these incredibly powered superheroes, Stan found it tough to put them into serious danger.
Single Issue Review: My Greatest Adventure #74
Người đăng: Unknown on Chủ Nhật, 1 tháng 3, 2009
(Cover art by Gene Colan)
DC had quite a few different lines of books in the early 1960s--Superhero, War, Romance, Science Fiction. It also featured what I call "Adventure" books, like Challengers of the Unknown, and My Greatest Adventure. The gimmick with MGA is that the stories were all written in the first person, as if the man (mostly) who had the adventure was telling it to us.
In the first story, We Were Challenged by the River Spirit, a guide leads an expedition of vacationers up the Zambezi in Africa. Shenzi, a river spirit seems to show an inordinate interest in Lita, a young heiress. Shenzi is explained to us here:
But is Shenzi really after Lita, or is it her scheming cousin, who would inherit her dough if she perished?
Comments: Beautiful art by Paul Parker according to the GCD. Vibrant colors, excellent details, and careful shading make this otherwise predictable story a standout.
The second story, I Climbed the Tower of Terror, is drawn by comics legend Mort Meskin. A steeplejack, working on a high-rise is startled when a cloud hits his building and he realizes it's solid, so he climbs onto it and is trapped when it floats away from the building. A short while later, a plane carrying a pilot, his girlfriend and a crooked banker who's trying to escape the law for 72 hours crash into the same cloud. The pilot is severely injured and needs medical attention quickly, but the banker is inclined to wait out his 72 hours and he's got a gun. It turns out they're stranded on the island of Hirandi, which had previously been in the Persian Gulf. A native explains:
The steeplejack has an idea how to get them down, but it requires the banker's gun. He creates a makeshift grappling hook and sticks it into the gun (yeah) and shoots it at the top of the tower. He climbs to the top and smashes the statue. The island lands (somewhere in France apparently fairly gently), and the authorities arrive to arrest, not the crooked banker but:
Comments: So-so story and Meskin mailed this one in. Cute twist at the end, so that the steelworker gets the girl.
The last story is the cover tale, Doom Was My Inheritance and is drawn by Gene Colan. A young man named Adam Lake is searching for his long-lost father. He finds Simon Horst, an old explorer friend of his father, who has become wealthy from an emerald mine. Simon makes a strange offer:
But the old man has set traps for Adam along the way as we saw on the cover. The girl decides to accompany him, but strangely this does not make Simon cease trying to kill them. The plot follows the "three-act play" format, with the jaguar, whirlpool and maze traps as shown on the cover. In the end, Adam finds his father, who was cheated out of the emerald mine by Simon, and the father defeats Simon to prove he was the better man. Adam gets both his dad back and a new girlfriend, even if he doesn't yet get half the emerald mine.
Comments: Solid story with the distinctive Colan touch. As always I'm mesmerized by his ability to get facial expressions so right they have a photographic quality about them despite little apparent effort as here:
It almost looks like he's cheating with Photoshop there, but of course this was in 1962.
Overall comments: This issue was fine artistically, but only the last story really holds together well and even that has some holes.
Oddity: Check out one of the endorsers of the American Specialty Company Christmas card ads:
Kevorkian? That's a distinctive enough name, and according to this website he was related:
My friend Kitty died on SuperBowl Sunday. Kitty was at his home in Roxbury, Massachusetts, in bed, watching the television when he died. It is still too soon to know the cause of death-- most likely a cardio-vascular event. Kitty was 54.
Kitty was his gay name. "When we all got gay names, I took mine from Kitty Carlisle." His born name was Harry Kevorkian. He grew up in Michigan. His uncle is Dr. Jack Kevorkian; because of Jack's efforts in behalf of assisted suicide he became a man of considerable notoriety and was imprisoned. Back in the 90s, I once asked Kitty if his uncle's notoriety had changed his life in any way. "Well, Mitzel," Kitty sniffed, "I no longer have to spell my name when I make restaurant reservations." Kitty loved good food and fancy restaurants.
Died at 54 in 2002, that would make him 14 at the time this comic came out; sounds like the same guy to me.
Random Issue Review: Daredevil #50
Người đăng: Unknown on Thứ Hai, 24 tháng 11, 2008
A very mediocre cover, with mediocre elements. The villain is big and green, and he's the only person doing anything dramatic (smashing a car). Daredevil is on his knees and holding his head, while a couple of bystanders are apparently shouting. Even the literary title is well below the mean: If In Battle I Fail--! Stan's not trying very hard with that one.
The story is a continuation from the previous issue, which is one of the problems with doing single issue reviews of Marvel Comics from the Silver Age. However, this was not an uncommon problem with collecting comics; sometimes I'd pick up an issue like this at a garage sale and not find the prior one for years (if ever).
DD is battling a robot (who is actually colored purple, not green) as we begin the story. Over the course of the story we learn what's going on both with the battle (a crook named Biggie Benson hired a robot-maker to destroy Daredevil) and with the soap opera (Foggy has been elected DA and Karen and Matt are on the splits again).
Daredevil succeeds in confusing the robot so it no longer remembers who is its target. It goes off in search of its maker, with DD in hot pursuit. Seeing DD, the maker tries desperately to load his picture into the "aromascope", which will target the robot again. But by accident, he loads Biggie Benson's photo instead. As the story ends, DD has broken into the jail but is wounded and largely incapacitated as the robot breaks in.
Comments: Not a great story; the robot is a pretty dull villain. The artwork is notably not by Gene Colan, DD's regular artist, but by a very young Barry Smith. Smith would go on to great fame in the 1970s for his work on Conan the Barbarian, but this is still early in his career and he had not yet developed his own unique style and indeed seems to be trying to imitate Colan. Smith did three issues of Daredevil (#s 50-52) and showed growth with every outing. Here's one dynamic sequence:
Solid work, but not yet the transcendent art we would get from Mr Smith in the next few years.
