It is, sad to say, all over the Internet this morning that Gene Colan is not well. Gene is, of course, the great comic artist who did so much work for Marvel in the sixties and seventies on strips including (but hardly limited to) Iron Man, Daredevil, Howard the Duck, Sub-Mariner, Tomb of Dracula, Doctor Strange and Captain America. In his 60+ years in comics, he worked for other publishers as well, always maintaining the highest standards of craft and sheer professionalism. That his work has brought so much pleasure to so many would be reason enough to lament his ill health, and for us all to link arms over the Internet and pray for his recovery.
Just as good a reason is Gene himself. He and his wonderful wife Adrienne are two of the nicest people you could ever want to meet…as anyone who has met them can attest. When they are at a convention, there's always a mutual two-way love fest: Gene's fans line up to tell the both of them how much his work has meant to them…and Adrienne and Gene reciprocate. That love has meant so much to them that they can't help returning the favor. With some of comics' greats, I feel I have to convince them of what they've achieved, of how widespread their influence has been. Not with Gene. He's been to the cons. He's been mobbed by his adoring public. He knows.
Which doesn't mean I can't say it anyway. Gene Colan did so much good work in comics that some of us, I fear, took him for granted. Every month for decades, there were two, sometimes three Colan-drawn books on the racks. We kinda got to expect comics to look that good because of Gene. But I can recall when he started drawing super-heroes for Marvel in the sixties. I can recall how revolutionary and world-changing that early work was.
What Gene had done in comics prior to that was, of course, exceptional. But there was a day in the sixties — the day Tales to Astonish #70 featuring his first Sub-Mariner assignment came out — when he became one of the truly exciting, innovative stylists of the American comic book. And from there on, it just got better and better.
I don't know what else to write here. It just seems appropriate to send a whole lotta love the Colans' way this morning. I hope the dire reports on his health will prove to be overstated. I hope we'll have Gene around for many more years. I hope — and of this, I am the surest — that Gene is well aware how many fans he has and how, whenever he goes, he's leaving behind an incredible body of work that will be praised and studied and appreciated by comic book fans who aren't even born yet. I just think we oughta postpone losing a guy like that as long as possible.