Friday, May 16, 2008

A Bad Year For Comic Book Legends

Mark Evanier has reported on his blog that artist Will Elder has passed on.
I knew his name as the founding artist of Mad Magazine, but, to be honest, I knew his work mostly from Little Annie Fanny, a strip that appeared in Playboy.
Mark also reports on the condition of Gene Colan, another legendary comic artist, who is suffering from liver problems and, like so many Americans, a lack of insurance to cover his medical costs.
You can read more about Gene and his situation, and how, if you're of a mind to, you can help, here.
I'll be honest; I've never been a fan of Colan's style. I've always found it to be too loose and muddy, though I will say that it was ideally suited, in many ways, to a lot of his work on Tomb of Dracula.
It's worth noting that Gene has a connection to the recently-passed Steve Gerber, as Gene worked as an artist on the Gerber-scripted Howard the Duck.
Here's hoping that he doesn't end up having dying in 2008 in common with Steve Gerber.
In any case, my quibbles with his style aside, I have tremendous respect for his contributions to comicdom, and his current situation is no way for anyone to have to live.

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