Gene Colan

Still blogging about events around the NY Big Apple Con.

While sketching at the con, I was solicited to donate an auction piece. They were raising money for Gene Colan's medical expenses. I hadn't known he was in trouble! I donated an Authority pinup.

You can read about the senior Gene's condition here on this blog. His liver began to give out, but is now responding to treatment. Here's a link from that blog to various eBay items donated to raise funds. Bid aggressively!

I think Colan is the first artist whose work I remember vividly. He did a run in Daredevil that still haunts me. Before then, Daredevil tended to be a bit goofier than Spider-Man. He didn't have a signature of his own. Gene Colan gave Daredevil creeping India ink shadows and paranoia long before that became the industry standard. I especially remember an issue where he went insane and attacked (and beat!) the Avengers to a pulp. I stopped reading Daredevil when Gene Colan left (some hack named Frank Moller or something took over).

Seriously, Frank then took Colan's dark film noir stylings, pushed them, and "dark" and "gritty" became the bywords of 1980's US comics.

Get well-er, Gene! He says that the love and support of his fans are pulling him through, so click here to become his Facebook buddy. And his website, which includes an email link.

Also, thanks to Jolie for making the initial updates on my Wikipedia page!