RIP Gene Colan

[nightwing]

Legendary comics artist Gene Colan has passed away at age 84.

He wasn't the first guy you'd think of associating with Superman, but his "Phantom Zone" mini-series was stellar and still one of my favorites.

[Permanus]

Loved that series. Colan was perfect for a Phantom Zone series since his art is so weird and skewed. His track record was phenomenal, from Daredevil to Nathaniel Dusk.

[nightwing]

I have to confess I really wasn't a fan of Colan's loose, swirly ink blot style as a kid.  I was in the camp that went for "realistic" anatomy and detail, ala Adams.  I still don't think he was the right choice for a "solid" and "technical" character like Iron Man; he made the armor look bendable, like foam rubber (even the mask changed features to show emotion!).  But "Phantom Zone" was an eye-opener (so to speak) with those great DeZuniga inks, and lately I've been wowed (to say the least) by Colan's work on Tomb of Dracula and Dr Strange, where he was paired with Tom Palmer, who made it all work.  Like most pencil artists, he just needed to be paired with the right inker.

[Great Rao]

My first exposure to Gene was during the original Howard the Duck series; but it wasn't until his work on Batman and Daredevil that I elevated him to the Genius category.