We’ve lost another one of the Silver Age greats, folks.

He made an indelible mark on the comics industry and, in an era where many were trying to copy the same style (like that of Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby), Colan forged his own style of work, one that would help define what Marvel would look like into the 1970s. His influence on the medium is indescribable and has been long-lasting; it can still be seen in today’s comic art.

Colan’s long career was distinguished:

• From issue #20 (September 1966) to issue #100 (June 1973), he provided art for all but three issues of Daredevil (including the 1967 Daredevil Annual).
• Co-created Falcon with Stan Lee who was the first African-American superhero in mainstream comic books. Falcon first appeared in Captain America #117 (September 1969).
• Illustrated all 70 issues of The Tomb of Dracula in the 1970s.
• Provided the art for most issues of Howard the Duck.
• Worked as primary artist for Batman in the early to mid-1980s and Wonder Woman from 1982-1983.
• With Ed Brubaker, won the Eisner Award for Best Single Issue for his contributions to Captain America #601 (September 2009).

Colan was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2005.

As Brent mentioned, Clifford Meth is setting up a scholarship in Gene’s name at the Joe Kubert School. If you want to contribute to this scholarship, send a cheque or money order (payable to the “Joe Kubert Schol”) to:

Gene Colan Scholarship

c/o Clifford Meth

179-9 Rt. 46 West

Rockaway, NJ 07866

Shelley Smarz is a comic book scholar and business woman. She had, for a number of different reasons – some personal and others not so personal – a really difficult time writing this article. She thinks that Gene’s advice as to how to live our lives is something that we should all take to heart and strive for every second of our lives. This Howard the Duck cover is one of her favourites. She was also terribly sad to hear that Peter Falk, the indomitable Lieutenant Columbo, also shuffled off this mortal coil on Friday June  24th.

Unfortunately another of the masters has left the mortal plain. Frank Frazetta has passed away at the age of 81.

The influence Frazetta has had on the worlds or art, comics, fantasy and film is almost immeasurable at this point. His painting are fantastic, how Frank depicted Conan not only shaped how Conan was seen by the general public but also how cover art could be used to sell fantasy novels. When the Conan film was being worked on, director John Millius basically wanted to make his film a Frazetta painting.

My first real encounter with Frazetta’s work was his Death Dealer painting. I just remember seeing it in a calendar in a book store and I just wanted to know who the character was. The painting just said that he was man not to be messed with. The painting was striking enough to be used as an album cover and inspiration for a series of novels and two different comic book series.

If you can, check out a great documentary called Painting with Fire. It was available as part of a two disc dvd set with the film Fire and Ice (which Frazetta helped design) and is a great look at the man’s career.

Brent Chittenden is a Canadian freelance writer who also happens to write humorous things for Bite TV’s blog. If you have need of his services you can reach him at bcchittenden@gmail.com, twitter at @BCNerdhole and his podcast Two Assholes Talking About Nerd Stuff. Feel free to become a fan of him at his Facebook group Brent Chittenden: The Writer.

Frank Frazetta passed away this morning.

I’m at a loss for words.

Luckily many other have tweeted their sympathies:

Mike Hawthorne I’m going to dedicate my run on CONAN to Frank Frazetta. R.I.P. – http://ow.ly/1Jc2k

Frank Tieri R.I.P. Frank Frazetta.

Jimmy Palmiotti Met FRAZETTA, hung out at his place, talked art, brooklyn, comics and women. The man was a true legend in every way. This is a huge loss. Been a dream of mine to one day work with Frank…but like most dreams…

Scott Allie RIP Frank Frazetta, visionary.

Rob Liefeld Frank Frazetta R.I.P. The best illustrator,painter, artist of this or any generation has passed away.

However.. I think it’s Rick Remender who really nailed it with this: “Frank Frazetta with his first-of-its-kind renaissance pulp made such an impact on our imaginations, thank God we had him. The legend endures”

I don’t think I have the appropriate words for Mr. Frazetta, not right now. I’ll leave you guys with this image from one of my and Brent Chittenden’s favourite Frazetta pieces “Fire & Ice” a movie collaboration with Ralph Bashki.

Pete DeCourcy is EiC of ComicBookDaily.com. He tumbls over at You Practically Rock and writes for The Simple Art of Crime. If you have any questions or demands of him, he can be reached via email at pdecourcy[at]comicbookdaily[dot]com

An Example of Joe Rosen's work

Todd Klein reported today that long time letter Joe Rosen passed away. Rosen had lettered everything from Captain America, Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones, and X-Factor. He was one of the original letterers from The Stan Lee/Jack Kirby Marvel days alongside the Simek Brothers, Artie & Sam. Todd Klein had these kinds words to say: “I never met Joe, but admired his work… I liked him best as the letterer of many of Frank Miller’s DAREDEVIL stories such as [Daredevil: Born Again]. I appreciated his work, and thought it was smart of him to retire when he was ready and able, unlike some of his contemporaries who kept going until the end. Hope his final years were good, and may he rest in peace.”

In Todd’s comments two industry legends chimed in with praise for Mr. Rosen. Danny Fingeroth left this message: “Joe was simply the best, both as a person and a letterer. A truly class act. Having him letter a script always made it 25% better than it really was.” While Roger Sterm commented: “I am so sorry to hear this. Joe was indeed the best. I never knew the man, but he made us all look good.”

As for me, I’d like to take a second and really talk about the impact that Daredevil: Born Again had on me when I read it. A lot of praise is thrown at that title for good reasons, Miller’s script is the best he’s ever written, Mazzuchelli elevated his artwork to give us the first ever “widescreen” comic – you can see his fingerprints all over Bryan Hitch’s Authority Run – but what always really stood out for me was the beauty of the lettering. It was that simple statement in it’s cryptic typewriter font that really drew me in: “My name is Ben Urich and I’m a reporter.”  The fact that there were three narrators, or really two narrators as the Kingpin, Karen Page and Murdoch’s thoughts were often switching from first to third narration, colour co-ordinating each thought only really helped me become totally immersed in that world.  Many letterers have copies this device, sometimes it worked, sometimes it doesn’t. But for me, I’ll always be truly greatful for the work that Joe Rosen did in that story.

Thanks Joe!