20th Century Danny Boy reports that legendary artist Gene Colan’s liver is failing him, according to an email sent by Gene’s wife, Adrienne:
My darling, sweet, handsome and brilliantly gifted husband’s liver is failing. The complications are very nasty. This week it’s fluid retention and encephalitis. He’s on powerful meds now to diminish the symptoms. He sleeps a lot and has very little energy.
Clifford Meth is putting together an auction on Colan’s behalf; more details can be found here.
Colan’s work spans several decades and includes runs on Daredevil, Howard the Duck, Iron Man, Night Force, Dr. Strange and Tomb of Dracula. We here at Blog@ send our best to Colan; our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.
May 11th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I hope he recovers swiftly. His is a talent I would like to stick around for a good while yet.
May 11th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Gene Colan is a fantastic artist. I loved his art from the stuff I read in the 80’s. Especially his Dr. Strange (and Tomb of Dracula) had a wonderful, spooky, swirling, mysterious, drama that in my mind ranked him up with Steve Dikto as the two definitive Dr.Strange artists. And the Origin of the Watcher by Colan and Lee (reprinted in Son of Origins) is an awesome story that stands out in my mind for its visual drama. It is tragic that his health is failing, I send my best wishes to him and his wife for a speedy recovery and all the care and treatment possible.
May 11th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Gene is the very first of the old school artists who’s art I loved. I’d rather not see him check out in a year that has seen so many other greats pass. I guess if he does, though, at least he does it in good company.
May 11th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
My prayers are with Gene and his family. My mom passed away this week, and she had liver cancer. I wish for the best for the Colans.
May 11th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
GENE–GET BETTER SOON–WE STILL WANT YOU AROUND–MY MOM PASSED AWAY 7 MONTHS AGO FROM CANCER TOO–AS DID DAD SEVERAL YEARS AGO- MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU FRIEND
May 11th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
This is terrible news. I recently listened to a WORDBALLOON interview with him that I enjoyed tremendously. It was great hearing his stories and I’d love the opportunity to hear more from him.
May 11th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
One hopes that he is told of some of the fine LIVING tributes that 20th Century Danny Boy is posting here. One hopes that a mixture of that, the get well cards sure to be coming his way and modern medicine will combine to allow Gene to rally. He and his family are in my prayers.
May 11th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
I had the honor of meeting Gene and Adrienne at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC a couple of years ago. What a sweet couple. I never buy commissions, but I did that day. Gene did a beautiful portrait of Captain America for me. He’s one of the comic world’s towering giants. I hope the doctors do their very best for Gentleman Gene.
Scott
May 11th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
my prayers are with you and your family. i hope everything gets fine
May 11th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
After reading the Essential Tomb of Dracula series, I e-mailed him a quick note just saying how much I enjoyed it. 10 minutes later he responded with several paragraphs of thanks and anecdotes on writing ToD. Class act all around.
May 11th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
I wish Gene a quick recovery, he´s such a great artist. Get well soon Gene!
May 11th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
All the comments that are left on my blog, and those comments emailed to me are sent to Gene and Adrienne, so if you want anything up there then feel free to email me - the link is on the blog. Adrienne has already told me that Gene is overwhelmed by the response, so if this all lifts his spirits then all the better. Clifford Meth is also putting togeher some items to raise funds for Gene, so please do support that as well.
May 11th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
…and lets not forget the master’s Wonder Woman run at DC! A gorgeous set of stories and panels.
get well and strong soon Gene!
you have always (…and will continue to) provide so many great
story moments.
thoughts & prayers go out to you and your loved ones.
May 11th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Man, this is horrible…!
I hope he will pull trough this and have many more years of full-filling artistic work ahead of him.
Maybe the family should set up an account that you can give donations too, as well as the auctions?
I know that I myself would never be able to afford what the auctioned pieces will sell for, but I would be able to give a small monetary contribution.
May 11th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Aw, man - this guy’s a legend. And should remain a living legend for a long time to come. He’s made countless people happy with his work along, and I hope he gets well soon and continues to do so far into the future.
May 11th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Very sorry to hear about this. Gene is an absolute unique talent who’s style is masterful. His art has always helped advance the story and tell the story, not override or interfere with it.
Thanks to Gene’s wonderful work, Tomb of Dracula reads like a 70 page graphic novel. Wonderful.
God speed, Gene. You are in my prayers.
May 11th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Very sorry to hear about this. Gene is an absolute unique talent who’s style is masterful. His art has always helped advance the story and tell the story, not override or interfere with it.
Thanks to Gene’s wonderful work, Tomb of Dracula reads like a 70 page graphic novel. Wonderful.
God speed, Gene. You are in my prayers.
May 11th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Very sorry to hear about this. Gene is an absolute unique talent who’s style is masterful. His art has always helped advance the story and tell the story, not override or interfere with it.
Thanks to Gene’s wonderful work, Tomb of Dracula reads like a 70 page graphic novel. Wonderful.
God speed, Gene. You are in my prayers.
May 11th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
You can send the cards to this address:
Gene Colan
2 Sea Cliff Avenue
Sea Cliff, NY 11579
USA
May 11th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
I had the pleasure of meeting Gene last year, He looked like the characters he draws. So much personality on his face and a genuine warmth. I can’t begin to describe how his comics work from Marvel through Wonder Woman over at DC and all other stuff, brought me hours of amazement, including the work he’s done on Rob Zombie albums! Gene is not just a talent, he’s an innovator who brought mood to classic illustration in ways no one has before or since. We can’t lose him! He needs to stay a living legend, not a posthumous one!
May 11th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
I hope for all the best for Gene, and I pray for him and his family. This man is SUPER talented, and an icon. I feel that there are quite enough talented, iconic, artists in heaven for now. So please get better Gene.
May 11th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Any word on whether he’s on a transplant list? I had a liver disease and a transplant myself, and it can be tough to deal with it.
Best of luck to him and his family. I’ll be sure to check out the auctions.
May 11th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
I’ve never met Gene Colan but I have listened to a number of interviews with him on Around Comics and Comic Geek Speak. Besides being a talented artist he is a damn fine man and deserves whatever support the community can give him.
Get well soon Gene!
May 11th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Colon’s work on Daredevil and Tomb of Dracula is still some of my favorite art. Hang in there Gene!
May 11th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Gene Colan has always been one of my favorite artists. Dating back to his Marvel work on Tales to Astonish (Sub Mariner) and his work on Daredevil. Gene is a genuine gentleman and the comic world needs all of them they can get Get well soon.
May 11th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Terrible news! I first encountered Gene’s work during his late 60s run on Dr. Strange. He was a perfect match for that material. To me at least, he is the definitive Dr. Strange artist, even more so than Steve Dikto, whose previous work on the character I encountered later.
Get better soon, Gene. 81 years young is too soon to lose such a great talent.
May 11th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
Gene Colan is a giant among giants, and his artwork is incomparable. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery.
May 11th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Ugh.
Years after I discovered his amazing Tomb of Dracula issues, I found out he was an amazing person as well when he made several appearances at my LCS.
I’ll be rooting for you, Gene.
May 11th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
This is absolutely terrible news. Along with his eyesight problems and the treatment he was given by Marvel over the years the man deserves so much better. Often forgotten possibly is what he contributed to the early Warren line of comics along with Steve Ditko. They both helped to launch the success of both Eerie, Creepy and Blazing Combat. Great stuff indeed!
May 11th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
There are times where I wish I had enough money to be a philanthropist. Doing anything to help out the man whose art gave me such incredible joy and pleasure when I was younger is one of those times.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:10 am
Ah, bitter news. As a life-long Iron Fan he loomed large.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:35 am
With the pull that Marvel and DC has I am sure that they along with the Hero Initiative can give this great legendary artist the help he needs. Joe Quesada being the Daredevil fan that he has proclaimed to be in print and is would surely want to help. Stan Lee told me at a con in ‘93 that Gene’s and his work on Daredevil was some of his favorite times on the title and I am sure that The Man would have some pull concerning this. I’ll be contacting Cliff Meth to see what I can do. Let us all help in any way we can.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:18 am
Get well soon, Gene, you’re a true gentleman.
All the best, for the best.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:03 am
Where’s the JMS article?
May 12th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Hang in there GENE - your work in the 70s and 80s is legendary! All the best.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:48 am
Get well soon, Gene. My prayers go out to you and your wife Adrienne.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:06 am
I had the privilege of working with Gene on the Black Panther series written by Don McGregor and so beautifully pencilled by Gene. I wish the best for both Gene and Adrienne during this very difficult time. Gene you are in my prayers.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:06 am
Hoping he pulls through. He’s one of my favourite artists. I’ve enjoyed his art on pretty uch anything, but Howard the duck and Tomb of Dracula in particular stand out. In the latter case, I don’t think any artist can pull off a dark, moody feel as well as he can. I’m glad that so much of his Marvel work has been and is being reprinted in the Essentials, because I think B&W is ideal for his particular art style.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
World’s Finest #299 was the first work of his I’ve seen. Good luck, Gene.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Check out this post for info about an auction we’re kicking off to benefit Gene. Stan Lee, Neil Gaiman and Neal Adams are just a few of the people contributing items.
http://thecliffordmethod.blogspot.com/2008/05/lets-help-gene-colan.html
May 12th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I wonder if Gene would be eligible for a liver transplant, or if he’d be considered too old or too fragile to qualify for one if it were available? I’ve been a fan of his for a long time, I remember an issue of Sea Devils where he drew one third of a story, I think, with Kubert and Andru/Esposito drawing the other parts of the story. From then on I’ve enjoyed his work, especially his work for Warren. Take care, Gene and Adrienne.
May 12th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Gene Colan is one of the few comic book artist who’s style really captures my imagination. My prayers are with him and his family.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Best of luck.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
One of my favorite all time artists truly ahead of his time, Beautiful fluidity and wonderful storytelling. My prayers are with you and your family Gene, get well soon my friend.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Wow! Wish him the best true talent, always loved an article I read that he would drawing using music as a background tool to focus with…something like that.
Someone get him a copy of the new Iron Man movie…..he’s gotta see it, and that he was a part of that!
May 12th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Gene Colan is truly one of the greatest artists of all time. Let’s hope he stays a living legend for a long time. Get well soon G!
May 14th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Gene Colan took Iron Man to a new level in 1966 and the did likewise with Daredevil straight afterwards. He also drew some of the most memorable Avengers stories, in an all-to-brief stay in 1969.
We all know how ground-breaking his work was on Tomb of Dracula and his Warren work was as good as anything that company released.
His interviews are legendary and right up there with Gil Kane’s - I’m looking forward to the next one and have said a prayer tonight that God smiles on you both.
Love and respect from Dave in England.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
If the criteria of action; panel layout; story interpretation; character interpretation ; mood and imagination are used to judge comic book artists —– then, Gene Colan is the greatest comic book artist of all time !Gene’s work is alwawys at the top, whether the theme is superheroes, horror,comedy,western, etecera .
Gene can take fellow great artists’ characters and bring a new and refreshing approach . For example :
Jack Kirby’s Captain America
John Buscema’s Conan
Neal Adam’s Batman
I look at Gene’s Website daily –many times throghout each day!I look forward to Gene’s and David Gutierrez upcoming Captain America book !Best of health Gene! God Bless!
June 1st, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Hang in there Gene, you got an awful lot of people praying for you.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:16 pm
There have been many great comic book artists through the years and a few of them have a style so unique that when you see a piece of their art you can immediately tell it is by them… one of these is Gene Colan. His work speaks of Mood, Dynamics and action… he has a few peers, but not very many and all of them are Legends of the comics industry as is he. His run on Daredevil was what I was brought up on and I LOVED IT!!! Get better soon Gene!!!