Iron Man# 50 Art by George Tuska and Vince Colletta
Reports are coming in that legendary artist, George Tuska, has passed away today at the age of 93. Initially, I had read the reports on Jon Knutson’s blog, which was later confirmed by various outlets. This death comes just after reports of Joe Rosen passing away today as well.
Tuska became famous in the industry working on such Marvel titles like Captain America, Iron Man (for which he is most remembered) and Luke Cage, Power Man.
The industry has surely lost another legend today.
October 16th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Like many others of my generation, I first discovered George Tuska in the pages of “Iron Man.” I had no idea at the time that this was an artist with a past that went back to the dawn of the medium, and a real legend at that. He even drew the old “Buck Rogers” strip, which looking back on it now made him a natural for “Iron Man.” To be honest, it took him a long time to grow on me, but eventually I realized just how good his stuff could be. My favorite work of his was on the Iron Man storyline in the late 70’s in which Ultimo was revived. I loved seeing all of the cracks Tuska drew in Iron Man’s armor as Ultimo left him a broken, rusty heap. Great stuff. The book on him published by TwoMorrows is DEFINITELY worth picking up.
October 16th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I remember that name from the old IronMan’s I read as a kid when I’d sneak them from my brother’s room. Sad. But at least he made it to 93 and got to see an enjoyable Iron Man movie
October 16th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
The unfortunate thing about living in this era is that we’re young enough to have seen the work of some classic artists while they’re still alive, but now are seeing them pass on. Fortunately between the Marvel Masterworks, Essentials, and other reprint sources, his work will continue to live on.
Excellent drawing choice, by the way. Nicely summarizes what many people familiar with his work are probably feeling.
October 16th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Very sad, he’s one of those artists that I did not appreciate as a kid, I was obsessed with Mike Grell, George Perez, John Byrne, etc. I get it now and really see the talent.
Biff
October 16th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Hi… had no idea any of you guys read the Random Acts of Geekery! I’m just sad that it was this particular occasion that marked my finding out.
As I said there, I’m very sad to learn of this loss… I’ve admired his work quite a bit, and felt that he was never heralded as much as he should have been for his work.
October 16th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
I liked his work on Iron Man and the Champions. I don’t know if he designed the first Blizzard uniform — but I always thought it was a cool design — and George did a great job on that story.
I think one of his best pieces of art was in Champions #3 — with a nice view of a bikini-clad Natasha Romanoff (the Black Widow) lounging at Warren Worthington’s beach house.
He probably didn’t get the credit he deserved — unfortunately.
October 16th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
The first colour Iron Man comic I saw was George’s and saw him as a perfect blend of Kirby and Colan. He even inked one of my favorite issues of Captain America by Kirby, #112. Also really loved his work on the Thunder Agents.
Rest in Peace.
October 16th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Seriously, what I was raised on, be it Perez, Colan, Newton, Ordway, whoever, TUSKA found himself in my upbringing. PERIOD. God bless him!
October 16th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
To one of the finest artists; RIP.
You will, without a slightly doubt, be remembered from us, young and older generations, from comic book geeks to professional artists.
Thank for the great ride.
Cheers!
October 16th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Very sad to hear this news. George and my dad drew a lot of comics over the years along with The World’s Greatest Superheroes newspaper strip. Vinnie used to say that Tuska’s pencils were the cleanest and that some of his layouts rivaled anything done by Kirby, Colan or anyone else. He was also, from everything I’ve ever heard, a very nice man. Rest in Peace, George.
October 16th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Truly one of the great Iron Man artists…
October 16th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
I’m honored to have gotten him to commission me a Buck Rogers piece a few years ago. Rest in peace.
October 16th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I was lucky to meet George and his wife on two occasions at conventions and got two great commissions from him (Black Knight and Wasp/Yellowjacket). I always enjoyed talking to them and found them to be two of the nicest people I came across. I remember a real life pencil drawing George was doing for “fun” when I approached him the first time. It was nothing like his comic work and really demonstrated what a true artist he was. Rest well, George!
October 16th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
In case anyone was wondering about Vince’s collective works: http://www.comics.org/penciller/name/tuska/sort/alpha/
October 16th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
A long (hopefully happy and contented) life and a marvellous body of artwork left for future generations to enjoy.
Never being that much of a fan of Kirby (gasp!) I always found Tuska’s (as well as the Buscemas) much more naturalistic artwork far more appealing back in the day.
RIP
October 16th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
R.I.P. Sir.
October 17th, 2009 at 3:29 am
George was a monumental talent on par with the greats. As a kid I had my favorite artists. Aparo, Cardy and Tuska.
October 17th, 2009 at 4:08 am
While I vaguely recall his Iron Man work, I clearly remember his World’s Greatest Superheroes comic strip! It got me through many a week when I couldn’t afford to buy my comics! You’ll be missed, sir. Rest in peace, indeed.
October 17th, 2009 at 7:22 am
I was just reading some of his Iron Man stuff. He was one of the last of the comic giants, as far as I’m concerned.
October 17th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
To my mind, George was the definitive Iron Man artist. He was the artist that originally got me hooked on the title with his stylistically unique approach and incredible action staging. He drew some of the most beautiful women and men in comics. His talent is irreplaceable, the loss immeasurable, and the gift he gave to all of us timeless.
October 17th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Tuska’s Iron Man, Swan’s Superman, Aparo’s Aquaman - sigh - iconic images in my mind.
Like others have mentioned he was one of the greats.
What a job history and what a job ethic! I wish I could’ve met him and gotten him to sign an Iron Man comic. And what a great run… 93 years young!
So far, every blog I visit, people repeat the same thing, that he was a nice man. RIP.
October 17th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Wow.
Love you long time George.
R.I.P.
Cæu
October 18th, 2009 at 2:07 am
I’m another one who fondly remembers his ‘World’s Greatest Super-Heroes’ strip, although I came to it through a paperback book reprint DC put out in the early ’80s that I promptly colored in.
About a week’s worth of the strip was reprinted in the back of the ‘Batman: Sunday Classics’ book that came out a few years back, and I’ve been hoping they’d get around to reprinting the rest…
To anyone who is a fan of the man’s work, I recommend the book TwoMorrows put out. It covers all phases of his career, with a lot of great interview stuff and even a little unpublished work.
October 18th, 2009 at 4:08 am
Used to love George’s work, especially when inked by Colletta, or Esposito.
His Iron Man/Dr Spectrum storyline will always be a classic for me.
A true talent, responsible for many happy memories.
Rest in Peace.
October 18th, 2009 at 11:02 am
George was a masterful visual storyteller. He always seemed to be in the shadow of guys like Kirby, Buscema and Romita, Sr, but I feel he was as good as those indisputable greats. His layouts flowed well, his facial and body “acting” were well-crafted, and his action scenes were packed with power.
I met him at Heroes Con in Charlotte a few years ago, and he and his wife were very gracious. He leaves a legacy of artwork that, especially on Iron Man, was often much superior to the writing he was hired to bring to life.
October 18th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
As a child of the ’70’s, it was impossible not to see Mr. Tuska’s art in a variety of comics. He was remarkably prolific. AND…he was the first “favorite” comic artist that I could name back then. He seemed especially pleased when I told him that in person at the 1998 San Diego Con. Thank you, George…
October 21st, 2009 at 7:47 am
This is extremely sad news
I had the honor of meeting him twice at Megacon in Orlando FL and he did an original Iron Man pencil sketch I have framed on my wall at home. He ran short on time that day and I had to leave the convention for my three hour drive home and he kindly said he would finish the sketch and send it to me which he did maybe a week later.
He and his wife were extremely nice people and I always looked for their table at Megacon - the last few times I went (he was there for a few years in a row) I noticed he was not there (the first time he was MIA he was on the listed artist attendance) and I started to get worried, knowing his age. Looks like that fear was realized…..
Rest in peace - you will be missed.
Heartfelt sympathies to his wife
October 22nd, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Sad news. My sympathy to the family.
George drew some of the most memorable issues of Iron Man. Who can forget the issue when Stark is thrown out of his own factory as an imposter and forced to charge his heart on a car battery? Brilliant story-telling from Archie Goodwin and George Tuska, who together crafted some truly memorable comics.
Both men are gone now and it’s sad that neither will again hear us tell them how much we enjoyed their work.
Let’s hope the family see some of these messages and take some solace from the legacy George left.