SPECTATORS - Part Thirteen
And thoughts on the loss of two giants of our medium...
That weekend flew by, huh? Hope you had a good one.
Speaking of the relentless march of time, let’s get to this week’s new Spectators. When last we left our NYC-based spirits, recently deceased Val was shocked to learn from Lita that the ghost of President Roosevelt was still haunting the 21st century. And we ain’t talking about FDR…
And now, artist Niko Henrichon brings us our tale’s most important transition yet…
Wait, what?
Next Monday, Niko delivers one of my favorite double-page spreads ever, as we reveal just how long Val has been spectating.
Thanks to those of you who stuck around to chat about amazing artist Patrick Gleason after last Friday’s post about our ancient pitch for a new comic called The Echo, which you generous paid subscribers can read anytime in our archives.
Shortly after I shared that document, loyal Exploding Giraffe contributor (and the dude whose futon I was living on while pitching The Echo) Daniel M. Kanemoto sent over what he described as his “quick attempt at digital coloring from the 90s” over my faded old photocopy of Patrick’s pencils:
Pretty fucking cool, huh? Check out more of Dan’s stuff, including his incredible animation work, over at Ex Mortis Films.
And congrats to loyal Tower member Mike Duboff, who was randomly selected to receive my dog-eared copy of X-Men Unlimited #22 (my one and only published collaboration with Patrick Gleason!), as well as a couple of the graphic novels influenced by that old pitch.
I was so busy writing up last Friday’s missive that I didn’t learn about the death of comics icon Neal Adams until Christopher Neville mentioned it in the comments.
There were tons of emotional tributes over the weekend, but I was most moved by this one from maybe my favorite living artist Bill Sienkiewicz:
My artistic father #nealadams has passed. No words…. Neal Adams was both an unstoppable force and an immovable object. The world just lost an amazing artist, a brilliant storyteller, a wild creative force of nature, a man who forever changed the comics medium and the culture of entertainment. His impact was beyond seismic; it also changed the course of my very existence. His work saved my life. Literally. Without his work, without HIM, there wouldn't be me, at least not the me that I am today. Neal was my artistic father, mentor and dear dear friend. I miss him. Love you, Dad. Rest in Peace. I'm sorry folks. I'm in shock. It's going to take me some time to process this.
Learning how deeply the hyper-realistic Adams influenced Sienkiewicz (who seems almost his artistic opposite) made me realize just how far-reaching the blast radius of Neal Adams’ explosive impact on our planet was, to say nothing of how much he did to advance the rights of my fellow comic creators.
I was also crushed to learn about the death of another towering figure in comics, Justin Green, author of a graphic novel that helped change the course of MY existence:
A book like this was far out of my comfort zone when I first read it back in the late 90s, but I decided to check it out after The Comics Journal included it in one of their lists about the most important comics ever.
Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware, Adrian Tomine and a lot of other better creators than I have already written about the massive effect Justin Green’s autobiographical story had on their own work, but Binky Brown also changed my life, as it made me begin to reevaluate my relationship with the faith in which I was raised and its impact on my mental health.
Hard to talk about beyond that, but regardless of your religious affiliation (or lack thereof), I highly encourage all lovers of comics to track down your own copy of Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary. McSweeney’s published a gorgeous hardcover a few years back.
I never got to meet either of these comics legends, and I’m not fortunate enough to own any original Neal Adams artwork, but I was able to pick up this small Justin Green sketch from another collector just a few months ago:
The drawing above Justin’s is by his wife, equally important cartoonist Carol Tyler. My deepest condolences to her and to all of the loved ones these luminaries left behind.
A heavy one this week! So I’ll close with this simple question for you:
How are you holding up these days?
I’ll leave our chat open for everyone, so please feel free to let us know what’s been going on in your world during these endlessly nutty times.
Your pal,
BKV
i'm ok i guess
Wellllllllll what can I say, I was recently diagnosed with "young-onset" Parkinson's Disease, so "holding up" has been kind of tough. I know that's probably more than you were asking for, but it certainly helps me to talk about it. It's been really tough developing this in a world where we are so closed off from each other. Thank you for asking.