Gene Colan

Gene Colan's outstanding use of light and shade is arguably without equal in comics.  His work has a definite cinematic quality, and I'm by no means the first person to make that observation.  For me, he's the definitive Daredevil penciler, and no-one did Dr Strange or Iron Man better either.  And let's not forget his superb work on Tomb of Dracula...

You can read about Colan's style in a review of the classic Daredevil # 44 that appeared as the sixth of my Reviews series, in which my co-conspirators Pierre Comtois and Gregorio Montejo discover what made the Silver Age great!

And I can't not mention the site DD Resource webmaestro Kevin Hall has put together to honor the Genial Gene - check out www.genecolan.com!
A rare Colan cover from 1954
J. into Mystery
# 14
Feb 1954
One of Gene's first covers on his return to Marvel
Tales to Astonish
# 76
Feb 1966
This caught my eye 33 years ago and still does
Tales of Suspense
# 77
May 1966
Gene Colan drew superb action covers, but also turned out superbly tense mood-pieces like this one
Tales of Suspense
# 79
Jul 1966
Gene drew Iron Man better than anyone - here, Shellhead cowers before Whiplash
Tales of Suspense
# 85
Jan 1967
A classic early DD-Colan cover
Daredevil
# 26
Mar 1967
A poster cover from Gene
Daredevil
# 27
Apr 1967
DD on ice
Daredevil
# 28
May 1967
Back to reality
Daredevil
# 29
Jun 1967
DD and a certain Thunder God!
Daredevil
# 30
Jul 1967
DD at Expo '67!
Daredevil
# 34
Nov 1967
Gene proves himself as a master of perspective with this cover
Tales of Suspense
# 95
Nov 1967
Introducing the Kree-born spaceman - Mar-Vell
Marvel S/H
# 12
Dec 1967
Gene drew Iron Man better than anyone - here, Shellhead cowers before Whiplash
Tales of Suspense
# 97
Jan 1968
Gene does it again
Marvel S/H
# 13
Feb 1968
DD and Doc Doom!
Daredevil
# 37
Feb 1968
The final issue of Tales of Suspense - and a memorable cover from Gene
Tales of Suspense
# 99
Mar 1968
Gene is inked by Bill Everett on this memorable one-shot
Iron Man & Sub-M
# 1
Apr 1968
Iron Man's first solo issue, and an instant classic by Colan
Iron Man
# 1
May 1968
A dynamic Captain Marvel cover showing Gene's ability to render figures in action
Captain Marvel
# 9
Jan 1969
Colan was never afraid to use unconventional panel layouts, even on a cover in this case!
Daredevil
# 49
Feb 1969
Many were disappointed when Colan left Iron Man and Subby, but with work like this, we needn't have worried
Dr Strange
# 177
Feb 1969
Could it get any better than # 177? Yes it could...
Dr Strange
# 178
Mar 1969
Gene was back on Subby for just a couple of issues, and produced this classic
Sub-Mariner
# 11
Mar 1969
What an astonishing cover this is...
Dr Strange
# 180
May 1969
Colan's short stint on The Avengers produced this classic
Avengers
# 65
Jun 1969
Gene took over on Cap after Kirby and Steranko - hard acts to follow
Captain America
# 116
Aug 1969
The final issue of Doc's first solo series - a winner from Gene
Dr Strange
# 183
Aug 1969
Colan was never afraid to use unconventional panel layouts, even on a cover in this case!
Daredevil
# 56
Sep 1969
Gene's year on Cap produced some exciting work
Captain America
# 123
Mar 1970

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