Saturday, January 21, 2012

PASSAGES 2011 - COMICS, PART 2

Here is the second half of my revue of those from the comics world we lost last year. Here's Part One.

Shinji Wada, 61 (7/5)
Manga artist
Creator of "Sukeban Deka" [Delinquent Girl Detective]
Deka has also been an animated series and live-action film franchise


Sam Norkin, 94 (7/30)
New York theater caricaturist for the New York Herald Tribune (1940-56) and Daily News (1956-82)
Recipient of the National Cartoonists Society Silver T-Square Award (1984)



José Sanchis Grau, 79 (8/2)
Spanish cartoonist, best known for his character Pumby the Cat



Del Connell, 93 (8/12)
Prolific writer/editor for Dell
Creator of Space Family Robinson/Lost in Space
Also created Super Goof, Wacky Witch
Writer, Mickey Mouse strip – 1968-84
Writer on “Three Caballeros”, “Alice in Wonderland” movies for Disney
Personal remembrance from Mark Evanier found here.






Francisco Solano Lopez (8/12)
Argentine writer/artist
Persecuted in Argentina for political views in his comic ‘El Eternuata’
Did U.S. work in the ‘90s for Dark Horse & Eros



Jean Tabary, 81 (8/18)
French comic strip artist
Known for his work in Totoche and Iznogoud




Vicco von Bülow aka Loriot, 87 (8/22)
German animator who created popular characters Wum (a dog) and Wendelin (an elephant)
Had his own 1970's show - "Loriot" which combined sketch comedy and animation
In Christmas, 1972, Loriot as Wum singing "Ich wünsch' mir 'ne kleine Miezekatze" ("I wish I had a little kittycat") was the #1 song for 9 weeks.





Dave Hoover, 56 (9/4)
Comic book artist
"The Wanderers"/"Starman" for DC (late '80s, early '90s)
"Captain America"/"Uncanny Origins" for Marvel (mid-'90s)





Cliff Robertson, 88 (9/10)
Actor, Uncle Ben from ‘Spider-Man’ (2002)


Tom Wilson, Sr., 80 (9/16)
Creator of “Ziggy” character and comic strip
Wrote/drew "Ziggy" strip - 1971-87



I had forgotten until doing this list that I was a big Ziggy fan in the early '80s. In addition to my paperbacks (pictured above), I had a couple of the figurines on my desk. No wonder I was such a popular kid!

Jack Adler, 94 (9/18)
Career at DC:
Colorist/Production Assistant (1947-1960)
Asst. Production Manager (1960-75)
Production Manager/VP of Production (1975-81)





Sergio Bonelli, 78 (9/26)
Italian comic book author & publisher
Creator of "Tex Willer", a U.S. Western-genre character famous in Europe
Also creator/writer of features "Mister No" and "Zagor"




Bil Keane, 89 (10/8)
Creator of "Channel Chuckles" (1954-76)
Creator of Family Circus (1960-2011?)
Co-creator of “Eggheads” (1981-83)
National Cartoonists Society awards
Best Syndicated Panel Award - 1967, 1971, 1973, 1974
Reuben Award (1982)
Elzie Segar Award (1982)
Silver T-Square Award (2002)







Kevin McVey (10/19)
Staff cartoonist for the Bergen, NJ Record (1963-89)
Theatrical caricaturist of Broadway & Hollywood stars


Alvin Schwartz, 94 (10/28)
Comic book/strip writer
Wrote most of the DC newspaper strips, primarily "Batman" and "Superman", 1944-52
Wrote 1940s stories for Superman, Batman and Superboy
Also stories about Buzzy, Congo Bill and Hayfoot Henry





Mick Anglo, 95 (10/31)
Creator of Marvelman (1954), which copied elements of the Captain Marvel comics
Reworked Marvelman stories as Captain Miracle for his own Anglo Comics in the early '60s
Revamped Capt. Miracle as Miracleman in the mid-'60s
Miracleman had a popular revival in the 1980s
Marvel bought the rights to Marvelman from Anglo in 2009 & began reprints of his work





Les Daniels, 68 (11/5)
Comic book historian/author
Comix: A History of the Comic Book in America (1971)
Marvel: Five Fabulous Decades of the World's Greatest Comics (1991)
DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes (1995)



David Langdon, OBE, 97 (11/18)
Venerable British cartoonist
40 years with the Daily Mirror
50 years with the New Yorker
55 years with Punch magazine




Zdenĕk Miler, 90 (11/30)
Czech animator/illustrator
Creator of Krtek the Mole, beloved cartoon & book subject



Bruno Bianchi, 56 (12/2)
French cartoonist & animator
Co-creator of the "Inspector Gadget" animated series



Dugald Stermer, 74 (12/2)
Book/magazine illustrator
Stermer's website and a nice write-up by a friend.





Darrell K Sweet, 77 (12/5)
Sci-fi/fantasy illustrator
Sweet's website



Jerry Robinson, 89 (12/7)
Comics writer/artist
Batman (1940-46)
Co-creator of Robin and the Joker
Green Hornet for Harvey (1945-46)
Bat Masterson & Lassie stories (early '60s)
Comic strips:'Jet Scott', 'Flubs & Fluffs', 'Still Life', 'Life with Robinson'
National Cartoonist Society President, 1967-69
32 years as a political cartoonist
Author of ‘The Comics’, a seminal work of comics scholarship
Champion of creators' rights and free speech rights
Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award winner, 2002









Mario de Miranda, 85 (12/11)
Cartoonist for India magazines & newspapers




Joe Simon, 98 (12/15)
co-creator, with Jack Kirby, of
Captain America, Bucky and the Red Skull
Newsboy Legion
Boy Commandos
Fighting American
Boys’ Ranch
the Romance Comics genre
Won settlement in decade long lawsuit against Marvel Comics over ownership of Captain America








Eduardo Barreto, 57 (12/15)
Artist,
Mid-‘80s Superman covers
New Teen Titans (1986-88)
The Shadow Strikes (1990-91)
Marvel Knights (2000-01)
Cobb (2006)
Comic strip: Judge Parker (2006-11)
DC Retroactive: Superman - the '70s (2011)
Beau Smith remembers Eduardo Barreto