Shadows and Fog

It's the second-last week of term. Yesterday, the whole school went on a sponsored walk to Lossiemouth, along the disused railway track. There wasn't a lot to see through the undergrowth on the way but the kids were well-behaved and it was a pleasant day (although my old skull got a bit sunburned).
When I got home, I learned that Gene "The Dean" Colan had passed away. I'd read previous internet posts that referred to his declining health but it was still sad news on such a nice day, nonetheless. Let's celebrate the huge body of work he left behind with covers from some of the comics he drew for the Big Two:

 As I've said before, I've read a lot about Tony Stark, even though I don't like Iron Man all that much. I preferred the Kirby/Cap stories in these books (The Tumbler and the Black Panther in these issues). But these are my earliest memories of Colan; the Mafia- sorry, Maggia issue - was bought during my childhood hospital stay in '72. Colan made Stark's confidant Happy Hogan handsome and suave, when he was conceived as a pug with cauliflower ears!

 The Two Doctors

The DD issue was also bought at Stonehouse Hospital. Colan drew Daredevil for a very long run- it's often a romance comic with acrobatic super-heroics thrown in- and his Black Widow is definitive, sexy and vulnerable.However, his mastery of mood and the supernatural is obvious in this stunning Dr. Strange image. Occult hippy love god Strange is canoodling in a cab with the lovely Clea while simulataneously battling devil-worshippers on the astral plane. Colan' panel design is at its most experimental at this stage.

 However, I think this is my favourite image of Stephen Strange, in his sleek, superhero phase. The logo is more organic, the contrast between the green, the red and the blue is striking. I particularly like the glinting Ebony Blade. I would love a monthly team-up book with this pair.
Colan's run on the Avengers in the late 60s is a great nostalgic favourite. Since I hadn't read a single issue as a kid for nearly a year, there were three other "New Avengers" on the cover of the Goliath issue - Vision, Black Panther and Yellowjacket.

 These three issues comprise a single story arc- the origin of Clint Barton. They should have been reprinted as a Treasury edition in the mid-70s; there are some really striking sequences and splash pages.
Of course, Colan's magnum opus in the 70s was Tomb of Dracula- but since I have posted the one colour issue I bought in the first Horror Double Bill blog, I'll have to content myself with an image of the iconic character who sprang from that series:

The biggest Colan comic in the Seventies for me was Howard the Duck. I'm not sure I really understood the satire but it resonated enough with me that I tried to adapt the captions and dialogue in order to tape- record it with friends as a kid. It was then played back, no doubt to the bafflement of the class, in school. I don't recall giving Gerber or Colan any credit at all but it cemented my desire to perform comedy.

 I think Colan only drew one story of super-exorcist Son of Satan but I know this issue dates from the early summer of '77, just prior to our holiday in remote Portobello Bay. As for the Moreau parody, I didn't find out what a bong was until about six years later...
In the very early 80s, Colan returned to Dr Strange (but wasn't doing covers) and to Avengers, where he made some tedious stories look classy:

But my understanding is that Jim Shooter's relationship with Colan was not a happy one and The Dean became one of the Marvel stalwarts who moved to DC.

 Colan's Amazon is beautiful but I'm not sure he was really suited to such a camp and colourful character. Night Force was hampered by Wolfman's melodramatic, overrwrought and ungrammatical dialogue but I've recently thought about buying the 2011 reprint to reassess the series.
I didn't follow Colan's work on Batman or the Spectre in the 80s although they're characters whose tone would suit his style. One day I might catch up with Silverblade or Nathaniel Dusk. I would have liked to see him work on more mainstream DC properties: Swamp Thing or Kirby's Demon-or perhaps pencilling Black Canary or Batgirl. My dream project was a West Coast Avengers series set in Hollywood, starring Daredevil, Black Widow, Shang Chi and Lilith, Dracula's Daughter...

Looking at this cover again, after nearly 30 years, I was thinking: "Make way for the Bendis Avengers!" I spend a great deal of time trying to figure out a dream roster for Earth's Mightiest Heroes. In many ways, Bendis's collection of Big Marquee Names makes a lot of sense...but the Avengers are not the Justice League, and some characters who are not movie properties should still be Assemblers. Also, I feel the "All-Wizard Squad" method of team-building should be adhered to, with specialists who provide Leadership, Technology, Power, Telepathy, Magick, Stealth and Defence. So, welcome again to this week's "If I wrote the Avengers":

Leadership, technology, power. Every issue, one of this trio has to appear. You know it makes sense.

 Stealth and defence- in that the Vision can draw fire or act as a "human" shield. Plus, all that angst!
My next two choices are a bit left-field:

 Emma Frost is a slinky telepath with a scathing sense of humour (no diamond mutation please); Mechamage is a Texan gal who's spliced science with sorcery,  has only appeared once in the last decade and has a Kirby-esque design.
I also liked Roger Stern's Avengers-in-training concept, so, in honour of our Colan theme, I've chosen Noh-Varr, the Sensational New Captain Marvel:

These guys would also be fun guest stars:

Bring on the Bad Guys:

All with pretty pictures by George Perez-disciple Phil Jimenez! Really, though, the Wasp, Hawkeye, the Beast and the Scarlet Witch should always be Avengers just as Superman and Batman should always be in the JLA. While I completely see the appeal of Spider-Man and the Thing as Avengers, it just feels wrong to me.
However, I'll probably have another whacky line-up to post before the summer is out.

Next: I, Magneto

The Legal Bit: All images presumed copyright of their respective owners.