Ray Harryhausen, R.I.P.

 Animation, monsters, Movie Classics, Obituaries, Pop Culture News  Comments Off
May 072013
 
Ray Harryhausen, the undisputed master of stop-motion animation, has passed away at age 92. As others have noted, he didn't create the special effects technique of animating small models one frame at a time, but he perfected it in a series of imaginative motion pictures that, regardless of their other merits (or lack thereof), will endure forever because Ray somehow managed to breath convincing life into his menagerie of mythological and fantastical creations, working in solitude for months at a time. There have been other talented stop-motion animators (including Harryhausen's own mentor, Willis O'Brien), but few managed to imbue their characters with quite as much personality and "soul."

The movies he made will always be remembered, but it is all of the artists and animators, filmmakers and authors that he inspired that will be his true and greatest legacy... and I count myself among them.

R.I.P. Ray. There's considerably less magic in the world today.

Joe Kubert, R.I.P.

 Comics, Obituaries  Comments Off
Aug 132012
 
I was saddened late Sunday evening to hear of the passing of my old schoolmaster, Joe Kubert. As a child, some of the first non-funny animal comics I remember buying were his Tor and Tarzan comics from DC. A year or two later, when I first thought I wanted to be a comic book artist myself, I wrote to DC Comics and they sent me a Xeroxed "So You Want To Be A Cartoonist" flyer - written and illustrated by Kubert.

In 1983, I applied to his School Of Cartoon And Graphic Art in Dover, New Jersey and was - surprisingly - accepted. I attended for two years. I learned a great deal from Joe, and not just in the classroom. More than once during my two years at his school he took time to discuss with me personal problems I was having, and I greatly appreciated his genuine concern and honest, heartfelt advice. 

Of course, the lessons I did learn in his classes were priceless, and even though I eventually gave up on the dream of drawing comics, I have repeatedly found his teachings on storytelling to be invaluable in my own humble efforts as a writer (and in my brief career as a comic book editor) over the years.

Joe Kubert was an astounding artist and storyteller who contributed so much to the medium. He will be greatly missed by the multitudes who appreciated and enjoyed his work, and my most sincere condolences go out to his family and friends.

R.I.P. sir - and much thanks.

R.I.P. Richard Lynch

 Obituaries, Pop Culture News  Comments Off
Jun 202012
 
Sad news tonight. I've just heard that the great Richard Lynch (or, as my wife called him, "Cat-Man"), the iconic face and velvet voice of villainy in more than a hundred TV shows and movies, has passed away at age 76.

With his unique looks (in part attributable to a bad LSD trip which resulted in the actor setting himself on fire!) and sinisterly silky voice, the Brooklyn-born actor was the go-to bad guy for television and B-movie producers for decades.

He appeared in so many of my favorite television shows and exploitation films: Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, The Sword & The Sorcerer, Invasion USA, Deathsport, Trancers II, Puppet Master III, The A-Team, God Told Me To, Star Trek - The Next Generation, A Man Called Sloane, The Fall Guy, and, perhaps most memorably (at least for me), the terrific 1979 TV movie/pilot film, Vampire, which gave him one of his few leading roles.

They don't make character actors like Lynch, anymore, and we movie buffs are all the poorer for it. Rest in Peace, sir.

Wednesday Cover: Claw the Unconquered

 Comics, Obituaries, Sword and Sorcery, Wednesday Cover  Comments Off
May 232012
 
Yep, another Wednesday, another sword & sorcery comic cover from the Seventies. Crom help me, I love this stuff. This time around it's the cover to DC Comics' Claw The Unconquered #2, their attempt to cash-in onrival publisher  Marvel's runaway hit Conan series. The art is by the great Ernie Chua (a/k/a Ernie Chan), a terrific Filipino artist who passed away just last week.

I first noticed the artist's work on Batman and Detective Comics, where he drew a damned fine Dark Knight. He was also DC's go-to cover artist for a couple of years there in the mid-Seventies. Later, he was praised for his work on Marvel's barbarian, where he often inked John Buscema on both the color Conan comic and the Savage Sword of Conan B&W magazine. I'll always associate him with the short-lived Claw, though. His Conan work was more polished, and his Batman stuff more widely-seen and appreciated, but Claw was his book. He was the first artist on it, and defined the character's fantasy world.

I always loved his lush inkline, and thought he was a great storyteller. He'll be missed.

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