I woke up Saturday morning to hear that Dick Giordano had passed away. I had a very busy weekend with the family, but kept thinking about Giordano and his vast contributions to the comic book industry. When I got finally a few moments to myself last evening, I sat down with a couple of Sarge Steel, the 'Action Heroes' issue of Comic Book Artist and my copy of the Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told. I spent the rest of the evening marvelling at Giordano's skill and, perhaps more importantly, his love of comic books. He was terrific both as penciller and inker, and I've often thought that he was terribly underappreciated as a cover artist (working for Charlton will have that effect). His storytelling in "There Is No Hope in Crime Alley" is phenomenal, as he and Denny O'Neil collaborated on the best one-page Batman origin ever. For all of his artistic talent, his people skills were even greater. He certainly made a profound impact in his editorial role at both Charlton in the 60s and DC in the 80s. His 'Meanwhile...' column served as a looking glass into the inner workings of DC, and his replies to letters while at Charlton showed that he had a tremendous amount of respect for comic book fan. Dick Giordano was one of a kind, and we were fortunate that he chose to work in comic books.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Thank You Mr. Giordano
I woke up Saturday morning to hear that Dick Giordano had passed away. I had a very busy weekend with the family, but kept thinking about Giordano and his vast contributions to the comic book industry. When I got finally a few moments to myself last evening, I sat down with a couple of Sarge Steel, the 'Action Heroes' issue of Comic Book Artist and my copy of the Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told. I spent the rest of the evening marvelling at Giordano's skill and, perhaps more importantly, his love of comic books. He was terrific both as penciller and inker, and I've often thought that he was terribly underappreciated as a cover artist (working for Charlton will have that effect). His storytelling in "There Is No Hope in Crime Alley" is phenomenal, as he and Denny O'Neil collaborated on the best one-page Batman origin ever. For all of his artistic talent, his people skills were even greater. He certainly made a profound impact in his editorial role at both Charlton in the 60s and DC in the 80s. His 'Meanwhile...' column served as a looking glass into the inner workings of DC, and his replies to letters while at Charlton showed that he had a tremendous amount of respect for comic book fan. Dick Giordano was one of a kind, and we were fortunate that he chose to work in comic books.
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3 comments:
Scott:
Yes, this was very sad news. Giordano was never on my shortlist of absolute favorites, but he was incredibly consistent and had a hand — creatively and editorially — in so many Bronze Age favorites.
And, I agree, "There is No Hope in Crime Alley" is a gem. I just recently read and reviewed this for Comics Bronze Age and it quickly became one of my favorite Giordano stories.
He'll be missed.
Andrew
ComicsBronzeAge.com
Can't find an email address for you, so I hope you don't mind my leaving a link in the comments section.
I run a blog about secret agent fiction, and, in memory of Giordano, am running a Sarge Steel week that includes a sadly brief chat with Giordano about the creation of the character. Thought you might be interested: http://www.mister8.com
Very cool site - I love Sarge Steel - so I'm thrilled to see that you're spreading the love.
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