In Memoriam 2011 by Richard Caldwell

Richard Caldwell writes for Bleeding Cool;

As twenty ought-eleven draws to a close, I thought it would be appropriate to remember some of the comic book creators who won’t be marching into twenty ought-twelve with the rest of us. This year, the industry has lost a number of incredible talents, each and every one respected and industrious and passionate about their craft.

Joanne Siegel (December 1, 1917 – February 12, 2011) Wife of Joe Siegel, Joanna was also the model of Lois Lane. She fought for Joe’s rights, shaming DC Comics and Warner Bros from a position of poverty, and arranged a stipend for Joe from the publisher. She still fought for his rights, even after his death, to benefit the whole family.

Rob Samsel (1964 – February 18th, 2011) retailer and early staffers at Wizard magazine, famed for his humour and his many contacts across the industry.

Dwayne McDuffie (February 20, 1962 – February 21, 2011) A veteran writer and editor for Marvel whose Milestone work brought new characters into the mainstream while launching the careers of many great artists. His cartoons rocked. I recall his old Bullpen bio saying how he’d tell others he authored the Hardy Boys novels, as opposed to comics, so that he’d be taken seriously as a writer. His writing and producing credits in animation alone introduced countless new readers to the world of comic books, and he singlehandedly did more for spreading cultural diversity in the medium than most other modern creators. I think the definition of “serious writer” is whether or not the work makes an impact. McDuffie absolutely accomplished nothing less.

Jeffrey Catherine Jones (January 10, 1944 – May 19, 2011) Frank Frazetta, who has often been described as one of the greatest modern painters, once described Jeff as being in his mind one of the greatest modern painters. An artist’s artist. Her work may not register with many fanboys today, but it has influenced so many other artists as to set new standards for fantasy art. And she did it without tracing photographs. Perfecting the balance between realism and imagination, her work specifically was what got me to first want to learn about the identities behind those names in the credits boxes.

Gene Colan (September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011) From Iron Man to Dracula to Howard the Duck, Colan was arguably as much of a graphic innovator as was Jack Kirby. His pencil work was so beautiful decades of inkers must have felt tremendous levels of jealousy and guilt and angst at having to “finish” him. He was one of the first to bring a very mature and cinematic storytelling style to mainstream comics.

Sergio Bonnelli (December 2, 1932 – September 26, 2011) founded Sergio Bonelli Editore in Italy, one of the largest producers of comic book material in the world. As the son of the creator of Tex Waller, he strove to create an independent identity for himself as a comic book writer, and in doing so became one of the most important people and publishers in the whole comics industry.

Bil Keane (October 5, 1922 – November 8, 2011) The writer-artist responsible for the Family Circus syndicated comic strip, his readership was larger than those of Mark Millar, Brian Bendis and Geoff Johns combined. How many comics can you share with your grandparents? And how few Sunday comics heavy hitters do we have left!

Jerry Robinson (January 1, 1922 – December 7, 2011) The creator of the Joker, and onetime teacher of Steve Ditko, Robinson’s work gave the Golden Age not just a higher level of dynamism, but a higher level of consistent dynamism. Largely considered one of the kindest gentlemen of the business, his class and wealth of knowledge are irreplaceable.

Joe Simon (October 11, 1913 – December 14, 2011) Best known for co-creating Captain America with Jack Kirby, we can at least be somewhat comforted knowing he was likely able to catch the recent big screen version before he passed on. Simon was a legendary writer, artist, and editor and a grandfather to the industry in so many ways. His Fighting American and Prez remain some of my all-time favorite characters ever, and with good cause.

Eduardo Barreto (1954 – December 15, 2011) Barreto was a rock solid penciler and inker and could illustrate any and every genre one could think of. From DC’s Atari Force and The Shadow Strikes to Dark Horse’s Aliens/Predator: Deadliest of the Species to Claypool’s Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, to his too-short run on the Phantom newspaper strip Barreto’s pages were always a fun ride. I especially like his Gotham Nights mini-series for DC and the Mike Danger books from Tekno Comics back in the 90′s.

Jens Altmann (April 8, 1963 – October 27, 2011) A regular contributor to the Bleeding Cool forums, Jens was quite possibly too sensible to ever excusably participate in forums. Among a list of writing credentials ranging from journalism to manga translations to original novels, Jens was also a webcomic creator. And not too shabby of one either.

These writers and artists have left us with wonderful bodies of work. A lot of crazy hard work went into much of it, and also much angel-wrestling and even just plain bullshitting for rent money. And a lot of fun. They were interesting people, one and all, and we should remember their efforts as we wait to see how 2012 will present itself to the funny book world.

Additional material by Rich Johnston.