222nd Post - Gene Colan Update

I have been falling terribly behind in my e-mails lately, so I missed the update on the Gene Colan mailing list on Saturday that Gene's health is failing.





I am very sorry to learn this. Gene Colan's artwork was a great pleasure to me when I was younger, especially his work at Marvel Comics in the 1960's and 1970's. I still love his Tomb of Dracula work, all 70 issues, most of them written by Marv Wolfman. Yeah, Wolfman is his real last name. Makes my last name seem pretty tame.

I may seem like an all together guy now, but there was a time when I was not. Hold yourself together now, but I was a pretty shy guy back in the day. Radio and comic books got me through a lot of rough patches in my life. Artists like Gene Colan provided a lot of pleasure for me, and while it is a period of my life I do not like to dwell upon, it is a part of my historical record, and I cannot ignore it, or pretend that it never happened. My life could have been better, and it could have been worse. Let's leave it at that. At any rate, Gene unknowingly helped keep me going when keeping going didn't exactly look like a do-able option. Thanks, Gene.

I have had the pleasure of receiving e-mails from Gene in the last couple of years. He was asking me about life in Nova Scotia, about my parents, and so on. He genuinely cared about my upbringing and learning about my parents. Gene is a gentleman. In fact, Gene is Jewish, so I will call him a mensch.

Anyone who read comics, Marvel comics to be specific, in the 1970's, read a comic drawn by Gene Colan. Period.



Here is what Adrienne, Gene's wife, wrote over the weekend (May 10th):

Gentlemen:My darling, sweet, handsome and brilliantly gifted husband's liver is failing. The complications are very nasty.

This week it's fluid rentention and encephilitis. He's on powerful meds now to deminish the symptoms. He sleeps alot and has very little energy. He wants you all to know how badly he wanted to attend the convention. He so seriously wanted to see you all and shoot the breeze.

Not sure how long we have left together, but our family whole and we'll be taking this sad journey together and nearby.

Anyone with commissions outstanding, I'll have a sense within the next couple of weeks if he can fulfill them, if not, please don't worry, I'll return your monies promptly. I don't want to pull the rug out from under him. But if he can do anything, he'll need to finish the 10 pgs. remaining on his 38 pg. Captain America Civil War for Marvel.

You all know how you've enriched Gene's life by coming forward and
being a part of his. :)

love,Adrienne

Bev again. The Gene Colan list is a fun place to hang out. I have posted quite a few messages over the years, and I have always been treated with respect, which is a lot more than I can say for other online places where I have hung my hat and put my feet up.


I pray that Gene's health improves and that he can outlive all of us. Someone like that deserves to.

Anybody have a spare liver?

Bevboy