GENE COLAN'S CAPTAIN AMERICA #601...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

I seem to remember reading somewhere that CAPTAIN AMERICA #601 was GENE COLAN's last work for MARVEL - and perhaps (private commissions aside) his last work anywhere.  Apparently it was originally intended as an Annual in 2007, but didn't appear until a couple of years later in this double-size issue of Cap's own regular monthly mag.

The version shown here is the one coloured by DEAN WHITE, and it has to be admitted that the art is very atmospheric.  There's also a black and white variant version printed from Colan's pencils, which I'm still waiting for despite ordering it (from a different seller) within minutes of the colour one on display before you.

Colan won an EISNER Award for this issue, but despite the reviews extolling his art, it isn't really the best thing he's ever done.  Dodgy perspectives, banana fingers, contorted anatomy, and stretched composition are occasionally in evidence, but remember that Colan suffered from poor eyesight so it's almost a miracle that he could even see to draw anything.  And he was also 82 when he produced this ish.

However, like I said, this mag has mood and atmosphere in spades, and no one did those qualities better than Colan.  When the black and white version arrives, I'll post some pages so that you can compare them against White's coloured examples and you can judge for yourself which ones you like best.  In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment saying just what Gene Colan's art means to you.

I'll show you the interiors soon - promise!

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