RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Comic Books Comic book creators who died way too young

I didn't mean to be so hard on Don Newton, I do like his art on many series and anthology stories, he's just not one of my all-time favorites. As we've discussed here before, he was perfectly suited to the SHAZAM stories, that had a long enjoyable run as a backup in WORLD'S FINEST, circa 1978-1982.
I know you're a fan of Newton's NEW GODS run. I think it's nice art, but it's just not the same characters for me as portrayed by Kirby and others. I saw the collected trade of NEW GODS BY GERRY CONWAY (with art by Newton) just came out. You bought it, and I might too, if I didn't already have the issues from when they came out.
Likewise Newton's art on BATMAN, DETECTIVE and a few issues of BRAVE AND THE BOLD. I actually filled the gaps in my collection of those issues just a few years ago. While initially, Newton's art (circa DETECTIVE 480-496 or so) was not compatible with the creature-of-the-night Batman, I think Newton's art on the series increasingly conformed to a Novick/Adams/Aparo look on Batman, but again, while his art is nice, to me Newton's art isn't quite the right fit on Batman the way Newton draws him.
Newton also did some fun anthology stories in books like HOUSE OF MYSTERY, TIME WARP, MYSTERY IN SPACE and other titles.

And you may not know it, but prior to the late 1970's Newton previously worked for Charleton, doing horror/mystery anthology stories, and a run for several years on THE PHANTOM, roughly issues 67-74

Newton got his start in the fanzines in the late 1960's, particularly nice are his covers for ROCKET'S BLAST COMIC COLLECTOR (RBCC), starting in 1968, and on through the 1970's, even when he was doing pro work. I recall when Newton's death was announced in 1984 of a heart attack at age 49, tragically way too young. But he was a prolific artist, who left a huge body of work to remember him by.

Likewise, Joe Staton is not one of my favorite artists, but on series he is suited for, I really enjoy his work, such as on E-MAN 1-10 from 1973-1975. He's also a good inker, and inked Sal Buscema on a run in INCREDIBLE HULK, circa 1975-1976. But when paired with a bad inker, or on series I don't think he is suited for, no, I don't like Staton's work. SUPERBOY/LEGION is one I don't think he was suited for.

I don't know if you're aware, but the NEW GODS were revived in 1st ISSUE SPECIAL 13 immediately after Kirby left DC in 1976, in a story by O'Neil and Vosburg.
A little over a year later, the series was revived in NEW GODS 12-19 by Conway and Newton. And then once cancelled, one last inventory story was published in the dollar-sized ADVENTURE COMICS 459 and 460 (there are other Newton and Staton stories in these issues too), if you missed them. Another casualty of the DC Implosion.

While I'm not the biggest fan of Gerry Conway, you have to admire his talent demonstrated at a very early age, and what a prolific wordsmith he was for many years, across a huge spectrum ot titles, both at Marvel and DC. This is a guy who created Man-Thing in 1971 at age 16, and by the time he was writing these NEW GODS stories at DC was still only in his mid-20's, and just a few years later was a very successful scriptwriter out in Hollywood on series like Father Dowling Mysteries, Law And Order, and Law and Order: Criminal Intent. He used comics as a springboard for many Law and Order episodes, with many murder victims given names like John Byrne, Roger Stern and Frank Miller, a playful ribbing of his writer/artist friends in the comics field. I especially liked one Criminal Intent episode (episode 78, "Collective") where a girl was a con woman who targeted rich nerds at comic conventions, to swindle them out of their collector valuables.

Basically I like everything I’ve seen of Newton’s other than his Batman. It reminded me too much of Ernie Chan’s version for some reason. Given how good he was on Shazam and New Gods (which was so different than the original I tend to think of it more as an earth two version than anything else) I think it’s a shame they didn’t give him some more Superman work

And yeah, I'm definitely getting old, at age 57 now. I still think of the comics from the early/mid 1990's as "the new stuff".

I'm still waiting for those days to come back.

I'm still waiting for those days to come back.

Fuck off, Gerald.

SCREENWRITER

As a screenwriter, Finger wrote or co-wrote the films Death Comes to Planet Aytin, The Green Slime, and Track of the Moon Beast, and contributed scripts to the TV series' Hawaiian Eye and 77 Sunset Strip.[9] He also cowrote a two-part episode "The Clock King's Crazy Crimes / The Clock King Gets Crowned", airing October 12–13, 1966, in season two of the live-action Batman TV series.[9][55] It was his first public credit for a Batman story.[56]

And "the First Batman", in DETECTIVE COMICS 235, Sept 1956:
https://readcomiconline.to/Comic/Detective-Comics-1937/Issue-235?id=5414#1

Foil trading cards, too? I don't know what to do with the fuckers. I stick them inside the comics they came with.

Dave, have you seen the documentary on Bill finger? Its a little self-serving, but its good. Bob Kane sounds like a complete arse.

I was just looking at these two pages in STRANGE ADVENTURES 210 in 1968, reprinted from a 1946 issue of REAL FACT COMICS, by artist Virgil Finlay.
https://readcomiconline.to/Comic/Strange-Adventures-1950/Issue-210?id=47141#20

Like so many artists, Finlay began in pulp magazine illustration before doing Golden Age/pre-Code work in comics, and then more lucrative SF and Book illustration. I have two hardcover books of Finlay's illustrations. Beautiful and ornately detailed work, even his comics work.

But Finlay died rather young at age 56, in 1971.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil_Finlay

Everett even returned to his enduring character, first inking Namor's adventures in Tales to Astonish #85–86, then taking over full artistic duties for issues #87–91 and #94, and penciling issues #95–96 [Nov 1966 - Oct 1967].
He then did complete stories – writing, penciling and inking – on SUB-MARINER #50–55 and 57 (June 1972 – Nov. 1972; Jan. 1973), with script assists by Mike Friedrich on two issues; and #58 (Feb. 1973), co-written with Steve Gerber and co-penciled with Sam Kweskin as his health began to deteriorate for the final time. He co-wrote and inked Sub-Mariner #59 (March 1973), plotted #60 (April 1973), and co-wrote, co-penciled (with fellow Golden Ager Win Mortimer), and co-inked #61 (May 1973).[14]
He had also been announced to draw an issue of Marvel Team-Up starring Spider-Man and the Sub-Mariner, but, according to one contemporaneous report, "was not able to finish this one before his death."[24]

Editor Roy Thomas explained on the letters page of Sub-Mariner #61,

• As you've no doubt noticed from the first three pages of this issue, Everett was back…and better than ever! And then, with only those three pages completed, [he] took ill. And, sad to say, it's the kind of illness that's going to keep him off Sub-Mariner (or any mag) for a month or two to come."[25]

Despite Thomas's optimistic tone, that would be Everett's last work on the series. His final efforts on the character he created were five pages of pencils, inked by fellow Golden Ager Fred Kida, that appeared posthumously in SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP issue 1 (Aug. 1975).[14]