On Saturday, March 27, we lost an artist, editor, friend, and inspiration.
Dick Giordano was one of those guys who seemed to be able to do everything--and be able to do it better than most everyone else. When I think of Giordano, quality and innovation are two of the first adjectives that spring to mind. His vision as an editor changed the comicbook landscape forever (the Charlton Action Hero line, the
Watchmen, and many of DC's innovations in the 1980s), but it is his art, as penciler and/or inker, that puts Ol' Groove in awe. His penciling was always top notch; great storytelling, near perfect anatomy, beautiful faces. His inking, especially over Neal Adams, was truly mind-boggling. He brought a sense of realism, of weight and motion, to every job he inked. He was a true master and will be sorely missed. For an example of Dick's artistic prowess, here's a well-loved classic written by Denny O'Neil. It's Dick Giordano at his best, drawing his favorite superhero
The Batman in "There Is No Hope in Crime Alley!" from
Detective Comics #457 (December 1975).
Ol' Groove's posted about Mr. Giordano, or at least mentioned him in a post,well over a dozen times here on DotGK, but I still can't say enough about how important he was to the Groovy Age. I can only quote the man himself, from his wonderful MEANWHILE editorials of the 1980s. Thank
you, Dick. Thank you and Good Afternoon.
That's a great post and a great tribute too!
ReplyDeleteThis was the first story I thought of when I saw he had died. One of THE great Batman stories.
ReplyDeleteHey Groovyone
ReplyDeleteI found out mere hours after his passing, we lost him. I had been talking with Joe Sinnott & John Romita SR. When joe told me, Dick was close friends with both of them. Thanks for the great post.R.I.P. Dick we'll really miss you!
really good story who really impress me when i was young.
ReplyDeleteR.I.P
Hey, Groove:
ReplyDeleteJust recently read this one for the first time and reviewed it for Comics Bronze Age. It quickly became one of my favorite Giordano art jobs. A sad, sad loss for the industry. As many of the pro tributes suggest, there might not have been a Bronze Age without him.
Cheers,
Andrew
ComicsBronzeAge.com
great choice of story to go with there, Groove. one of my favourites, too. it's a sad day, for sure, but, man, did that guy leave behind a FANTASTIC legacy.
ReplyDeletelaters, Dick, mate!
Great post! I rally like Giordano´s approach to storytelling, and the agles he uses. And I think hes pages are really elegant. Going through your Giordanos´s post, I´ve noticed something curious: in page 5 of the Wonder Woman story he uses exactlcy the same vignette than the one we can see here in page 11 (last vignette) in the Batman story. The one with the little wagon in first view and the figures walking in the back. yeah. I know is though to draw an entire comic every month and be original 100 % of the time so I think its Ok, I just wanna to mention it.
ReplyDelete