There was no artist like Richard Corben, who passed December 2. While much of his output was too "mature" for Young Groove back in the Groovy Age, I have always admired his singular, savagely spectacular style. And THAT Meatloaf album cover.
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| Corben colors Eisner |
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| Ken Kelly fooling Ol' Groove into thinking he was Corben! (Thanks Anonymous Groove-ophile!) |
And then there was the time I was lucky enough to have a story published in an issue of The Creeps that Mr. Corben did the cover art for!
Fly high, Rich Corben! And thank you for the adventures, shivers, and memories!
His style was just so unique. Nothing quite like it before, and no school of emulators. A one off. And yeah, knowing that the Bat Out Of Hell cover was his was just another reason for comic geeks to identify with the album.
ReplyDeleteActually there is an artist called John Cebullaro who draws just like Corben. I first saw his work in several of the DC/Paradox Press Big Book of... series in the '90s.
DeleteBy the way, Groove, that Creepy 63 cover is by Ken Kelly.
As he already pointed out.
DeleteAfter the fact. See the date and time of my post then Groove's. Peace out.
DeleteThanks for the correction on the Creepy cover. The face and foreshortening fooled me but good! As for Cebullaro, I'd have to see more of his work as the samples on his site don't give me a Corben vibe at all. Which Big Book of... volume(s) did he contribute to? I can't find him on GCD. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteJohn Cebollero
DeleteOne of my all time favourite artists it was sad to hear of his passing. A great selection of covers and I wasn't aware he drew/painted that Spirit cover it's a cracker. I always enjoyed his stories from Den to the Magnus Robot Hunter parody (Mangle the Robot Mangler) all fun stuff with a hint of the macabre ( well a bit more that a hint) Wow can't think of many more impressive things than having an artist of Mr Corbin's standing paint your story cover, well done. Sadly another great from that time when those of us of a certain age were kids that were allowed to live their wonderful world's for 10p (25 cents).
ReplyDeleteJohn Cebollero does a perfect Rich Corben imitation in the Big Book of Bad, Vice, '70s and Grimm, all published in the '90s.
ReplyDeleteExcellent tribute to a trailblazing artist! I was too young (officially) for much of his work back in the late 70s/early 80s, but seemed to get hold of a lot of it anyway :). That Creeps cover was great...and so was your story!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know Rich Corben died and I am sad to hear it.
ReplyDeleteThat guy was one of a kind. His stuff has always captivated me; I always perked up when I saw it. I can't put my finger on why, exactly. I'll look at anything he drew.
I remember sometimes he would do an arc on Hellboy or Swamp Thing, and it would come as a very welcome surprise.
I think there was a lot of humor in his work. It could be almost laugh-out-loud funny sometimes. But he could deliver the horror at the same time. Maybe that's what appealed to me.
This is a nice tribute. Thanks, Groove.
M.P.
So sorry to hear about the passing of Rich Corben. Being one of the few artists hailing from my home state of Missouri that continued to reside in Kansas City ( I worked one year for a printing company and came across his tax return) he had a special place in my heart. His unique airbrush rendering he worked in for most of his artwork was an easily identifying style (like Ken Steacy). Being a goody goody I shied away from most of his "adult" material but saw his presence there quite a bit in the 70s. Loved his Warren work. Every story he illustrated seemed to have an extra dimension of realism to it. Groove, sometimes you can sure be the bearer of bad news. RIP Mr Corben.
ReplyDeleteWow, talk about a comic book artist who was an original! No artist before or since has really emulated his approach. I do remember finding his Den stories when I was a youngster and knowing that I was too young to read such material. I caught up in college, and got hooked on his work. I still read a lot of his stuff, and especially the books he did relatively recently like Hellblazer, The Punisher, and his adaptations of Edgar Allen Poe. Like Kubert, he never appeared to miss a beat no matter how late in life he worked. I hope I can say the same about myself.
ReplyDeleteBest,
John