Saturday, April 6, 2013

REMEMBERING INFANTINO


Very sorry to hear of Carmine Infantino's passing.  His renditions of Batman, Adam Strange and, especially, the Flash were among the defining images of my childhood.  Those primal visuals we absorb as kids burn into our psyches forever—and, if I just close my eyes, I can easily see Carmine’s Flash...the definitive Flash...speeding across the landscape inside my head.



Infantino was an artist of elegance and power, one of the truly great cover artists, and a consummate storyteller.  And let's not forget that, as publisher, he was the guy who brought Jack Kirby (at the peak of his creative power) to DC in 1970: without Carmine, no New Gods. 


    
I was lucky enough to work with Infantino twice, very early in my career:  once on a Mystery In Space story called “The Lazarus Fire,” and again on an infamous (well, infamous to me) issue of Star Wars.  I didn’t have any personal contact with him on those projects, but what an honor it was to have one of the comic book heroes of my youth illustrate my work.

Carmine Infantino’s contributions to our industry were massive.  My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. It makes me happy to imagine that Carmine’s happily whooshing through the Afterlife at super speed, leaving a magical red and yellow trail behind him.



12 comments:

  1. Well said, JM! A true legend he was. Carmine was a little before my time when he was at his pinnacle work, but I do have some older comic books he did. And his name has never gone away over the years. Nor will it. That's a legend for you.

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    1. Agreed, A. Jaye. You didn't have to be around when Carmine was creating the work to appreciate how good it was. His work is timeless.

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  2. Funny thing, as an Architect I immediately fell in love with his style because of his obvious love for googie architecture and the 60s fashion. It turns out he was a frustrated Architect! Oddly enough I'm in the opposite situation!

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    1. Yes, there was an architectural sweep and sleekness to Infantino's work, Rafa: clean lines, bold and dynamic.

      As your artistic aspirations: it's NEVER too late.

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  3. You know what I love? When he inks his own work. It's not as neat as Anderson's, which has its own charm, but there's something about those scratchy lines and those rich textures. Very artsy.

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  4. The Silver Age Flash's design is one of the best in the history of comicdom!

    I've read that Barry Allen's debut saved the superhero genre and for my own part I believe it. So without Carmine Infantino, it's possible we'd never have gotten a Justice League or a Marvel Revolution!

    --David

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    1. Very true, David. There's much we have to thank Carmine for.

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  5. Continuing a conversation we had on a different thread, I read Wein/Wrightson's SWAMP THING #1 for the first time today.

    Loved it!

    --David

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    1. Now imagine that book coming out in 1970, right after the Lee-Kirby Big Bang. It was so different from anything I'd read before. Brilliant stuff! Now read the rest!

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    2. Indeed I will! And I see that Bernie Wrightson will be in San Antonio with you come June.

      --David

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    3. Yes! I haven't seen him in a long time.

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