Remembering my old friend and collaborator, the brilliant Keith Giffen, on what would have been his 72nd birthday. More than a year after his passing, it's still hard to believe we live in a Giffenless world.
Keith—wherever in the multiverse you are, know that you are still sorely missed.
Here's to him and all who knew and loved him. The world is definitely missing a little bit of brilliance with his passing. A phenomenal talent. Karlos
ReplyDeletePhenomenal indeed, Karlos.
DeleteGiffen never got the credit he deserved for the MCU. Gunn clearly tapped into Giffen's style of writing the Marvel Cosmology.
ReplyDeleteJack
Could very well be. James is a big fan of our Justice League and I'd bet he's very familiar with all of Keith's work.
DeleteI was reading an issue of Giffenls THanos run...by the way, he was one of a small group who Starlin approved of visa vi his baby... and the tone and feel wee very similar.
DeleteIt is also worth noting that run was where GIffen brought back Star-Lord from being the most obscure of Marvel characters.
I'd say the bet is probably safe.
I think Keith was the one who introduced Groot into the Guardians mythology, as well.
DeleteI believe you are correct, and in Groot's first story he was an invader from the stars who could speak full sentences.
DeleteSo, not unlike Stan Lee (with Kirby) with the Silver Age Captain America, Denny O'Neil with modern Green Arrow, and Geoff Johns with the resurrected Green Lantern (among others), Giffen could be seen as essentially having creating an iconic character from scratch, using the form of an existing one.
Jack
That's one of the fascinating (and confusing) things about comics. A character can exist, and clearly be the creation of a specific writer or artist (or both), and yet it can be a later creator who defines that character in a way that makes it iconic and true.
DeleteEarlier this year, a guy I knew from my old comic shop died, and their was a get together to commemorate him.
ReplyDeleteWhile there, I ran into a few people I had not seen in a while. ONe was a huge JLI fan, he was actually one of the people to push me into picking it up.
During or time chatting, we talked about how the series was done. He was largely out of the comics scene. He had heard, but was not aware of any tributes.
However, where I told him all the good will Giffen had in passing, and specifically what you had said in memorize at the time.
He was very happy to learn that one of the people responsible for one of his favorite comic got so much respect in his passing. And that the team that created it had a true bond and friendship...even years after.
So that is kind of nice, right?
Jack
VERY nice.
DeleteRIP
ReplyDelete🙏
DeleteI’m a comics editor in Brazil, and I’m leading the release of a deluxe edition of the Justice League (International and America) created by you, Giffen, and Maguire. I had already read this material in my teenage years during the 1990s and had a great time with it. It was truly an important work in making me a devoted reader of superhero comics. Coming back to it now, as an adult and with an editor’s eye, I’m still having fun, but I can also notice many dramatic nuances in some of the characters. The work you all did on this material is truly phenomenal. I’m paying close attention to every detail and doing my best to make this new Brazilian edition as faithful as possible to the work you created.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I'll be in Brazil in December for CCXP. Really looking forward to it.
DeleteRereading the issues of Justice League America written by you and the late Keith Giffen, I came across a fact that piqued my curiosity. In Justice League America #27 (1989), Amanda Waller tries to save Blue Beetle, who is about to lose his mind due to hypnotic programming. During the process, she is surprised to discover that the programming contains a safeguard called the Azrael Block, which puts Blue Beetle into a coma after her attempt to undo the hypnosis he was subjected to. I did some research, and the only reference I found to this device was in Dean Koontz’s book Strangers, published three years before that issue of Justice League. I would like to know whether the inspiration for using an Azrael Block on Blue Beetle actually came from Koontz’s book, or if it has another source of inspiration.
DeleteThis is the first I've heard of that connection. Pretty sure (as sure as I can be after all these years) that the phrase was in Keith's plot. Given that Keith was a huge horror fan, it's possible that he put that in as a tribute to Koontz. That said, he might have made it up and it was simply a coincidence. Sadly, Keith isn't here to ask, so it will have to remain a mystery.
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