Quoth the Raven... "Nevermore!"
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One of my favourite poems is The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe, and here's an
interesting take on this rhyming masterpiece, illustrated by Richard Corben and first published in Creepy #67,
December 1974. Sadly, Richard died today, so I thought I'd re-post this strip in tribute to his amazing talent.
And below is the cover (not by Corben) for all you completists.
A master of colour, sadly gone. In Europe they raved about him and considered him one of comicdom's greats. I first came across him in Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction and have been a fan ever since.
ReplyDeleteSpirit of '64
Oh that is sad news . For those of us of a certain age his art was in most "adult" (as in teenage) type comic SF / horror mags of the time with amazing covers and lush interior painted fantasy art. Corben was one of my favourite artists and I always enjoyed his work in the earlier editions of Heavy Metal with his busty ladies, madly muscled male leads and creepy characters. A favourite of mine was his Den character a bald manic Conan type character and his "underground" horror strips. Despite his large comic output he is probably best known by the general population for the excellent Meatloaf "Bat out of Hell" LP cover. I would have loved to have seen him do more work for DC , Marvel etc as I really enjoyed his Hulk series (Banner) and his Swamp Thing and Hellraiser work at DC. Like many artists from my childhood I was surprised to read he was 80 years old, I always imagined him as younger forgetting that the passage of time affects us all .
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the Simpsons' version of The Raven? That's how I first came to know about the poem.
ReplyDeletePanel 2 on the last page doesn't quite work for me, S64, but the rest is striking. Another great gone.
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I'm not overly familiar with his work, McS, but I know talent when I see it. I knew his name of course, and had seen the occasional piece of work by him, so I knew he was 'good'.
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Still haven't seen it, CJ, but I remember you mentioning it when I first posted this strip.
I was a big fan of Corbett and still am. His airbrush technique just blew my mind.
ReplyDeleteHe also drew the most disturbing comics I’ve ever read. One story was a Magnus Robot fighter parody. Another was two people who visit an alien planet, their bodies dissolve and you find out they are disfigured mutants living in metal shells.
Needless to say I love his work and can’t post most of his stuff on Facebook because it would be censored.
What a bad way to end a bad year.
Yeah, it's a shame. I didn't know Sooty's dad was an artist as well - you learn something new every day.
ReplyDelete80?! I never realise he was that old. I second McScotty's comments, they pretty much sum up my feelings about his work and presence in the world of comics and fantasy art in the 70s. Another icon from our youth gone.
ReplyDeleteAnd the worst thing about it, PC, is that 80 isn't really considered old these days, is it? Especially not when you're my age and it doesn't seem so very far away.
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten about that Magnus Robot Hunter parody Phil mentioned that was indeed a cracker (called Mangle Robot Mangler) great art and a fun read.
ReplyDeleteI'll keep an eye out for that one, McS.
ReplyDeleteThere are some of Corben's pages on these 2 website re-the "Mangle" strip - just daft fun but great fanboy stuff.
ReplyDeletehttp://blacknwhiteandredallover.blogspot.com/2014/05/post-58-mangle-robot-mangler.html
https://muuta.net/wp/synopsis/mangle-robot-mangler/
Ta much, McS, saves me the bother of looking for a link.
ReplyDeleteI have been lucky to have read Corben's Bloodstar. Truly amazing and as good as my favourite Windsor-Smith epic, Red Nails.
ReplyDeleteSpirit of '64
Not familiar with that one either, S64 (Bloodstar), son that's another one to hunt down.
ReplyDeleteI'm not massively familiar with Richard Corben's work, although I do own an issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles drawn by boom- but its always sad news when someone so talented passes on.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. That's why the world will be utterly heartbroken when I croak, DS. (Nurse!)
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