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RIP Carmine Infantino, legendary comic book artist and pioneer of the Silver Age (Read 149 times)

Started by Bizarro Santamorphman, April 10, 2013, 05:26:25 am
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RIP Carmine Infantino, legendary comic book artist and pioneer of the Silver Age
New #1  April 10, 2013, 05:26:25 am
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A bit old but as it hasn't been posted here:

Legendary comic book artist Carmine Infantino has passed away. His most significant contribution is undoubtedly his resurrection of the Flash franchise: along with writer Robert Kanigher, he created the character of Barry Allen, the second Flash. Infantino's iconic costume and his skill in conveying a true sense of speed even through still pictures contributed greatly to the Flash's success, and it was the Flash that led to the revitalization of the super heroes in comics, and truly ushered in the Silver Age of comic books.

Infantino would go on to create many other famed characters, including the second (and most well known) Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, Elongated Man, Deadman, Black Canary, the Phantom Stranger, and Detective Chimp. He was also influential in saving Batman from being cancelled and falling into obscurity: in addition to revamping Batman's outfit into the famous "New Look", he, along with writer John Broome, he discarded many of the silly and campy concepts that had crept into the Batman comics (such as Bat-Mite), and returned Batman to a his more grounded, detective based roots.

In the late 60's, Infantino was appointed Art Director at DC, and in this new role he brought into the fold many incredible writers and artists, most notably Neal Adams and Denny O'Neil, whose runs on Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman are legendary in their own right. He also poached Jack Kirby away from Marvel, which led to Kirby's creating Darkseid and Fourth World Saga, The Demon, OMAC Kamandi, and many more enduringly popular characters.

He was appointed publisher of DC in 1970, and held the position for 6 years. After leaving, he settled over at Marvel, where he worked on Spider-Woman and the mega-popular Star Wars comic. He would go on to pencil various projects before becoming a teacher at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

His impact on the industry cannot be understated, it is with no hyperbole that he can be said to have truly shaped the entire industry.

But for all his impact, he didn't have any particular love for the superhero genre. Indeed, his favorite character to draw was none other than Detective Chimp, the super-intelligent chimp in a deerstalker who solved crimes because comics.

He truly will be missed. RIP.
Spoiler: nice writeup on his pencilling (click to see content)
Last Edit: April 10, 2013, 06:07:49 am by Jmorphman