A Sad Day

It's been a rough day, with three passings of note.

- Carmine Infantino passed away at the age of 87. I've written about him many times over the years - including just two days ago. When I was a kid in the '60s I was captivated by his art on The Flash, Adam Strange and Batman (among many others) - his style was fresh, sleek and exciting, with creative flourishes like unique building designs and captions that included hands that gestured to the reader. There are many others better capable of writing about the artist - Mark Evanier has a nice recap of his career here. I was lucky enough to meet Infantino briefly at a comics convention several years ago - he was funny, sharp and animated. He had a long life and a great career - it's sad to lose someone whose work I've enjoyed for so long.

- I know far less about George Gladir, the prolific writer who built an incredible career at Archie Comics, but he was certainly another giant in the field - Evanier has a nice article about him right here.

- Roger Ebert lost his battle with cancer today, and while he has only the most tenuous connection to comics (he wrote some fanzine articles when he was young, I believe), I mention him because of his work as a film critic. His classic show with Gene Siskel certainly inspired an army of reviewers to go forth and do likewise, and I certainly count myself among their number. I didn't always agree with him, but I had great respect for his skill. I also admire his courage in facing down and fighting back against the physical problems that would have flattened a lesser man.

So, a tip of the hat to these three titans.