Joe Kubert passed away yesterday. The Golden Age through Silver Age Comics legend was almost 86.
Sadly, a lot of the old timers are leaving us now... so many I don't always take time on my blog to note it... but KUBERT? Well, lemme tell ya... I just have to stop and say something about this guy!
Truth is, the very FIRST comics artist I knew by name was Joe Kubert. His rugged, distinctive style first shouted out to young Albie in about the year 1974 [I was 10].
My family was visiting my older brother Chris when he was going to the U of A up in Tucson and his roommate at the time-- Tom Piper, I still remember-- one day generously told my sister Judy and I that we could help ourselves to the whole stack of comics on their coffee table since he had already read them. [Joy of JOYS!]
Not to be overly dramatic about it... but that couple dozen comics were to be a treasure trove that would literally affect my life in several distinct ways... no foolin'! Among these comics-- which revealed Tom to be a definite "DC man"-- were at least 5 or 6 of the DC Tarzan comics adapted and drawn by Joe, and I can honestly say I fell in life-long LOVE with "Sequential Graphic Fiction" [aka "Comic Books"] then and there!
Much later, in about 1981, my Dad and I were watching some show on PBS-- if memory serves it was a re-run of the surreal 1950s Ernie Kovacs TV show [gotta love Public Television-- sometimes anyway :) ]-- when a little 5 minute documentary aired that featured a '70s era Kubert talking about his life and work!
Now mind you... I have never seen that clip again-- [and some fellow geeks have sworn I was imagining it]-- but it was basically epochal for me--the first seeing-- in the flesh-- of a true hero of mine whose work I had admired for literally YEARS! Even my Father-- no fan of "funny books," I assure you-- was impressed at my excitement and the fact that I knew so much about this acclaimed immigrant Jewish cartoonist!
Of course, Joe will always be mainly remembered for the drawing of such titles as SGT ROCK and HAWKMAN, but his literally thousands of pages of art [and script, often] included a few of my all time favorite graphic creations: the great "White Indian" western FIREHAIR, the adventure comic VIKING PRINCE, and the indescribable '70s inner-city super-hero RAGMAN.
Whatever the man touched was not just distinctive, but legendary! I assure you, there will NEVER be another JOE KUBERT!
I borrowed this link from Alberto's blog... a great interview that really takes you into Joe's craft and method:
Truth is, the very FIRST comics artist I knew by name was Joe Kubert. His rugged, distinctive style first shouted out to young Albie in about the year 1974 [I was 10].
My family was visiting my older brother Chris when he was going to the U of A up in Tucson and his roommate at the time-- Tom Piper, I still remember-- one day generously told my sister Judy and I that we could help ourselves to the whole stack of comics on their coffee table since he had already read them. [Joy of JOYS!]
Not to be overly dramatic about it... but that couple dozen comics were to be a treasure trove that would literally affect my life in several distinct ways... no foolin'! Among these comics-- which revealed Tom to be a definite "DC man"-- were at least 5 or 6 of the DC Tarzan comics adapted and drawn by Joe, and I can honestly say I fell in life-long LOVE with "Sequential Graphic Fiction" [aka "Comic Books"] then and there!
Much later, in about 1981, my Dad and I were watching some show on PBS-- if memory serves it was a re-run of the surreal 1950s Ernie Kovacs TV show [gotta love Public Television-- sometimes anyway :) ]-- when a little 5 minute documentary aired that featured a '70s era Kubert talking about his life and work!
Now mind you... I have never seen that clip again-- [and some fellow geeks have sworn I was imagining it]-- but it was basically epochal for me--the first seeing-- in the flesh-- of a true hero of mine whose work I had admired for literally YEARS! Even my Father-- no fan of "funny books," I assure you-- was impressed at my excitement and the fact that I knew so much about this acclaimed immigrant Jewish cartoonist!
Of course, Joe will always be mainly remembered for the drawing of such titles as SGT ROCK and HAWKMAN, but his literally thousands of pages of art [and script, often] included a few of my all time favorite graphic creations: the great "White Indian" western FIREHAIR, the adventure comic VIKING PRINCE, and the indescribable '70s inner-city super-hero RAGMAN.
Whatever the man touched was not just distinctive, but legendary! I assure you, there will NEVER be another JOE KUBERT!
I borrowed this link from Alberto's blog... a great interview that really takes you into Joe's craft and method:
PEACE
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