Gene Colan was a different kind of artist. Over his career, he took on just about every character in the Marvel universe (and many in the DC world), but he is best known for his work on Daredevil, Howard the Duck, Dr. Strange and Dracula. And, Iron Man.
Iron Man first appeared in Tales of Suspense #39, penciled by Don Heck. Don did an admirable job documenting the exploits of our favorite transistor powered, millionaire playboy. There were a variety of inkers and, as a result, the work is somewhat uneven. But, in issue #73, Gene Colan took the reins (at first going under the name “Adam Austin”) and changed the look of the mighty avenger forever. Gene continued his run through the end of Tales of Suspense and into issue #1 of “The Invincible Iron Man”.
Gene’s style was different than any of the other Marvel artist in terms of his unique and flowing page layouts, the way the characters moved (they always seemed to be in motion), and, in my view, the photorealism of the facial expressions. Much has been said of his extensive use of shadows, but for me, I just liked how his characters moved. I always felt like the action was happening in front of my eyes.
That’s why I jumped on the opportunity to grab this piece. Allow me to introduce the splash to Tales of Suspense #94, “The Tragedy and the Triumph”, penciled by Gene Colan and inked by Dan Adkins. The Titanium Man, representing the Soviet evil empire was intended to be the inferior mirror image of the capitalist stooge, Iron Man. Of course, Iron Man always won, and why wouldn’t he? American know how was always going to give Tony the edge. But, here, under Colan’s steady hand, you appreciate two things; first, winning won’t be so easy for our Golden Avenger, and second, the Titanium Man is really big and scary.
And, that’s why we kept turning the page.
