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| Classic Al Williamson art for the LOS ANGELES TIMES SYNDICATE STAR WARS strip from 1980. |
A remembrance from June 12th 2010...
Sad news indeed this week-a legendary comic artist has gone. A superb visualist who was both an icon and friend to many of the artists that followed in his wake, Williamson will be a much missed figure in the ever expanding comic illustration universe.
I loved, and still love, his superb art for the 1980 comic book adaptation of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK-one of the greatest adaptations ever realized in a comic book world and genre now choc a block with pretty average film conversion art work- and which, thirty years on, still shines greatly (I’ll never forget seeing the original US MARVEL comics and salivating over his work in full colour, and being thoroughly blown away by it, after originally seeing it reproduced in black and white only in the UK’s THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK WEEKLY comic), as does his 1983 work, despite many pressures and a script that was still top-secret, for the MARVEL RETURN OF THE JEDI mini-series. And let’s not forget his lovely inking of THE PHANTOM MENACE adaptation in 1999, either. With his drawing experiences of all kinds of heroes-from FLASH GORDON to SECRET AGENT X-1-both Williamson and regular MARVEL/LOS ANGELES TIMES NEWSPAPER STAR WARS writer Archie Goodwin were a superb combination- and great selectees made by LUCASFILM- to bring STAR WARS into the 1980’s comic universe. (Oh, and don’t forget the Goodwin/Williamson MARVEL version of Harrison Ford’s BLADE RUNNER, too!)
Wherever there are people who enjoy reading comic books and loving comic book art-of seeing and thrilling to tales of heroes, villains, beautiful princesses and worlds beyond imagination, their work, including STAR WARS, will live forever...
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