San Francisco, CA:  The Cartoon Art Museum is proud to announce that Gene Colan is the recipient of the 2008 Sparky Award, which was presented to him by CAM founder Malcolm Whyte during the museum's "Salute to Gene Colan" on Thursday, December 4, 2008. 

The Sparky Award is named in honor of Charles "Sparky" Schulz, the creator of Peanuts. Schulz was nicknamed "Sparky" after the horse Sparkplug featured in the comic strip Barney Google. The Cartoon Art Museum would not exist without benefactors like Sparky Schulz and his wife, Jeannie.  The Sparky Award is presented on behalf of the Cartoon Art Museum and the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Library.

The award celebrates the significant contributions of cartoon artists who embody the talent, innovation and humanity of Charles M. Schulz.   Past recipients include Schulz himself, Sergio Aragones, Gus Arriola, Carl Barks, Will Eisner, Creig Flessel, Phil Frank, Lou Grant, Chuck Jones, Ward Kimball, Gary Larson, John Lasseter, Stan Lee, Bill Melendez, Dale Messick, John Severin and Morrie Turner.

Live testimonials were given by several notable collaborators of Colan’s, including writer Steve Englehart, comic book inkers Steve Leialoha and Joe Rubinstein, and Daniel Cooney, a former pupil of Colan's, who is now a professional comic book artist and a professor at the Academy of Art University.  Written testimonials were provided by Mike Richardson and Diana Schutz of Dark Horse Comics, Paul Levitz of DC Comics, and Dean Mullaney of Eclipse Comics, and a video tribute was provided by Colan’s longtime friend and collaborator Stan Lee.  Mr. Colan was interviewed onstage by noted author Glen David Gold, the lead curator on the Cartoon Art Museum's current tribute exhibition, Colan: Visions of a Man without Fear, which is on display at the Cartoon Art Museum through March 15, 2009.

For more information about Gene Colan, please visit his website, http://www.genecolan.com

A Salute to Gene Colan
Colan: Visions of a Man without Fear Opening Reception:
Thursday, December 4, 2008, 7:00-9:00pm
With special guests Gene and Adrienne Colan

Free and open to the public

The Cartoon Art Museum is honored to celebrate the life and work of cartoonist Gene Colan with a career-spanning retrospective entitled Colan: Visions of a Man without Fear. The opening reception for this exhibition will be held on Thursday, December 4, 2008 from 7:00 to 9:00pm, and will be free and open to the public.

Gene Colan and his wife, Adrienne, will be the Guests of Honor at this reception, as the Cartoon Art Museum pays tribute to one of the most talented and respected artists in the comic book industry with A Salute to Gene Colan. Frequent collaborator Stan Lee calls Colan “one of comicdom’s true immortals,” and Cyrus Voris, screenwriter of the hit animated movie Kung-Fu Panda, describes Colan’s work as possessing “a blazing originality, a uniqueness of vision that owed nothing to anybody.” Testimonials from Colan’s friends, colleagues and fans will be presented throughout the evening.

Gene Colan will also be appearing at Lee’s Comics in Mountain View, California, as part of his visit to the west coast. This in-store appearance will take place on Saturday, December 6, 2008, from 2:00pm until 4:00pm. Colan will be joined by award-winning comic book inker Steve Leialoha, his collaborator on a variety of books including Howard the Duck , Daredevil and Detectives Inc. Please visit http://www.lcomics.com for more information.

About the exhibition:

Colan: Visions of a Man without Fear includes over 40 examples from Colan’s long creative career, from his one and only story illustrated for legendary publisher EC Comics in 1952, through his career-defining work for Marvel Comics from the 1960s and 1970s on titles as diverse as Iron Man, Tomb of Dracula and Howard The Duck, to his notable run on DC Comics’ Batman in the 1980s, to his more recent efforts, including illustrations commissioned by his fans and his beautiful pencil artwork on titles such as Michael Chabon’s The Escapist, published by Dark Horse Comics. Colan was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2005.

This exhibition has been assembled by Guest Curator Glen David Gold, author of the novel Carter Beats the Devil and many comics-related essays. An exhibition catalog featuring high-quality reproductions of Colan’s artwork and essays from many of his most notable collaborators, including writers Stan Lee, Marv Wolfman, Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart, is expected to be available at the reception.

Colan:  Visions of a Man without Fear
Cartoon Art Museum Exhibition:  November 15, 2008 – March 15, 2009  

Opening Reception:  Thursday, December 4, 2008
With special guests Gene and Adrienne Colan



The Cartoon Art Museum is honored to celebrate the life and work of cartoonist Gene Colan with a career-spanning retrospective entitled  Colan:  Visions of a Man without Fear.  This exhibition will include over 40 examples from Colan’s long creative career, from his one and only story illustrated for legendary publisher EC Comics in 1952, through his career-defining work for Marvel Comics from the 1960s and 1970s on titles as diverse as Iron Man, Tomb of Dracula and Howard The Duck, to his notable run on DC Comics’ Batman in the 1980s, to his more recent efforts, including illustrations commissioned by his fans and his beautiful pencil artwork on titles such as Michael Chabon’s The Escapist, published by Dark Horse Comics.

This exhibition has been assembled by Guest Curator Glen David Gold, author of the novel Carter Beats the Devil and many comics-related essays.  An exhibition catalog featuring high-quality reproductions of Colan’s artwork and essays from many of his most notable collaborators, including writers Stan Lee, Marv Wolfman, Roy Thomas and Steve Englehart, will be available at the Cartoon Art Museum prior to the exhibition’s opening reception on December 4, 2008.  Gene Colan and his wife Adrienne will be the guests of honor at the December 4 reception, and many Bay Area comic book professionals are scheduled to be in attendance.  Additional information regarding this reception will be announced later this month.

About Gene Colan:

One of mainstream comics' most significant artists, Gene Colan was born in New York in 1926 and studied at the Art Students League of New York under illustrator Frank Riley and surrealistic Japanese painter Kuniashi. After a stint in the army, Colan's official career in comics began in 1944 at Fiction House and Timely. He has worked over the last 60 + years at almost every major publisher, including EC, Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Bongo and Archie. His most memorable work includes unsurpassed runs on Daredevil, Iron Man, Sub-Mariner, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Dr. Strange, Tomb of Dracula and Howard the Duck, not to mention inspired depictions of Conan, Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman.

Beginning in the 1980s, Gene took on more varied and unusual work, including Nathaniel Dusk, Ragamuffins, The Spider (a graphic novel), Stewart the Rat, and Michael Chabon's The Escapist. Colan has taught at both the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and the Fashion Institute of Technology. He has enjoyed showings at the Southern Vermont Museum of Art, the Bess Cutler Gallery in New York City and Manchester's Elm Street Arts Gallery where he lectured on Comics, Cinema, and Continuity Art.

Colan is the recipient of a Shazam Award, two Eagle awards and in 2005 was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame.

His style is immediately recognizable for its dramatic & sweeping cinematic form, mastery of light and shadow, expression and characterization, and unusual eye-catching layouts. Colan is also responsible for the innovative use of "finished pencils" as artwork. He's the only mainstream comic book artist today whose work is usually published directly from his pencil illustrations.