Ernie Colon R.I.P.

It is with no small note of sadness that I learned of the passing of comic book artist Ernie Colon. Colon, a native of Puerto Rico brought a vibrant and  energetic flair to everything he drew, and he drew a lot. I always tend to like actors who act and artists who draw. As mighty as his reputation is, I will always limit my esteem for Jim Steranko for instance because his work though often amazing and innovative, was relatively rare. And likewise I will elevate artists like Sal Buscema, Dick Dillin, and Colon because they worked all the time.

I first became aware of Colon when he was among the many talented artists who took a gamble on the little Marvel Comics wannabe Atlas-Searboard. Colon created the company's finest cover for Grim Ghost #1 and his work on Grim Ghost was some of the most fascinating and reliable of all for a company which appeared like a comet and disappeared as quickly.

Colon drew for Warren Magazines and in fact I just picked up a facsimile of Vampirella #1 which features a Colon story. Colon worked for Marvel, most notable on the clever limited runs of Damage Control. He worked for DC on many things, but is perhaps best know for his take with  Roy Thomas on Arak and later Amethyst. Colon drew kiddie comics for Harvey and he drew porn which can be found across the internet. In more recent years he has worked on documentary comics, many of which I own just because Ernie Colon drew them. It seems there was nothing that Ernie Colon couldn't and wouldn't draw and how can you not admire that.

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