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02-24-2008, 01:03 AM
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Champion of the Balance
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: London, England
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Death of Steve Whitaker
With great sadness I must announce the death of one of my oldest friends, the artist and comics historian Steve Whitaker.
Steve drew the first two issues of the Man-Elf comic, and though he had been replaced by the third issue, when Jerry Cornelius entered the story, Steve had enjoyed creating his version of Jerry for promotional material. I really liked his Jerry! Steve’s cover of Trident Comics’ promo booklet can be seen here:
http://www.multiverse.org/imagehive/v/bookcovers/comiccovers/Heroes/album36/album114/
The guitar Jerry is holding is an example of Steve’s obsessional sense of detail. He reasoned that Jerry might have one of Hendrix’s left hand guitars, but as a right-handed player, play it upside down. Touches like that enriched everything he did. (I’ll take credit for the vibragun that looks like a tin toy ray gun, beautifully rendered by Steve!)
The Jerry you see here looks very much like a “Swinging London” image; I hope those who know the comic will recall that we did our best to undercut that kind of cliché in our depiction of Jerry. (It made a fun promotional image though!) Steve understood completely why I wanted to use that kind of image and then screw with it. (So did Richard Weston; hence the dirty, tattered flag on the cover of issue 3!)
Steve was a very talented colourist; his major contribution to the mainstream was in the DC comics colour version of V for Vendetta. He was one of two assistants taken on by David Lloyd. David knew that Steve was one of the few people who could grasp and apply the limited palate he wanted.
He also loved mazes and labyrinths. An underground maze would have been an important part of Man-Elf book 2, if we had got that far. Miss Brunner would have been driven entertainingly insane in it. It was entirely inspired by Steve. He had a far richer cultural life as a lover of fine and popular art, music and film than I will ever have.
Steve was the kind of fellow who inspired tributes like “gentle giant”, and he was a kind and generous man. In the field of comics history he had few peers. The conversations we used to have about comics had a depth and breadth which will be irreplaceable, and it was approximately 98% his knowledge that we were sharing. On those few occasions that I was able to inform him of something he didn’t know, I felt I was adding to a great archive. How much of that survives his death we don’t yet know.
Steve died suddenly on Friday February 22 2008, almost certainly from a stroke. He will be hugely missed.
Guy Lawley
London
Feb 24th 2008
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02-24-2008, 01:18 AM
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Eternal Administrator
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Join Date: Jul 2004
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___________________________________________________________________________
_"For an eternity Allard was alone in an icy limbo where all the colours were bright and sharp and comfortless.
_For another eternity Allard swam through seas without end, all green and cool and deep, where distorted creatures drifted, sometimes attacking him.
_And then, at last, he had reached the real world – the world he had created, where he was God and could create or destroy whatever he wished.
_He was supremely powerful. He told planets to destroy themselves, and they did. He created suns. Beautiful women flocked to be his. Of all men, he was the mightiest. Of all gods, he was the greatest."
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02-24-2008, 01:26 AM
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Champion of the Balance
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: London, England
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Thanks David. I should add that Steve was 52, which makes this extra-sad; he could have had so much longer.
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02-24-2008, 02:39 AM
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Champion of the Balance
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Sad news Guy, 52 is no age. Condolences to Steve's family and friends...
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'You know, I can't keep up with you. If I hadn't met you in person, I quite honestly would NOT believe you really existed. I just COULDN'T. You do so MUCH... if half of what goes into your zines is to be believed, you've read more at the age of 17 than I have at the age of 32 - LOTS more'
Archie Mercer to Mike (Burroughsania letters page, 1957)
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02-24-2008, 02:16 PM
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Champion of the Balance
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: London, England
Posts: 1,106
Thanks: 51
Thanked 17 Times in 11 Posts
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Thanks Marca. Some of us had a very low-key get-together today to honour Steve's memory. Lots of great stories and a feeling that a rich life was being celebrated. But yes, 52 years is too short a span.
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02-24-2008, 05:44 PM
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Eternal Champion
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Swallowed by the Biloxi Fault in Mobile, AL
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What a loss, Guy--for you and for others. Best wishes at a difficult time.
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03-12-2008, 09:12 PM
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gefangener fuchs
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Guy, sorry for the bump, but I've just read this. I am so sorry you lost your friend. Terrible news indeed.
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Whether Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, no member of our government want their non-transparent doings brought to light. A soldier of Manning's rank could never gain access to truly dangerous information - dangerous to Democracy or spies or whatever. Politicians regardless of orientation cannot tolerate exposure of their double-dealing at best and brutality at worst.
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03-13-2008, 12:49 AM
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Eternal Champion
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I am sorry for your loss,Guy.
My sympathies.
I apologize for writing late.
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03-24-2008, 11:39 AM
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Time Dweller
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Join Date: Feb 2008
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Could I just add my belated condolences on the passing of Steve Whitaker - I'm sorry I didn't find this tread until now.
I didn't know Steve, but had come across his work in various British comics and fanzines, and it's always sad to hear of the untimely death of anyone you're connected to, no matter how indirectly.
My sympathies to all his friends and family.
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08-13-2010, 12:36 AM
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Tea and cake for my lord Arioch!
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Join Date: Aug 2010
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I know this is a bit late, but I was very sad to hear recently about Steve's death.
I met him a couple of times in the mid-90s at the Caption small press comics convention in Oxford. As well as being a fine artist, he was also very good company and clearly generous with his time and talent.
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For a full, printed for-sale list, or if you have specific wants, please e-mail:
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