The comics industry has lost another legend.
Comic book artist Ernie Colon, co-creator of DC’s Amethyst and Arak, has passed away at the age of 88.
The following statement that broke the news had been posted on his Facebook page:
“I’m posting today with a heavy heart. The extraordinary Ernie Colón passed away yesterday afternoon in his home at the age of 88, surrounded by family, after over a year battling — and I mean battling — cancer. He did things on his own terms. The legacy he leaves behind is astonishing; a 60+ years career in comics, not to mention the work he did in other mediums including painting, writing, sculpting… I don’t think there was anything he couldn’t do. He loved to create — he was always creating. When people asked if he was ‘still drawing,’ he said, ‘No idea what else I would be doing, since I would draw even when not paid for it. (half the story of my life).'”
Although he began as an uncredited artist on Harvey Comics titles, Colon’s transition to Warren’s horror comics led him to DC Comics in the 80s. He created Amethyst with writers Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn. Arak, Son of Thunder, meanwhile, he co-created with writer Roy Thomas. Recently, Amethyst has been rebooted twice and can be seen in Brian Michael Bendis’ run on Young Justice. He also served as editor of Wonder Woman, The Flash, and Green Lantern. He later moved to Marvel where he co-created Damage Control with writer Dwayne McDuffie, who would found Milestone Comics and create Static Shock.
