We’re sorry to report that legendary DC Comics artist and editor Carmine Infantino – the father of the whole damn Silver Age – passed away 4 April 2013, aged 87.
One of the pioneering artists of the 1950s and 1960s, Infantino is largely credited with kicking off the Silver Age of superhero comics – the era that gave us many of the characters and storylines we see on the Silver Screen now – with Showcase #4 in 1956, which created an all-new dynamic take on the Flash, separate from his Golden Age counterpart, with writer Robert Kanigher and editor Julius Schwartz. This new take on the scarlet speedster bringing with it an offbeat new gallery of costumed rogues, and an amazing and evocative world of adventure and stylish pop-art covers that set the benchmark for nearly two decades of feverish creativity from DC and Marvel.
Infantino also co-created Deadman with writer Arnold Drake, Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) with Gardner Fox, Animal Man with Dave Wood, and many more, and presided over a sober incarnation of Batman that stripped away a lot of the cheese in favour of the Dark Knight detective we know today.
Serving as DC’s editorial director and then publisher in an era when the company took on the likes of Neal Adams, Dennis O’Neil, and Jack Kirby, Infantino returned to art in 1976 where his work included Marvel’s much-loved Star Wars comics, before retiring in the 1990s.
Longterm Batgirl, Birds Of Prey and Secret Six writer Gail Simone paid tribute to the father of the Silver Age, saying, “Very sorry to hear of the passing of the great Carmine Infantino, co-creator of Barbara Gordon, among many other achievements.”
DC chief creative office and writer of Flash, Justice League, Justice Society and Green Lantern Geoff Johns added, “Carmine Infantino is why I love The Flash and his Rogues Gallery. A true master. I feel blessed to have worked with him. RIP”
“Sad to hear about the passing of Carmine Infantino,” said Spider-Man‘s Dan Slott. “I can’t imagine a childhood where I didn’t read the adventures of Barry Allen or Barbara Gordon. Thank you for all of the wonderful comics.”
“So sad to learn of the passing of another comic book legend,” said Crisis On Infinite Earths and Teen Titans’ George Perez. “Carmine Infantino was one of the great influential artists in the history of the medium and I will always look upon his Adam Strange, Flash and Space Museum stories as wondrous examples of fantasy made even more magical at the hands of a master. RIP, Carmine.”
There’s no way we could even attempt to sum up the incredible career of this vastly influential artist, but check out the following iconic covers:
[dmalbum path=”/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/Carmine Infantino covers/”/]
