A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE to an all-time great…
By PETER STONE
I’m sitting at my desk, Bullitt running in the background, and I am struck by memories of the late Darwyn Cooke and his exceptional noir/crime work. The Hunter, a book written by the great Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake), was just the first of four Parker novels that Darwyn adapted. They were gritty, raw and wonderful to read.
Spawned in those halcyon days of the 1960s, the anti-hero Parker is a brutal, focused man who stops at nothing to get his goal – revenge, money, or simply the girl for a night. Darwyn, with his simplistic, yet sophisticated style was perfect for the stories.
Many artists feel the need to draw their heroes in the most realistic way possible. Darwyn, who was born 62 years ago on Nov. 16, 1962, had no such desire. His Parker was brutal with harsh lines across his merciless face. He’d shoot a comrade and steal from anyone. It was wonderful. I wish Darwyn had drawn all of the Parker stories, but I am grateful that he did four, from 2009 to 2o13. There was not a single other artist in the industry who could do what Darwyn did. The closest you could get was when Frank Miller was drawing Daredevil, but Darwyn could illustrate more than just one genre and had so much more in his palette.
Darwyn had the women. Sexy and brass. Ed Brubaker and Darwyn revamped the tired Catwoman, loosely basing her on Miller and Mazzucchelli’s Batman: Year One version and turning her into an exciting noir character. She was still a cat burglar, but there was way more to her. She was feisty and strong, exactly the kind of character you wanted to exist in Gotham. She had love affairs, stole fabulous objects, and escaped with great style. Darwyn himself wrote Selina’s Big Score and drew the heck out of it. Not only was he an artist, he was a damn good writer as well. Catwoman remains influenced by this time period to this very day.
Then… oh then… is possibly his greatest work — 2004’s DC: The New Frontier, an homage to the early days of the Silver Age, set in the “real world” 1950s. So many creators have tried to write about the birth of the superhero but Darwyn took it on with all his heart and soul. Having little interest in modern stories of the Justice League of America, Cooke was fascinated by the bonding of these mighty characters into a team.
Darwyn gave us the origins of Barry Allen’s Flash, the Martian Manhunter and, central to it all, Jet Age Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern. Each sequence was written and drawn with the utmost love and respect. Inspired by works like The Right Stuff, Darwyn wove the story through history and added superheroes to it, but also populated stunning pages with characters long ignored, like the Losers and the Suicide Squad. Given the choice to read Kingdom Come or The New Frontier again, I have to say I would read The New Frontier every time.
It’s as flawless as a comics series can be and it made me love the JLA even more — a callback to the days of our youth, when heroes were clean and filled with a stout sense of justice.
Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris
I’ve written about Frank Miller and his writer/artist abilities, but I suppose I should also bring up Will Eisner. Darwyn Cooke was right there with them, their equal and sometimes their superior.
Then, there is the master: Jack Kirby.
Darwyn reminds me of Jack every time I see his work. Jack changed the industry and gave us… well… everything. But where he went, Darwyn followed with the same energy, desire and passion. If he had lived longer — he died terribly young at the age of 53 — I have no doubt that Darwyn would have given us more epic stories, more subtle conversations, and even new concepts.
Of all the creators I have seen in the past 30 years, he was perfect. Great writer and great artist with the ability to catch your eye every time.
We miss you, buddy.
—
MORE
— Dig DARWYN COOKE’s Glorious Classic Comics Cover Reproductions. Click here.
— DARWYN COOKE: The WILL EISNER Stories Every Fan Should Read. Click here.
—
Peter Stone is a writer and son-in-law of the late Neal Adams. Be sure to check out the family’s twice-weekly online Facebook auctions, as well as the NealAdamsStore.com.
