AWESOME COMIC BOOK ARTIST DAZZLIN' DON HECK !!!

I've long admired Don Heck for all the work he's done on some of my favorite comic books.

He was the artist on The Avengers #27, when I picked it off the rack for the first time. We were in the middle of their battle with Attuma. The cover was dazzling to me, as it should be since it was Don Heck. He said he always loved to pencil and ink his own work.

He designed Iron Man back in the early Tales of Suspense days as well as the artwork for a number of issues.  He's the artist I'll always associate Iron Man with, next to the classic Gene Colan issues.

He also drew my favorite Avengers' Annual Comic, Giant-Sized Avengers #1. It was done in chapter format like a novel for the feature length story. An ensemble of Avengers versus an ensemble of villains.

You always waited for the summer when Marvel Comics came out with their Annuals. Fantastic Four versus Psycho Man, Sgt. Fury going to Vietnam, Spider-Man versus the Human Torch. Then there were the special features and pin-ups.

Those were the days.

Low and behold, then he was there in one of my first Gold Key Comics, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea #3, giving it a very dynamic feel. Unfortunately, it was the only issue he worked on. His Admiral Nelson looked great. It was an original story in the flavor of the television series. There were special features in the Gold Key Comics about the show.

Another TV Tie-In was Man From U.N.C.L.E. #1 through #3. He was awesome here as well, the action leaped off the page.

For DC, Don drew Wonder Woman and Steel, the Indestructible Man. He was the artist on Wonder Woman #199 which sported a lovely Jeff Jones cover and feature. Unfortunately, I never saw him do a Wonder Woman cover. Steel was a throwback to Fighting American, only indestructible. It was DC's only WWII superhero, a fun series and pure Don Heck beauty.

Lastly, Don was one of the many artists on the X-Men. I enjoyed the cover for X-Men #39 that he drew. He also did layouts for Werner Roth on #54 & #55 which had early Barry Smith covers and even Barry Smith artwork in #54. X-Men #49 he worked on even had my man Jim Steranko doing the stunning cover.

I hope you have the fond memories I have associated with Don Heck.

Live Large!