I'd heard this morning that Mr. Williamson had passed away from a few blogs, but I wanted to wait until it was reported by news agencies to post (lest we have another Arneson-like did-he-or-didn't-he debacle). And frankly, I really didn't want to believe it. This is indeed a sad event and a tough year for fans of sci-fi/fantasy artists all around.
I first knew about Al Williamson's extraordinary talents from his work on the Star Wars comic strips and the comic adaptions for the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It wasn't until later that I discovered he was one of the mainline artists for Flash Gordon.
I think you can tell from my profile image that I'm a big fan of Flash Gordon. Mr. Williamson's work took my imagination for a spin--and more--and I'll always remember him for his incredible talents, though I've never met the man. I'm truly saddened to to hear of his passing and wish his family the best.
As you can see in this last photo from our kitchen, his work is a part of our daily grind. On the right is a cover to the first in a series of Flash Gordon comics he did for King side-by-side with a much later DC version that paid homage to Al. These sit on a high window sill in our kitchen with a whole collection of Flash Gordon and retro sci-fi memorabilia.
Thank you Al, for sharing your magic with pen and pencil with the rest of us.
Expiscor Eternus.
Thanks Bob, I'll check it out!
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