Tom Artis, R.I.P.

Mike Gold

ComicMix's award-winning and spectacularly shy editor-in-chief Mike Gold also performs the weekly two-hour Weird Sounds Inside The Gold Mind ass-kicking rock, blues and blather radio show on The Point, www.getthepointradio.com and on iNetRadio, www.iNetRadio.com (search: Hit Oldies) every Sunday at 7:00 PM Eastern, rebroadcast three times during the week – check www.getthepointradio.com above for times and on-demand streaming information.

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21 Responses

  1. Glenn Hauman says:

    Dammit.Tom did one of my favorite Wasteland stories, a nasty piece of work called "Heebie Jeebies". His work was filled with humor and seriousness at the same time, and moved well between them.

  2. Len Strazewski says:

    Tom was a creative powerhouse. Ideas spilled out of him in flood. He was a gas to work with. I'm pleased I got to share projects with him.Len Strazewski

  3. Mike Gold says:

    That's actually my favorite Wasteland story.

  4. Howard Johnson says:

    This is a shock. I had heard rumors about his health, but still… "Heebie Jeebies" was also one of Del's favorites; Tom did a fantastic job on that, snd so many other stories…

  5. rodney rodis says:

    i was lucky enough to hangout with tom in detroit after a con. we talked comics and the BTS of the industry. he was a good guy.

  6. Joe Judt says:

    The really sad part, besides the hit to gut of loosing an old friend, is that his creative potential was never realized. Tom was a virtuoso, who managed to erupt out of his circumstances through sheer force of will, and then get pulled pulled back again by the iron-clad baggage of his life. He had a hard life, but his heart was good and expansive. Losing him is like losing a treasure that noone has seen. Doubly tragic. Spent last night toasting to his memory. He'll be missed.

  7. Jim Engel says:

    This is too bad, and my condolences to his family… I never knew Tom WELL, but to the degree that I did know him, I thought he was a really nice guy, and a real talent. He certainly was a fixture around Chicago comic shops and cons during the era that my old pal Chuck Fiala & I hung out in those places (along w/some of the above commentators). He was too young…

  8. Phil Knecht says:

    He was a good friend, and a great mentor.

  9. Bob Jessup says:

    At the family's request, Tom's obituary was not published online. However, our local newspaper (State Journal-Register, Springfield IL) ran an article about Tom and family on the previous day. It is currently online but read it soon if you are interested; once they move it into the archive it will only be available for a fee:http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/114038….

  10. tc freind says:

    please help out tc's family they are in a need of help thanks alot rip artis

  11. Russ Rogers says:

    Nice episode. I like the effect in the last panel on page #79, the superimposed images using the reflection of the window. Those with and without. I like the setting of the scene with the shots of the city and the contrast between the revelers in The Paradise Restaurant and the folks standing in the Salvation Army Soup Line. "Paradise" and "Salvation" is clever without being heavy handed.

    • MARK WHEATLEY says:

      Russ, in this case I have to give you the credit for "Paradise" and "Salvation" – because it never occurred to me! I had to name the restaurant on layout and "Paradise" seemed to offer some good contrast for OB's situation. But it was just a happy accident about the Salvation Army following on the next page. But those kinds of happy accidents happen all the time in creative arts. That's one of my favorite payoffs for doing this kind of work. And these kinds of happy accidents happen a lot when Bob and I work together. Of course I should just shut up and let everyone think that Bob and I are clever!

      • Russ Rogers says:

        I guess your subconscious is more clever than you realize. You and Bob have created enough of a rich, layered and textured story, that yeah. there are plenty of payoffs for the reader.

        • Anonymous says:

          I guess I've held back long enough – but dammit, I can never post under my own name at CM for reasons that I can't decipher. Russ – thank you for your continued attention and commentary. I look forward every week to your thoughtful analysis. But through it all I feel like a fraud. Because honestly, I think Mark Wheatley is doing the work of his life – and I'm just along for the ride. He's making me look better than I deserve…

          • MARK WHEATLEY says:

            Ladies and gentlemen – Robert Tinnell! And Bob, if you're a fraud then I'm worse because I'm just building on your solid foundations!

          • Russ Rogers says:

            ComicMix is my favorite web site. And Mondays have been my favorite day on ComicMix for months, just because that is the day when the new episodes of Lone Justice comes out. The interaction with other fans and creators in the comments has been a treat. Bob, it's especially gratifying to know both you and Mark appreciate my musings and ramblings. So you are very, very welcome.And you are hardly a fraud, Bob. You've been lucky to work with some very talented artists. But Lone Justice, EZ Street and Demons of Sherwwod are not great by accident. Their appeal extends beyond just genre bending. They are each unique and original visions with a depth and spirit not usually found in most fiction, let alone comics. You're not faking it, Bob; you are the real deal..

        • MARK WHEATLEY says:

          All hail the subconscious! Breathing though my eyelids is what it is all about. I do a lot of my creative work in my dreams – I work out ideas, scenes and entire scripts in a lucid dreaming state. In fact, I did a series that was directly inspired by this called RADICAL DREAMER. RADICAL DREAMER was collected into a graphic novel called DREAMS CANNOT DIE! (the first of my graphic novels with an exclamation point in the title!). I also have had a good deal of success at working out music and orchestrations in my dreams. But I don't get much help with visuals in my dreams. About the only example of that that I can recall is the character design for RADICAL DREAMER.

  12. R. Augie Beuerman says:

    I knew Tom back at Fort Knox, Ky. at about 1976-1978 He was an amazing comic artist then. I learned a lot from Tom. He had a dream about a comic book called "The Lion". He told me that he had met Frank Frazetta at a convention somewhere and got to show him his work. frank told him very smugly, "Use a brush!". It saddens me to only catch up to him after his passing. He not only was an amazing artist but an amazing friend! My condolences to his family.

  13. Miles Vorkosigan says:

    At one time, I had the whole run of Tailgunner Jo in my collection, and Gods only know how much more of Tom's work as well. Brilliant pencilling, and for the longest I actively searched for his stuff. Then the move came, and my comics went to the shop… Tom actually introduced me, indirectly, to John De Chancie, who's a great guy and great writer, through Tailgunner Jo. When I told John about how I had come to pick up one of his books, he looked at me in slackjawed amazement. The notion of someone putting a reference to him in a comic panel just wigged him out. Only Tom coulda done it.

  14. kim artis says:

    This is Tom Artis’s Wife Kim I am wondering if anyone wants to do a memorial book for his work on sinster or his adult material. please e-mail me at rowediana@yahoo.com. thanks for the support The Artis family.