As many of you have now heard, Steve Lightle sadly passed away earlier today at
the too soon age of 61 (according to the Wikipedia entry devoted to him).
This sad news has struck me deeply because I absolutely adore(d) his art to the
point of collecting anything his pen touched, including his rare self-published
early fanzine work.
I tend to be attracted to great artists whose high quality work is sparse,
harder to find in publication due to several factors. It’s probably the thrill
of the hunt of the published work, the more obscure approach to quality art.
Steve Lightle while having been quite prolific at a precise period in time
certainly fits that artist description for me.
I firmly consider that if given the same (editorial) chances and parameters
(approach to work as he seemed very self-demanding about his own work), Steve’s
work would be regarded at the same level as John Byrne’s. Steve was an
impeccable artist and even greater storyteller. His attention to everything on
the page made him one of the very best. His big body of cover work for the big
two (and other publishers) speaks for itself as he turned gems after gems.
I discovered his work on Legion of Super-Heroes. Out of order (and in French
translations) but I distinctly remember whose issue it was, how cool and
different from the Marvel stuff it looked. How dark in tone but so clear in
telling the story. Someone said he was one of their fav’ LSH artist. He is/was
my own favourite and that’s a high mark considering the long list of classical
(Cockrum, Grell, Giffen, Alan Davis…) and modern (Adam Hughes, Chris Sprouse,
and my own fav’, a very young Jason Pearson) artists to have worked on the
franchise. The fact that every book and fanzine devoted to the Legion graced a
Lightle interview and/or gallery speaks volume of his contribution to the title.
It’s often said that Titans by Perez and Wolfman rivalled the numbers of
Claremont/Byrne’s X-Men. Let’s not forget that at the time, Legion by Levitz &
Lightle was not far behind in terms of popularity (according to different
sources including Steve himself). Let’s hope that DC will one day have the good
taste of reprinting his run in high quality hardcover or omnibus format (like
they did with his too short Doom Patrol run).
I loved his Venom work/interpretation. His Red Sonja and Werewolf work from the
short-lived Cross Plains comics was sumptuous, especially the black & white
work. It presented a difference in style for him that was initiated earlier in
his Marvel Comics presents work.
His cover work for Flash, Legion and Classic X-Men is legendary and on par with
Bolland’s or Adam Hughes’ work on Wonder Woman (if comparisons are needed).
Should you find some eulogy by his peers, please share it with me as I would
love to read it.
Should anyone, his family included, ever wish to publish an artbook devoted to
his work, do not hesitate to reach to me (and hopefully to others in the hobby)
as his work really merits one.
I also really hope that all of the work he published on his Patreon page, which
was simply gorgeous, will end up being published at some point.
Again, I present my deepest condolences to those who shared a love for his
work, to those who knew best, other than through his great work (family &
friends). Tonight I will honor his work by looking at his art I proudly own,
reading his past interviews and flipping through his comic work. I will also
update my gallery over the weekend with a piece of his that I firstly kept for
another occasion.
Rest In Peace, Sir Lightle, and thanks all the splendid pages, drawings and
covers, Fred
________________________________
Per his son, Matthew, Steve passed last night due to a cardiac arrest.
https://www.facebook.com/steve.lightle/posts/3643872668992183
I really liked Steve and his art work. His Legion run was excellent, but I
really liked the man.
Regards,
Alex Johnson
Visit my CAF gallery at http://cafurl.com?i=12727
Your comments are more than welcome.
