In terms of comics, an artist who will compell you to pick up a comic you'd never read in a million years is the test of greatness. The Dean is a giant in his field and in terms of his completely unique style, I don't know of any other artist who can match him. I'm going to be absolutely heart-broken if things take a turn for the worst.

Gene has a style that just does not exist anywhere else on the printed page. I loved his work when I was a young snot nosed punk and love it now that I'm a old know-it-all punk. I hope he has more than a few days left to enjoy his wife, family, and millions of fans that appreciate him. Let's try to make it a few years Gene. We (the fans) love you.

P.S. Gerry thanks for posting this.

Eisner, Kirby, Kane, Cockrum, Buscema, Rogers.  So many of my childhood heroes are no longer with us.  Just sad, sad news.

My sympathies go out to Gene and his family and friends here.  Knowing what it's like to see a loved one so ill, I hope things do get better and that he's able to complete the task that he set for himself.

Gene's art always did have a bit of an appeal for me, from when I saw it on Howard the Duck (my first issues were #16 and #17) to the stuff he did on Tomb of Dracula and Doctor Strange.  He had a knack for making spectacular use of shading and foreshortening that caused figures to seem to leap out of the panels at you.  Definitely one of the masters of the medium.

Damn.

Please get well, Gene.