Captain America #118, October 1969
This page from Captain America #118 is Gene Colan doing exactly what Gene Colan did best. From the first panel, Cap isn’t just moving—he’s practically sliding across the page like someone leaned on the fast-forward button. Colan drew superheroes like actors caught mid-scene, all shifting weight and fluid motion.
And that crowd! That outstretched arm is peak Colan—bold, intrusive, unapologetically cinematic. It shoves you right into the scene. It feels like a real city having a very weird day.
Then come those deep, moody shadows he loved so much. He could drop a black shape over half a figure and somehow make it more expressive, not less.
Colan never cared about matching the “house style,” and he certainly didn’t draw superheroes who looked like they’d just ironed their costumes. Shadows, posture, movement—those were his tools. You either vibed with it or you didn’t. I loved it. Some of my friends… not so much. (Especially when some of his other inkers couldn’t quite figure out what Gene was doing… or why.)
But even the skeptics had to admit — nobody, before or since, has drawn comics quite like Gene Colan.
Why is Cap running from the crowded thinking vindictive thoughts? I’m glad you asked. Because, thanks to the cosmic cube, the Red Skull has taken control of Cap, and things are about to take a turn…
