![]() I unfortunately never got the chance to meet him, but his work moved in me in so many ways. I honestly couldn't put it down, continually yelling at people like 'ARE YOU READING THIS?!?!' 'TELL ME YOUR READING THIS!' haha. ![]() 'The Spirit' is essential comics reading, whenever people ask me for recommendations. Buying comics for me would never be the same and whenever Darwyn's name would come up on the weekly comics list, I know I would be picking up whatever he was putting out. I can't pinpoint the first thing of his I ever saw or read, but I remember when a friend lent me his 'New Frontier' issues and how quickly they sucked me into a different time, of change, progress, adventure, and heroes. When people talk about the brilliance of modern comics, it is IMPOSSIBLE not to mention Darwyn Cooke and his work. I never knew him or even met him, but Darwyn Cooke influenced my life because of what he brought into this world. I never did and now I feel a great sadness because he is gone. I wrote this hoping to send it to Darwyn and maybe he would smile and send me a reply and a sketch telling me “keep it up” or something. I love the Parker books and look forward to anything you put out there.” Not only have I connected with wonderful memories from my childhood and formed another special relationship with my own father, but I’ve been inspired to create art and memories with and for my own children and hopefully others.So, anyway, thank you for what your art has meant to me. Together, my dad and I have started a resin garage kit business/hobby and I owe a lot of the inspiration to you. Finally, I started sculpting polymer clay figures, inspired by your work and the playdoh figures my dad made decades ago. It really inspired me to help create those memories for my own young boys and I regularly pick up superhero toys for them just to see the look on their faces and know how they might feel in 25 years. Somehow they bring back emotions and images from my childhood. I started collecting my old favorite toys and lining the shelves in my office. It also got me thinking about my childhood and why I loved superheroes. I asked my dad to point me toward his favorite stories and I have been plugging away at my “to read” list for a couple of years. Something about the way you cartoon and write is able to capture so much with seemingly so little. ![]() I had to buy these books and see what this guy was drawing. Something really amazing happened in my life as an adult when I saw a DC Direct 6” Superman toy and said “Wow!” My dad told me it was from a series called New Frontier by someone named Darwyn Cooke. Batman immediately became my favorite character of all time. I chose Batman, my brother chose Superman. One of my earliest memories was my dad bringing home a Superman and a Batman from the Kenner Superpowers line. He would always sketch stuff for us boys. So, I was surrounded by superheroes from the get go. ![]() “My dad is an artist and a comic collector going way back. I wrote this letter five years ago and never got around to figuring out how to send it to Darwyn Cooke. I'm not religious but i feel a little comfort in thinking he somewhere could meet my dad now. And my thoughts are with his family and friends. And now Darwyn Cooke has passed away too. Cooke, maybe i could tell him of his impact on my life and the life of my father and our relationship and just thank him, but i never got around to do it. And all that through the works of a man i never met. Since then, i always thought about my Dad when reading books of Darwyn Cooke, thinking about scenes and picture compositions that he would have loved, and always felt connected to him in a way. Sadly my dad never got to see those adaptations. Westlake's larger than life gangster Parker. My father and me were also big fans of Donald E. ![]() In fact one of my last talks with my dad, before he himself also passed away unexpectedly and way too young, revolved around Darwyn Cooke's Parker adaptations he then was rumoured to do. We loved everything he did and eagerly talked about his new projects. And we both agreed that Darwyn Cooke was our most favorite comic book author/artist. We didn't much agree on anything in life, except comic books. But his work, and he himself in a greater way, meant a great deal to me and that is why this is so important to me: Darwyn Cooke's work connected me to my father, with whom i shared the love for comic books. Not because we knew each other and in fact i (sadly) never got to meet him and few of my friends might even know who he was really. Today the comic book world lost Darwyn Cooke. ![]()
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