Being Gene Day

Master of Kung Fu #111 (Marvel Comics, 1982)
Pencils by Gene Day, inks by Rick Magyar 
(Click image to enlarge)

Today, 3rd November 2013, is the 31st anniversary of Gene Day's death -- he will have been dead for as long as he was alive. Dave Sim's full obituary for Gene was printed in The Comics Journal #77 in 1982.

DAVE SIM:
(from a 1986 quote reprinted in Cerebus Archive #11, December 2010)

...I wanted to be just like Gene Day. Practically from the day I met the guy. What was one of the best ways to be Gene Day? Work with different people on different projects. Keep your hand in. Try something else. Make it work. Develop it. Send it out. Keep sending it out. Work on other things while it dries...

Howard Eugene Day (1951-1982) was the Canadian comic book artist best known for Marvel Comics' Master of Kung Fu and Star Wars series. Dave Sim credits Gene as his earliest and most influential mentor, and the inspiration for his own self-publishing efforts. In February 2009, the Shuster Awards received permission from Gene Day's widow, Gale, and brothers to name the annual Gene Day Award For Self-Publishing in his memory. Gene was inducted into the Shuster Hall of Fame in 2007.