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According to Mark Evanier's blog, Jim Mooney passed away yesterday at the age of 88. For those that don't recognize the name, Jim was the fourth person to ever draw the Legion of Super-Heroes, behind Al Plastino, Curt Swan (covers) and George Papp. If DC's Legion Archives Vol. 1 can be trusted, that means that Al drew the first story, George drew the second, and Jim drew the third. Every Legionnaire that appeared for the first time in a Supergirl story was designed by Jim, and off the top of my head, that includes Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl, Triplicate Girl, Sun Boy, Shrinking Violet, Bouncing Boy, Colossal Boy, and Chameleon Boy. He played a major role in defining the look of the Silver Age Legion.
On a personal note, he was the first person that I interviewed for The Legion Companion almost six years ago to the month. I ran into him on eBay, and after I figured out that it was really him and not just someone selling his artwork, I hit him up for an interview and he agreed. He couldn't have been nicer, and I couldn't have picked someone better to break me in. I remember being very conscious of the fact that he was 82 at the time, and was glad that someone would get him on the record about his Legion days while he was still around. I even got him to sign a copy of the book for me in San Diego in 2006, so that was nice.
Jim kept doing commissions until... well, I don't know if he ever stopped, and they were all great, too. You'd never guess that an eighty-odd year old man drew them. They looked like someone had them in a drawer since the '70s, and I mean that in the best possible way.
This leaves Al Plastino, Jim Shooter, and Cary Bates as the only Weisinger-era Legion creators left. Hopefully, it'll be a long time before someone has to write something about them.
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Another great one leaves us. But we'll have his work always and pass it on to others so he's never forgotten. May he rest in peace.
From: Utah | Registered: Jul 2003
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That Colossal Boy space-ranger outfit was a big fave of mine as a youngster, reading reprints of the ADV era stuff. Thanks for pointing out the outits he designed! One could consider him a 60s era Dave Cockrum for the Legion.
quote:Originally posted by Glen Cadigan: Every Legionnaire that appeared for the first time in a Supergirl story was designed by Jim, and off the top of my head, that includes Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl, Triplicate Girl, Sun Boy, Shrinking Violet, Bouncing Boy, Colossal Boy, and Chameleon Boy.
. . . and Invisible Kid!
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From: Champaign, IL | Registered: Jul 2003
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Godspeed, Mr. Mooney and thank you for all your contributions to the Legion and Supergirl.
From: Reimagined Trom | Registered: Jul 2003
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I know that he worked on Supergirl for a long time and remember his work on Spiderman as well, but where can one go to find more about the late Mr. Mooney?
-------------------- So what.
From: Harrisburg, PA | Registered: Apr 2006
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![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Cheers]](graemlins/cheers.gif)
to that type of eternity.
