Firestorm Fan

Back in February, artist Scott Clark passed away at the far-too-young age of 43. Scott was probably best known to Firestorm fans as the amazing penciller who contributed the Firestorm-centric pages to Brightest Day.

Scott Clark broke into superhero comics during the 1990s and worked for years in conjunction with Jim Lee’s WildStorm studio. Scott worked on many high-profile books, including: X-Men, Batman Inc, Alpha Flight, Grifter, Stormwatch, Adventure Comics, Wonder Woman, and Brightest Day, just to name a few. Scott’s death came as a real shock to the comics community. There was an outpouring of sadness from fellow comic creators, fans, and friends he left behind.  Jim Lee, DC Entertainment Co-Publisher, posted the following statement:

I’ve known Scott since the earliest days of WildStorm – he was one of the very first artists I brought into the studio back in 1993. I’m stunned and saddened by this news and at a loss for words. Scott was a great talent, a terrific guy, and a friend.  He was one of the regular crew of artists who worked well into the night (every night), took dinner at Denny’s at 2am and played ping pong in between drawing pages.  We will all miss him dearly. Our thoughts are with his family during this time.”

Dave Beaty, Scott’s long-time inker and creative collaborator, wrote this message on his Facebook the day the news broke:

So my friend and artistic collaborator Scott Clark passed away last night. It was a shock to his family and Micah and I. I’ve known Scott since the mid 90’s. I was his background assistant on Alpha Flight. We became friends and went on do create art for Stargodz, Brightest Day, X-Men, Batman Inc, Grifter, Adventure Comics, Wonder Woman, and the list goes on & on. He fought to get me at DC and at Marvel. He was the biggest supporter of my work. And I of his. I don’t know what this means for the future. Cuz things will never be the same for me. I will miss you Scott.”

I apologize to you Firestorm fans for taking so long to share this sad news. Honestly, I struggled how to report this story. I suppose I could have just done a straightforward news blurb, but somehow it didn’t feel right. Then Dave Beaty contacted me suggesting we run a series of Scott Clark’s pencils from Brightest Day. Such a fantastic suggestion from Dave! This is how we should remember Scott, by enjoying his amazing artwork and celebrating his contribution to the Nuclear Man’s history!

All the following images are original pencils by Scott Clark for Brightest Day. These were provided by Dave Beaty exclusively for you Firestorm fans! Be sure to click the images to enlarge. You won’t believe the amount of detail Scott put into each drawing!

Brightest Day #6 page 3 panel 1

Brightest Day #6 page 7 panel 3

Brightest Day #7 page 13

Brightest Day #10 page 1 panel 2

Brightest Day #10 page 1 panel 3

Brightest Day #10 page 3 panel 1

Brightest Day #10 page 3 panel 3

Brightest Day #10 page 22

Brightest Day #11 page 1 panel 3

Brightest Day #11 page 2 panel 3

Brightest Day #11 page 3 panel 5

Brightest Day #11 page 8

Brightest Day #11 pages 18 & 19

Brightest Day #14 page 24

Brightest Day #16 page 4

And finally, a really nice drawing of Firestorm in action!

Scott Clark, thank you for your fantastic contribution to Firestorm’s history. You will be missed.

Support Firestorm (and the memory of Scott Clark)! Fan the flame!