(Above left a toast to Sy. Above right, Simmy, Sy and and Julia with Sy's birthday tribute book.)
Friends of the Phantom Luncheon Sardi's June 7
Long Live The Phantom; Long Live Sy Barry
(Above left a toast to Sy. Above right, Simmy, Sy and and Julia with Sy's
birthday tribute book.)
Sardis is a magical place that wears its history on its sleeve. It was one
of Lees favorite places. On every floor, the walls are adorned with caricatures
of famous show business people who have dined there. The ambiance is electric.
In attendance at the dinner was Jyrki Vanio (from Finland), Paul Castiglia, Mrs.
Castiglia, James Gesbeck, Howard and Pam Gesbeck, Ed Kent, Ed Szymanski, Sy and
Simmy Barry, Sys granddaughter Julia, Pete Klaus, my daughter Heather and
myself.
Weve been having these meetings at Sardis for a long time, but this one was
special.
Sy Barry had turned 80 in a previous month and this was a chance to present the
Sy Barry birthday tribute book. The book is a large handsome leather bound one
of a kind hardback binder filled with personal letters and original art from
Sys friends, fans and fellow artists.
The original idea came from Sal Valluto, one of Egmonts most popular Phantom
artists.
(His work is also translated into English and printed in Frew.) Pete Klaus
contacted most of the guest contributors to the book. Many of the current
Phantom artists are fans of Sy Barry, so why not have them write or draw a page
giving Sy best birthday wishes. We also invited Sys fellow artists friends from
the Berndt Toast Gang and some of the fansespecially those who met him through
our dinners.
This book begins with a Velluto tribute drawing of The Phantoms family with a
birthday cake followed by artists like Joe Giella, Emilio Squeguo, Lee Ames,
Hasse Lindahl, Doug Klauba, Angelo R. Todaro, Lou Manna, Ul Granberg, Fred
Fredericks, Ric Estrada, Alex Saviuk, Bunny Hoest, John Reiner, Keith Williams,
Felmang, Jouko Rhokosenmaki, Jrki Dakinio, Do Orehek, John Romita, Aaana Suoria,
Jim Scancarfelli, Luke McDonnell, Mike Bullock and Ruben Procopio.
Wow.
Sys lovely wife Simmy and Sys granddaughter Julia who is also beautiful, were
witnesses to the presentation which was made by Pete as he read the books
introduction by Ruben, Pete and myself. Then Sy leafed through the pages,
delighting in hearing from old friends, and his eyes lit up with each fond
memory.
To all of the Phantom artistsand other artists as well, Sy is someone to look
up to. He personally brought The Phantom into modern times for untold millions
of readers each day for something like 11,000 comic strips.
His style adapted and evolved like Picassos work. Beginning with simplified
renderings that were a combination of Wilson McCoys work and the beautiful work
Sy had been doing for King Features on Flash Gordon. Then allowing the
traditional time to ease into his own style, Sy even experimented with
photographic reference while sharing a studio with Stan Drake and Leonard Starr.
But Sy continued to evolve and was influenced by artists like Edgar Degas whose
work began to have dark lines around the figures as his eyesight began to
failgiving Degas brilliant layouts a comic book look.
The strip, the way Sy approached it, was a compound and complex challenge. He
used references from a complete series of National Geographic which gives some
pretty diverse environments. The Phantoms adventures took him from the jungle
around the world and even back in time (through flashbacks of previous Phantoms)
400 years. Andre LeBlanc, one of Sys closest friends and assistant on both
Flash Gordon and the Phantom, was an expert on animals. He knew which type of
cattle was indigenous to various locations. He could draw a beautiful horse from
any angle from memory. He knew the muscles, the bones, the movement and posture.
Joe Giella once mentioned how demanding the strip can be with all that foliage
to ink, and under Sys direction, the strip never took short cuts. In the days
when the originals were larger and more space was allotted in the comics
section, Sys strips had all sorts of extras like intricate hatching of the
Phantoms mysterious presence in the background or even an imagined cluster of
floating skulls. When Sys Phantom visits a ruin, every blade of grass, every
piece of stone is carefully rendered. And Sys simplified elegant poses have
been swiped and used for countless panels and covers. Billy Zane studied the
panels used them for inspiration as his poses. (Billy told me his favorite story
by Island of Dogs by Lee Falk and Sy Barry.)
As a gift, Sy brought a beautiful phantom pencil drawing for everybody. These
drawing have become treasures for Friends of the Phantom. At the dinner, Howard
and Pam Gesbeck provided special autograph cards and luncheon buttons featuring
a Sy Barry drawing. And I gave everyone a CD with scans from every page of Sys
tribute book and other interesting graphics.
As always, jokes, stories, gifts, good food, great company and the time went
very quickly, we were left with priceless memories and souvenirs.
More
pictures from the dinner