Tatjana Wood obit

Tatjana Wood dead at 99

 She was not on the list.

Tatjana Wood has passed away at the age of 99. With her, we lose one of the very few colorists still remaining from the golden age of DC Comics in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Anyone who grew up reading DC comics during those decades will remember her name, intrinsically linked to the books of our youth.

Personally, I believe DC has, for quite some time now, done a disservice to the memory of such a great colorist as Wood—always reliable and, at many moments, majestic—through the way many of the comics she colored have been reprinted. The most glaring case is Swamp Thing, where I think Tatjana delivered some of her finest work.

For many years, the reprints of those comics were a complete mess. In numerous instances, overlay color effects were omitted; in some cases, entire visual elements disappeared because they were not part of the original black line art; and there were also alterations to text, tonal values, and multiple chromatic nuances. All of this has distorted her work for decades.

Many of us believed that with the publication of the Absolute Swamp Thing line, collected in three volumes, we would finally be able to enjoy Swamp Thing as it deserves to be seen, with a faithful restoration of the original colors. But that was not the case. Steve Oliff, whom I otherwise consider a great colorist, did not get it right here—or at least not in the way I believe it should have been done. Ultra-saturated colors, heavy digital effects, unnecessary gradients… In short, it felt like an affront that there was no real attempt to properly restore Tatjana Wood’s original color work.

Perhaps one day that will change. There are precedents that give reason for hope. Crisis on Infinite Earths had an earlier Absolute edition with highly questionable colors—not to mention issues with the line reproduction—and yet it is now set to be reissued with color restoration faithful to the original. Likewise, the Absolute edition of the Batman material by Neal Adams appears poised to restore the original colors as well.

So there is still hope that, a few years from now, DC will finally take the step and release a truly respectful edition—one that honors both the original line art and Tatjana Wood’s original colors. Her work deserves nothing less.

The sad part is that we are not getting any younger… and if this continues, we may not live to see it.

In any case, returning to Tatjana, I simply wanted to honor her memory by acknowledging the remarkable work she did for DC over the decades, and by paying tribute to her lasting legacy.

I imagine she lived a full life—certainly a long one—and leaves behind an extraordinary body of work that shaped the reading experience of generations of fans.

Wood started working during the 1950s and '60s, on her husbands's work as during his time at EC Comics. Her career at DC Comics started in the early '70s on titles like House of Secrets (Volume 1), Our Army at War (Volume 1), Tarzan (Volume 1), The Brave and the Bold (Volume 1) and many others. Her most notable work was on Grant Morrison's Animal Man (Volume 1) and on Len Wein's Swamp Thing (Volume 1).

Wood retired from the comic book industry in 2003.

Wood and her family travelled from Europe to New York in 1947 and Tatjana attended the Traphagen School of Fashion. Tatjana was married to Wally Wood from 1950 to 1966.

May she rest in peace.