Adam Kubert
Encyclopedia
Adam Kubert is an American
comic book
artist
known for his work for publishers such as Marvel Comics
, Dark Horse Comics
, and DC Comics
, including work on Ultimate X-Men
, Ultimate Fantastic Four
, Incredible Hulk, Wolverine
, Spider-Man
, Superman
and Ghost Rider
.
Kubert has established himself as one of the leading artists in comics, having been rated by Wizard magazine as one of the "Hot 10 Writers and Artists" in the industry. He is the son of Joe Kubert
and brother of Andy Kubert
, both comic book artists as well.
. He went on to attend the Rochester Institute of Technology
, graduating with a degree in medical illustration. He subsequently attended his father's The Kubert School in Dover, New Jersey
.
Adam Kubert is probably best-known for his work at Marvel Comics, in particular for a sporadic run on the solo Wolverine
title with writer Larry Hama
, a short run with writer Peter David
on the Incredible Hulk and numerous stints on various X-Men
titles.
Adam Kubert is noted for his raw, dynamic art style, combined with fluid storytelling and noteworthy pacing. He's also known for his experimentation in art style and storytelling, being one of the first mainstream (i.e. Marvel or DC employed) comic book artist to experiment with the pencils-straight-to-colour approach with Steve Bucellato on The Incredible Hulk.
On his X-Men run, Kubert was teamed up with European colorist Richard Isanove, who subsequently followed Adam to the Ultimate X-Men project, perfecting the pencils-to-color approach seen on most of Ultimate X-Men covers. Kubert has been criticized not meeting monthly deadlines on certain issues, which often required hiring fill-in artists, a penchant that Kubert himself has admitted to having. In a 1998 Wizard interview with Jim McClaughlin, Kubert apologized to fans for the slow output, explaining that readers and fans now expect more of illustrators, and that the onus rests on the artist to spend time creating more detailed and well-drafted illustrations.
Although Kubert remains a talented penciller, the choice of inker for his work greatly influences the quality of the final printed page. It has been argued by fans and critics alike through various mediums such as the internet and comic publications, that some of Kubert's finest work has been embellished by the British inker Mark Farmer, especially his runs on Wolverine and The Incredible Hulk for Marvel Comics. While talented inkers, notably Danny Miki and John Dell, lent their talents to Kubert's pencils during his runs on Ultimate X-Men and Ultimate Fantastic Four respectively, reaction to the final artwork was mixed due to the stylistic nature of the inkers which did not lend itself well to Kubert's normally lush drawings, leading to increasing calls that Adam Kubert should once again be paired up with Mark Farmer, even more so now that Kubert has moved to DC Comics as of 2006.
When Marvel Comics launched the industry-changing Ultimate Universe series in 2001, Kubert was chosen as the penciller for the second launch book Ultimate X-Men
. His storytelling and distinct style coupled with writer Mark Millar
's well crafted tales, made the book an instant success. Kubert was also chosen as the penciller to launch the ultimate universe version of Marvel's first family, the Ultimate Fantastic Four
, once again with writers Mark Millar and Brian Michael Bendis
. Both series launched to commercial and critical acclaim, firmly establishing Kubert as an industry heavyweight and one of Marvel's "go-to guys" for their major projects.
An accomplished inker, he received an Eisner Award
for his inking duties on the Dark Horse
-DC Comics
Batman vs. Predator
crossover in the early 1990s. In addition to this, Kubert is well renowned for his lettering ability, being the youngest professional comic book letterer at the age of only 11 years old. His very own handwriting was used as the template for the font used in the Ultimate X-Men comics, additionally Kubert's early lettering work in Heavy Metal
magazine was used by DC Comics as the basis for most of the fonts used in their comics and magazines.
Kubert illustrated Superman: Last Son
, co-written by Geoff Johns
and Richard Donner
(director of the 1978 film Superman) – his first project for DC Comics. He was to begin contributing to the story arc with Action Comics #841 (July 2006). However, he was not involved until issue #844, published in October 2006.
Issue #845 was released on December 3, 2006 to similar acclaim and again DC had to go back to press for a second printing on the February 23, 2007. Issue #846, part 3 of the "Superman: Last Son
" storyline, was originally scheduled to be released December 30, 2006 was released on February 28, 2007. The next part of the story was scheduled to be a 3D issue released in April 2007. Further delay forced DC Comics to bring in substitute creative teams and delay the fourth part of the "Last Son" storyline and 3D issue to #851, which was released in early July 2007.
According to a April 2007 post on the Internet forum Newsarama, Johns stated that the delay was made to accommodate Kubert's schedule and that the final part of the "Last Son" storyline would be in Action Comics Annual #11. The annual went on sale on May 7, 2008.
Following his work on Superman he penciled the Final Crisis
tie in, DC Universe: Last Will and Testament, written by Brad Meltzer.
His last work for his latest tenure at DC was the Batman and The Outsiders Special, released in February 2009. This issue, written by Peter Tomasi
, highlighted Alfred Pennyworth
's efforts to recruit a new team of Outsiders in the wake of Batman
's apparent death. After the release of the book, Kubert said he was pleased with his work at DC and had done, "what [he] set out to do," which was to draw Superman
.
#73 and 74. Following this he contributed several covers to New Mutants
and Wolverine: Weapon X, and penciled the "Dark Reign
" tie in, The List: Amazing Spider-Man
.
While he has returned to penciling for Marvel, he will continue to work for DC, contributing the stories for the upcoming Wednesday Comics
Sgt. Rock feature, drawn by his father. He has since stated that he is Marvel-exclusive, but they are allowing him to work on the Sgt. Rock feature as he had signed on to do it before his contract at DC was up.
Following these Kubert will be doing pencils on the upcoming Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
known for his work for publishers such as Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
, and DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, including work on Ultimate X-Men
Ultimate X-Men
Ultimate X-Men is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of its Ultimate Marvel imprint...
, Ultimate Fantastic Four
Ultimate Fantastic Four
Ultimate Fantastic Four is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Fantastic Four comic book franchise as part of its Ultimate Marvel imprint...
, Incredible Hulk, Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
, Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
and Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (comics)
Ghost Rider is the name of several fictional supernatural antiheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Night Rider and subsequently to Phantom Rider.The first supernatural Ghost Rider is...
.
Kubert has established himself as one of the leading artists in comics, having been rated by Wizard magazine as one of the "Hot 10 Writers and Artists" in the industry. He is the son of Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert
Joe Kubert is an American comic book artist who went on to found The Kubert School. He is best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Sgt. Rock and Hawkman...
and brother of Andy Kubert
Andy Kubert
Andrew "Andy" Kubert is an American comic book artist, son of Joe Kubert, and brother of Adam Kubert, both of whom are also artists...
, both comic book artists as well.
Education and early career
Adam Kubert began his professional comics career at age 12 as a lettererLetterer
A letterer is a member of a team of comic book creators responsible for drawing the comic book's text. The letterer's use of typefaces, calligraphy, letter size, and layout all contribute to the impact of the comic. The letterer crafts the comic's "display lettering": the story title lettering and...
. He went on to attend the Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...
, graduating with a degree in medical illustration. He subsequently attended his father's The Kubert School in Dover, New Jersey
Dover, New Jersey
Dover is a town in Morris County, New Jersey on the Rockaway River. Dover is west of New York City and west of Newark, New Jersey. As of the United States Census, 2000, the town's population was 18,188.-Geography:...
.
Marvel Comics
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
title with writer Larry Hama
Larry Hama
Larry Hama is an American comic book writer, artist, actor and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s....
, a short run with writer Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
on the Incredible Hulk and numerous stints on various X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
titles.
Adam Kubert is noted for his raw, dynamic art style, combined with fluid storytelling and noteworthy pacing. He's also known for his experimentation in art style and storytelling, being one of the first mainstream (i.e. Marvel or DC employed) comic book artist to experiment with the pencils-straight-to-colour approach with Steve Bucellato on The Incredible Hulk.
On his X-Men run, Kubert was teamed up with European colorist Richard Isanove, who subsequently followed Adam to the Ultimate X-Men project, perfecting the pencils-to-color approach seen on most of Ultimate X-Men covers. Kubert has been criticized not meeting monthly deadlines on certain issues, which often required hiring fill-in artists, a penchant that Kubert himself has admitted to having. In a 1998 Wizard interview with Jim McClaughlin, Kubert apologized to fans for the slow output, explaining that readers and fans now expect more of illustrators, and that the onus rests on the artist to spend time creating more detailed and well-drafted illustrations.
Although Kubert remains a talented penciller, the choice of inker for his work greatly influences the quality of the final printed page. It has been argued by fans and critics alike through various mediums such as the internet and comic publications, that some of Kubert's finest work has been embellished by the British inker Mark Farmer, especially his runs on Wolverine and The Incredible Hulk for Marvel Comics. While talented inkers, notably Danny Miki and John Dell, lent their talents to Kubert's pencils during his runs on Ultimate X-Men and Ultimate Fantastic Four respectively, reaction to the final artwork was mixed due to the stylistic nature of the inkers which did not lend itself well to Kubert's normally lush drawings, leading to increasing calls that Adam Kubert should once again be paired up with Mark Farmer, even more so now that Kubert has moved to DC Comics as of 2006.
When Marvel Comics launched the industry-changing Ultimate Universe series in 2001, Kubert was chosen as the penciller for the second launch book Ultimate X-Men
Ultimate X-Men
Ultimate X-Men is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of its Ultimate Marvel imprint...
. His storytelling and distinct style coupled with writer Mark Millar
Mark Millar
Mark Millar is a Scottish comic book writer, known for his work on books such as The Authority, The Ultimates, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Civil War, Wanted, and Kick-Ass, the latter two of which have been adapted into feature films...
's well crafted tales, made the book an instant success. Kubert was also chosen as the penciller to launch the ultimate universe version of Marvel's first family, the Ultimate Fantastic Four
Ultimate Fantastic Four
Ultimate Fantastic Four is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Fantastic Four comic book franchise as part of its Ultimate Marvel imprint...
, once again with writers Mark Millar and Brian Michael Bendis
Brian Michael Bendis
Brian Michael Bendis is an American comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim for his self-published, Image Comics and Marvel Comics work, and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics, with his books selling consistently highly for over a...
. Both series launched to commercial and critical acclaim, firmly establishing Kubert as an industry heavyweight and one of Marvel's "go-to guys" for their major projects.
An accomplished inker, he received an Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for his inking duties on the Dark Horse
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
-DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
Batman vs. Predator
Batman vs. Predator
Batman versus Predator is a comic book crossover featuring a duel between Batman and the creature from the Predator film. It was written by Dave Gibbons, with art by Andy Kubert and published by DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics in 1991....
crossover in the early 1990s. In addition to this, Kubert is well renowned for his lettering ability, being the youngest professional comic book letterer at the age of only 11 years old. His very own handwriting was used as the template for the font used in the Ultimate X-Men comics, additionally Kubert's early lettering work in Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal (magazine)
Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
magazine was used by DC Comics as the basis for most of the fonts used in their comics and magazines.
DC Comics
Both Adam and his brother Andy signed exclusive contracts to work for DC Comics in 2005.Kubert illustrated Superman: Last Son
Superman: Last Son
"Last Son" is a five-issue comic book story arc featuring Superman in the monthly Action Comics. It is written by Geoff Johns and Richard Donner, the director of the well-known 1978 film Superman: The Movie and a portion of Superman II, with pencils by Adam Kubert...
, co-written by Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns
Geoff Johns is an American comic book writer, best known for his work for DC Comics, where he has been Chief Creative Officer since February 2010, in particular for characters such as Green Lantern, The Flash and Superman...
and Richard Donner
Richard Donner
Richard Donner is an American film director, film producer, and comic book writer.The production company The Donners' Company is owned by Donner and his wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner. After directing the horror film The Omen, Donner became famous for the hailed creation of the first modern...
(director of the 1978 film Superman) – his first project for DC Comics. He was to begin contributing to the story arc with Action Comics #841 (July 2006). However, he was not involved until issue #844, published in October 2006.
Issue #845 was released on December 3, 2006 to similar acclaim and again DC had to go back to press for a second printing on the February 23, 2007. Issue #846, part 3 of the "Superman: Last Son
Superman: Last Son
"Last Son" is a five-issue comic book story arc featuring Superman in the monthly Action Comics. It is written by Geoff Johns and Richard Donner, the director of the well-known 1978 film Superman: The Movie and a portion of Superman II, with pencils by Adam Kubert...
" storyline, was originally scheduled to be released December 30, 2006 was released on February 28, 2007. The next part of the story was scheduled to be a 3D issue released in April 2007. Further delay forced DC Comics to bring in substitute creative teams and delay the fourth part of the "Last Son" storyline and 3D issue to #851, which was released in early July 2007.
According to a April 2007 post on the Internet forum Newsarama, Johns stated that the delay was made to accommodate Kubert's schedule and that the final part of the "Last Son" storyline would be in Action Comics Annual #11. The annual went on sale on May 7, 2008.
Following his work on Superman he penciled the Final Crisis
Final Crisis
Final Crisis is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely by J. G. Jones; artists Carlos Pacheco, Marco Rudy and...
tie in, DC Universe: Last Will and Testament, written by Brad Meltzer.
His last work for his latest tenure at DC was the Batman and The Outsiders Special, released in February 2009. This issue, written by Peter Tomasi
Peter Tomasi
Peter J. Tomasi is an American comic book editor and writer, best known for his work for DC Comics. As an editor, he oversaw numerous books featuring the Justice League, including books starring various members of that team, such as Batman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern and the Flash...
, highlighted Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Pennyworth is a fictional character that appears throughout the DC Comics franchise. The character first appears in Batman #16 , and was created by writer Bob Kane and artist Jerry Robinson. Alfred serves as Batman’s tireless butler, assistant, confidant, and surrogate father figure...
's efforts to recruit a new team of Outsiders in the wake of Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
's apparent death. After the release of the book, Kubert said he was pleased with his work at DC and had done, "what [he] set out to do," which was to draw Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
.
Return to Marvel
May 2009 marked Adam Kubert's return to Marvel, his first interior work being published as one of two stories in WolverineWolverine (comic book)
Wolverine is a number of Marvel Comics comic book series starring the X-Men member Wolverine.-Publication history:The first Wolverine was a limited series written by Chris Claremont with pencils by Frank Miller, inks by Joe Rubinstein, letters by Tom Orzechowski, and colored by Glynis Wein...
#73 and 74. Following this he contributed several covers to New Mutants
New Mutants
The New Mutants are a group of teenaged mutant superheroes-in-training published by Marvel Comics. They have been the main characters of three successive comic book series, which were spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise....
and Wolverine: Weapon X, and penciled the "Dark Reign
Dark Reign (comics)
"Dark Reign" is a 2008–2009 crossover comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. It deals with the aftermath of the "Secret Invasion" storyline, which led to a shift of power in the Marvel Universe toward Norman Osborn. The title "Dark Reign" refers to Osborn's rise to national power and the...
" tie in, The List: Amazing Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
.
While he has returned to penciling for Marvel, he will continue to work for DC, contributing the stories for the upcoming Wednesday Comics
Wednesday Comics
Wednesday Comics was a weekly anthology comic book launched by DC Comics on July 8, 2009. The twelve issues of the title were published in 14" x 20" broadsheet format, deliberately similar to Sunday newspaper comics sections...
Sgt. Rock feature, drawn by his father. He has since stated that he is Marvel-exclusive, but they are allowing him to work on the Sgt. Rock feature as he had signed on to do it before his contract at DC was up.
Following these Kubert will be doing pencils on the upcoming Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine.