Gil Kane
Encyclopedia
Eli Katz who worked under the name Gil Kane and in one instance Scott Edward, was a comic book
artist
whose career spanned the 1940s to 1990s and every major comics company and character.
Kane co-created the modern-day versions of the superheroes Green Lantern
and the Atom for DC Comics
, and co-created Iron Fist with Roy Thomas
for Marvel Comics
. He was involved in such major storylines as that of The Amazing Spider-Man
#96–98 (May–July 1971), which, at the behest of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, bucked the then-prevalent Comics Code Authority
to depict drug abuse, and ultimately spurred an update of the Code. Kane additionally pioneered an early graphic novel
prototype, His Name is...Savage, in 1968, and a seminal graphic novel, Blackmark
, in 1971.
In 1997, he was inducted into both the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame and the Harvey Award Jack Kirby Hall of Fame.
, New York City
. When he was in junior high school, he collaborated on writing projects with Norman Podhoretz
, later a prominent writer and editor. At the age of 16, while attending the School of Industrial Art (later named the High School of Art and Design), he began working in the comics studio system as an assistant, doing basic tasks such as drawing panel borders.
During his 1942 summer vacation, Kane obtained a job at MLJ
, working there for three weeks before being fired. As Kane recalled, "Within a couple of days I got a job with Jack Binder
's agency. Jack Binder had a loft on Fifth Avenue and it just looked like an internment camp. There must have been 50 or 60 guys up there, all at drawing tables. You had to account for the paper that you took". Kane began pencilling professionally there, but, "They weren't terribly happy with what I was doing. But when I was rehired by MLJ three weeks later, not only did they put me back into the production department and give me an increase, they gave me my first job, which was 'Inspector Bentley of Scotland Yard' in Pep Comics
, and then they gave me a whole issue of The Shield
and Dusty, one of their leading books". Kane soon dropped out of school to work full-time.
, a predecessor of Marvel Comics
, and learned from such prominent artists as Jack Kirby
and Joe Simon
. He interrupted his career briefly to enlist in the Army
during World War II
, where he served in the Pacific theater of operations
. In the post-war years, on his return to comics, he used pseudonym
s, including Pen Star and Gil Stack, before settling on Gil Kane.
In the late 1950s, Kane freelanced for DC Comics
. There he contributed to seminal works in what fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books
, when he illustrated a number of revitalized superhero
titles (loosely based on 1940s characters) — most notably Green Lantern
, for which he pencilled most of the first 75 issues, and also the Atom
. Kane also drew the youthful superhero team the Teen Titans, and in the late 1960s tackled such short-lived titles such as Hawk and Dove
, and the licensed-character comic Captain Action
, based on the action figure
. He briefly freelanced some Hulk
stories in Marvel Comics
' Tales to Astonish
, under the pseudonym Scott Edward.
Due to financial setbacks at the time, Kane began accepting as many art assignments as possible, and with the increased workload often had to hire fellow artists to finish his rough pencil artwork. Eschewing the Scott Edwards pseudonym, Kane freelanced in the 1960s for Tower Comics
' T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
, a superhero/espionage title, as well as the "Tiger Boy" strip for Harvey Comics
. Kane then found a home at Marvel, eventually becoming the regular penciller for The Amazing Spider-Man
, succeeding John Romita
, in the early 1970s, and becoming the company's preeminent cover artist through that decade, a position that helped him achieve financial stability.
During that run, he and editor-writer Stan Lee
produced in 1971 a landmark three-issue story arc in The Amazing Spider-Man
#96-98) that marked the first challenge to the industry's self-regulating Comics Code Authority
since its inception in 1954. The Code forbade mention of drugs, even in a negative context. However, Lee and Kane created an anti-drug storyline conceived at the behest of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and upon not receiving Code Authority approval, Marvel published the issues without the Code seal on their covers. The comics met with such critical acclaim and high sales that the industry's self-censorship was undercut, and the Code was soon afterward revamped. Another landmark in Kane's Spider-Man run was the arc "The Night Gwen Stacy Died
" in issues #121-122 (June–July 1973), in which Spider-Man
's girlfriend Gwen Stacy
, as well as the long-time villain Green Goblin
were killed, an unusual occurrence at the time.
With writer Roy Thomas
, Kane helped revise the Marvel Comics version of Captain Marvel
, and revamped a preexisting character as Adam Warlock
. Kane and Thomas co-created the martial arts
superhero Iron Fist, and Morbius the Living Vampire.
Gerry Conway
, Kane's collaborator on the death-of-Gwen-Stacy storyline and elsewhere, described Kane in 2009 as
(writing under the pseudonym
of Robert Franklin): His Name is... Savage
(Adventure House Press, 1968), a self-published, 40-page, magazine
-format comics novel; and Blackmark
(1971), a science fiction
/sword-and-sorcery paperback published by Bantam Books
. Some historians consider the latter, sold in bookstores and related outlets rather than newsstands, as arguably the first American
graphic novel
, a term not in general use at the time; the back-cover blurb of the 30th-anniversary edition (ISBN 1-56097-456-7) calls it, retroactively, "the very first American graphic novel." Whether or not this is so, Blackmark is, objectively, a 119-page story of comic-book art, with captions and word balloons, published in a traditional book format. It is also the first with an original heroic-adventure character, conceived expressly for this form.
Sometime in the late 1960s, Kane temporarily acquired the publishing rights to Robert E. Howard
's pulp magazine
barbarian
, Conan
, with the intent of reviving the character in a magazine format, à la Savage. However, he was unable to gain financing for the project, and the rights reverted to the Howard estate. When Marvel Comics licensed the character in 1970, writer Roy Thomas initially considered having either Kane or John Buscema
draw the comic book, and Kane actively campaigned for the assignment, but editor Lee considered Kane too valuable as the company's premiere cover artist to allow him to devote large amounts of time to a commercially uncertain project. Kane would later provide art for the Conan comic book, which by then was one of Marvel's hits.
and Ruby-Spears
animated
TV series. In 1977, he created the newspaper
comic strip
Star Hawks
with writer Ron Goulart
. The daily strip
, which ran through 1981, was known for its experimental use of a two-tier format during the first years. In the early 1980s, he shared regular art duties on Superman
with Curt Swan
, and also contributed to the 1988 Superman animated TV series. In 1989 Kane illustrated a comic-book adaptation of Richard Wagner
's mythological opera epic The Ring of the Nibelung.
He remained active as an artist until his death of complications from lymphoma
. He was survived by his second wife, Elaine; children Scott, Eric and Beverly; and two granddaughters. His final home, where he was buried, was Aventura, Florida
.
Awards for Best Story Comic Book, and the group's Story Comic Strip Award for 1977 for Star Hawks. He also received the comic book
industry's Shazam Award for Special Recognition in 1971 "for Blackmark
, his paperback comics novel". Kane was named to both the Eisner Award
Hall of Fame and the Harvey Award
Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1997.
appears in In Darkest Night, a novelization
of the Justice League animated series. The book refers to the Kane/Broome Institute for Space Studies in Coast City
. In the Superman The Animated Series episode "In Brightest Day", Gil's Resturantie is named for him. The Broome Kane Galaxy in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
is named for him and John Broome.
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...
whose career spanned the 1940s to 1990s and every major comics company and character.
Kane co-created the modern-day versions of the superheroes Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
and the Atom for 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...
, and co-created Iron Fist with Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
for 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...
. He was involved in such major storylines as that of The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
#96–98 (May–July 1971), which, at the behest of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, bucked the then-prevalent Comics Code Authority
Comics Code Authority
The Comics Code Authority was a body created as part of the Comics Magazine Association of America, as a tool for the comics-publishing industry to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. Member publishers submitted comic books to the CCA, which screened them for adherence to...
to depict drug abuse, and ultimately spurred an update of the Code. Kane additionally pioneered an early graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
prototype, His Name is...Savage, in 1968, and a seminal graphic novel, Blackmark
Blackmark
Blackmark is a Bantam Books paperback , published January 1971, that is one of the first American graphic novels, predating such seminal works as Richard Corben's Bloodstar , Jim Steranko's Chandler: Red Tide , Don McGregor & Paul Gulacy's Sabre , and Will Eisner's A Contract with God...
, in 1971.
In 1997, he was inducted into both the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame and the Harvey Award Jack Kirby Hall of Fame.
Early life and career
Kane was born to a Jewish family that emigrated to the U.S. in 1929, settling in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. When he was in junior high school, he collaborated on writing projects with Norman Podhoretz
Norman Podhoretz
Norman B. Podhoretz is an American neoconservative pundit and writer for Commentary magazine.-Early life:The son of Julius and Helen Podhoretz, Jewish immigrants from the Central European region of Galicia, Podhoretz was born and raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn...
, later a prominent writer and editor. At the age of 16, while attending the School of Industrial Art (later named the High School of Art and Design), he began working in the comics studio system as an assistant, doing basic tasks such as drawing panel borders.
During his 1942 summer vacation, Kane obtained a job at MLJ
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
, working there for three weeks before being fired. As Kane recalled, "Within a couple of days I got a job with Jack Binder
Jack Binder (comics)
Jack Binder was a Golden Age comics creator and art packager. A fine artist by education, Binder had a prolific comics career that lasted from 1937–1946, then continued from "semi-retirement" until 1953. He was the creator of the original comic book Daredevil, for Lev Gleason Publications...
's agency. Jack Binder had a loft on Fifth Avenue and it just looked like an internment camp. There must have been 50 or 60 guys up there, all at drawing tables. You had to account for the paper that you took". Kane began pencilling professionally there, but, "They weren't terribly happy with what I was doing. But when I was rehired by MLJ three weeks later, not only did they put me back into the production department and give me an increase, they gave me my first job, which was 'Inspector Bentley of Scotland Yard' in Pep Comics
Pep Comics
Pep Comics is the name of an American comic book anthology series published by the Archie Comics predecessor MLJ Magazines Inc. during the 1930s and 1940s period known as the Golden Age of Comic Books...
, and then they gave me a whole issue of The Shield
The Shield (Archie)
The Shield is the name of several fictional patriotic superheroes created by MLJ . The Shield has the distinction of being one of the first superheroes with a costume based upon the United States flag, appearing fourteen months before Captain America.The name was used by MLJ/Archie for 3 characters...
and Dusty, one of their leading books". Kane soon dropped out of school to work full-time.
Silver Age
During the next several years, Kane drew for about a dozen studios and publishers including Timely ComicsTimely Comics
Timely Comics, an imprint of Timely Publications, was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics....
, a predecessor of 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...
, and learned from such prominent artists as Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
and Joe Simon
Joe Simon
Joseph Henry "Joe" Simon is an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.With his...
. He interrupted his career briefly to enlist in the Army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, where he served in the Pacific theater of operations
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
. In the post-war years, on his return to comics, he used pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s, including Pen Star and Gil Stack, before settling on Gil Kane.
In the late 1950s, Kane freelanced for 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...
. There he contributed to seminal works in what fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books
Silver Age of Comic Books
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those in the superhero genre. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an interregnum in the early to mid-1950s, the Silver Age is considered to cover the...
, when he illustrated a number of revitalized superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
titles (loosely based on 1940s characters) — most notably Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
, for which he pencilled most of the first 75 issues, and also the Atom
Ray Palmer (comics)
The Atom is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero introduced during the Silver Age of comic books in Showcase # 34 . He was named after Raymond A...
. Kane also drew the youthful superhero team the Teen Titans, and in the late 1960s tackled such short-lived titles such as Hawk and Dove
Hawk and Dove
Hawk and Dove is the moniker given to two superheroes when they team up to fight crime. Hawk and Dove describes each character's attitude or approach to fighting crime. The hawk represents aggression, and the dove representing pacifism.-Hank and Don Hall:...
, and the licensed-character comic Captain Action
Captain Action
Captain Action was an action figure, from 1966, equipped with a wardrobe of costumes allowing him to become Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Aquaman, the Phantom, The Lone Ranger , Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Sgt. Fury, Steve Canyon, and the Green Hornet. Captain Action was the Ideal...
, based on the action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
. He briefly freelanced some Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
stories in 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...
' Tales to Astonish
Tales to Astonish
Tales to Astonish is the name of two American comic book series and a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics.The primary title bearing that name was published from 1959-1968...
, under the pseudonym Scott Edward.
Due to financial setbacks at the time, Kane began accepting as many art assignments as possible, and with the increased workload often had to hire fellow artists to finish his rough pencil artwork. Eschewing the Scott Edwards pseudonym, Kane freelanced in the 1960s for Tower Comics
Tower Comics
Tower Comics was an American comic book publishing company best known for Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, a strange combination of secret agents and superheroes; and Samm Schwartz's Tippy Teen, an Archie Andrews clone...
' T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents is a fictional team of superheroes that appeared in comic books originally published by Tower Comics in the 1960s. They were an arm of the United Nations and were notable for their depiction of the heroes as everyday people whose heroic careers were merely their day jobs...
, a superhero/espionage title, as well as the "Tiger Boy" strip for Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfred Harvey in 1941, after buying out the small publisher Brookwood Publications. His brothers Robert B...
. Kane then found a home at Marvel, eventually becoming the regular penciller for The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
, succeeding John Romita
John Romita, Sr.
John V. Romita, Sr. is an Italian-American comic-book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man...
, in the early 1970s, and becoming the company's preeminent cover artist through that decade, a position that helped him achieve financial stability.
During that run, he and editor-writer Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
produced in 1971 a landmark three-issue story arc in The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
#96-98) that marked the first challenge to the industry's self-regulating Comics Code Authority
Comics Code Authority
The Comics Code Authority was a body created as part of the Comics Magazine Association of America, as a tool for the comics-publishing industry to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. Member publishers submitted comic books to the CCA, which screened them for adherence to...
since its inception in 1954. The Code forbade mention of drugs, even in a negative context. However, Lee and Kane created an anti-drug storyline conceived at the behest of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and upon not receiving Code Authority approval, Marvel published the issues without the Code seal on their covers. The comics met with such critical acclaim and high sales that the industry's self-censorship was undercut, and the Code was soon afterward revamped. Another landmark in Kane's Spider-Man run was the arc "The Night Gwen Stacy Died
The Night Gwen Stacy Died
"The Night Gwen Stacy Died" is a story arc of the Marvel Comics comic book series The Amazing Spider-Man #121-122 , that became a watershed event in the life of the superhero Spider-Man, one of popular culture's most enduring and recognizable fictional characters. The two-issue story, written by...
" in issues #121-122 (June–July 1973), in which 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...
's girlfriend Gwen Stacy
Gwen Stacy
Gwendolyn "Gwen" Stacy appears as a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31 ....
, as well as the long-time villain Green Goblin
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
were killed, an unusual occurrence at the time.
With writer Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
, Kane helped revise the Marvel Comics version of Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics)
Captain Marvel is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Most of these versions exist in Marvel's main shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe.- Publication history :...
, and revamped a preexisting character as Adam Warlock
Adam Warlock
Adam Warlock, originally known as Him, is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #66 and #67 Adam Warlock, originally known as Him, is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel...
. Kane and Thomas co-created the martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
superhero Iron Fist, and Morbius the Living Vampire.
Gerry Conway
Gerry Conway
Gerard F. "Gerry" Conway is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man...
, Kane's collaborator on the death-of-Gwen-Stacy storyline and elsewhere, described Kane in 2009 as
Pioneering new formats
Kane's side projects include two long works that he conceived, plotted and illustrated, with scripting by Archie GoodwinArchie Goodwin (comics)
Archie Goodwin was an American comic book writer, editor, and artist. He worked on a number of comic strips in addition to comic books, and is best known for his Warren and Marvel Comics work...
(writing under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of Robert Franklin): His Name is... Savage
His Name is... Savage
His Name Is... Savage is a 40-page, magazine-format comics novel released in 1968 as a precursor to the modern graphic novel. Created by the veteran American comic book artist Gil Kane, who conceived, plotted and illustrated the project, and writer Archie Goodwin, who scripted under the pseudonym...
(Adventure House Press, 1968), a self-published, 40-page, magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
-format comics novel; and Blackmark
Blackmark
Blackmark is a Bantam Books paperback , published January 1971, that is one of the first American graphic novels, predating such seminal works as Richard Corben's Bloodstar , Jim Steranko's Chandler: Red Tide , Don McGregor & Paul Gulacy's Sabre , and Will Eisner's A Contract with God...
(1971), a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
/sword-and-sorcery paperback published by Bantam Books
Bantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
. Some historians consider the latter, sold in bookstores and related outlets rather than newsstands, as arguably the first American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
, a term not in general use at the time; the back-cover blurb of the 30th-anniversary edition (ISBN 1-56097-456-7) calls it, retroactively, "the very first American graphic novel." Whether or not this is so, Blackmark is, objectively, a 119-page story of comic-book art, with captions and word balloons, published in a traditional book format. It is also the first with an original heroic-adventure character, conceived expressly for this form.
Sometime in the late 1960s, Kane temporarily acquired the publishing rights to Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
's pulp magazine
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
barbarian
Barbarian
Barbarian and savage are terms used to refer to a person who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage...
, Conan
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
, with the intent of reviving the character in a magazine format, à la Savage. However, he was unable to gain financing for the project, and the rights reverted to the Howard estate. When Marvel Comics licensed the character in 1970, writer Roy Thomas initially considered having either Kane or John Buscema
John Buscema
John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...
draw the comic book, and Kane actively campaigned for the assignment, but editor Lee considered Kane too valuable as the company's premiere cover artist to allow him to devote large amounts of time to a commercially uncertain project. Kane would later provide art for the Conan comic book, which by then was one of Marvel's hits.
Later career
During the 1970s and 1980s, Kane did character designs for various Hanna-BarberaHanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
and Ruby-Spears
Ruby-Spears Productions
Ruby-Spears Productions is a Burbank, California-based entertainment production company that specializes in animation...
animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
TV series. In 1977, he created the newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Star Hawks
Star Hawks
Star Hawks is a comic strip written first by Ron Goulart and later by Archie Goodwin, with artwork by Gil Kane. It began on October 3, 1977 and ran through 1981....
with writer Ron Goulart
Ron Goulart
Ron Goulart is an American popular culture historian and mystery, fantasy and science fiction author.The prolific Goulart wrote many novelizations and other routine work under various pseudonyms: Kenneth Robeson , Con Steffanson , Chad Calhoun, R.T...
. The daily strip
Daily strip
A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays....
, which ran through 1981, was known for its experimental use of a two-tier format during the first years. In the early 1980s, he shared regular art duties on Superman
Superman (comic book)
Superman is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics hero of the same name. The character Superman began as one of several anthology features in the National Periodical Publications comic book Action Comics #1 in June 1938...
with Curt Swan
Curt Swan
Douglas Curtis Swan was an American comic book artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 1950s through the 1980s.-Early life and career:Curt Swan, whose Swedish...
, and also contributed to the 1988 Superman animated TV series. In 1989 Kane illustrated a comic-book adaptation of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's mythological opera epic The Ring of the Nibelung.
He remained active as an artist until his death of complications from lymphoma
Lymphoma
Lymphoma is a cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system. Typically, lymphomas present as a solid tumor of lymphoid cells. Treatment might involve chemotherapy and in some cases radiotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation, and can be curable depending on the histology, type, and stage...
. He was survived by his second wife, Elaine; children Scott, Eric and Beverly; and two granddaughters. His final home, where he was buried, was Aventura, Florida
Aventura, Florida
Aventura is a planned, suburban city located in northeastern Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name is from the Spanish word for "adventure", and was named "Aventura" after one of the developers of the original group of condominiums in the area remarked to the others, "What an adventure this is...
.
Awards
Kane received numerous awards over the years, including the 1971, 1972, and 1975 National Cartoonists SocietyNational Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
Awards for Best Story Comic Book, and the group's Story Comic Strip Award for 1977 for Star Hawks. He also received the 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...
industry's Shazam Award for Special Recognition in 1971 "for Blackmark
Blackmark
Blackmark is a Bantam Books paperback , published January 1971, that is one of the first American graphic novels, predating such seminal works as Richard Corben's Bloodstar , Jim Steranko's Chandler: Red Tide , Don McGregor & Paul Gulacy's Sabre , and Will Eisner's A Contract with God...
, his paperback comics novel". Kane was named to both the 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...
Hall of Fame and the Harvey Award
Harvey Award
The Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1997.
Homages
An homage to Kane and to writer John BroomeJohn Broome (writer)
John Broome , who additionally used the pseudonyms John Osgood and Edgar Ray Meritt, was an American comic book writer for DC Comics.-Early life and career:...
appears in In Darkest Night, a novelization
Novelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
of the Justice League animated series. The book refers to the Kane/Broome Institute for Space Studies in Coast City
Coast City
Coast City is a fictional city created by John Broome and Gil Kane that appears in stories published by DC Comics. It is depicted most often as the home of the Silver Age version of the superhero Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.-Fictional history:...
. In the Superman The Animated Series episode "In Brightest Day", Gil's Resturantie is named for him. The Broome Kane Galaxy in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, is an animated film that tells various stories featuring members of Green Lantern Corps, including Abin Sur, Laira, Kilowog, and Mogo It was released on June 7, 2011...
is named for him and John Broome.
DC
- Action ComicsAction ComicsAction Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
(SupermanSupermanSuperman 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...
) #539-541, 544-546, 551-554 (1983–84), 642 (4-pages only) (1989), 715 (1995); (Green LanternGreen LanternThe Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
) #601-605 (1988) - All-Star WesternAll-Star WesternAll-Star Western was the name of three American comic book series published by DC Comics, each a Western fiction omnibus featuring both continuing characters and anthological stories. The first ran from 1951 to 1961, the second from 1970 to 1972 and the third is part of the DC New 52 released in...
#3-4, 6, 8 (1970–71) - Atari ForceAtari ForceAtari Force was the name of two comic book series published by DC Comics from 1982 to 1986. Both were loosely based on trademarks of Atari, Inc.- Publication history :...
#3, 5 (1982–83) - Atom #1-37 (1962–68)
- BatmanBatman (comic book)Batman is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics hero of the same name. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27, published in May 1939. Batman proved to be so popular that a self-titled ongoing comic book series began publication in the spring of 1940...
#208 (1969) - Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #24-26 (1991–92)
- Blue BeetleBlue BeetleBlue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939.-Publication history:...
#22 (1988) - Captain ActionCaptain ActionCaptain Action was an action figure, from 1966, equipped with a wardrobe of costumes allowing him to become Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Aquaman, the Phantom, The Lone Ranger , Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Sgt. Fury, Steve Canyon, and the Green Hornet. Captain Action was the Ideal...
#2-5 (1968–69) - DC ChallengeDC ChallengeDC Challenge was a 12-issue comic book series produced by DC Comics from November 1985 to October 1986, as a round robin experiment in narrative...
#4 (1986) - DC Comics PresentsDC Comics PresentsDC Comics Presents was a comic book published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 featuring team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters of the DC Universe...
(Rex the Wonder DogRex the Wonder DogRex the Wonder Dog is a fictional dog in the DC Comics universe. Created in 1952 by Robert Kanigher of Wonder Woman fame and artist Alex Toth, Rex has sometimes been compared to Superman's dog Krypto, who was created three years later. However, though the two canine crime fighters do share some...
) #35 (1981); (SupermanSupermanSuperman 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...
& Shazam!) Annual #3 (1984) - Detective ComicsDetective ComicsDetective Comics is an American comic book series published monthly by DC Comics since 1937, best known for introducing the iconic superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 . It is, along with Action Comics, the book that launched with the debut of Superman, one of the medium's signature series, and...
(BatmanBatmanBatman 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...
& RobinRobin (comics)Robin is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson, as a junior counterpart to DC Comics superhero Batman...
) #371, 374 (1968); (Elongated ManElongated ManThe Elongated Man is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC universe. He is a reserve member of the Justice League. His first appearance was in The Flash vol. 1, #112...
) #368, 370, 372-373 (1967–68); (BatgirlBatgirlBatgirl is the name of several fictional characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, frequently depicted as female counterparts to the superhero Batman...
) #384-385, 388-389, 392-393, 396, 401, 406-407 (1969–71); (Robin) #390-391, 394, 398-399, 402-403 (1969–70); (CatwomanCatwomanCatwoman is a fictional character associated with DC Comics' Batman franchise. Historically a supervillain, the character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, partially inspired by Kane's cousin, Ruth Steel...
) #520 (1982) - DoomsdayDoomsday (comics)Doomsday is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Superman: The Man of Steel #18 , and was created by writer-artist Dan Jurgens. IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Doomsday as #46...
Annual #1 (1995) - Flash #195, 197-199 (1970)
- Forbidden Tales of Dark MansionForbidden Tales of Dark MansionForbidden Tales of Dark Mansion was a horror-suspense-romance anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1971–1974, a companion to Secrets of Sinister House.-Publication history:...
#13 (1973) - Green LanternGreen LanternThe Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
, vol. 2, #1-61, 68-75 (1960–70), #156 (1982); (Green Lantern CorpsGreen Lantern CorpsThe Green Lantern Corps is the name of a fictional intergalactic military/police force appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residing on the planet Oa...
) #177 (1984) - Green Lantern CorpsGreen Lantern CorpsThe Green Lantern Corps is the name of a fictional intergalactic military/police force appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residing on the planet Oa...
#223-224 (1988) - Hawk and the Dove #3-5 (1968–69)
- House of MysteryHouse of MysteryThe House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series. It had a companion series, House of Secrets.-Genesis:...
#180, 184, 196 (1969–71); 253 (1977), 300 (1982) - Justice League of America #200 (6-pages only)(1982)
- Legends of the DC Universe (Green Lantern & Atom) #28-29 (2000)
- Metal MenMetal MenThe Metal Men are fictional characters that appear in comic books published by DC Comics. The characters first appeared in Showcase #37 and were created by writer Robert Kanigher and penciller Ross Andru...
#30-31 (1968) - Plastic ManPlastic ManPlastic Man is a fictional comic-book superhero originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Cole, he first appeared in Police Comics #1 ....
#1 (1966) - Power of Shazam! #14, 19 (this issue along with Joe StatonJoe StatonJoe Staton is an American illustrator and writer of comic books.-Career:Staton started his work with Charlton Comics in 1971 and gained notability as the artist of the super-hero book E-Man...
) (1996) - Ring of the Nibelung #1-4 (miniseries) (1989–90)
- Secret OriginsSecret OriginsSecret Origins is the title of three American comic book series published by DC Comics.The title began in 1961 and for one issue, all reprints. The title Secret Origins of Super Heroes went onto a second series, also reprints, which ran for seven issues from 1973-1974...
(Blue BeetleBlue BeetleBlue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes that appear in American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939.-Publication history:...
) #2; (Midnight) #28 (1986–88) - ShowcaseShowcase (comics)Showcase has been the title of several comic anthology series published by DC Comics. The general theme of these series has been to feature new and minor characters as a way to gauge reader interest in them, without the difficulty and risk of featuring "untested" characters in their own ongoing...
(Green Lantern) #22-24; (Atom) #34-36 (1959–62) - Static #31 (1996)
- Star Spangled War Stories #169 (1973)
- Strange AdventuresStrange AdventuresStrange Adventures was the title of several American comic books published by DC Comics, most notably a long-running science fiction anthology that began in 1950.-Original series:...
(Adam StrangeAdam StrangeAdam Strange is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky, he first appeared in Showcase #17 .In May 2011, Adam Strange placed 97th on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time....
) #222 (1970) - SupermanSuperman (comic book)Superman is an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics hero of the same name. The character Superman began as one of several anthology features in the National Periodical Publications comic book Action Comics #1 in June 1938...
, vol. 1, (Fabulous World of KryptonKrypton (comics)Krypton is a fictional planet in the DC Comics universe, and the native world of the super-heroes Superman and, in some tellings, Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. Krypton has been portrayed consistently as having been destroyed just after Superman's flight from the planet, with exact details of...
) #367, 375; (Superman 2021) #372 (1982) - SupermanSuperman (vol. 2)Superman was an ongoing comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero of the same name. The second volume of the previous ongoing Superman title, the series was published from cover dates January 1987 to April 2006, and ran for 228 issues...
, vol. 2, #99, 101-103 (1995) - Superman: Blood of My Ancestors (along with John BuscemaJohn BuscemaJohn Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...
) (2003, posthumous) - Superman: Distant Fires (1998)
- Superman: The Wedding AlbumSuperman: The Wedding AlbumSuperman: The Wedding Album was a comic book published in 1996 by DC Comics. It is notable in that it features the long-awaited in-continuity wedding of Lois Lane to Clark Kent/Superman—an event that was nearly 60 years in the making. Previous weddings involving the characters had all been hoaxes,...
(among other artists) (1996) - Superman Special (annual series) #1-2 (1983–84)
- Sword of the Atom #1-4 (miniseries) (1983)
- Tales of the Green Lantern CorpsGreen Lantern CorpsThe Green Lantern Corps is the name of a fictional intergalactic military/police force appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residing on the planet Oa...
Annual #1 (1985) - Talos of the Wilderness Sea (1986)
- Teen Titans #19, 22-24 (1969)
- Time Warp #2 (1979)
- VigilanteVigilante (comics)Vigilante is the name used by several fictional characters appearing in DC Comics. The original character was one of the first DC Comics characters adapted for live-action film, beating Superman by one year.-Greg Saunders:...
#12-13 (1984) - Weird Mystery TalesWeird Mystery TalesWeird Mystery Tales was a mystery anthology from DC Comics, which ran from July/Aug. 1972-November 1975. Like its sister books House of Mystery and The Witching Hour, it was known for its "monstrous stories" with shock endings....
#10 (1974) - Weird Western TalesWeird Western TalesWeird Western Tales is a Western genre comic book title published by DC Comics which ran from June-July 1972 to August 1980. It is perhaps best known for featuring the adventures of Jonah Hex until #38 when the character was promoted to his own eponymous series...
#15, 20 (1972–73) - Witching HourThe Witching Hour (DC Comics)The Witching Hour was a DC comic book horror anthology that ran from 1969 to 1978. Its tagline was "It's 12 o'clock... The Witching Hour!"...
#12 (1970) - World's Finest ComicsWorld's Finest ComicsWorld's Finest Comics was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled World's Best Comics for its first issue; issue #2 switched to the more familiar name...
(Green ArrowGreen ArrowGreen Arrow is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and George Papp, he first appeared in More Fun Comics #73 in November 1941. His secret identity is Oliver Queen, billionaire and former mayor of fictional Star City...
& Black CanaryBlack CanaryBlack Canary is the name of two fictional characters, DC Comics superheroines created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino. The first Black Canary debuted appeared in Flash Comics #86 . The first Black Canary was the alter-ego of Dinah Drake, who took part in Golden Age adventures...
) #282-283; (Shazam!Captain Marvel (DC Comics)Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...
) #282 (1982)
Marvel
- Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
#89-92; 96-105; 120-124; 150; Annual #10 (1970–75), Annual #24 (1990) - Astonishing TalesAstonishing TalesAstonishing Tales is an American anthology comic book series published by Marvel Comics originally from 1970-1976. Its sister publication was Amazing Adventures vol. 2...
(Ka-ZarKa-ZarKa-Zar is the name of two jungle-dwelling comics fictional characters published in the United States. The first appeared in pulp magazines of the 1930s, and was adapted for his second iteration, as a comic book character for Timely Comics, the 1930s and 1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics...
) #11,15 (1972) - Captain AmericaCaptain AmericaCaptain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
#145 (along with John Romita, Sr) (1972) - Captain MarvelMar-VellCaptain Marvel is a fictional character owned by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and designed by artist Gene Colan and first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) is a fictional character owned by Marvel Comics. The character was created...
#17-21 (1969–70) - Conan the BarbarianConan the Barbarian (comics)Conan the Barbarian was a Marvel Comics title starring the sword-and-sorcery character created by Robert E. Howard. It debuted in Oct. 1970 and ran for 275 issues until Dec...
#17-18 (1972); #127-134 (1981–82) - Creatures on the Loose (Gullivar Jones) #16-17 (1972)
- DaredevilDaredevil (Marvel Comics)Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
#141, 146-148, 151 (1977–78) - Deadly Hands of Kung FuDeadly Hands of Kung FuDeadly Hands of Kung Fu is a martial arts comic book magazine published by Curtis Magazines, a short-lived imprint of Marvel Comics. There were a total of 33 issues published, plus one "Special Album Edition," before the series was cancelled.-Overview:...
(Sons of the TigerSons of the TigerThe Sons of the Tiger were three martial arts heroes featured in comic books published by Curtis Magazines called the Deadly Hands of Kung Fu...
) #23 (1976) - FearFearFear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
(MorbiusMorbius, the Living VampireMorbius, the Living Vampire, is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and penciler Gil Kane, the character, a living human suffering from vampiric abilities resulting from scientific rather than supernatural means, first appeared as...
) #12 (1973) - Ghost RiderGhost Rider (Johnny Blaze)Ghost Rider is a fictional character, an antihero in the Marvel Comics Universe. He is the second Marvel character to use the name Ghost Rider, following the Western hero later known as the Phantom Rider, and preceding Daniel Ketch.Johnny Blaze was portrayed both in the 2007 film Ghost Rider and...
#21 (1976) - Giant-Size Conan #1-4 (1974-75)
- InhumansInhumansThe Inhumans are a fictional race of superhumans, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. This race appears in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics and exists in that company's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe....
#5-7 (1976) - John Carter, Warlord of MarsJohn Carter, Warlord of MarsJohn Carter, Warlord of Mars is a Marvel Comics series created in 1977 by Marv Wolfman and Gil Kane , based on the Barsoom series of Edgar Rice Burroughs and featuring the eponymous character....
#1-10 (1977-78) - Journey into MysteryJourney into MysteryJourney into Mystery was an American comic book series published by Atlas Comics, and later its successor Marvel Comics. It featured horror, monster, and science fiction stories...
, vol. 2, #1-2 (1972) - Jungle ActionJungle ActionJungle Action is the name of two comic book series published by Marvel Comics and its 1950s precursor, Atlas Comics. The latter-day version is the first series starring the Black Panther, the first Black superhero in mainstream comics, created by the writer/artist team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in...
, vol. 2 (Black PantherBlack Panther (comics)The Black Panther is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller-co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52...
) #9 (1974) - Marvel Comics PresentsMarvel Comics PresentsMarvel Comics Presents was an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics originally from 1988 to 1995; it returned for a second volume in 2007-2008.-Volume 1:The first volume was released on a biweekly basis and lasted for 175 issues...
(Two-Gun KidTwo-Gun KidThe Two-Gun Kid is a fictional character, a cowboy gunslinger in the Wild West of Marvel Comics' shared universe, the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:...
) #116 (1992) - Marvel FanfareMarvel FanfareMarvel Fanfare is the title of two comic book series published by Marvel Comics. Both versions of Marvel Fanfare were anthology, showcase titles featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe.-Volume One:...
(MowgliMowgliMowgli is a fictional character from India who originally appeared in Rudyard Kipling's short story "In the Rukh" and then went on to become the most prominent and memorable character in his fantasies, The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book , which also featured stories about other...
) #9-11 (1983) - Marvel: Heroes & Legends #2 (1997)
- Marvel PremiereMarvel PremiereMarvel Premiere is an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It ran for 61 issues from April 1972 to August 1981....
(Adam WarlockAdam WarlockAdam Warlock, originally known as Him, is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #66 and #67 Adam Warlock, originally known as Him, is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel...
) #1-2; (Iron Fist) #15 (1972–74) - Marvel PreviewMarvel PreviewMarvel Preview was a magazine-sized black-and-white showcase comic book published by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of Marvel....
(BlackmarkBlackmarkBlackmark is a Bantam Books paperback , published January 1971, that is one of the first American graphic novels, predating such seminal works as Richard Corben's Bloodstar , Jim Steranko's Chandler: Red Tide , Don McGregor & Paul Gulacy's Sabre , and Will Eisner's A Contract with God...
) #17 (1979) - Marvel Team-UpMarvel Team-UpMarvel Team-Up is the name of several American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story...
(Spider-ManSpider-ManSpider-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...
team-ups) #4-6, 13-14, 16-19, 23 (1972–74) - Marvel Two-in-OneMarvel Two-in-OneMarvel Two-In-One was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics that featured the Fantastic Four member, the Thing, in a different team-up each issue with a different character. The series continued from the team-up stories starring the Thing in the final two issues of Marvel...
(The Thing team-ups) #1-2 (1974) - MicronautsMicronautsThe Micronauts comic books feature a group of characters based on the Micronauts toyline. The title was published by Marvel Comics, Image Comics, and Devil's Due Publishing. Their first comic appearance was in Micronauts #1 with characterizations created by Bill Mantlo and Michael Golden...
#38, 40-45 (1982) - Monsters UnleashedMonsters UnleashedMonsters Unleashed was a black-and-white magazine published by Curtis Magazines from 1973-1975. The focus of Monsters Unleashed was on Marvel's own monsters: Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night, and Frankenstein's monster...
#3 (1973) - Savage Sword of ConanSavage Sword of ConanThe Savage Sword of Conan was a black-and-white magazine-format comic book series published beginning in 1974 by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of Marvel Comics, and then later by Marvel itself. Savage Sword of Conan starred Robert E...
#8, 47, 63-65, 67, 85-86 (1975–83) - Savage TalesSavage TalesSavage Tales is the title of three American comics series. Two were black-and-white comics-magazine anthologies published by Marvel Comics , and the other a color comic book anthology published by Dynamite Entertainment.-Marvel/Curtis:The first of the two volumes of Savage Tales ran 11 issues, with...
(ConanConan (Marvel Comics)Conan is a fictional character based on Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian. He was introduced to the comic book world in 1970 with Conan the Barbarian, written by Roy Thomas, illustrated by Barry Smith and published by Marvel Comics....
) #4 (along with Neal AdamsNeal AdamsNeal Adams is an American comic book and commercial artist known for helping to create some of the definitive modern imagery of the DC Comics characters Superman, Batman, and Green Arrow; as the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates; and as a creators-rights advocate who...
) (1974) - Scarlet SpiderScarlet SpiderScarlet Spider is a fictional character who appeared in the Marvel Comics series Spider-Man. His costume was designed by Tom Lyle. The identity of the Scarlet Spider has been used by several characters: Ben Reilly, Peter Parker , Joe Wade , a group of three Michael Van Patrick clones working with...
#1 (1995) - Spider-Man #63 (1995)
- Tales of SuspenseTales of SuspenseTales of Suspense is the name of an American comic book series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such artists as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Don Heck, then featured...
(Captain AmericaCaptain AmericaCaptain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
) #88-91 (1967) - Tales to AstonishTales to AstonishTales to Astonish is the name of two American comic book series and a one-shot comic published by Marvel Comics.The primary title bearing that name was published from 1959-1968...
(HulkHulk (comics)The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
) #89-91 (1967) - ThorThor (Marvel Comics)Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
#318 (1982) - Vampire TalesVampire TalesVampire Tales was a black-and-white horror-comics magazine series published by Curtis Magazines in the 1970s, featuring vampires as both protagonists and antagonists....
(MorbiusMorbius, the Living VampireMorbius, the Living Vampire, is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and penciler Gil Kane, the character, a living human suffering from vampiric abilities resulting from scientific rather than supernatural means, first appeared as...
) #5 (1974) - WarlockAdam WarlockAdam Warlock, originally known as Him, is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Fantastic Four #66 and #67 Adam Warlock, originally known as Him, is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel...
#1-5 (1972–73) - Web of Spider-ManWeb of Spider-ManWeb of Spider-Man is the name of two different monthly comic book series starring Spider-Man that have been published by Marvel Comics since 1985, the first volume of which ran for 129 issues between 1985 and 1995, and the second of which ran for 12 issues between 2009 and 2010.-Volume 1:The first...
Annual #6 (1990) - Werewolf by NightWerewolf by NightWerewolf by Night is a fictional character, an antiheroic werewolf in the Marvel Comics universe. The Werewolf by Night first appeared in Marvel Spotlight vol...
#11-12 (1975) - What If?What If (comics)What If, sometimes rendered as What If...?, is the title of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, exploring "the road not traveled" by its various characters...
(AvengersAvengers (comics)The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in magazines published by Marvel Comics. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1 The Avengers...
) #3, (Spider-ManSpider-ManSpider-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...
) #24 (1977–80)
External links
- Radford, Bill. "Influence of Master Comic Illustrator Will Not Be Erased", The GazetteThe Gazette (Colorado Springs)The Gazette is a newspaper based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It is published daily by Irvine, California-based Freedom Communications...
Colorado SpringsColorado Springs, ColoradoColorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, February 13, 2000. Archive.org archive.
Further reading
- Herman, Daniel, Gil Kane: The Art of the Comics (Hermes Press, Neshannock, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, 2001), ISBN 0-9710311-1-8 (hardcover), ISBN 0-9710311-2-6 (trade paperback) - Herman, Daniel,Gil Kane Art and Interviews (Hermes Press, Neshannock, Pennsylvania, 2002), ISBN-10 0-9710-3116-9, ISBN-13 978-0-9710-3116-6