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Paul Ryan (comics)
Encyclopedia
Paul Ryan
Paul Ryan ((born 23 September 1949 in Massachusetts
) is an American comic book
and comic strip
artist. Ryan has worked extensively for Marvel Comics
and DC Comics
on a number of super-hero comics. He currently pencils and inks the daily and Sunday comic strip The Phantom
for King Features Syndicate
.
in 1971 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design. After graduation Ryan enlisted in the United States National Guard
and was shipped to Fort Dix, New Jersey for Basic Training and AIT (Advanced Individual Training) in automotive mechanics. He later attended Massachusetts Military Academy in Wakefield, Massachusetts
for officer training.
During this period Ryan landed a job in the Graphics Department of Metcalf & Eddy Engineering in Boston, where he worked for 11 years.
He has said that as a young comics fan and aspiring artist in the Silver Age
, he was influenced by the work of Wayne Boring
and Curt Swan
on Superman
. In 1961, Ryan became a big fan of the Fantastic Four
of Stan Lee
and Jack Kirby
, having "bought the first issue at the tender age of 11." He has also acknowledged that even as a youth he studied the work of Hal Foster, Sy Barry
, Dan Barry, and Mac Raboy
, adding "I'm pretty much influenced by anybody whose work I admire."
It was not until 1983, however, that circumstances and opportunity prompted him to write and draw his first comics story, which he titled BREED. This comic was done in response to a general "open audition" offer from Charlton Comics
. Charlton had recently instituted a program whereby they would publish the best of the work submitted by aspiring comic book artists in Charlton Bullseye
. There was no money involved but Charlton would give the artist 50 copies of the printed piece. The artist would then have published work to show Marvel Comics
or DC Comics
in the hopes of landing a job with the Big Two. Charlton accepted Ryan's story but unfortunately the title was cancelled before BREED saw print.
The remaining stories from Bullseye ended up in the hands of Bill Black of Americomics in Florida, and Black published BREED. This brought Ryan to the attention of comic book stores in the Boston area. When Marvel Artist, Bob Layton
, moved to Boston and needed an assistant, the employees at these stores recommended Paul Ryan to Layton. Ryan worked for Layton for a year doing his backgrounds, and through him met the editors and staff at Marvel. By this time Ryan, having taken a circuitous route toward a career in comic art, was in his early 30s.
#27 and #29) and then moving on to penciling (Iron Man
#202, Squadron Supreme
#6, 9, 10, 11, 12, Eternals
#12, and a Thor
Graphic Novel).
In 1986, writer Mark Gruenwald
and Ryan co-created DP7
for Marvel's New Universe
imprint.
Ryan penciled the first six issues of Quasar
followed by work on Avengers
, Avengers West Coast, Iron Man
, and Ravage 2099
(a character which he co-created with Stan Lee
). However, Ryan would be most strongly associated with the Fantastic Four
for his notably long run on Marvel's flagship title, trailing only Jack Kirby
and John Byrne in total number of issues drawn: his first issue was #356 (he had barely started the title when he drew the landmark 30th Anniversary issue, #358), and his last #414. In all, Ryan would rack up eleven years of comic book art exclusivity with Marvel Comics.
In 1992 Stan Lee
asked Ryan to take over the penciling (with Joe Sinnott
inking) on The Amazing Spider-Man Sunday comic strip distributed by King Features. He drew that popular feature for just over three years.
was derailed by the Heroes Reborn
event. Shortly after, Paul Ryan left Marvel to work for DC Comics. He penciled a Superman
Annual, Legends of the Dead Earth, the Flash
series, Batman
and many other titles. He also regularly pencilled Superman: The Man of Tomorrow
as well as several fill-in assignments on other Superman titles.
Paul Ryan and writer David Michelinie
are the only comic book creators to have contributed to the wedding issues of both Spider-Man (Peter Parker marrying Mary Jane Watson
in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21, 1987), and Superman (Clark Kent
marrying Lois Lane
in Superman: The Wedding Album
, 1996).
He was a contributing artist on the NASCAR/Superman custom comic and on Celebrating the Century, a stamp collecting book that DC produced for the United States Postal Service
.
Ryan briefly returned to Marvel in 1999, teaming with writer Tom DeFalco
on the Fantastic Five
. The turn of the Millennium found Ryan working with Wildstorm
, penciling one of the Left Behind (comic) Graphic Novels, and working with Crossgen
as a regular fill-in artist on such titles as Ruse and Crux. Ryan also became a regular contributor to The Phantom
or Fantomen Comic Books published by Swedish company Egmont (a job which would position him well for his next major assignment).
comic strip began as a weekday newspaper strip on February 17, 1936, with a color Sunday strip added in May 1939. Many artists have illustrated the character's adventures in the decades since then. In 2005 then current artist George Olesen
announced that he was going to retire. Jay Kennedy
at King Features Syndicate chose Paul Ryan to assume the artist's role on the daily strips. Then in October 2006 Graham Nolan
, artist on The Phantom Sunday Strip, announced his intended departure from the series. Once again Kennedy called, and Ryan agreed to add the Sunday strip to his duties for King Features, with his first Sunday appearing in newspapers on April 1, 2007. Ryan later wished to cut his workload and on July 31, 2011, Eduardo Barreto
took over as artist for the Sunday strip.
On The Phantom
, Ryan begins with penciling only the line work. "I work out the lighting, shadows and texture in the inking stage. I go in with the brush first and hit all the shadows and large dark areas. This helps define the page. Then I go in with a finer brush or pen to add details, texture or contour lines."
While Ryan keeps reference books handy, he gives more credit to observation—and an artist's eye—for his knowledge of human anatomy as well as the structure of the world around us. "Whenever I'm in any situation, I'll constantly try to memorize things. I'll memorize a face, a room, and actually mentally outline everything."
Ryan confesses to having run around his neighborhood as a youngster with a makeshift Superman cape tied around his neck ("I got beat up a lot", he jokes), and his emotional identification with comic characters has continued into his professional years: "I find that while I'm illustrating a story I become so focused that I feel as if I'm [actually] in the story, taking the part of each of the characters as I draw them", Ryan says.
Paul Ryan ((born 23 September 1949 in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
) is an American 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...
and 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....
artist. Ryan has worked extensively 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...
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...
on a number of super-hero comics. He currently pencils and inks the daily and Sunday comic strip The Phantom
The Phantom
The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
for King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
.
Early years
Paul Ryan attended St. Polycarp Grammar School (Somerville, Massachusetts) and graduated from St. Mary of the Annunciation High School in 1967. He graduated from the Massachusetts College of ArtMassachusetts College of Art
Massachusetts College of Art and Design is a publicly-funded college of visual and applied art, founded in 1873. It is one of the oldest art schools, the only publicly-funded free-standing art school in the United States, and was the first art college in the United States to grant an artistic degree...
in 1971 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design. After graduation Ryan enlisted in the United States National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
and was shipped to Fort Dix, New Jersey for Basic Training and AIT (Advanced Individual Training) in automotive mechanics. He later attended Massachusetts Military Academy in Wakefield, Massachusetts
Wakefield, Massachusetts
-History:-Geography:The diagram above shows what is to the east, west, north, south, and other directions of the center of Wakefield. Towns with population above 25,000 are in bold italics.-Demographics:-Notable residents:...
for officer training.
During this period Ryan landed a job in the Graphics Department of Metcalf & Eddy Engineering in Boston, where he worked for 11 years.
First steps in comics
The Boston Globe reports that "Ryan began his training as a child, growing up in Somerville. He'd park himself in front of the television each night to watch George Reeves in the Adventures of SupermanAdventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
He has said that as a young comics fan and aspiring artist in the Silver Age
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...
, he was influenced by the work of Wayne Boring
Wayne Boring
Wayne Boring was an American comic book artist best known for his work on Superman from the late 1940s to 1950s. He occasionally used the pseudonym Jack Harmon....
and 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...
on 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...
. In 1961, Ryan became a big fan of the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
of 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....
and 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....
, having "bought the first issue at the tender age of 11." He has also acknowledged that even as a youth he studied the work of Hal Foster, Sy Barry
Sy Barry
Seymour "Sy" Barry is an American comic strip artist, best known for his work on The Phantom comic strip, which he drew for three decades.-Career:...
, Dan Barry, and Mac Raboy
Mac Raboy
Emmanuel "Mac" Raboy was an American cartoonist whose comic books and strips remain collectibles more than 40 years after his death. He was known for his work on Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel Jr...
, adding "I'm pretty much influenced by anybody whose work I admire."
It was not until 1983, however, that circumstances and opportunity prompted him to write and draw his first comics story, which he titled BREED. This comic was done in response to a general "open audition" offer from Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics
Charlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
. Charlton had recently instituted a program whereby they would publish the best of the work submitted by aspiring comic book artists in Charlton Bullseye
Charlton Bullseye (fanzine)
Charton Bullseye was a fanzine published from 1975-76 by the CPL Gang highlighting Charlton Comics. It was a large format publication, with color covers on card stock and black & white interiors...
. There was no money involved but Charlton would give the artist 50 copies of the printed piece. The artist would then have published work to show 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...
or 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...
in the hopes of landing a job with the Big Two. Charlton accepted Ryan's story but unfortunately the title was cancelled before BREED saw print.
The remaining stories from Bullseye ended up in the hands of Bill Black of Americomics in Florida, and Black published BREED. This brought Ryan to the attention of comic book stores in the Boston area. When Marvel Artist, Bob Layton
Bob Layton
Bob Layton is an American comic book artist, writer, and editor, who has worked for Marvel Comics, Valiant Comics, DC Comics, Future Comics, and other publishers.-Early life:...
, moved to Boston and needed an assistant, the employees at these stores recommended Paul Ryan to Layton. Ryan worked for Layton for a year doing his backgrounds, and through him met the editors and staff at Marvel. By this time Ryan, having taken a circuitous route toward a career in comic art, was in his early 30s.
Marvel Comics
Soon, Ryan was getting assignments of his own, starting with inking (The ThingThing (comics)
The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
#27 and #29) and then moving on to penciling (Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
#202, Squadron Supreme
Squadron Supreme
The Squadron Supreme is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Squadron Supreme first appeared in Avengers #85 - 86 The Squadron Supreme is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Squadron Supreme first...
#6, 9, 10, 11, 12, Eternals
Eternals (comics)
The Eternals are a fictional race of superhumans in the Marvel Comics universe. They are described as an offshoot of the evolutionary process that created sentient life on Earth. The original instigators of this process, the alien Celestials, intended the Eternals to be the defenders of Earth which...
#12, and a Thor
Thor (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....
Graphic Novel).
In 1986, writer Mark Gruenwald
Mark Gruenwald
Mark E. Gruenwald was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler. Gruenwald got his start in comics fandom, publishing his own fanzine, Omniverse, which explored the concept of continuity...
and Ryan co-created DP7
DP7 (comics)
D.P. 7 was a 32-issue comic book series published by Marvel Comics as a part their New Universe imprint. It ran from 1986 to 1989. Along with Justice and Psi-Force, it was one of the few New Universe titles to last for 32 issues....
for Marvel's New Universe
New Universe
The New Universe is a comic book imprint from Marvel Comics that was published in its original incarnation from 1986 to 1989. It was created by Jim Shooter, Archie Goodwin, Eliot R. Brown, John Morelli, Mark Gruenwald, Tom DeFalco and edited by Michael Higgins.In 1986, in honor of Marvel Comics'...
imprint.
Ryan penciled the first six issues of Quasar
Quasar
A quasi-stellar radio source is a very energetic and distant active galactic nucleus. Quasars are extremely luminous and were first identified as being high redshift sources of electromagnetic energy, including radio waves and visible light, that were point-like, similar to stars, rather than...
followed by work on Avengers
Avengers (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...
, Avengers West Coast, Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
, and Ravage 2099
Ravage 2099
Ravage 2099 is a Marvel Comics superhero, a fictional character created by Stan Lee in 1992 for Marvel's Marvel 2099 imprint...
(a character which he co-created with 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....
). However, Ryan would be most strongly associated with the Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
for his notably long run on Marvel's flagship title, trailing only 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 John Byrne in total number of issues drawn: his first issue was #356 (he had barely started the title when he drew the landmark 30th Anniversary issue, #358), and his last #414. In all, Ryan would rack up eleven years of comic book art exclusivity with Marvel Comics.
In 1992 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....
asked Ryan to take over the penciling (with Joe Sinnott
Joe Sinnott
Joe Sinnott is an American comic book artist. Working primarily as an inker, Sinnott is best-known for his long stint on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, from 1965 to 1981 , initially over the pencils of industry legend Jack Kirby...
inking) on The Amazing Spider-Man Sunday comic strip distributed by King Features. He drew that popular feature for just over three years.
DC Comics and after
In 1996, Ryan's run on Fantastic FourFantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
was derailed by the Heroes Reborn
Heroes Reborn
"Heroes Reborn" was a 1996-1997 crossover story arc among comic-book series published by the American company Marvel Comics. During this one-year, multi-title story arc, Marvel temporarily outsourced the production of several of its most famous comic books to the studios of its popular former...
event. Shortly after, Paul Ryan left Marvel to work for DC Comics. He penciled a 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...
Annual, Legends of the Dead Earth, the Flash
Flash (comics)
The Flash is a name shared by several fictional comic book superheroes from the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1 ....
series, 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...
and many other titles. He also regularly pencilled Superman: The Man of Tomorrow
Superman: The Man of Tomorrow
Superman: The Man of Tomorrow is the title of a comic book series published by DC Comics that ran for 16 issues from 1995 to 1999, featuring the adventures of Superman. At the time, the four Superman titles were released weekly with an intertwining story...
as well as several fill-in assignments on other Superman titles.
Paul Ryan and writer David Michelinie
David Michelinie
-Biography:Some of his earliest work is for DC Comics's House of Secrets and a run on Swamp Thing , following Len Wein and preceding Gerry Conway, illustrated by Nestor Redondo. Michelinie did a run on Aquaman in Adventure Comics which led to the revival of the Sea King's own title in 1977...
are the only comic book creators to have contributed to the wedding issues of both Spider-Man (Peter Parker marrying Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson, often shortened to MJ, is a fictional supporting character appearing, originally, in Marvel comic books and, later, in multiple spin-offs and dramatizations of the Spider-Man titles as the best friend, love interest, and one-time wife of Peter Parker, the alter ego of Spider-Man...
in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21, 1987), and Superman (Clark Kent
Clark Kent
Clark Kent is a fictional character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, he debuted in Action Comics #1 and serves as the civilian and secret identity of the superhero Superman....
marrying Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
in Superman: The Wedding Album
Superman: The Wedding Album
Superman: 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,...
, 1996).
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
.
Ryan briefly returned to Marvel in 1999, teaming with writer Tom DeFalco
Tom DeFalco
Tom DeFalco is an American comics writer and editor, well known for his association with Marvel Comics and in particular for his work with Spider-Man.-Career:...
on the Fantastic Five
Fantastic Five
Fantastic Five is the name of superhero team that exists in the MC2 Universe, an alternate future to the Marvel Universe. A continuation of the Fantastic Four, the team was originally composed of the Human Torch, his wife Ms.Fantastic/Lyja , the Thing, Big Brain , and Psi-Lord .-Fictional team...
. The turn of the Millennium found Ryan working with Wildstorm
Wildstorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
, penciling one of the Left Behind (comic) Graphic Novels, and working with Crossgen
CrossGen
Cross Generation Entertainment, or CrossGen, was an American comic book publisher that operated from 1998 to 2004.CrossGen Comics, Inc. was founded in 1998, by Tampa, Florida-based entrepreneur Mark Alessi who sought to create a comic book universe that was uniquely varied but also connected by a...
as a regular fill-in artist on such titles as Ruse and Crux. Ryan also became a regular contributor to The Phantom
The Phantom
The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
or Fantomen Comic Books published by Swedish company Egmont (a job which would position him well for his next major assignment).
The Phantom comic strip
The PhantomThe Phantom
The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
comic strip began as a weekday newspaper strip on February 17, 1936, with a color Sunday strip added in May 1939. Many artists have illustrated the character's adventures in the decades since then. In 2005 then current artist George Olesen
George Olesen
George Olesen is best known for his work as a penciller on popular comic strip The Phantom. He worked with the character for around 40 years, although he did not get any official credit for it until penciler Sy Barry retired and Keith Williams took over as the new inker...
announced that he was going to retire. Jay Kennedy
Jay Kennedy
Jay Malcolm Kennedy was an American editor and writer. He joined King Features Syndicate in 1988 as deputy comics editor and became comics editor one year later. He began as King Features' editor-in-chief in 1997....
at King Features Syndicate chose Paul Ryan to assume the artist's role on the daily strips. Then in October 2006 Graham Nolan
Graham Nolan
Graham Nolan is a comic book artist, best known for work for DC Comics on Batman-related titles in the 1990s and his work on The Phantom Sunday strip. He is currently the artist on the syndicated comic Rex Morgan, M.D....
, artist on The Phantom Sunday Strip, announced his intended departure from the series. Once again Kennedy called, and Ryan agreed to add the Sunday strip to his duties for King Features, with his first Sunday appearing in newspapers on April 1, 2007. Ryan later wished to cut his workload and on July 31, 2011, Eduardo Barreto
Eduardo Barreto
-References:...
took over as artist for the Sunday strip.
Working methods
When asked how long it takes to produce his daily comic strip, Ryan estimated "four hours to pencil a strip and three hours to ink it in, crafting lighting and shadows." Ryan's art is characterized by a strong story-telling sense, careful attention to design and perspective, and solid knowledge of anatomy—on a strip that appears 365 days a year.On The Phantom
The Phantom
The Phantom is an American adventure comic strip created by Lee Falk, also creator of Mandrake the Magician. A popular feature adapted into many media, including television, film and video games, it stars a costumed crimefighter operating from the fictional African country Bengalla.The Phantom is...
, Ryan begins with penciling only the line work. "I work out the lighting, shadows and texture in the inking stage. I go in with the brush first and hit all the shadows and large dark areas. This helps define the page. Then I go in with a finer brush or pen to add details, texture or contour lines."
While Ryan keeps reference books handy, he gives more credit to observation—and an artist's eye—for his knowledge of human anatomy as well as the structure of the world around us. "Whenever I'm in any situation, I'll constantly try to memorize things. I'll memorize a face, a room, and actually mentally outline everything."
Ryan confesses to having run around his neighborhood as a youngster with a makeshift Superman cape tied around his neck ("I got beat up a lot", he jokes), and his emotional identification with comic characters has continued into his professional years: "I find that while I'm illustrating a story I become so focused that I feel as if I'm [actually] in the story, taking the part of each of the characters as I draw them", Ryan says.