from Mighty Marvel Calendar 1979 (Marvel, 1978)
A "we all know who drew that!" self-portrait of/by Gil:
from Best of witzend (Fantagraphics, August 2018)
But just who is this Kane feller anyway?
from Showcase #35 (DC/National, November 1961), pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Murphy Anderson
from FOOM #3 (Marvel, August 1973)
Kane also drew several Conan stories, including this one starring himself and Roy Thomas!
from "The Blood of the Dragon" in Conan the Barbarian (1970 series) #12 (Marvel, December 1971), script by Roy Thomas, pencils and inks (first panel) by Gil Kane, inks (second panel) by Tom Palmer, letters by Artie Simek
Here's a lovely portrait of some of the many Conan comics creators. Gil's in the upper left, holding the flag.
(Click picture to Cimmerian-size)
Gray Morrow drew Gil Kane as a doctor into the very first El Diablo story. Nice suit, "Dr. Kane!"
from "The Devil Has Two Faces!" in All Star Western (1970 series) #2 (DC/National, October 1970), script by Robert Kanigher, pencils and inks by Gray Morrow, letters by Ray Holloway (?)
Where's Waldo...I mean, where's Gil? Find Gil Kane cheering on the Superman/Ali prize fight! Look for that distinguished silver hair!
cover of All-New Collectors' Edition #C-56 (DC, March 1978), layout by Joe Kubert, pencils by Neal Adams, inks by Neal Adams (?) and/or Cory Adams (?), logo design by John Workman
(Click top picture to GOAT-size)
In addition to Hal Jordan, Kane co-created many of the GL supporting characters. Including himself! Here’s some Gil Kane self-portraits.
from "Half a Green Lantern Is Better Than None!" in Green Lantern (1960 series) #29 (DC/National, June 1964), script by John Broome, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Sid Greene
from "Prince Peril's Power Play" in Green Lantern (1960 series) #45 (DC/National, June 1966), script by John Broome, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Sid Greene, letters by Gaspar Saladino
I've shared other panels from "His Name Is...Kane!" recently with you in Joe Orlando's birthday post, and here's some more spotlights on Gil himself.
from "His Name Is...Kane" in House of Mystery (1951 series) #180 (DC/National, May 1969), script by Mike Friedrich, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Wally Wood, letters by Milt Snapinn (?)
Any comment on that story, Mr. Kane? Whoops, I mean...Mr. Cain.
from "Behind the Scenes at the House of Mystery" in Limited Collectors' Edition #C-23 (DC, Winter 1973), text by Joe Orlando
Does Gil Kane have a bit of an ego in this Alan Moore-scripted story? Well, sure. But he's entitled to, I think.
from Judgment Day: Aftermath #1 one-shot (Awesome, March 1998), script by Alan Moore, pencils by Gil Kane, inks by Marlo Alquiza, colors by I.H.O.C. and Quantum Color FX, letters by John Marasigan
Other artists on Gil Kane: Stan Lee (take into account his infmaously swiss-cheessed memory) on the creation of the Spider-Man drug issue that bucked the Comics Code right off its cover:
from Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir (Simon & Schuster, January 2019), script by Peter David and Stan Lee, art by Colleen Doran
(Yes, despite the scarcity of Marvel panels in this post, never forget Gil worked at Marvel for quite some time, on The Amazing Spider-Man, John Carter: Warlord of Mars, Marvel Team-Up, The Micronauts, Warlock, Tales to Astonish, Iron Man and many more!)
from "Because You Demanded It!" in Fantastic Four Annual #7 (Marvel, December 1969), photograph by Al Hewetson
From Jack Kirby's biographical comic:
from Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics (Ten Speed, July 2020), script and art by Tom Scioli
Howard Chaykin tips his bullet-riddled hat to Kane:
from "Horrors!" in Solo #4 [Howard Chaykin] (DC, June 2005); script, pencils, and inks by Howard Chaykin; colors by Dave McCaig; letters by Ken Lopez
You want anecdotes about Gil Kane? I've got twenty! Er...one. Here it is.
from The Comic Book History of Comics #2 (IDW, December 2016), script and letters by Fred Van Lente, pencils and inks by Ryan Dunlavey, colors by Adam Guzowski
At a comic book convention in Astro City, from left to right: Mark Evanier, Manny Monkton (fictional), Robert Cottonman (fictional), Julie Schwartz, Stan Lee, and at the right, looking regal and smartly starying out of it all, Gil Kane:
from Kurt Busiek's Astro City (1999 series) #21 (Homage, March 2000), script by Kurt Busiek, pencils by Brent Anderson, inks by Will Blyberg, colors by Alex Sinclair, letters by John Roshell and Wes Abbott
I love Gil Kane so much I even forgive him for co-killing off Gwen Stacy. Besides, it's not as if Marvel ever harmed him or any other of the Spider-Man artists...whoops.
from Amazing Spider-Man (1963 series) #308 (Marvel, November 1988), script by David Michelinie, pencils and inks by Todd McFarlane, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Rick Parker
Happy birthday, Gil Kane!
Am I mistaken or did Kane create seemingly every Marvel cover from late 1971 through 72? It feels that way when I picture that era of comics. The Marvel frame around the cover image. Gil Kane character nostrils were the broken-spine t & a of the early 70s Marvel covers, to be sure.
ReplyDeleteIs he also responsible for the late pre-crisis redesign of Luthor and Braniac? Much as Swan's Supes remains the iconic rendition of that era, Kane's bold visual approach was really appealing. And I loved the look of Sword of The Atom.
Besides being hugely talented, he was also a huge hustler. Respect and all that.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet! there's this:
https://hoopercomics.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/a4e28-vfmwgo6hg2l21.jpg
I'd like to think that if true, it wasn't all about the money but that Kane was something of a connoisseur -- at least a fan. IIRC, he never felt that he couldn't improve as an artist.
I should add that Howard Chaykin has practically made a sub-career about his mixed feelings about Kane. Spoiler: it's a mix of respect, gratitude and major condemnation -- a tough mix to handle but Chaykin being Chaykin, he manages it well.
https://www.google.com/search?q=howard+chaykin+on+gil+kane&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Complicated man.
And as I said, a huge talent.
I met Gil Kane once and was absolutely delighted that he looked just like Gil Kane.
ReplyDeleteTo Michael Grabowski, above: George Pérez and Ed Hannigan created those new looks for Luthor and Brainiac, respectively, as noted on special pages featuring their designs in Action Comics #544, but Kane drew them on that issue’s cover. I loved the look of Sword of the Atom too.
ReplyDelete