John Calnan (February 26, 1932 – December 27, 2016)[1][2] was an American comics artist best known as the co-creator of Lucius Fox with writer Len Wein.
| John Calnan | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Calnan February 26, 1932 |
| Died | December 27, 2016 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Penciller, Inker |
Notable works | Batman, World's Finest Comics |
Early life
editJohn Calnan graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.[2] One of his instructors was Jerry Robinson.[3]
Career
editJohn Calnan's first work in the comic book industry was with fellow artist Tom Gill on The Lone Ranger series.[4] Calnan later moved into the advertising field. He stated in a 2011 interview that he "became an advertising art director and TV producer for agencies and still kept the comic work on the side."[4] Calnan began working for DC Comics in 1966 and drew a large number of stories for that publisher's horror comics titles such as Ghosts, The Unexpected, and The Witching Hour.[5] His earliest credited work at DC Comics appeared in Our Fighting Forces #104 (Nov.–Dec. 1966).[6] He worked primarily with editors Murray Boltinoff, Joe Orlando, and Robert Kanigher.[7] A "Johnny Peril" story drawn by Calnan for The Unexpected series in 1969 was put into inventory and finally published ten years later in the APA-I fanzine.[8] Calnan was the main artist on the "Metamorpho" back-up feature[3] in Action Comics and World's Finest Comics.[9] He later became the regular artist on the Superman and Batman team-up stories which were the main feature in World's Finest Comics. Soon after leaving that series, he and writer Bob Rozakis introduced the Quakemaster, an enemy of the Batman in DC Special #28 (July 1977).[10] Calnan then became the artist on the main Batman solo-series.[5] His debut on the series was "Where Were You On The Night Batman Was Killed?", a four-issue storyline in issues #291–294 (Sept.–Dec. 1977) written by David Vern Reed.[11][12] Calnan drew the first appearance of Lucius Fox, a supporting cast member of the Batman mythos, in Batman #307 (Jan. 1979).[13] This character was later portrayed by Morgan Freeman in the movies Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. Calnan's last work for DC Comics appeared in Action Comics #538 (Dec. 1982).[6]
Personal life
editCalnan retired in 1996 and died on December 27, 2016, at the age of 84.[2] He was survived by his wife, Barbara, his daughters, Donna, Susan, and Diane and his grandchildren.[14]
Bibliography
editDC Comics
edit- Action Comics #410–418, 469, 471–472, 537–538 (1972–1983)
- Adventure Comics #453, 492 (1977–1982)
- All-Out War #5 (1980)
- Batman #291–294, 298–299, 301–309, 352 (1977–1982)
- The Brave and the Bold #126, 137 (1976–1977)
- Capt. Storm #18 (1967)
- DC Comics Presents #47, 49 (1982)
- DC Special #25, 28 (1976–1977)
- Detective Comics #467, 484, 490, 519 (1976–1982)
- Falling in Love #130 (1972)
- The Flash #272 (1979)
- Ghosts #2–7, 9, 12–13, 17, 20–21, 27, 29, 32, 35–40, 44, 50–51, 53–54, 56, 59, 62–63, 73 (1971–1979)
- G.I. Combat #191, 201, 203 (1976–1977)
- Girls' Love Stories #155, 172 (1970–1972)
- House of Mystery #212, 251–253 (1973–1977)
- Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2 #260–261, 271 (1980–1981)
- Limited Collectors' Edition #C-32 (1974)
- Mystery in Space #111 (1980)
- The New Adventures of Superboy #10, 15–17, 19–21, 23–24, 32 (1980–1982)
- Our Army at War #176 (1967)
- Our Fighting Forces #104, 110 (1966–1967)
- Secrets of Haunted House #12 (1978)
- Secrets of Sinister House #18 (1974)
- Superman #371, 373 (1982)
- The Superman Family #182–184, 187, 194–196, 198, 201–202, 204–206, 208–216, 221 (1977–1982)
- Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #121 (1972)
- The Unexpected #118, 121, 127, 129–130, 134, 137, 144, 157–158, 164, 189, 193, 204 (1979–1980)
- The Witching Hour #16–18, 20, 28, 31, 47, 58, 64 (1971–1976)
- Wonder Woman #265–266 (Wonder Girl back-up story) (1980)
- World's Finest Comics #218–220, 229, 232–242, 244, 281 (1973–1982)
- Young Love #97 (1972)
George A. Pflaum
edit- Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact #v16#2 [288], #v16#4 [290], #v16#8 [294] (1960)
Western Publishing
edit- Mystery Comics Digest #19 (1974)
References
edit- ^ Reed, Gene (December 2017). "John Calnan (1932–2016) 'An Editor's Favorite'". Alter Ego. 3 (151). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 79.
- ^ a b c "John Calnan". Lambiek Comiclopedia. March 4, 2017. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022.
- ^ a b Evanier, Mark (March 3, 2017). "John Calnan, R.I.P." www.newsfromme.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022.
- ^ a b Stroud, Bryan D. (September 13, 2011). "John Calnan Interview". www.wtv-zone.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022.
- ^ a b Bails, Jerry (n.d.). "John Calnan". Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020.
- ^ a b John Calnan at the Grand Comics Database
- ^ Carmichael, Michael C. (November 1981). "DC Profile #81: John Calnan". The Superman Family (212). DC Comics. Archived from the original on April 24, 2022.
- ^ Wells, John (February 2020). "The 'Lost' DC Stories of the 1970s". Back Issue! (118). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 20.
- ^ Stroud, Bryan (May 2013). "Metamorpho in Action Comics". Back Issue! (64). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 22–27.
- ^ Manning, Matthew K. (2014). "1970s". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.). Batman: A Visual History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 125. ISBN 978-1465424563.
A lead feature by writer Bob Rozakis and penciller John Calnan starring Batman as Gotham City suffered earthquakes.
- ^ Manning "1970s" in Dougall, p. 126: "Writer David V. Reed delivered one of his most enjoyable Batman stories in this four-part saga illustrated by John Calnan."
- ^ Sims, Chris (June 29, 2012). "Ask Chris #112: Where Were You On The Night Batman Was Killed?". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015.
- ^ McAvennie, Michael (2010). "1970s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.
Batman #307 (Jan. 1979) Writer Len Wein and artist John Calnan introduced Bruce Wayne's new executive, Lucius Fox, in this issue of Batman
- ^ Stroud, Bryan D. (December 2016). "In Memoriam: John Calnan". previewsworld.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022.
External links
edit- John Calnan at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- John Calnan at IMDb
- John Calnan at Mike's Amazing World of Comics