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Gil Kane

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Personal History

Gilbert Eli "Gil" Kane (born Eli Katz) was born April 6, 1926 in Riga, Latvia to a Jewish family.[1][2] His family immigrated to the United States in 1929 and settled in Brooklyn, New York where his father worked as a poultry merchant.[3][4] Katz went to high school at New York City's School of Industrial Art in Manhattan, but he dropped out his senior year to work in the comics industry.[1][5] His cousin Marty Elkin became a comics artist as well.[6] After working under various pseudonyms including Stack Til and Gil Stack, Katz legally changed his name to Gilbert Eli Kane in 1952.[2]

Kane died January 31, 2000 at the age of 73 in Miami, Florida from complications of lymphatic cancer.[1] He was survived by his second wife, his son, and two stepchildren.[7]

Professional History

Katz entered the comics industry in 1942 at the age of 16, starting in production at MLJ Comics (later Archie Comics) putting up borders and finishing artwork. Fired after three weeks, he started penciling at artist Jack Binder's studio before being rehired by MLJ weeks later. In 1996, he recalled his first job at MLJ being the "Inspector Bentley of Scotland Yard" strip in Pep Comics.[8] Katz became a freelance artist, often working under pseudonyms such as "Gil Stack", "Stack Til", and "Pen Star" (with artist Pen Shumaker) to avoid saturating the market under a single byline.[9] Among the publishers he worked for during this period were Hillman Periodicals, Prize Comics, and Temerson/Helnit/Continental as well as the future DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Katz's first confirmed work for Marvel was as inker on "The Spawn of Death" in Young Allies #11, and his first confirmed DC work was as an uncredited ghost artist for Jack Kirby on the Sandman story in Adventure Comics #92.[10]

Katz’s budding comics career was interrupted in 1944 when he was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II.[1] Upon joining, he tried to get hired as a cartoonist for his camp's newspaper. He served in the Pacific theater of the war and, after 19 months of service, returned to the U.S. from the Philippines in 1945.[5][9][11] Katz went back to New York and resumed work in comics, picking up freelance assignments that would set the stage for his postwar career.[9]

Katz supported himself with a mix of comics and commercial art, including work as a storyboard artist for director Garson Kanin.[11] In the late 1940s, he freelanced for a wide range of publishers such as Eastern Color Printing, Fawcett Publications, and Fox Features Syndicate, but it was his growing relationship with DC Comics—then National Periodical Publications—that became central to his career.[10] Hired by editor Sheldon Mayer in 1947, Katz drew several more Sandman strips in Adventure Comics and, after establishing a professional relationship with editor Julius Schwartz in 1949, worked on the publisher's western, romance, and science fiction titles.[5] Katz continued to experiment with pseudonyms including "Phil Martel" before permanently settling on the name "Gil Kane" and making it his legal name in 1952.[2][10] Throughout the 1950s, Gil Kane continued working for DC Comics while also freelancing for other publishers like Atlas on war, horror, crime, and other non-superhero fare.[12]

In 1959, Kane proved instrumental in breathing new life into superheroes during the Silver Age of Comic Books when he illustrated a new version of Green Lantern. With writer John Broome, he co-created Hal Jordan, the modern Green Lantern, in Showcase #22 (Oct. 1959). Kane went on to pencil the character's self-titled series until 1970, ending his run with issue #75. Along the way, he and Broome elaborated the character's extensive lore and supporting cast, including Jordan's love interest Carol Ferris, her villainous alter-ego Star Sapphire, Jordan's obnoxious rival Green Lantern Guy Gardner, and their diminutive alien overseers, the Guardians of the Universe.[13] Per comics historian Les Daniels, Kane's character design "was part of an approach that emphasized grace as well as strength...Green Lantern appeared to soar effortlessly across the cosmos."[14]

In 1961, Kane teamed with writer Gardner Fox to create the Silver Age version of the Atom, Ray Palmer, who first appeared in Showcase #34 (Oct. 1961).[13] Kane’s run on the Atom solo title lasted until 1968, and, as with Green Lantern, he helped establish much of the character's supporting cast and rogues gallery: Palmer's love interest Jean Loring and villains such as Chronos, the Bug-Eyed Bandit, and the Floronic Man.[15] Meanwhile, Kane worked on other DC features, succeeding Steve Ditko on Hawk and Dove and contributing both pencils and then both pencils and script. He also illustrated Captain Action, a licensed-character book adapted from the toy, writing and penciling several issues. With writer Marv Wolfman, Kane helped furnish the first proper origin for Wonder Girl (Donna Troy) in Teen Titans #22 (Jul.-Aug. 1969), giving her a unique costume and distinguishing her identity from that of Wonder Woman.[13]

During this period, Kane freelanced for publishers, penciling T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents for Tower Comics and Tiger Boy for Harvey Comics.[9][16] Returning to Marvel, Kane co-created (with Stan Lee) the villain Abomination in Tales to Astonish #90 (Apr. 1967).[17] In 1968, Kane collaborated with Archie Goodwin (who wrote under the pseudonym "Robert Franklin") on His Name Is… Savage, a black-and-white magazine-format comics novel. They followed up with Blackmark, one of the first graphic novels, in 1971.[18] With writer Roy Thomas and colorist Michele Robinson, Kane revamped Marvel's first Captain Marvel in 1969, redesigning his costume and updating the character toward more science-fiction oriented adventures.[19]

In the 1970s, Kane became a central figure at Marvel, most prominently on Amazing Spider-Man and Marvel Team-Up. He and Stan Lee collaborated on a three-issue anti-drug storyline in Amazing Spider-Man #96-98 (May–Jul. 1971), which was published without the approval of the Comics Code Authority. The storyline was praised for its social relevance and ultimately led to revisions of the Code itself.[20] With Roy Thomas, Kane co-created Morbius the Living Vampire, who debuted in Amazing Spider-Man #101 (Oct. 1971).[21] He then teamed with writer Gerry Conway on one of the most famous Spider-Man stories ever published: “The Night Gwen Stacy Died,” spanning Amazing Spider-Man #121–122 (Jun.–Jul. 1973), in which Spider-Man’s girlfriend Gwen Stacy is killed in a climactic battle with the Green Goblin.[22] Beyond Spider-Man, Kane and Roy Thomas revamped the character Him into Adam Warlock, giving him a new identity and mythos in Marvel Premiere #1–2 (1972) and the subsequent Warlock title.[23] The pair also introduced Iron Fist in Marvel Premiere #15 (May 1974), blending martial arts with superhero storytelling.[24] That same year, Kane redesigned the superheroine The Cat as Tigra.[25] And, in 1977, Kane and Marv Wolfman launched John Carter, Warlord of Mars, adapting Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom mythos for comics.[26]

In the late 1970s, Kane expanded his portfolio beyond comic books to other formats and media. He teamed with writer Ron Goulart to launch the science-fiction/adventure daily comic strip Star Hawks, which first appeared October 3, 1977 and ran until May 2, 1981. Early in its run, the strip used a “two-tier” format for the daily installments, a more ambitious layout than typical newspaper dailies.[27] In 1979, Kane created Jason Drum, a sci-fi/fantasy feature for the weekly French-Belgian anthology Tintin about an astronaut stranded in a sword-and-sorcery world.[28] In addition to comics, Kane illustrated paperback novel covers and record-album covers, drew model box art, and in 1980 co-wrote a novel adapting the King Arthur legend, Excalibur!, with author John Jakes.[28][29]

While still contributing to comics, Kane branched out into television in the 1980s, doing animation concept work for Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears.[28] With Jack Kirby, he produced character designs for the animated series The Centurions.[30] He also designed characters for the 1988 Superman cartoon.[9] In comics, he had a brief run on Marvel's Micronauts in 1982, contributing both cover and interior art.[28] Returning to DC, Kane shared art duties on Action Comics, including a revamp of the villain Brainiac with writer Marv Wolfman in issue #544 (Jun. 1983).[28][31] In 1983, Kane illustrated the Sword of the Atom mini-series with writer Jan Strnad, which revisited the Ray Palmer Atom in a fantasy‐inflected storyline.[32] Kane later returned to the Hal Jordan Green Lantern as well, providing art for the character's feature in Action Comics #601-605.[28][33] Kane closed out the decade illustrating a comics adaptation of Richard Wagner's opera epic The Ring of the Nibelung for writer Roy Thomas in 1989 and 1990.[1]

Kane remained an active artist through the 1990s until his death in January 2000. In late 1991, he reunited with his former apprentice Howard Chaykin for the three-part “Flyer” story in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #24-26 (Oct. 1991-Jan. 1992), doing plot, pencils and inks.[34] In 1993, Kane illustrated the official Jurassic Park movie adaptation for Topps Comics, working with writer Walter Simonson and inker George Pérez.[35] With writer Steven Grant, Kane created the superhero Edge for Malibu Comics' Bravura imprint in 1994.[36] In 1997, he designed the set for a Santa Monica Playhouse production of the play Lovely!, drew DC's The Life Story of the Flash graphic novel for writer Mark Waid, and contributed to Alan Moore's revamp of Awesome Entertainment's Youngblood franchise in the Judgment Day mini-series.[1][37] Kane's final completed work, a two-part Green Lantern and Atom story, was published posthumously in Legends of the DC Universe #28-29 (May-Jun. 2000).[37]

Gil Kane is remembered as one of the most influential and innovative artists in the history of American comics, a central figure in shaping both the Silver and Bronze Ages of the medium. His dynamic storytelling and pivotal creations—most notably the Silver Age Green Lantern and Atom—cemented his place as a defining visual architect of modern superhero comics, and his ventures into graphic novels and creator-owned projects foreshadowed the evolution of the industry toward greater artistic freedom and sophistication.

Awards[]

Work History

Images

See Also

Links and References

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Gil Kane; Innovative Comic Book Artist – Los Angeles Times
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
  3. ↑ Kane was born Eli Katz in Latvia … arriving in Brooklyn at the age of three
  4. ↑ Sedlmeier, Cory (ed.). Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk Volume 2. Marvel Entertainment. p. 244.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Herman, Daniel (2004). Silver Age: The Second Generation of Comic Artists. Neshannock Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania: Hermes Press. p. 68. ISBN 1-932563-64-4.
  6. ↑ Gil Kane – Grand Comics Database Creator Entry
  7. ↑ Holland, Steve (February 3, 2000). "Gil Kane: Illustrator who revived America's comic heroes". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. Archived from the original on March 17, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  8. ↑ Groth, Gary (April 1996). "Interview with Gil Kane, Part I". The Comics Journal (186). Seattle, Washington: Fantagraphics Books. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Lambiek – “Gil Kane”
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Gil Kane – Grand Comics Database
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Kane, Gil. "Gil Kane". National Cartoonists Society. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014.
  12. ↑ Comic Art & Graffix – “Gil Kane Biography”
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Irvine, Alex (2010). "1950s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.
  14. ↑ Daniels, Les (1995). "Green Lantern Lit Again Comics Get Cosmic Consciousness". DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes. New York, New York: Bulfinch Press. p. 124. ISBN 0821220764.
  15. ↑ Dave’s Comic Heroes Blog – “Justice League Adds Members”
  16. ↑ Facts for Kids Gil Kane's bibliography
  17. ↑ DeFalco, Tom; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1960s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 121. ISBN 978-0756641238.
  18. ↑ Greenberger, Robert (2012). The Art of Howard Chaykin. Mount Laurel, New Jersey: Dynamite Entertainment. pp. 25–26. ISBN 978-1606901694.
  19. ↑ Captain Marvel Secret History CBR translation — “Eventually, Roy Thomas and Gil Kane decided to revamp the character… Kane … re-designed the costume …”
  20. ↑ Manning, Matthew K.; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2012). "1970s". Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 55. ISBN 978-0756692360.
  21. ↑ Marvel.com – “1970s History: Morbius the Living Vampire”
  22. ↑ CBR – “How Gwen Stacy’s Death Changed Spider-Man Forever,” by Brian Cronin, 2021
  23. ↑ CBR – “Adam Warlock: 10 Essential Comics to Read Before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” by Timothy Donohoo, 2023
  24. ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica – “Iron Fist”
  25. ↑ Cassell, Dewey (August 2006). "Talking About Tigra: From the Cat to Were-Woman". Back Issue! (17). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 26–33.
  26. ↑ Sanderson, Peter; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1970s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 179. ISBN 978-0756641238.
  27. ↑ "Kane, Gil: American artist, Eli Katz". Encyclopædia Britannica Book of the Year, 2001. Britannica.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2009.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 28.5 Facts for Kids – “Gil Kane” bibliography
  29. ↑ Excalibur! by Kane, Gil; Jakes, John (Dell, 1980)
  30. ↑ Centurions Blast Their Way Onto DVD – Wired
  31. ↑ (regarding the Bronze Age revamp by Wolfman & Kane) Brainiac article
  32. ↑ Sword of the Atom series listing
  33. ↑ Chris Is On Infinite Earths – Action Comics Weekly #601
  34. ↑ Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #26 – DC Comics
  35. ↑ “Licensed to Cash-In: Topps’ Jurassic Park,” You Don’t Read Comics, 2019 You Don't Read Comics
  36. ↑ The Last Heroes (2004) (Random Comics Theatre) Four Realities. July 5, 2022.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 Gil Kane. Wikipedia.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 "NCS Awards > Division Awards". National Cartoonists Society. Archived from the original on April 18, 2013.
  39. ↑ "Inkpot Award Winners". Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012.
  40. ↑ Hahn, Joel (ed.). "1997 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees and Winners". Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on November 2, 2010.
  41. ↑ Hahn, Joel (ed.). "1997 Harvey Award Nominees and Winners". Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013.
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