Gil Kane

Comic Book Artist

Gil Kane was born in Riga, Latvia on April 6th, 1926 and is the Comic Book Artist. At the age of 73, Gil Kane biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.

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Date of Birth
April 6, 1926
Nationality
United States
Place of Birth
Riga, Latvia
Death Date
Jan 31, 2000 (age 73)
Zodiac Sign
Aries
Profession
Comics Artist
Gil Kane Height, Weight, Eye Color and Hair Color

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Gil Kane Religion, Education, and Hobbies
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Gil Kane Life

Gil Kane (born Eli Katz, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s, with virtually every major comic book company and name. Kane co-created the modern-day versions of the superheroes Green Lantern and the Atom for DC Comics, as well as co-created Iron Fist with Roy Thomas for Marvel Comics.

He was involved in such big stories as that of The Amazing Spider-Man #96–98, which, at the time of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, blasted the then-prevalent Comics Code Authority's efforts to depict drug use, sparking the Code's revision.

Kane also created His Name Is... Savage, a graphic novel prototype, in 1968, and Blackmark, a seminal graphic novel, 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.

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Gil Kane Career

Early life and career

Eli Katz was born in Latvia in 1926 and settled in Brooklyn, New York City. His father was a struggling chicken business. Kane attended high school at the School of Industrial Art in Manhattan, but he left early in his senior year after being offered the opportunity to work at MLJ Comics (later Archie Comics).

He recalled in a 1996 interview,

Kane worked in manufacturing before being dismissed after three weeks, "putting borders on pages" before being dismissed. The letterers would only put in the lettering, not the balloons, so I'd put in the borders, balloons, and artwork, but whatever had to be done on a smaller scale." "I got a job with Jack Binder's company within days" of being let go." On Fifth Avenue, Jack Binder had a loft, but it seemed to be an internment camp. There must have been 50 or 60 guys up there, all at drawing tables. You had to pay attention to the paper that you bought." Kane started penciling professionally, but "they weren't terribly happy with what I was doing." However, when I was rehired by MLJ three weeks later, they didn't just insert me back into the production department and give me an increase, but they did give me my first job, 'Inspector Bentley of Scotland Yard,' in Pep Comics, and then give me a complete copy of The Shield and Dusty, one of their most popular books. He will also do spot illustrations for other studios.

Inking Carl Hubbell's six-page Scarlet Avenger superhero story "The Counterfeit Money Code" in MLJ's Zip Comics #14 (cover-dated May 1941), on which he referred to him as "Gil Kane" and received his first known credit. Other early credits include Pep Comics, some under pseudonyms such as Stack Til and Stacktil, as well as Pen Sen. Pen Shumaker's Pen Star. On rare occasions, including on at least one story per month in the Temerson / Helnit / Continental publishing company's Terrific Comics and Cat-Man Comics, he used his birth name on rare occasions, including in at least one story each.

In 1944, he began his work for the forthcoming Marvel Comics as one of two inkers on the 28-page "The Spawn of Death" in the Wartime kid-gang comic "The Spawn of Death" and the future DC Comics as the uncredited ghost artist for Jack Kirby on the Sandman superhero story "Courage a la Carte" in Adventure Comics #91 (May 1944). Kane was either drafted or enlisted in the Army and served in the World War II Pacific theater of operations during the same year. He returned to in December 1945 after 19 months in the service. Sheldon Mayer, the editor of All-American Publications, was recruited in 1947 for a six-month stint. He also contributed to Adventure Comics' "Sandman" feature, as penciler Gil Stack and inker Phil Martel, and Sensation Comics' "Wildcat" feature. "He worked with director Garson Kanin when he was interested in television," he said at the time.

Kane began a long-time professional association with Julius Schwartz, a National Comics editor, who created the future DC Comics. In the 1950s, Kane wrote stories about numerous DC series, including All-Star Western and Rex the Wonder Dog.

Kane illustrated drawings for the modern-day adaptation of the 1940s superhero Green Lantern's comic in the late 1950s, freelancing for DC Comics precursor National Comics. Les Daniels, a comics scholar, praised Kane's work on the character, saying, "The design emphasised grace as well as strength," the character was created, an element that was particularly prominent in Kane's flying scenes... Green Lantern seemed to soar effortlessly across the cosmos. Even as the human figures in the comics tended to imitate Kane's tall, elongated build, DC Comics writer and executive Paul Levitz wrote in 2010 that Kane "modeled the Guardians on Israeli founding father David Ben-Gurion." In issue #16, Kane and writer John Broome's Green Lantern series included converting Hal Jordan's love affair, Carol Ferris, into the Star Sapphire. Broome and Kane's Black Hand, a character prominently in the "Blackest Night" storyline in 2009-2010, appeared in issue #29 (June 1964). Guy Gardner was created by the creative team in the story "Earth's Other Green Lantern" by Guy Gardner. In issue #59 (March 1968), the magazine was published.

Kane co-created an updated version of the Atom with writer Gardner Fox. Kane, a young superhero team based on the action figure, also drew the Teen Titans, a revival of Plastic Man, and in the late 1960s, such short-lived titles as Hawk and Dove and the licensed-character comic Captain Action based on the action figure were available in Jericho, New York, based on the action figure. In Teen Titans #22 (July–Aug), Kane and Marv Wolfman created an origin for Wonder Girl. The character's new costume was unveiled in 1969.

In Marvel Comics' Tales to Astonish, he briefly freelanced some Hulk stories, first under the pseudonym Scott Edwards and then in his own name, defying the tactic in which DC artists moonlighting at Marvel used pseudonyms. In Tales of Astonish #90 (April 1967), writer/editor Stan Lee introduced the Abomination as an enemy of the Hulk. Kane worked in the 1960s for the T.H.U.D.E.R., a corporation that published comics. Agents, a spy/espionage film, as well as Harvey Comics' "Tiger Boy" strip. Kane found a home at Marvel after becoming the company's regular penciller for The Amazing Spider-Man, replacing John Romita in the early 1970s and becoming the company's prime cover artist for the entire decade. Kane's first Spider-Man storyline culminated in the death of support character George Stacy.

Stan Lee and editor-writer Stan Lee wrote a three-issue story arc in The Amazing Spider-Man #96-98 (May–July 1971), which was the first challenge to the industry's self-governing Comics Code Authority since its inception in 1954. And in a negative light, the Code forbade mention of drugs. However, Lee and Kane produced an anti-drug storyline conceived at the behest of the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and, if not receiving Code Authority approval, Marvel published the issue without the Code seal on their pages. The comics were received with such positive feedback and high sales that the company's self-censorship was disregarded, and the Code was updated shortly afterward. In issues #121–122 (June–July 1973), another milestone in Kane's Spider-Man series was the arc "The Night Gwen Stacy Died," in which Spider-Man's girlfriend Gwen Stacy, as well as the long-time villain Green Goblin were killed, an odd occurrence at the time.

Kane, a writer, helped revise Captain Marvel's version of Captain Marvel and reimagined a preexisting one as Adam Warlock, as well as a writer Roy Thomas, who wrote Adam Warlock. Iron Fist, a martial arts superhero, was co-created by Kane and Thomas, as well as Morbius the Living Vampire. Kane and writer Gerry Conway turned John Jameson, an incidental character in The Amazing Spider-Man series, into a Man-Wolf.

Kane was described in 2009 by Conway, Kane's fellow on the death-of-Gwen-Stacy storyline and elsewhere, as a genius.

Kane's side projects include two long works that he conceived, plotted, and illustrated, as well as scripting by Archie Goodwin (1971), a self-published, 40-page, magazine-format comics book, and one of the first examples of the graphic novel, a word not commonly used at the time. During the production of Blackmark, Howard Chaykin served as Kane's assistant, and Kane will be dubbed "the most influential male" in his life.

Kane created various Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears animated television series, including The Centurions, which he co-created with Jack Kirby in the 1970s and 1980s. He contributed to the conversion of the obscure Marvel Comics character, the Cat, into Tigra in 1974, and three years later, Ron Goulart and the newspaper daily comic strip Star Hawks appeared. During the first years, the strip, which ran from 1981 to 1981, was known for its experimental use of a two-tier system. He also illustrated paperback and album covers, drew model box art, and co-wrote the 1980 book Excalibur! Beginning in June 1977, he drew the John Carter, Warlord of Mars series for Marvel.

Kane met Michel "Greg" Regnier, later the editor of French-Belgian comics anthology Tintin Weekly in 1971. Jason Drum, an explorer trapped on a sword and sorcery world, created a science fiction/fantasy story about an explorer trapped on a sword and sorcery world. The series debuted in Tintin weekly, on the front page of #202 (July 1979). Kane reached out to Joe Staton to help with layouts, and uninked penciled pages were sent to France as a result of a medical emergency. Franz, a Belgian artist, inked five pages of Kane's pencils and pented, as well as inked the last pages of the story himself (in #206 and 207 [Aug. 78]). Kane lost touch with Tintin after his recovery. Kane did not finish the Jason Drum project with 44 completely linked pages of dialogue, according to Gary Groth and publisher at Fantagraphics. The project had never been published in English, but Staton and Franz' original 27 page version was released in several other languages, including Swedish (as back-up in Lee Falk's The Phantom in 1980).

Kane was one of the artists on the double-sized Justice League of America #200 (March 1982). He appeared in the early 1980s on The Micronauts cartoon and contributed to the 1988 Superman animated television series. In Action Comics #544 (June 1983), Kane and Marv Wolfman revised the Brainiac character, a nemesis of Superman. In 1986, he was one of the DC Challenge limited series's contributors. Kane was the artist on the early Green Lantern serial in the short-lived anthology Action Comics Weekly from issue #601-605, and he illustrated the Nightwing cover for issue #627 in 1988. In the Sword of the Atom limited series, a collaboration with writer Jan Strnad, he returned to drawing the Atom. Kane illustrated a comic-book version of Richard Wagner's epic opera "The Ring of the Nibelung" in 1989-1990.

Kane drew many publishers, including Topps Comics, for which he illustrated a miniseries adaptation of the film Jurassic Park; Malibu Comics; in which he illustrated Alan Moore's four-page Kid Thunder story "Judgment Day: 1868" in Judgment Day Alpha 1, 1996; and DC, where he drew several Superman stories. He was one of many creators of the Superman: The Wedding Album one-shot, wherein the title character married Lois Lane. Howard Chaykin and his late apprentice Howard Chaykin worked together on a three-part Batman tale from 1990 to 1996, a three-part series from Nov. 1991.

Kane co-authored The Life Story of the Flash Animated Novel by writer Mark Waid. He also conceived the set of the 1997 Santa Monica Playhouse production of the play Lovely!

Though his last full comic during his lifetime was Awesome's 40-page Judgment Day (March 1998), a two-page story "The Killers That Save Lives" by Douglas Moore (April 1999), as well as a two-page recap of 1970s Hostess Fruit Pie superhero ads, "The Star Sheriffs," published in Green Lantern Secret Files and Origins #2, a two-page gagbook by Samuel Lavallo (March 1999). In Dark Horse Comics' Sin City: Hell and Back #4, his last published comics art during his lifetime was a one-page illustration. (Oct. 1999). His final completed work, the two-issue Green Lantern / Atom story in Legends of the DC Universe #28-29 (May-June 2000), was published four years later, in the mid-1990s, as part of the iBooks hardcover collection The Last Heroes.

Later career

Kane created several Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears animated television series, including The Centurions, which he co-created with Jack Kirby during the 1970s and 1980s. He contributed to the transformation of the mysterious Marvel Comics character Tigra into Tigra in 1974, and three years later created the newspaper daily comic strip Star Hawks with writer Ron Goulart. During the first years, the strip, which ran from 1981 to 1981, was known for its experimental use of a two-tier system. During this decade, he also illustrated paperback and record-album covers, drew model box art, and co-wrote the 1980 book Excalibur, with John Jakes. In June 1977, John Carter, Warlord of Mars, began drawing the John Carter, Warlord of Mars series for Marvel.

Kane met Michel "Greg" Regnier, who later became the editor of French-Belgian comics anthology Tintin Weekly in 1971. Jason Drum, a science fiction/fantasy story about an explorer trapped on a sword and sorcery world, ended up producing Jason Drum, a science fiction/fantasy story. The series debuted in Tintin weekly, on the front page of #202 (July 1979). Kane contacted Joe Staton to help with layouts, and uninked pencil pages were sent to France, in response to a medical emergency. Franz, a Belgian artist, inked five pages of Kane's pencils, pencilled, and inked the last pages of the tale himself (in #206 and 207 [Aug. 78]). Kane lost touch with Tintin after his recovery. Kane did not finish the Jason Drum project with 44 fully linked pages of dialogue in 2006, according to Gary Groth and his publisher at Fantagraphics. The project had never been published in English, but Staton and Franz's original 27 page version was released in several other languages, including Swedish (as back-up in Lee Falk's The Phantom in 1980).

Kane was one of the artists on the double-sized Justice League of America #200 (March 1982). He appeared on the Micronauts film in 1982. In the early 1980s, he served on regular art duties on the Superman cartoon in Action Comics with Curt Swan. He also contributed to the 1988 Superman animated TV series. In Action Comics #544 (June 1983), the Brainiac character, a nemesis of Superman, was reimagined by Kane and Marv Wolfman. In 1986, he was one of the DC Challenge limited series's contributors. Kane was the artist on the early Green Lantern serial in the short-lived anthology Anthology in Action Comics Weekly, and he designed the Nightwing cover for issue #627 in 1988. In the Sword of the Atom limited series, he revived drawing the Atom, a joint venture with writer Jan Strnad. Kane illustrated a comic-book version of Richard Wagner's epic opera epic The Ring of the Nibelung from 1989-1990.

Kane earned a fortune during the next decade, including Topps Comics, for which he illustrated Alan Moore's four-page Kid Thunder story "Judgment Day: 1868" in Judgment Day Alpha 05 (June 1997); and DC, for which he drew several Superman stories. He was one of the many creators of the Superman: The Wedding Album one-shot, wherein the title character married Lois Lane. Howard Chaykin, his former apprentice, and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #24-26 (Nov. 1991 – Jan. 1992) and the Superman: Distant Fires one-shot (1998).

Kane co-authored The Life of the Flash graphic novel with writer Mark Waid. He also created the set for the 1997 Santa Monica Playhouse production of the play Lovely!

Despite the fact that his last full comic during his lifetime was Awesome's 40-page Judgment Day: Aftermath #1 (March 1998), Moore and starring the characters and crews Glory, Spacehunter, Youngblood, and others in individual stories, his final narrative works, "The Star Sheriffs," in DC's Fanboy #5 (1999) were published in Green Lantern Secret Files and Origins #2 (Sept. 1999). In Dark Horse Comics' Sin City: Hell and Back #4, his last published comics art in his lifetime was a one-page illustration. (Oct. 1999). He died shortly after completing his project Legends of the DC Universe #28–29 (May–June 2000), and four years later, the final issue of Malibu's planned four-issue miniseries Edge, which was published in the mid-1990s, was published as part of the iBooks hardcover collection The Last Heroes, a posthumously published.

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