| Keith Giffen | |
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| Birth name | Keith Ian Giffen |
| Born | November 30, 1952 Queens, New York City |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Penciller, Writer |
| Notable works | Legion of Super-Heroes Lobo Justice League Ambush Bug Blue Beetle |
Keith Ian Giffen (born November 30, 1952[1]) is an American comic book illustrator and writer. Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
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Biography
Giffen was born in Queens, New York City. The City of New York
He is possibly best-known for his long runs illustrating, and later writing the Legion of Super-Heroes title in the 1980s and 1990s. This is about the DC Comics superhero team For the animated television series based on this see Legion of Super Heroes (TV series. He also created the alien mercenary character Lobo (with Roger Slifer), and the irreverent "want-to-be" hero, Ambush Bug. Lobo is a Fictional character that appears in the Comic books published by DC Comics. Roger Slifer is a Comic book Writer, best-known for a run on Omega Men in the 1980s Ambush Bug is a fictional Comic book character who has appeared in several DC Comics. He also plotted & was breakdown artist for an Aquaman limited series and one-shot special in 1989 with writer Robert Loren Fleming and artist Curt Swan for DC Comics. A limited series is a term originated by Marvel Comics referring to a Comic book series with a set number of issues Robert Loren Fleming (born 1956 is an American comic book writer Curtis Douglas Swan ( February 17, 1920 in Willmar Minnesota - June 16, 1996) was an American Comic book DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company
Giffen's first published work was "The Sword and The Star", a black-and-white series featured in Marvel Preview, with writer Bill Mantlo. Black-and-white is a number of Monochrome forms in Visual arts. Marvel Preview was a Magazine -sized Black-and-white showcase Comic book published by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of Marvel Bill Mantlo (born November 9, 1951) is an American Comic-book Writer, primarily at Marvel Comics, and an Attorney He has worked on titles (owned by several different companies) including Woodgod, All Star Comics, Doctor Fate, Drax the Destroyer, Heckler, Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, Reign of the Zodiac, Suicide Squad, Trencher (to be re-released in a collected edition by Boom! Studios. Woodgod is a fictional character in the Marvel Universe. Woodgod is a genetically-engineered sentient life-form All Star Comics is a 1940s Comic book series from All-American Publications, one of the early companies that merged with National Periodical Publications Doctor Fate (also known by the Diminutive, Fate) is the name of a succession of fictional sorcerers who appear within DC Comics ' universe Drax the Destroyer ( Arthur Douglas) is a Fictional character from the Marvel Comics universe. A heckler is a person who shouts a disparaging comment at a performance or event or interrupting set-piece speeches for example at a political meeting Nick Fury's Howling Commandos was an American Comic book series published by Marvel Comics, running six issues before its cancellation cover-dated Reign of the Zodiac is a comic-book series created in 2003 by Keith Giffen (writer Colleen Doran (penciller and Bob Wiacek (inker and published The Suicide Squad is a name for two fictional organizations in DC Comics Universe. Trencher is an American comic book series that was created written and drawn by Keith Giffen and released by Image Comics in 1993 ), T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Vext. THUNDER Agents is a team of Comic book Superheroes originally published by Tower Comics in the 1960s Vext is a Fictional character created by Keith Giffen and the star of a short-lived 1999 comic book from DC Comics. He was also responsible for the English adaptation of the Battle Royale and Ikki Tousen manga, as well as creating "I Luv Halloween" for Tokyopop. has been adapted into a serialized Manga, written by Koushun Takami and Masayuki Taguchi, was published in Japan by Akita Publishing. or "Bakunyū" Hyper-Battle Ikki Tōsen is a 13 episode Anime series loosely based on the Manga by Yuji Shiozaki, which He also worked for Dark Horse from 1994-95 on their Comics Greatest World/Dark Horse Heroes line, as the writer of two short lived series, Division 13 and co-author, with Lovern Kindzierski, of Agents of Law. Dark Horse Comics is one of the largest independent American Comic book publishers behind dominant publishers Marvel Comics and DC Comics Agents of Law was a series published by Dark Horse Comics in 1995.
He took a break from the comic industry for several years, working on storyboards for television and film, including shows such as The Real Ghostbusters and Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy. This article is about the animated spin-off of the 1984 film Ghostbusters. Ed Edd n Eddy is the longest-running original Animated cartoon series on Cartoon Network created by Danny Antonucci and produced by Canadian
He and his Justice League cohorts (J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire) have recently put their particular brand of storytelling to a title that he had drawn in the 1970s, Marvel Comics' The Defenders. John Marc DeMatteis (born December 15 1953) is an American Writer of Comic books. Kevin Maguire refers to Kevin Maguire (artist Kevin Maguire (ice hockey Kevin Maguire (figure skater Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc The Defenders is a name of a number of Marvel Comics Superhero group — usually presented as a "non-team" of individualistic "outsiders" each The same trio produced more superhero humor in the 3-issue mini-series Hero Squared for Boom! Studios, and the 2-issue mini-series Planetary Brigade. Hero Squared is a American Comic book series currently published by Boom! Studios. BOOM! Studios is an independent comic book Company. It was founded in June 2005 with Zombie Tales #1 Planetary Brigade is a Comic book series published by Boom! Studios.
Keith Giffen was the breakdown artist on the DC Comic book 52, a weekly series following in the wake of the Infinite Crisis crossover (written by Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid and Grant Morrison). Infinite Crisis is a seven-issue Limited series of Comic books written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Geoff Johns (born 25 Jan 1973 in Detroit Michigan) is an American Comic book Writer, best known for his work for Gregory Rucka (born November 29, 1969) is an American Writer of novels and Comic books He is married to fellow comic writer Mark Waid (born March 21 1962 in Hueytown Alabama) is an American Comic book Writer. Grant Morrison (born January 31 1960 is a Scottish Comic book writer and artist He continued in that role with the follow-up weekly series Countdown (DC Comics). Countdown to Final Crisis, known as Countdown for its first 25 issues is a Comic book Limited series published by DC Comics He is also the lead writer for Marvel Comics's Annihilation event, having written the one-shot prologue, the lead-in stories in Thanos and Drax, the Silver Surfer as well as the main six issues mini-series. Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc Annihilation is a Marvel Comics 2006 crossover storyline highlighting several relatively under-used Outer space -related characters Annihilation is a Marvel Comics 2006 crossover storyline highlighting several relatively under-used Outer space -related characters Annihilation is a Marvel Comics 2006 crossover storyline highlighting several relatively under-used Outer space -related characters Annihilation is a Marvel Comics 2006 crossover storyline highlighting several relatively under-used Outer space -related characters Annihilation is a Marvel Comics 2006 crossover storyline highlighting several relatively under-used Outer space -related characters
Giffen remains a prolific creator of independent comics. Between 2005 and 2007 he's co-created and often authored or co-authored such books as 10, Tag and Hero Squared for Boom! Studios for Zapt! and I Luv Halloween for TOKYOPOP, Common Foe and Tabula Rasa for Desperado Publishing/Image Comics and Grunts for Arcana. Hero Squared is a American Comic book series currently published by Boom! Studios. BOOM! Studios is an independent comic book Company. It was founded in June 2005 with Zombie Tales #1 I Luv Halloween is an OEL manga first published by Tokyopop in October 2005. For the music movie see Tokyo Pop. Tokyopop, stylized TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor licensor Image Comics is an American Comic book publisher It was founded in 1992 by seven high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their Arcana Studio is a Canadian Comic book Publisher and art studio founded by Sean O'Reilly in 2004. Many of these were co-authored with his frequent collaborator Shannon Denton. Shannon Eric Denton is a veteran storyteller and artist with credits at Cartoon Network, Warner Bros
Artwork
Giffen's art has taken on many styles over the years. His early work tended towards a heavy influence from Jack Kirby. Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg, August 28, 1917 &ndash February 6, 1994) was an American Comic book After an early stint at Marvel, he began doing layouts for artist Wally Wood during the late 1970s revival of the Justice Society of America. Wallace Allan Wood ( June 17, 1927, Menahga Minnesota – November 2, 1981, Los Angeles California) was an American The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics Superhero group the first team of superheroes in Comic book history
When he returned to comics after a hiatus, his style was more precise and reminiscent of George Pérez and Jim Starlin and helped make Legion of Super-Heroes DC's second most popular comic after George Pérez's New Teen Titans. George Pérez (born June 9, 1954) is an illustrator and writer of Comic books born of Latin-American (Puerto-Rican descent James P "Jim" Starlin (born October 9 1949) is an American Comic book writer and artist who has worked for Marvel Comics This is about the DC Comics superhero team For the animated television series based on this see Legion of Super Heroes (TV series. George Pérez (born June 9, 1954) is an illustrator and writer of Comic books born of Latin-American (Puerto-Rican descent It was his work on the Legion that rocketed him to comic book artist fame and gave him a creative control with the national companies that few artists achieved. He peppered his artwork with in-jokes such as upside down Superman logos, hidden Marvel characters, and eyeball creatures, and created an alternate futuristic alphabet in which he scrawled humorous messages on signs in the background of his panels.
As his style loosened up, he found himself drawn to the work of José Muñoz (see Controversy). José Antonio Muñoz or simply Muñoz (born October 7, 1942 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine artist
Soon thereafter he developed a scratchier, more impressionistic style, using a highly stlylized method of drawing directly with ink on titles such as Trencher and Lobo.
After his lengthy sabbatical from comics work, Giffen returned with a style that some said was influenced by his Justice League artist Kevin Maguire that was mid-way between the tight, controlled pencils of his early Legion days and the freer but less anatomically correct style he had later adopted. Kevin Maguire refers to Kevin Maguire (artist Kevin Maguire (ice hockey Kevin Maguire (figure skater
Writing
For many years, Giffen would co-write comics, but only as a plotter. He relied on others such as Robert Loren Fleming to supply dialogue, even when he was basically the author of the work. Robert Loren Fleming (born 1956 is an American comic book writer He co-wrote the Freak Force series with Erik Larsen, and also co-wrote two Superpatriot mini-series. Freak Force is the name of a fictional team of superhuman bounty hunters operating out of Chicago, Illinois. Erik J Larsen (born December 8, 1962) is an American Comic book writer artist and publisher SuperPatriot is an Image Comics Superhero created by Erik Larsen in 1992 Beginning with Trencher, Giffen started writing comics fully by himself, although he still collaborates when the project calls for it.
Giffen is known for having an unorthodox writing style, often using characters in ways not seen before. His dialogue is usually characterized by a biting wit that is seen as much less zany than dialogue provided by longtime collaborators DeMatteis and Robert Loren Fleming. Robert Loren Fleming (born 1956 is an American comic book writer That approach has brought him both criticism and admiration, as perhaps best illustrated by the mixed (although commercially rather successful) response to his work in DC Comics' Justice League International. Justice League International (or JLI for short was formed after the 1987 company-wide crossover Limited series, Legends His work on the 2001 version of Suicide Squad was not nearly as successful, however, and his loose, largely satirical style is arguably a detriment to both the English version of the Battle Royale manga and to the third version of the Defenders, published in 2005-2006. The Suicide Squad is a name for two fictional organizations in DC Comics Universe. has been adapted into a serialized Manga, written by Koushun Takami and Masayuki Taguchi, was published in Japan by Akita Publishing. The Defenders is a name of a number of Marvel Comics Superhero group — usually presented as a "non-team" of individualistic "outsiders" each
Giffen is known for his humorous takes on existing characters, often focusing on their personality clashes. He also has a tendency to poke fun at trends in comic books or character archetypes. His Ambush Bug miniseries is especially noted for its in-jokes such as Villian the Villain, Cheeks the Toy Wonder, and the use of DC editor Julius Schwartz as a character. Julius "Julie" Schwartz ( June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was a Jewish Comic book and Pulp magazine
He is also known for sudden plot twists and abrupt often tragic turns of fate. During his late 1980s-early 1990s run on the Legion of Super-Heroes light comical issues were often followed by darker ones where popular characters were maimed or killed. This is about the DC Comics superhero team For the animated television series based on this see Legion of Super Heroes (TV series.
He has written The Programme #3
Controversy
In February of 1986 Mark Burbey published "The Trouble With Keith Giffen" in The Comics Journal #105, an examination of recent dramatic changes in Keith Giffen's drawing style. The Programme is a twelve-issue Comic book Limited series published by Wildstorm. The Comics Journal, often abbreviated TCJ, is a US magazine of news and criticism pertaining to Comic books and strips Giffen, Burbey pointed out, had changed from a slick, clean Jim Starlin style to an avant garde, heavily inked one. James P "Jim" Starlin (born October 9 1949) is an American Comic book writer and artist who has worked for Marvel Comics However, critics and fans largely agreed that this new style suited the strange and funny projects in which was involved.
In the article, Burbey displayed several panels side by side to illustrate his allegation that Giffen was copying, or "swiping" the work of Jose Muñoz. José Antonio Muñoz or simply Muñoz (born October 7, 1942 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine artist In response, Giffen parodied himself by alluding to the controversy by drawing Ambush Bug with the appearance of Snoopy in Son of Ambush Bug #5. Ambush Bug is a fictional Comic book character who has appeared in several DC Comics. Snoopy is a Fictional character in the long-running Comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M Robert Loren Fleming wrote the panels for it. Robert Loren Fleming (born 1956 is an American comic book writer
Loyal Giffen fans defended him by arguing that Giffen had actually ghosted the Munoz work, with some of the most extreme maintaining that in fact Munoz was simply a Giffen pseudonym, prompting two different men, each claiming to be Munoz, to launch competing defamation lawsuits against both Giffen and his fans (James Branch, "Who Knows Munoz?", The Comic Book Companion, March 1987).
However, Giffen himself acknowledges Munoz' influence, referring to the incident by saying: "I had a bad incident with studying somebody's work very closely at one point and I resolved never, ever to do it again. I can get so immersed in somebody's work that I start turning into a Xerox machine and it's not good. . . . There was no time I was sitting there tracing or copying, no. Duplicating, pulling out of memory and putting down on paper after intense study, absolutely" (Keith Giffen Interview, Interviewed by Jon B. Cooke, Jack Kirby Collector #29).
At this point in his career, Giffen was considered one of the most popular comic book artists in the industry, along with artists such as John Byrne, George Pérez, and Frank Miller. John Lindley Byrne (born July 6 1950) is a British -born Canadian - American author and artist of Comic books Since the George Pérez (born June 9, 1954) is an illustrator and writer of Comic books born of Latin-American (Puerto-Rican descent Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American Writer, Artist and Film director best known for his dark The ensuing controversy hurt Giffen's reputation with those who knew about it.
Although comic book artists such as Byrne and Rich Buckler have engaged in swiping with the knowledge of the comic book publishers, their swiping usually involved copying panels from artwork previously published, and owned, by their publisher. For the US Representative from Minnesota, see Rich T Buckler. Giffen allegedly swiped from work for which the publisher did not have the copyright.
However, DC Comics loyally protected him. They removed him as prime artist on his run of DC titles, such as Ambush Bug, and gave him full-time writing duties on Justice League until the controversy was largely forgotten and a new generation of comic book fans came to discover his work. The Justice League sometimes called the Justice League of America or JLA for short is a Fictional DC Comics superhero team. He returned to drawing full time two years later while continuing to plot the Justice League and its numerous spin-offs.
This period also marked Ambush Bug's end as a growing and popular major character at DC. According to Giffen, it had to do with editorial discomfort with the series' humorous approach to the DC Universe: "DC was just too uncomfortable with the (admittedly nicely selling) bully pulpit they'd provided the loose cannons on the creative team". [2]
References
- ^ Comics Buyers Guide #1636 (December 2007); Page 135
- ^ Beau Yarbrough, "A. Bug's Life: Keith Giffen's Ambush Bug is Back"; 2003
External links
- Interview at TwoMorrows Press
- Lambiek Profile
- In their own words: "Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis Unexpurgated!"
- Review of Defenders 1-5 at popmatters.com
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