| Gary Frank | |
|---|---|
 Frank in 2008 | |
| Born | 1969 (age 55–56) Bristol, England |
| Area | Penciller |
Notable works | Action Comics Doomsday Clock Gen13 The Incredible Hulk Supreme Power Superman: Secret Origin |
| Awards | Inkpot Award (2013) |
Gary Frank (born 1969) is a Britishcomics artist, notable for pencilling onMidnight Nation andSupreme Power, both written byJ. Michael Straczynski. He has also worked with authorPeter David onThe Incredible Hulk andSupergirl. He had acreator-owned series,Kin, which he wrote himself, published byTop Cow Productions in 2000.
WriterGeoff Johns, who collaborated with Frank onDoomsday Clock, has opined that Frank's rendition ofSuperman is the best of his generation and that the only other artist in the same league with Frank in this regard isCurt Swan.[1]
Gary Frank began his professional career in 1991, illustrating covers and interior short stories for publications such asDoctor Who Magazine andToxic!. After illustrating the comic elements of Marvel'sHeroQuest tie-inHeroQuest: A Marvel Winter Special in 1991[2] he became a regular series artist in 1992 onMotormouth & Killpower.[3] It was on that series that he began a long-running collaboration withinkerCam Smith, who would continue to ink Frank's work for many years. In 1992, Frank was recruited byMarvel Comics to illustrate covers forThe Incredible Hulk, beginning with issue No. 400. Shortly thereafter, he was hired as the series' ongoing artist[4] beginning with issue No. 403 (March 1993) and ending with No. 425 (Jan. 1995). Frank later said that the series "was a green beacon at the point when I was breaking into comics. It seemed to be the one book at Marvel without an 'X' on it that really got fans excited. When I came aboard, I couldn't believe how welcoming and generous [The Incredible Hulk writer]Peter [David] was to a young artist with no real track record ..."[5] Issue No. 419 (July 1994) was drawn by a guest artist, and the splash page makes a joke about Frank's absence; in the aftermath ofRick Jones andMarlo Chandler's wedding, a waiter informs the Hulk that "that British artist friend of yours" was found passed out from too much alcohol, and the Hulk remarks, "Hope he didn't have any tight deadlines."
During his initial time at Marvel, Frank contributed covers, interiors andpin-up illustrations for various series, such asX-Men Unlimited, theSabretooth Special,X-Men Classic,X-Men Prime,[6] andDoctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme, among others. He drew covers forAcclaim Comics'Ninjak andHarris Comics'Vampirella.[3]
In 1996, Frank and Smith were hired as the art team onDC Comics' newSupergirl ongoing series, which re-teamed Frank with writer Peter David.[7] Frank's run as penciller ended with issue No. 9 (May 1997), although he continued to provide covers for the series until issue No. 21.[3] Other assignments for DC included aBirds of Preyone-shot[8] and the DC/MarvelAmalgam Comics one-shot,Bullets and Bracelets.[3]
In 1997, Frank and Smith moved toImage Comics, where they, along with writerJohn Arcudi, were hired as the new creative team on theWildstorm titleGen13,[4] beginning with the epilogue story in issue No. 25. The Arcudi/Frank/Smith tenure on the series lasted two years, until issue No. 41 (July 1999).[3] It was during this run, in 1998, that Wildstorm headJim Lee moved his studio and all its properties to DC Comics. Therefore, issues No. 25–36 were published by Image and issues No. 37–41 were published by DC/Wildstorm.
In 2000, Frank worked on various assignments for both DC and Marvel, including issue No. 7 ofTom Strong under DC'sAmerica's Best Comics imprint and writing and penciling a two-page X-Men story inX-Men: Millennial Visions, his final collaboration to date with inker Cam Smith.Kin, a six-issue miniseries created, written and penciled by Frank, was published under Image'sTop Cow imprint.[4] The story tells of a secret government agency named S.I.A. who discovers that a race of neanderthal men exists in the mountains of Alaska and proceed to eliminate them to obtain their technology, which developed differently from that of the rest of the world. The book's protagonist, S.I.A. agent Trey McAloon, is opposed to the agency's plans and confronts them about it, while the book's other main character, Alaskan Park Ranger Elizabeth Leaky, establishes contact with one of the neanderthals.
The miniseries' conclusion was open-ended, with questions left unanswered, but so far no sequel or continuation of the story has been announced. Thetrade paperback collection ofKin entitledKin: Descent of Man includes six pages of additional story that were not featured in the original issues.
In 2000, Frank began his first collaboration withJ. Michael Straczynski, the television writer and creator ofBabylon 5. Frank served as penciller on Straczynski'sMidnight Nation,[4] a 12-issue limited series published by Top Cow from 2000 to 2002 under their now-defunctJoe's Comics imprint. The first issue of the series included a five-page interview with Frank and Straczynski. One of the inkers on the series was Jon Sibal, with whom Frank would begin a long-running artistic collaboration that continues to this day.
On 16 July 2002, it was announced that Frank had signed an exclusive contract with Marvel.[9] His first work under this contract was a two-issue story arc onThe Avengers issues No. 61–62, written byGeoff Johns and inked by Jon Sibal. In 2003, Frank re-teamed with Straczynski onSupreme Power, a revamp of Marvel's superhero team Squadron Supreme,[10] published under their mature-audienceMarvel MAX imprint. With its realism and mature storytelling, the series became Marvel's first MAX title to sell over 100,000 copies, making it their best-selling mature-readers series of all time.[11] The series ran for 18 issues from October 2003 to October 2005.
During his run onSupreme Power, Frank provided covers for a diverse number of Marvel series such asSilver Surfer No. 7;Wolverine/Punisher No. 2;The Incredible Hulk No. 75; issues No. 4 and 6 of theSupreme Power spin-off miniseries,Doctor Spectrum;The Amazing Spider-Man No. 515 and 517;Black Panther No. 10; and numerous others, as well as two pages of interior art for theAvengers: Finale one-shot.[3]
On 10 May 2007, having worked several years on a Marvel exclusive contract, Frank signed a new one with DC Comics. He served as the artist onAction Comics with writer Geoff Johns.[12] The creative team produced the "Brainiac" storyline in which Superman's adopted fatherJonathan Kent was killed.[13] Frank and Johns continued to work on Superman in theSuperman: Secret Origin six-issue mini-series. The story features what Johns and DC Executive EditorDan DiDio called a "definitive" telling of theorigin story of Superman, dealing with his life inSmallville, his first adventure with theLegion of Super-Heroes asSuperboy, and his arrival inMetropolis and at theDaily Planet.[14][15]
In 2012, Frank and Johns collaborated onBatman: Earth One, an originalgraphic novel set on Earth-one of theDC Multiverse.[16][17][18] The novel is the first in a series of graphic novels that redefines Batman.[19] Since 2017, Johns and Frank have worked together onDoomsday Clock, a limited series featuring Superman andDoctor Manhattan.[20][21]
On 12 October 2023, Frank and a group of colleagues announced at theNew York Comic Con that they were forming acooperative media company calledGhost Machine, which would publishcreator-owned comics, and allow the participating creators to benefit from the development of theirintellectual properties. The company publishes its books throughImage Comics, and its other founding creators includeGeoff Johns,Brad Meltzer,Jason Fabok,Bryan Hitch,Francis Manapul, andPeter J. Tomasi, all of whom would produce comics work exclusively through that company.[22][23] Frank's inaugural work for the company was drawingGeiger: Ground Zero, a two-issue series written by Johns that serves as a prequel to their 2021 miniseries of the same name.[24] Set in apost-apocalyptic future, the book centers upon a man named Tariq Geiger[25][26] who lost his family and his humanity in a nuclear war, when he was transformed into the Glowing Man, a being who can absorb radiation but struggles to contain it.[25]Ground Zero would be followed by an ongoingGeiger series.[22][24]
In 1990, prior working in the comics industry, Gary Frank produced a book titledRovers: Portrait of a Football Team, which featured caricatures of a number ofBristol Rovers F.C. players from the 1989–90 season. He wrote it in conjunction with then-Rovers playerGeoff Twentyman.
Frank's artwork was featured during the finale of the TV seriesSmallville when the characterChloe Sullivan is shown reading a Superman comic book to her son.[27]
Frank received anInkpot Award in 2013.[28]
Comics work (interior pencil art) includes:
The Girl of Steel flew back into an ongoing series at long last, courtesy of fan-favorite writer Peter David and artist Gary Frank.
The Batman mythos was reimagined in this alternate take on the hero's origin in this hardcover special. It brought together writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank for their first Batman story.
Johns, artist Gary Frank and colorist Brad Anderson will chronicle the long-awaited meeting between Superman andWatchmen's Doctor Manhattan in a mini-series entitledDoomsday Clock.
| Preceded by | The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 artist 1993–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by n/a | Supergirl vol. 4 artist 1996–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Gen13 vol. 2 artist 1998–1999 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Action Comics artist 2007–2008 | Succeeded by |
