Mickey Mouse Adventures #14 (1991)
Michael Royer is a Canadian artist, who is best-known for his work with Disney characters and as an inker for Jack Kirby in the 1970s. Born in Lebanon, Oregon, he began his career in mid-1960s Southern California, assistingRuss Manning on his work for Western/Gold Key's 'Magnus, Robot Fighter' and 'Tarzan' comic books. Royer later also worked with Manning on the 'Tarzan' newspaper comic, and on 'Star Wars' in the late 1970s. He continued to work for Western as an inker of Disney stories by artists likeTony Strobl,Sparky Moore andMike Arens, and as inker/penciler on titles like 'Tarzan', 'Korak, Son of Tarzan' and 'Space Ghost', as well as coloring books and puzzles.
I Hate You! I Hate You! (Creepy #37)
At Gold Key he wrote/adapted and drew 'Speed Buggy' and 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid', while designing covers and inking stories forHanna-Barbera's 'TV Adventure Heroes'. He was also a lay-out artist for animated series like 'Spider-Man', 'Banana Splits' and 'Hot Wheels', and in 1969, he also began creating record/CD album comic book panel covers for the Crusin' series. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, he inked the work ofDon Heck,Steve Ditko andRamona Fradon for companies like Marvel and DC. His largest output was however inking most ofJack Kirby's comics during this period. In addition, he contributed to alternative publications like 'Arc', but also to the Warren magazines Creepy and Eerie.
Inks over Jack Kirby's pencils for DC's Weird Mystery #1
Royer was a staff artist at theDisney Consumer Product Division from 1979 to 1993, where he was involved in artwork for comic books, newspaper strips and licensed merchandise. He inked the 'Mickey Mouse' newspaper strip byDaan Jippes in 1981-1982 and provided artwork to comic book stories starring 'Darkwing Duck', 'Goofy', 'Marsupilami' and 'Mickey Mouse' in the early 1990s. He designed and directed the 'Dick Tracy' and '3-D Bulleteer' comic book read-alongs produced by the Disney Music Division, and he was involved in the restyling and relaunch of 'Winnie the Pooh' in the early 1990s. He additionally freelanced for magazines like National Lampoon and Cracked.
Between 1993 and 2000, Royer was a freelance product designer and character artist for the Disney Store's creative group. He has since worked as a freelance pencil artist for clients like Al White Studio, Heavy Iron Studios, Fox Family Channel, Fox Kids Network and Saban.
The Thing in the Cave (Eerie #25)