Michael William Kaluta, sometimes credited asMike Kaluta orMichael Wm. Kaluta (born August 25, 1947),[3] is an Americancomics artist and writer best known for his acclaimed 1970s adaptation of the pulp magazine heroThe Shadow with writerDennis O'Neil. He is the godfather of comedian and gamemasterBrennan Lee Mulligan.[4]
Kaluta's influences and style are drawn from pulp illustrations of the 1930s and the turn-of-the-century poster work ofAlphonse Mucha – his signature motif is elaborate decorative panel designs – rather than thecomic books of the Silver Age. He has rarely worked with the superhero genre, although one of his early contributions for DC was a "World of Krypton" backup story inSuperman #240 (July 1971).[6]
His first cover for a comic book wasHouse of Mystery #200 (March 1972).[7] Associated during the 1970s withBernie Wrightson andJeffrey Jones, he contributed illustrations toTed White'sFantastic andAmazing. Kaluta co-createdEve inSecrets of Sinister House #6 (Aug.–Sept. 1972), a horror comics "host" character later turned into a supporting character inThe Sandman. He and writerDennis O'Neil produced a comics adaptation ofThe Shadow for DC in 1973–1974.[8] Comics historianLes Daniels noted that "Kaluta's style [onThe Shadow] is an homage toGraves Gladney, master of the pulp magazine covers of the 1930s."[9] Kaluta left the series after drawing five of the first six issues.[10]
Kaluta was one of the four comic book artists/fine illustrator/painters (along with Jeffrey Jones,Barry Windsor-Smith, and Bernie Wrightson) who formed the artists' communeThe Studio in a loft in Manhattan'sChelsea district in 1975 and continuing to 1979. In addition to many comic book stories and covers, Kaluta has done a wide variety of book illustrations.
Kaluta drew the cover for theMadame Xanaduone-shot in 1981 which was DC's second direct sales only comic.[11][12][13] He and writerElaine Lee craftedMarvel Graphic Novel #13 "Starstruck: The Luckless, the Abandoned and Forsaked" which led to an ongoing series which ran for six issues.[5] Kaluta and O'Neil reunited onThe Shadow: 1941 – Hitler's Astrologer graphic novel published in 1988.[14] In 2006, Kaluta was one of the artists on the1001 Nights of Snowfall graphic novel written byBill Willingham.[15]
In 1984 he drew the illustrations for and directed the music video of "Don't Answer Me" byThe Alan Parsons Project, which became one of the most requested videos of the year on the cable video channelMTV.
Among music fans, Kaluta is known as the cover artist ofGlenn Danzig's instrumental albumBlack Aria and for the interior illustration ofDanzig'sfourth album, the latter of which appeared in 1994 and 1995 as a pendant sold at Danzig concerts, and on Danzig T-shirts and sweaters produced in the same period. Kaluta created the CD covers and interior booklet illustrations forNativity in Black I andII, tribute albums to the music ofBlack Sabbath. Kaluta drew the cover art for theBobby Pickett albumThe Original Monster Mash when it was reissued in 1973.[16]
In the early 1990s, he was active inCompuserve's Macintosh Gaming Forum, in the flight simulator enthusiast group which called itself VFA-13 Shadow Riders. He contributed a number of designs for airplane nose art and flight suit unit patches.
^Schweier, Philip (February 2013). "Superman Calls For Backup!".Back Issue! (62). Raleigh, North Carolina:TwoMorrows Publishing: 39.
^Kingman, Jim (December 2013). "The Anniversary Issue".Back Issue! (69). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 15.'I remember the job,' chimes in Kaluta 'The only memorable point for me: it was my first-ever comic book cover!'
^McAvennie, Michael; Dolan, Hannah, eds. (2010). "1970s".DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 157.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.Writer Denny O'Neil and artist Mike Kaluta presented their atmospheric interpretation of writer Walter B. Gibson's pulp-fiction mystery man of the 1930s
^Manning, Matthew K. "1980s" in Dolan, p. 194: "Not content to simply feature a wrap-around cover by artist Michael William Kaluta, the issue also gave readers a pull-out poster by that same artist."
^Catron, Michael (June 1981). "DC Taps Fan Market forMadame Xanadu".Amazing Heroes (1): 25.Madame Xanadu, a 32-page/$1.00 comic that marks DC's first attempt at marketing comics specifically to fans and collectors, went on sale in early April...The tale was originally commissioned forDoorway to Nightmare but was put into DC's inventory when that title was cancelled.
^Cowsill, Alan "2000s" in Dolan, p. 327: "Written by Bill Willingham, the framing sequence was illustrated by Charles Vess and Michael William Kaluta."
^Dueben, Alex (April 26, 2011)."Kaluta RemainsStarstruck".Comic Book Resources.Archived from the original on November 24, 2013. RetrievedNovember 23, 2013.He's an award-winning painter and illustrator who has contributed to role playing games, illustrated Danzig album covers and in 2003 was named a Spectrum Grand Master in recognition of his vast and influential body of work.
