Jim Steranko
Jim Steranko turned the world of comic books upside down quite simply through shear inspiration and the raw talent with which he was blessed. This is not to say he wasn't a hard working artist, nevertheless, he left his indelible mark after producing only a limited quantity of work. As a true Renaissance man drawn to many mediums, Steranko's younger days were spent performing as a magician, escape artist, and musician. His start in comics was working for Joe Simon at Harvey, where he created the characters Spyman, Magic Master and Gladiator for the briefly published title, "Harvey Thriller". After later pursuing other projects, including an animation proposal to Paramount for a project called "Secret Agent X", he landed a gig at Marvel working for Stan Lee. Steranko started by doing "finishes" over loose layouts drawn by Jack Kirby on "Nick Fury, Agent of Shield". Soon after, the title and character became mainly his own, and Steranko began breaking conventions and exploring new ground in ways that had never been seen before in the medium. Given free reign to redefine this old war character, Jim Steranko modernized Nick Fury as a "secret agent man" in the context of psychedelic op art and Dali-esque surrealism. As Steranko began to expand upon the tried-and-true frameworks of the Marvel "house style" defined by Jack Kirby, he paved the way for new artists to also explore new possibilities. His other work at Marvel included some limited but noteworthy covers and stories for titles such as Captain America, Strange Tales, X-Men and Incredible Hulk. Unfortunately, missed deadlines and creative difference ultimately strained Steranko's relationship with the publisher. Shortly thereafter, he was on to other things, but not without first having left the remarkable contributions for which he is revered today. After his stint at Marvel Comics, Steranko worked as an illustrator and painter on many paperback novels. He later ran his own publication, the magazine "Comixscene", which became "Mediascene", and ultimately, "Prevue" (which ran for 22 years). Other worthy accomplishments include his book "The Steranko History of Comics", and his role as the conceptual artist for the movie, "Raiders of the Lost Ark". According to Wikipedia, he designed both the look of the film and the character of Indiana Jones.Source: www.wikipedia.com
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