Authority control databases
| John Calnan | |
|---|---|
| Born | John Calnan February 26, 1932 |
| Died | December 27, 2016 (aged 84) |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Penciller, Inker |
Notable works | Batman, World's Finest Comics |
John Calnan (February 26, 1932 – December 27, 2016)[1][2] was an American comics artist best known as the co-creator of Lucius Fox with writer Len Wein.
John Calnan graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City.[2] One of his instructors was Jerry Robinson.[3]
John Calnan's first work in the comic book industry was with fellow artist Tom Gill on The Lone Ranger series.[4] Calnan later moved into the advertising field. He stated in a 2011 interview that he "became an advertising art director and TV producer for agencies and still kept the comic work on the side."[4] Calnan began working for DC Comics in 1966 and drew a large number of stories for that publisher's horror comics titles such as Ghosts, The Unexpected, and The Witching Hour.[5] His earliest credited work at DC Comics appeared in Our Fighting Forces #104 (Nov.–Dec. 1966).[6] He worked primarily with editors Murray Boltinoff, Joe Orlando, and Robert Kanigher.[7] A "Johnny Peril" story drawn by Calnan for The Unexpected series in 1969 was put into inventory and finally published ten years later in the APA-I fanzine.[8] Calnan was the main artist on the "Metamorpho" back-up feature[3] in Action Comics and World's Finest Comics.[9] He later became the regular artist on the Superman and Batman team-up stories which were the main feature in World's Finest Comics. Soon after leaving that series, he and writer Bob Rozakis introduced the Quakemaster, an enemy of the Batman in DC Special #28 (July 1977).[10] Calnan then became the artist on the main Batman solo-series.[5] His debut on the series was "Where Were You On The Night Batman Was Killed?", a four-issue storyline in issues #291–294 (Sept.–Dec. 1977) written by David Vern Reed.[11][12] Calnan drew the first appearance of Lucius Fox, a supporting cast member of the Batman mythos, in Batman #307 (Jan. 1979).[13] This character was later portrayed by Morgan Freeman in the movies Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. Calnan's last work for DC Comics appeared in Action Comics #538 (Dec. 1982).[6]
Calnan retired in 1996 and died on December 27, 2016, at the age of 84.[2] He was survived by his wife, Barbara, his daughters, Donna, Susan, and Diane and his grandchildren.[14]
