Kyle Baker
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Kyle John Baker[2] (born 1965)[3] is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series Plastic Man.
Baker has won numerous Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards for his work in the comics field.
Biography
Early life and career
Kyle Baker was born in the Queens, New York City,[4] the son of art director John M. Baker and high-school audiovisual-department manager Eleanor L. Baker.[2] He has a brother and a sister.[4] Their parents had both attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and their father, who, Baker said, "worked in advertising [and] made junk mail", would "draw pictures for us and entertain us."[4] Aside from this exposure to art, Baker has said, his early artistic influences included comic book artist Jack Kirby, caricaturist Jack Davis, and painter and magazine illustrator Norman Rockwell. He noted:
When I was a little boy I loved the
Super-8 movie camera and I made animated cartoons. I remember making a 'King Kong' out of clay, and a drawing of a New York skyline, and I made a stop-motion film of King-Kong fighting model airplanes. In junior high school, I drew comic books and Xeroxed them at my dad's office. I sold the Xeroxes for five cents each. I think I made fifteen cents.[5]
Other influences included the Charlton Comics artwork of Jim Aparo and Steve Ditko.[4]
Breaking into comics
In his senior year of
Baker's first credited work at Marvel is
During this time, Baker also attempted to sell humor spot illustrations, but was rejected by the major newspaper syndicates. Jim Salicrup, a Marvel editor, did commission him "to write a few one-panel gags about [the superhero team] the X-Men",[5] titled "It's Genetic" and appearing in the Marvel-produced fan magazine Marvel Age.[9]
First graphic novel
At the recommendation of freelance artist Ron Fontes, an editor at the Dolphin imprint of the publishing house Doubleday expressed interest in Baker's sample strips of the character Cowboy Wally, "and asked if I had any more. I lied and said I did."[5] This led to the 128-page graphic novel Cowboy Wally.[8] "The character of Noel was pretty much based on me," Baker said in 1999. "I lie all the time.[10] The first part of the books is the collected strips, and the other three chapters were written for the book.[5] "It didn't sell many copies," Baker said, "but at least it convinced DC [Comics] I should be allowed to draw, not just ink."[5]
Baker went on to draw DC's 1980s comics revival of the
He began scripting comics around this time: Baker penciled and inked
Why I Hate Saturn, commercial illustration
Baker achieved recognition and won an
I wrote Why I Hate Saturn at a time when comic books had stopped being fun for me. I was tired of being told how to draw and what to draw. And I was sick of begging people to let me work the way I wanted. Editors told me my stuff was 'underground' and 'alternative'. I decided that if I were going to work in a creatively oppressive atmosphere and not even be allowed to own my work, I might as well go to Hollywood and be oppressed for big money. Back in the eighties, DC and Marvel wouldn't let you own your characters, and Fantagraphics had no money. So when I finally got permission to do Why I Hate Saturn, a book I'd been trying years to sell, I decided to write it like a sitcom and send it to Hollywood. ... However, I don't have anything to do with the [then-proposed] Why I Hate Saturn movie. DC controls those rights. I don't own those characters, so it is of no interest to me.[5]
Baker's cartoons and
Animation
Baker's animation has appeared on
in 1994, Baker directed an animated video featuring the
Baker said in 1999 he was writing a
At this point in his career, Baker stated in an interview, "Nobody tells me what to write or how to draw. Only an idiot would dare tell Kyle Baker how to make a good cartoon. Hollywood and the magazine world are full of idiots. They water my stuff down and make it unfunny."[10]
He is credited with writing and storyboarding on the "Phineas and Ferb" television episodes "Candace Loses Her Head" and "Are You My Mummy?".[citation needed]
2000s
Baker drew writer
In 2006, his company, Kyle Baker Publishing, serialized a four-part comic book series about Nat Turner, and published the series The Bakers, based on his family life, in two anthologies, Cartoonist and Cartoonist Vol. 2: Now with More Bakers. He has also continued to provide comics material sporadically to Marvel, DC and Image Comics through at least 2010.[8] In 2007 and 2008, Image Comics published Baker's six-issue Image Comics miniseries Special Forces, a teen-soldier military satire that criticizes the exhortation of felons and disabled Americans into military service.[8][13] The New York Times reviewed the 2009 trade-paperback collection of the first four issues, calling it "the harshest, most serrated satire of the Iraq War yet published."[14]
In 2008, Watson-Guptill published How to Draw Stupid and Other Essentials of Cartooning, Baker's art instruction book. That same year, Baker hosted the comics industry's
]Bibliography
Early work
- Brian Marshall, Lodestone, 1985)
- ISBN 0-3852-4122-4)
- Asylum #2: "Death Disenchanted" (a, with Fred Schiller, New Comics Group, 1989)
- Walt Disney Company, 1990)
- Berkley Publishing):
- ISBN 0-4251-2022-8)
- ISBN 0-4251-2528-9)
Marvel Comics
- Marvel Super Special #41: "Howard the Duck: The Movie" (a, with Danny Fingeroth, 1986)
- Nightmask #11: "Nightmare in New Orleans" (a, with Roy and Dann Thomas, 1986)
- What The--?! #3-4: "Mutant Beach Party!" (a, with Kurt Busiek, 1988)
- Classic X-Men #38: "Strangers on a Lift" (a, with Ann Nocenti, 1989)
- Critical Mass #2: "St. George: A Knight without Armor" (a, with D. G. Chichester and Margaret Clark, Epic, 1990)
- Clive Barker's Hellraiser#7: "Clowning Around" (a, with D. G. Chichester, Epic, 1991)
- Damage Control #1: "The Sure Thing" (a, with Dwayne McDuffie, 1991)
- Epic Lite #1: "Al Space" (w/a, Epic, 1991)
- Break the Chain (a, with KRS-One, one-shot, Marvel Music, 1994)
- Truth: Red, White & Black #1-7 (a, with Robert Morales, 2003)
- Marvel Romance Redux: Restraining Orders are for Other Girls: "My Magical Centaur!" (w, with Don Heck, 2006)
- X-Men Fairy Tales #2: "The Friendship of the Tortoise and the Eagle" (a, with C. B. Cebulski, 2006)
- Deadpool:
- Deadpool #900: "One Down" (a, with Charlie Huston, 2009)
- Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth (a, with Victor Gischler):
- Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth (hc, 328 pages, 2010, ISBN 0-7851-4407-2) incl
- Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth (hc, 328 pages, 2010,
- Prelude to Deadpool Corps#5 (a, with Victor Gischler, 2010)
- DeadpoolMAX (a, with David Lapham and Shawn Crystal, 2010–2012)
DC Comics
- Andrew Helfer, 1988–1989)
- Action Comics #610: "Phantom Stranger: Kenny and the Demon!" (a, with Paul Kupperberg, 1988)
- Justice, Inc. #1-2 (a, with Andrew Helfer, 1989)
- ISBN 0-930289-72-2)
- Justice League America#50: "Ktrrogarrx!" (w/a, 1991)
- Fast Forward #2: "Lester Fenton & the Walking Dead" (w/a, Piranha Press, 1992)
- Elseworlds 80 Page Giant: "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Babysitter" (w/a, with Liz Glass, 1999)
- Bob Kanigher, 2001)
- ISBN 1-5638-9891-8)
- ISBN 1-56389-878-0):
- "Still Life" (a, with Ed Brubaker)
- "The Call" (a, with Eddie Berganza)
- "What We Learned Today" (a, with Eddie Berganza)
- Plastic Man vol. 4, #1-6, 8-11, 13-20 (2004-2006) (w/a)
- The Spirit: #7 (2007); vol. 2, #2 (2010)
- "N.I.M.B.Y" (a, with Harlan Ellison)
- Countdown #23: "The Origin of Mr. Mxyzptlk" (a, with Scott Beatty, co-feature, 2007)
- Wednesday Comics #1-12: "Hawkman" (w/a, 2009)
- MAD: "The All-Time Pantheon of Oddball Music Fans" (a, with Mike Snider, in #343, 1996)
- MAD: "Joey Buttafuoco's Guide to Chivalry" (a, with C. J. Burke, in #356, 1997)
- Wildstorm, 2000)
- ABC Special: "Spectors from Projectors" (a, with Alan Moore, 2001)
- Tom Strong #13: "The Family Strong and the Tower at Time's End!" (a, with Alan Moore, Chris Sprouse, Russ Heath Jr. and Peter Poplaski, 2001)
Vertigo
- ISBN 1-56389-442-4)
- V2K: I Die at Midnight (w/a, one-shot, 2000)
- ISBN 1-56389-866-7)
- ISBN 1-4012-0104-0)
- House of Mystery #10: "Fig's Adventure in Stuffytown" (a, with Peter and Bethany Keele, 2010)
- Mystery in Space: "The Dream Pool" (a, with Kevin McCarthy, one-shot, 2012)
Kyle Baker Publishing
- The New Baker: "The Cartoon Issue" (w/a, one-shot, 2003)
- ISBN 0-9747214-3-3) collects:
- Cartoonist (w/a):
- Volume 1 (tpb, 128 pages, 2004, ISBN 0-9747214-0-9)
- Volume 2: Now with More Bakers (tpb, 128 pages, 2005, ISBN 0-9747214-1-7)
- Volume 1 (tpb, 128 pages, 2004,
- The Bakers (w/a, one-shot, 2005)
- Cartoonist (w/a):
- Nat Turner #1-4 (w/a, 2005)
Other publishers
- ISBN 1-5697-1001-5)
- Instant Piano #1-4 (w/a, 1994–1995)
- Michael Chabon Presents: The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist#1: "Sequestered" (a, with Kevin McCarthy, 2004)
- The Bakers Meet Jingle Belle (a, with Paul Dini, one-shot, 2006)
- Creepy #8: "Loathsome Lore" (a, with Dan Braun, 2012)
- ISBN 1-4000-4859-1)
- Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #12: "Blood Curse of the Evil Fairies!" (w/a, Bongo, 2006)
- ISBN 0-4398-5782-1)
- Special Forces #1-4 (w/a, 2007–2009)
- ISBN 1-5824-0813-0)
- Rocketeer Adventures 2 #3: "Butchy Saves Betty" (w/a, IDW Publishing, 2012)
Covers only
- Web of Spider-Man #9 (Marvel, 1985)
- The Spectacular Spider-Man #112 (Marvel, 1986)
- Marvel Age #43, 83 (Marvel, 1986–1990)
- The Amazing Spider-Man #287 (Marvel, 1987)
- The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told hc (DC Comics, 1988)
- Action Comics #603 (DC Comics, 1988)
- Critical Mass #1, 4 (Epic, 1990)
- Challengers of the Unknown #3 (DC Comics, 1991)
- Monster Menace #1 (Marvel, 1993)
- Marvel Tales #282 (Marvel, 1994)
- Vertigo, 1994–1995)
- Dr. Strange vs. Dracula #1 (Marvel, 1994)
- Showcase '94 #4 (DC Comics, 1994)
- 2099 Unlimited #5-6 (Marvel, 1994)
- Wildstorm, 1999)
- Fantagraphics Books, 2000)
- Peter Parker: Spider-Man #42-43 (Marvel, 2002)
- Back Issue #8 (TwoMorrows, 2005)
- Tales from the Crypt #1 (Papercutz, 2007)
Awards
- Eisner Award, Best Writer/Artist: Humor:
- 1999 - Kyle Baker, You Are Here (DC Comics/Vertigo)
- 2000 - Kyle Baker, I Die at Midnight (DC/Vertigo); "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Babysitter" in Elseworlds 80-Page Giant #1 (DC)
- 2004 - Kyle Baker, Plastic Man (DC); The New Baker (Kyle Baker Publishing)
- 2005 - Kyle Baker, Plastic Man (DC); Kyle Baker, Cartoonist (Kyle Baker Publishing)
- 2006 - Kyle Baker, Plastic Man (DC); The Bakers (Kyle Baker Publishing)
- Eisner Award, Best Short Story:
- 2000 - "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Babysitter" by Kyle Baker in Elseworlds 80-Page Giant (DC)
- Eisner Award, Best New Series:
- 2004 - Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker (DC)
- Eisner Award, Best Title for Younger Readers/Best Comics Publication for a Younger Audience:
- 2005 - Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker and Scott Morse (DC)
- Harvey Award, Best Graphic Album of Original Work:
- 1991 - Why I Hate Saturn by Kyle Baker (Piranha Press)
- 1999 - You Are Here by Kyle Baker (Paradox Press)
- 2014 - Andrew C. Robinson(Dark Horse)
- 1991 -
- Harvey Award, Best New Series:
- 2005 - Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker (DC)
- Harvey Award, Special Award for Humor:
- 2005 - Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker (DC)
- 2006 - Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker (DC)
- Harvey Award, Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work
- 2009 - Nat Turner (Abram Books)
- 2006 Glyph Comics Awards
- Story of the Year - Nat Turner, Kyle Baker, writer and artist
- Best Artist: Kyle Baker, Nat Turner
- Best Cover: Nat Turner #1, Kyle Baker, illustrator
- 2007 Glyph Comics Awards
- Best Artist: Kyle Baker, The Bakers
- 2008 Glyph Comics Awards
- Best Artist: Kyle Baker, Nat Turner: Revolution
References
- ^ Inkpot Award
- ^ a b c "Weddings: Elizabeth Glass and Kyle Baker". The New York Times. July 19, 1998. Archived from the original on December 25, 2013.
- ^ a b "Kyle Baker". Lambiek Comiclopedia. 2010. Archived from the original on June 12, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 1-60549-008-3
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Brennan, Kristen (1999). "I Make People Laugh". Jitterbug Fantasia. Moongadget.com. p. 2. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011.
- ^ a b Nolen-Weathington, p. 9
- ^ a b Nolen-Weathington, p. 11
- ^ a b c d e f g h Kyle Baker at the Grand Comics Database
- ^ Nolen-Weathington, pp. 106-107
- ^ a b c Antonio, Solinas (December 2000). "A Kyle Baker Interview". Ultrazine. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. English-language version of interview from Italian web magazine Rorscharch.
- ^ Dick Tracy (Disney, Hollywood Comics, Walt Disney Publications, Inc. imprint, 1990 Series) at the Grand Comics Database
- ^ Elseworlds 80-Page Giant #1 (August 1999) at the Grand Comics Database
- ComicBookResources.com. Archivedfrom the original on February 11, 2011.
- ^ Wolk, Douglas (December 6, 2009). "Holiday Books: Comics". The New York Times.
- ^ Callan, Jonathan (September 28, 2008). "2008 Harvey Award Winners". ComicBookResources. Archived from the original on February 4, 2010.
External links
- Kyle Baker at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Kyle Baker at IMDb
- QualityJollity.com (official site). Archived from the original July 15, 2011.
- Luxury Cartooning (official blog). Archived from the original July 22, 2011.
- Archive of KyleBaker.com (former official site)
- Mathews, Ed (2005). "Interview: Kyle Baker". PopImage.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2009.
- Kyle Baker at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators