Dan Panosian (born 1969) is an American
comic book
A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
artist, with extensive credits as both a
penciller
A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations.
In the American comic book industry, the penciller is the first step ...
and an
inker
The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production.
After the penciller creates a drawing with pencil, the inker interprets this drawing by outlining and embellishing ...
and has additional credits as an advertising and storyboard artist.
Early life
Dan Panosian was born in
Cleveland
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
,
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, to artistic parents. He is of
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
descent.
Career
Comics

At age 14, Panosian sent an art submission to
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
, which was responded to with encouragement by the Submissions Editor, Len Kaminski. Years later he showcased his work at the New York Comic Convention, where comic book artists
Neal Adams
Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...
and
Walt Simonson
Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned ...
took notice. Adams offered him a position at his ad agency Continuity Graphics and Simonson called his editor,
Ralph Macchio
Ralph George Macchio Jr. ( , ; born November 4, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Daniel LaRusso in the ''Karate Kid'' films (1984–1989, 2025), a role he reprised in the martial arts series ''Cobra Kai'' (2018–2025). F ...
, at Marvel Comics. Panosian was soon working for both companies. Upon entering the Marvel offices for the first time, he was greeted by Kaminski, who had remembered corresponding with Panosian seven years earlier. On his office wall was a "thank you" illustration sent from the 14-year-old Dan Panosian.
After working on back-up features for ''
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
'', ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'', ''
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
'' and ''
Thor
Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
'', Panosian's work caught the eye of the artistic teams working on the ''
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...
'' line of comic books where he became a regular inker.
When Marvel's top artistic talents left to form
Image Comics
Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...
, he was asked to join them and began illustrating comics that often sold around a million copies each month.
Panosian has also done work for
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...
,
Boom! Studios
Boom! Studios (stylized as BOOM! Studios), is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher. They are headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. The company is a subsidiary of Random House division of Penguin Random House sin ...
, and
Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded in 2004 by Nick Barrucci in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, known for publishing comic book adaptations of licensed feature film properties, such as ''Army of Darkness'', '' Terminator ...
. He also illustrates a series of graphic novels for
Le Lombard
Le Lombard (), known as Les Éditions du Lombard () until 1989, is a Belgian comic book publisher established in 1946 when '' Tintin'' magazine was launched. Le Lombard became part of Média-Participations since 1986, alongside publishers Darg ...
called ''John Tiffany''.
Being a descendant of survivors from the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...
, Panosian also contributed to a graphic novel about the genocide called ''Operation Nemesis: A Story of Genocide & Revenge''.
Advertising, film and game design
Panosian founded Dan Panosian, Inc., through which he began doing advertising work.
He was soon also working with movie and commercial studios providing design and storyboard artwork. Panosian also branched out into book and magazine illustration, apparel lines, and toy design work.
He was the lead designer on a
DreamWorks video game about animals that embody the spirit of Kung-Fu. Shortly after, Dan was doing the lead design work for the video game series ''
Duke Nukem
''Duke Nukem'' is a video game series and media franchise created by the company Apogee Software Ltd. (now 3D Realms). The franchise follows the titular Duke Nukem as he battles against a military or extraterrestrial force. Originally a serie ...
''.
Panosian illustrated one of
's first CD-ROM comic books, ''The Suit''.
He made the fake comic book covers seen in the 2017 film ''
Logan
Logan may refer to:
Places
* Mount Logan (disambiguation)
Australia
* Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly
* Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud
* Logan City, local gove ...
'', as Marvel Comics did not allow actual comic book issues to be used.
Personal life
Panosian, his wife and their son live in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.
Awards
Panosian received an Best-of-Show Addy Award for his work on the DSL ad campaign: Jack Flash. In 2011, Panosian was the Keynote Speaker for the 2011
Inkwell Awards Awards Ceremony at
HeroesCon.
Selected bibliography
Marvel Comics
* ''
Alpha Flight
Alpha Flight is a fictional team of Canadian superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters premiered in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #120 (April 1979), and were created to serve as part of the X-Men member Wolv ...
''
* ''
Astonishing X-Men
''Astonishing X-Men'' is the name of four X-Men comic book series from Marvel Comics, the first two of which were Limited series (comics), limited series. The third volume, an ongoing series, began in 2004 in comics, 2004, with its first run writt ...
''
* ''
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
''
* ''
The Incredible Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...
''
* ''
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
''
* ''
Magneto
A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...
''
* ''
Marvel Tales''
* ''
Savage Sword of Conan''
* ''
Thor
Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
''
* ''
The Uncanny X-Men
''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the List of X-Men comics, X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of super ...
''
* ''
Web of Spider-Man
''Web of Spider-Man'' is the name of two different monthly comic book series starring Spider-Man that have been published by Marvel Comics since 1985, the first volume of which ran for 129 issues between 1985 and 1995, and the second of which ran ...
''
* ''
Wolverine
The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...
''
* ''
Wonder Man
Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The character, wh ...
''
Image Comics
* ''
Arkham Knight
While smith
Whisper A'Daire is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Greg Rucka and Shawn Martinbrough, and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #743 (April 2000).
Whisper is an op ...
''
* ''
Cyberforce
A cyber force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in cyberspace and cyberwarfare. The world's first independent cyber force was the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force, which was establis ...
''
* ''
Phantom Force''
* ''
Pitt''
* ''
Prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...
''
* ''
Savage Dragon
The Savage Dragon is the name of two superheroes created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic initially follows the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon. The character ...
''
* ''
Slots''
* ''
Spawn
Spawn or spawning may refer to:
* Spawning, the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals
Arts, entertainment and media
* Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise
** ''Spawn: Armageddon' ...
''
* ''
Stormwatch''
* ''
Wetworks
Wetwork () is a euphemism for murder or assassination that alludes to spilling blood. The expression and the similar ''wet job'', ''wet affair'', or ''wet operation'' are all calques of Russian terms for such activities and can be traced to crimi ...
''
* ''
Witchblade
''Witchblade'' is an American comic book Ongoing series, series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint (trade name), imprint of Image Comics, which ran from November 1995 to October 2015. The series was created by Top Cow founder and owne ...
''
* ''
Youngblood Battlezone''
Other
* ''Operation Nemesis: A Story of Genocide & Revenge''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panosian, Dan
1969 births
American comics artists
American comics writers
American graphic novelists
American male novelists
American storyboard artists
American people of Armenian descent
Artists from Cleveland
Artists from Los Angeles
Marvel Comics writers
Living people