Dennis Janke (born April 13, 1950) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 who was active in the industry from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s, primarily as 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 ...

. He is known for his work on the

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

character

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

, particularly his nine-year run as inker on '' Superman: The Man of Steel''. A freelancer, Janke worked for both DC and

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 ...

during his career, occasionally penciling covers and stories, but mostly focusing on "finish inking" over other artists' pencils. Janke has worked extensively with pencilers

Jon Bogdanove Jon Bogdanove is an American comics artist and writer. He is best known for his work on '' Power Pack'' and '' Superman: The Man of Steel'', as well as for creating the character Steel with writer Louise Simonson in 1993. Career Comics After a ...

and

Jerry Ordway Jeremiah Joseph Ordway (born November 28, 1957) is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books. He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining ''Crisis on Infinite E ...

, creating

Doomsday Doomsday may refer to: * Eschatology, a time period described in the eschatological writings in Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios of non-Abrahamic religions. * Global catastrophic risk, a hypothetical event explored in science and fict ...

with Ordway. With

Mark Gruenwald Mark Eugene Gruenwald ( ; June 18, 1953 – August 12, 1996) was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler known for his long association with Marvel Comics. Career Early career Gruenwald got his start in comics f ...

and

Paul Neary Paul Neary (18 December 1949 – 10 February 2024) was a British comic book artist, writer and editor. His first work was for Warren Publishing in the 1970s before working with Dez Skinn at Marvel UK as well as work for '' 2000 AD''. He later ...

, Janke co-created

Armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...

. In his career, Janke has also worked on dozens of independent comic booksJanke entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999.'' Accessed July 15, 2016. and

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

, including his own self-published series, ''Flaming Baloney'' (published with James R. Blevins c. 1975)."witzend Contributors, Part I," ''witzend'', Volume 1 (Fantagraphics Books, 2014), p. 293.

Biography

Early life

Janke was born on April 13, 1950, in Cleveland, Ohio."witzend Contributors, Part 2," ''witzend'', Volume 1 (Fantagraphics Books, 2014), p. 306. He earned his BFA from the

Cleveland Institute of Art The Cleveland Institute of Art, previously Cleveland School of Art, is a private college focused on art and design and located in Cleveland, Ohio. History The college was founded in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women, at f ...

Career

Janke's first published work was a 1974 illustration in DC Comics' ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror comics, horror, fantasy comics, fantasy, and mystery fiction, mystery comics anthology, comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets (DC Comi ...

'', but his professional career took off a decade later when he was hired to ink

on Marvel's ''

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 ...

'', which he did for two years. Moving over to DC Comics in 1987, Janke inked the final nine issues of ''

Electric Warrior ''Electric Warrior'' is the second studio album by English rock band T. Rex and their sixth since their 1968 debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex, released on 24 September 1971, by Fly Records in the United Kingdom and Reprise Records in the United St ...

'' over

Jim Baikie James George Baikie (; 28 February 1940 – 29 December 2017) was a Scottish comics artist best known for his work with Alan Moore on '' Skizz''. He was also a musician. Biography Baikie served as a Corporal with the Royal Air Force in 1956–19 ...

's pencils. Next, he inked the four-issue mini-series ''

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The char ...

'', pencilled by

Joe Orlando Joseph Orlando (April 4, 1927 – December 23, 1998) was an Italian Americans, Italian-American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' and ...

and written by

Peter David Peter Allen David (September 23, 1956 – May 24, 2025), often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Grea ...

. Around the same time he became the regular inker on '' The Adventures of Superman'' and ''

'', mostly inking

's pencils. He then spent nine years as the inker of '' Superman: The Man of Steel'', mostly over

. Bogdanove and Janke also illustrated many covers for the

Steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

solo title during this period. As inker on ''Superman: The Man of Steel'', Janke contributed to, and benefited from the success of, the best-selling 1992-1993 "

The Death of Superman "The Death of Superman" is a crossover story event mostly featured in DC Comics' Superman-related publications. The crossover, which originated from editor Mike Carlin and writers Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway, and ...

" story arc. Janke's final major run as an inker was for '' The Spectre'' in 2002–2003 (over

Norm Breyfogle Norman Keith Breyfogle (; February 27, 1960 – September 24, 2018) was an American artist, best known for his comic book art on DC Comics's Batman franchise from 1987 to 1995. During this time, he co-created the villains Ventriloquist and Ratc ...

's pencils). Since 2003, Janke's published comics credits have been rare. Janke is currently at work on a graphic novel.

Personal life

Janke is an amateur poet.Janke bio
Inspiration for the Spirit website. Accessed July 15, 2016. He lives in Maine, in a house he was able to pay for with royalties from his work on "

Bibliography

As writer

* (with James R. Blevins) (as Z. Capistance) "Stargazer," ''

Witzend ''witzend'', published on an irregular schedule spanning decades, is an underground comix, underground comic showcasing contributions by comic book professionals, leading illustrators and new artists. ''witzend'' was launched in 1966 by the wri ...

'' #12 (Wonderful Publishing Company, 1982) — also art * (with

) '' Adventures of Superman'' #484 (DC Comics, Nov. 1991) — also inks * (with

Roger Stern Roger Stern (born September 17, 1950) is an American comic book author and novelist. Biography Early career In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine ''CPL'' (''Contemporary Pictorial Literature''), one of the first platfo ...

) ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...

'' #671 (DC Comics, Nov. 1991) — also inks *(with

Louise Simonson Louise Simonson (née Mary Louise Alexander; born September 26, 1946) is an American comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work on comic book titles such as ''Conan the Barbarian'', '' Power Pack'', ''X-Factor'', ''The New Mutan ...

) '' Superman: The Man of Steel'' #6 (DC Comics, Dec. 1991) — also inks * (with Louise Simonson) "Doomsday for the Fifth Dimension," '' Action Comics Annual'' #6 (DC Comics, 1994) — also pencils and Inks

As penciler

* '' Adventures of Superman'' #496 (DC Comics, Nov. 1992) — also co-plot and inks * "Gangbuster of Suicide Slum," ''The Legacy of Superman'' #1 (DC Comics, Mar. 1993) * "Prologue: Communion," '' Doomsday Annual'' #1 (DC Comics, 1995) — also inks * "Epilogue: Requiem," ''Doomsday Annual'' #1 (DC Comics, 1995) — also inks

As inker

* ''

'' (Marvel Comics, 1984-1986) * ''

Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince A ...

'' #1–5 (

Star Comics Star Comics was an imprint of Marvel Comics that began in 1984 and featured titles that were aimed at child readers and were often adaptations of children's television series, animated series or toys. The last comic published under the imprint ...

, 1986–1987) * ''

'' #11–18 (DC Comics, 1987) * ''

'' limited series (DC Comics, 1988) * '' The Adventures of Superman'' (DC Comics, 1988–1989) * ''

'' (DC Comics, 1989–1991, 1993) * "Circle of Fear," ''

Spelljammer ''Spelljammer'' is a campaign setting originally published for the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' ( 2nd edition) role-playing game, which features a fantastic (as opposed to scientific) outer space environment. Subsequent editions have included ...

'' #6 (DC Comics/ TSR, Feb. 1991) * '' Superman: The Man of Steel'' (DC Comics, 1991-1999) * "

Underworld Unleashed ''Underworld Unleashed'' was a multi-title American comic book crossover event released by DC Comics in 1995. The main theme of ''Underworld Unleashed'' involved the new ruler of Hell, a demon-lord named Neron, offering first many of the DC Un ...

" limited series (DC Comics, Nov.–Dec. 1995) * ''Superman's Nemesis:

Lex Luthor Alexander "Lex" Joseph Luthor () is a supervillain in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the character first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (published on February 22, 1940, with a cover d ...

'' limited series (DC Comics, Mar.–June 1999) * ''Domination Factor: Avengers'' limited series (Marvel Comics, Nov. 1999–Feb. 2000) * '' Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham'' limited series (DC Comics, Nov. 2000–Jan. 2001) * '' The Spectre'' (DC Comics, 2002-2003) * ''

Human Defense Corps The Human Defense Corps are a comic book military organization published by DC Comics. They first appeared in ''Human Defense Corps'' #1 (July 2003), and were created by writer Ty Templeton and artist Clément Sauvé. Publication history ''Huma ...

'' issues #4-6 (DC Comics, Oct.–Dec. 2003)

References

External links

*
Janke page at Inspiration for the Spirit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janke, Dennis 1950 births Living people American comics artists Artists from Cleveland Artists from Maine Cleveland Institute of Art alumni Comics inkers DC Comics people