Ken Landgraf (born 1950) 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 and commercial illustrator.

Early life and education

Kenneth Landgraf was born in

Sheboygan, Wisconsin Sheboygan () is a city in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 49,929 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Sheboygan Metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan area, which has a pop ...

. He admired the work of comic book artists like

Reed Crandall Reed Leonard Crandall (February 22, 1917 – September 13, 1982) Reed Crandall
at ...

Russ Heath Russell Heath Jr. (September 29, 1926 – August 23, 2018) was an American artist best known for his comic book work, particularly his DC Comics war stories and his 1960s art for ''Playboy'' magazine's " Little Annie Fanny" feature. He also prod ...

Sam Glanzman Samuel Joseph Glanzman (December 5, 1924 – July 12, 2017) was an American comics artist and memoirist. Glanzman is best known for his Charlton Comics series ''Hercules'', about the mythological Greek demigod; his autobiographical war stories ab ...

Jim Steranko James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comics artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, Illusionist, magician, publisher and film production illustrator. His most famous comic book work was with th ...

, and

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

, among others. Landgraf described his early interest in comics: Landgraf attended Holy Name Catholic School and later graduated from North Sheboygan High School. As a young man he served in the Navy in Vietnam, and upon returning from the war, joined the Navy Reserve. Landgraf settled in New York as a student attending the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

on the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

. At this time he produced his first commercial artwork for various

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the Pulp (paper), wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their ...

s. Determined to become a professional comic book artist, he studied with

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...

and

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ...

. Landgraf worked as an assistant to comic book artists

Howard Nostrand Howard Nostrand (May 13, 1929Nostrand, Howard. "Nostrand by Nostrand", ''Graphic Story Magazine'' #16 (Summer 1974), p. 18–August 1, 1984)Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...

, and

Rich Buckler Rich Buckler (February 6, 1949 – May 19, 2017) was an Americans, American comics artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' in the mid-1970s and for creating the character Deat ...

. Landgraf took his early samples to DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Landgraf said:

Comics

Landgraf's artwork appeared in

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 ...

publications from 1977 to 1981: '' The Witching Hour'' #85; ''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

'' #68, #71 – 76, #82, #91, and #101; ''

Weird War Tales ''Weird War Tales'' is a war comic book title with supernatural overtones published by DC Comics. It was published from September - October 1971 to June 1983. Publication history The original title ran for 12 years and 124 issues. It was an an ...

'' #89, and '' The Unexpected'' #202 and #216. He penciled "Adventures of Nightwing and Flamebird" stories in ''

The Superman Family ''The Superman Family'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1974 to 1982 featuring supporting characters in the ''Superman'' comics. The term "Superman Family" is often used to refer to the extended cast of characters of c ...

'' from issues #184 -193, as well as Hawkman stories in ''

World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...

'' #262, #264 – #266. In addition, Landgraf worked with

Tony DeZuniga Antony de Zuñiga (November 8, 1932 – May 11, 2012) who worked primarily under the name Tony DeZuniga, was a Filipinos, Filipino comics artist and illustrator best known for his works for DC Comics. He co-created the fictional characters Jonah ...

's Action Art Studios as a member of "The Tribe," inking various Marvel Comics projects in the years 1977–1979. He drew new material for ''

Marvel Treasury Edition ''Marvel Treasury Edition'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics from 1974 to 1981. It usually featured reprints of previously published stories but a few issues contained new material. The series was published in an oversiz ...

'' #26 (1980) for Marvel, which was reprinted in ''The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine'' #1 in 1986. Landgraf self-published ''Rock Comics'' #1 (1979) through his company Landgraphics Publications, in an 11" by 15" format. It featured art by

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 ...

, Armando Gil,

Dave Simons Dave Simons (December 20, 1954 – June 9, 2009) was an American comic book artist known for his work on ''Conan (comics), Conan'', ''Ghost Rider (comic book), Ghost Rider'', ''Red Sonja'', and ''Spider-Man'' for Marvel Comics and ''Forgotten Re ...

, and Landgraf. It lasted one issue. He also created ''Starfighters'', which lasted 5 issues. He illustrated comics for heavy metal bands Vikon and Thor Rock Warrior, as well as for

Revolutionary Comics Revolutionary Comics was an American comic book publisher specializing in unauthorized profiles of entertainers and professional athletes, as well as a line of erotic comics. Its flagship series was '' Rock 'N' Roll Comics''. Founded by Todd Lo ...

on a

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

comic book series. He inked John Jacobs on ''Dr. Peculiar'' comics. He also produced fetish comics using the pseudonym "Dancer" under the direction of

Eric Stanton Eric Stanton (born Ernest Stanzoni Jr.; September 30, 1926 – March 17, 1999) was an American underground cartoonist and Sexual fetishism, fetish art pioneer. While Stanton began his career as a bondage fantasy artist for Irving Klaw, the major ...

Other work

Landgraf created storyboard and onscreen art for television shows such as ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'',

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

, ''

The Cosby Mysteries ''The Cosby Mysteries'' is an American mystery comedy television series starring Bill Cosby that aired on NBC from September 21, 1994, to April 12, 1995. 19 episodes were made. It was the first television series to star Cosby since ''The Cosby ...

'',

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

, and

Lifetime Network Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared toward ...

, as well as ''

The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers ''The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers'' is an American animated space Western television series created by Robert Mandell (film producer), Robert Mandell and produced by Transcom Media, Inc. and Ryman Hospitality Properties, Gaylord Entertainme ...

'' and ''Avenue Amy'' animated TV shows. Landgraf painted a large mural at the

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a Private college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit film school and Drama school, acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles metropolitan ar ...

. He produced color illustrations for the

Harris Publications Harris Publications Inc. was an American special interest media company, operating over 75 brands with print, digital, mobile and live-event platforms prior to its sale to Athlon Media in 2016. It produced magazines that educate, entertain and ...

magazines ''Tactical Knives,'' ''Combat Handguns,'' and ''White Tail Deer Hunter''. In the 1980s, Landgraf taught comic book drawing and anatomy at

Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...

. Landgraf was referenced in ''Can Rock & Roll Save the World?: An Illustrated History of Music and Comics'' by Ian Shirley; ''The Weird World of Eerie Publications'' by Mike Howlett; and ''Bad Mags'' by Tom Brinkmann.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Landgraf, Ken 1950 births American comics artists Living people School of Visual Arts alumni