Michael G. Ploog (; born July 13, 1940 or 1942) is an American

storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...

and

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 An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

, and a visual designer for

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

s. In comics, Ploog is best known for his work on Marvel Comics' 1970s ''

Man-Thing The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in ' ...

'' and '' The Monster of Frankenstein'' series, and as the initial artist on the features '' Ghost Rider'' and ''

Werewolf by Night The Werewolf by Night (also known as the Werewolf) is the name of two Werewolf, werewolves appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first incarnation of Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell, first appeared in ''Marvel Spotlig ...

''. His style at the time was heavily influenced by the art of

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 ...

, under whom he apprenticed.

Biography

Early life and career

Born in

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The population was 44,488 at the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Mi ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, Mike Ploog was one of a family of three brothers and a sisterPloog, ''Modern Masters Volume Nineteen: Mike Ploog'', p. 6 raised, initially, on a Minnesota farm. He began drawing while a young child, his imagination fired by such

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

dramas as ''

Sergeant Preston of the Yukon ''Challenge of the Yukon'' is an American radio adventure series that began on Detroit, Michigan, Detroit's WXYT (AM), WXYZ and is an example of a Northern (genre), Northern genre story. The series was first heard on January 3, 1939. The title ...

'' and ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'', and such thriller anthologies as ''

Inner Sanctum Mysteries ''Inner Sanctum Mystery'', also known as ''Inner Sanctum'', is a popular old-time radio program that aired from January 7, 1941, to October 5, 1952. It was created by producer Himan Brown and was based on the imprint given to the mystery novels ...

'' and ''Tales of Horror''. After his parents divorced and sold the farm when Ploog was about 10 or 11 years old,Ploog, ''Modern Masters'', p. 7 his mother took the children to live with her in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

.Ploog, ''Modern Masters'', pp. 7-8 Ploog entered the U.S. Marine Corps, leaving in 1968 after ten years.Ploog, ''Modern Masters'', p. 11 Toward the end of his hitch, he began working on the Corps' ''

Leatherneck Magazine ''Leatherneck Magazine of the Marines'' (or simply ''Leatherneck'') is a magazine for United States Marines. History and profile The first ''Leatherneck'' was published Nov. 17, 1917, as a four-page newspaper. It was called ''The Quantico Leat ...

'',Mike Ploog
at the

Lambiek Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum Bussum () is a commuter town and former municipality in the Gooi region in the south east of the prov ...

Comiclopedia. Note: Source erroneously gives Ploog's birthplace as the nearby St. Thomas, Minnesota. doing bits of

writing Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

and art. Around 1969 he began working on Batman and Superman animated TV series at the Los Angeles studio

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company founded by Lou Scheimer, Hal Sutherland and Norm Prescott in 1962, before closing by Group W Productions on February 3, 1989. Located in Reseda, California, Filmation produced animated ...

, doing what he called "cleanup work for other artists." The following season he was promoted to layout work on those characters' series. "Layout," Ploog recalled in a 1998 interview, "is what happens between

ing and actual animation; you're literally composing the scenes. You're more or less designing the background, putting the characters into it so they'll look like they're actually walking on the surface". Moving to the

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

studio the following season, he worked on layouts for the animated series '' Motormouse and Autocat'' and ''

Wacky Races ''Wacky Races'' is a media franchise containing five animated series, several video games, and a comic book, with most centered on the theme of various Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters primarily engaged in auto racing (although occasionally employ ...

'', as well as "the first ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...

'' pilot; nothing spectacular, though. It was okay; it was a salary, y'know? ... I had very few aspirations, because I didn't know where anything I was doing was going to take me". A Hanna-Barbera colleague passed along a flyer he had gotten from writer-artist

seeking an assistant on the military instructional publication '' PS, The Preventive Maintenance Monthly''. Ploog was familiar with it from his Marine Corps days, and knew well the art, though not the artist's name. "I'd been copying his work for years," Ploog said, "because I was doing visual aids and training aids for the military for a long time". Additional, December 26, 2010. Eisner in 1978 recalled: "Mike came in working for me in 1967 'sic''; Ploog was still in the Marines that year I was looking for someone who could work on the ''PS'' magazine ... and Mike sent me his material, or somebody sent it to me, I don't remember which, and I found myself in California, talking Mike into coming to work for us.... We had a very happy relationship for maybe two or three years, four years.""Will Eisner Interview", ''The Comics Journal'' #46 (May 1979), p. 37. Interview conducted Oct. 13 and 17, 1978 Ploog moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and remained with Eisner for just over two years. As Ploog recalled:

Marvel Comics and Ghost Rider

Eventually, at the suggestion of Eisner letterer Ben Oda, Ploog broke into comics at

Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren (publisher), James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include ''After Hours (magazin ...

, doing stories for the company's black-and-white horror-comics magazines. A

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

sample he showed Marvel got him a callback to draw ''Werewolf by Night'', which premiered in ''Marvel Spotlight'' #2 (Feb. 1972). As Ploog recalled, After three stories in ''Marvel Spotlight'', the feature spun off onto its own book. Ploog then helped launched the initial Johnny Blaze version of the supernatural motorcyclist Ghost Rider, in ''Marvel Spotlight'' #5 (Aug. 1972), and drew the next three adventures. The specifics of the character's creation are disputed.

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

, a Marvel writer and the editor-in-chief at the time, recalls, Friedrich has responded that, Ploog recalled, in a 2008 interview: Ploog and writer

Gary Friedrich Gary Friedrich (; August 21, 1943 – August 29, 2018) was an American comic book writer best known for his Silver Age stories for Marvel Comics' '' Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' and in the following era, the series '' The Monster of Fr ...

collaborated on the first six issues of Marvel's '' The Monster of Frankenstein'' (Jan.-Oct. 1973), the initial four of which contained a more faithful adaptation of

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

's novel than has mostly appeared elsewhere; comics historian

Don Markstein Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

said, "It was faithful to the story even to the point of leaving the monster trapped in the ice at the end — so of course, the fifth issue began with him being rescued." In a 1989 interview, Ploog said, "I really enjoyed doing ''Frankenstein'' because I related to that naive monster wandering around a world he had no knowledge of — an outsider seeing everything through the eyes of a child." The following year, Ploog teamed with writer

Steve Gerber Stephen Ross Gerber (; September 20, 1947 – February 10, 2008) was an American comic book writer and creator of the satiric Marvel Comics character Howard the Duck. Other works include '' Man-Thing'', ''Omega the Unknown,'' ''Marvel Spotlight ...

on ''

'' #5-11 (May-Nov. 1974), penciling a critically acclaimed series of stories involving a dead clown, psychic paralysis in the face of modern society, and other topics far removed from the usual fare of comics of the time, with Ploog's cute-but-creepy art style setting off Gerber's trademark intellectual surrealism. Ploog's other regular titles at Marvel were ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is a science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic world in which humans and intelligent apes c ...

'', '' Kull the Destroyer'' and the series ''

''. Ploog also drew the

Don McGregor Donald Francis McGregor (born June 15, 1945) is an American comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics; he is the author of one of the first graphic novels. Early life Don McGregor was born in Providence, Rhode Island, where he ...

story "The Reality Manipulators" in the black-and-white comics magazine '' Marvel Preview'' #8 (Fall 1976), and the

Doug Moench Douglas Moench (; born February 23, 1948, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American writer of comics, novels, short stories, newspaper feature articles, weekly newspaper comic strips, film screenplays and teleplays. He is notable for his ''Batman'' wo ...

feature "

Weirdworld ''Weirdworld'' was a fantasy series created by Doug Moench and Mike Ploog for American company Marvel Comics, set in a dimension of magic. A comic book series titled ''Weirdworld'' debuted in 2015 as a tie-in to the ''Secret Wars'' storyline, f ...

" in the color comic '' Marvel Premiere'' #38 (Oct. 1977), among other items. He left Marvel following what he describes as "a disagreement with

Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor, and publisher in the comics industry. Beginning his career writing for DC Comics at the age of 14, he had a successful but controversial run as editor-in-chief at Marvel Comic ...

. I had moved to a farm in

, and agreed to do a hand-colored 'Weirdworld' story. Marvel backed out of the deal after I had started. I can't remember the details, but it doesn't matter. I think I was ready to move on." "Marvel and I were both changing. I finished off a black-and-white Kull book that was my last comic for many years." Richard Marschall, editor of what was to be a 60-page "Weirdworld" by Ploog and writer Moench for one of the ''

Marvel Super Special ''Marvel Comics Super Special'' was a 41-issue series of one-shot (comics), one-shot comic-magazines published by American company Marvel Comics from 1977 to 1986. They were cover-priced $1.50 to $2.50, while regular color comics were priced 30 cen ...

'' series of one-shots, said at the time that Ploog had been given four months to complete the art, and when it became evident the deadline would not be met, arranged to publish the story in two 30-page installments, giving Ploog two more months. Ploog sent Marvel photocopies of the first 31 pages, and was paid for them. During this time, Marvel had given

work-for-hire In copyright law, a work made for hire (work for hire or WFH) is a work whose copyright is initially owned by an entity other than the actual creator as a result of an employment relationship or, in some cases, a commission. It is an exception to t ...

contracts to its freelancers, many of whom, including Ploog,

Frank Brunner Frank Brunner (born February 21, 1949) is an American comics artist and illustrator best known for his work at Marvel Comics in the 1970s. Early life Brunner attended Manhattan's High School of Art and Design. He was in the same graduating class ...

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

, Roger Slifer, and

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 ...

, refused to sign, resulting in cessation of work for Marvel. Ploog "took himself off the project," said Marschall, and retained his original artwork. Moench's script was eventually published as a 106-page story illustrated by penciler

John Buscema John Buscema ( ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, ; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

, inker Rudy Nebres, and

airbrush An airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that atomizes and sprays various media, most often paint, but also ink, dye, and make-up. Spray painting developed from the airbrush and is considered to employ a type of airbrush. History Up unt ...

colorist Peter Ledger as the three-part "Warriors of the Shadow Realm" in ''

'' #11-13 (Spring - Fall 1979). Marginalia includes some work for '' Heavy Metal'' magazine in 1981, and three "Luke Malone, Manhunter" backup features in the Atlas/Seaboard title ''Police Action'' #1-3 (Feb., April, June 1975), the first of which he also scripted.

Later career

Ploog returned to the movie industry. By his account, he has worked in post-production on the movie ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three eccentric ...

'' ("All that stuff you saw on cereal boxes are my paintings") and with film director

Ralph Bakshi Ralph Bakshi (; born October 29, 1938) is a Mandatory Palestine-born American retired animator and filmmaker, known for his fantastical animated films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent anim ...

on the animated features '' Wizards'',Ploog, ''Modern Masters'', pp. 36, 40-42 ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'', and '' Hey Good Lookin'.'' He was production designer on '' Michael Jackson: Moonwalker'' (1988),Ploog, ''Modern Masters'', p. 54 and has storyboarded or done other design work on films including John Carpenter's '' The Thing'',Ploog, ''Modern Masters'', pp. 43, 45 ''

Superman II ''Superman II'' is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David Newman (screenwriter), David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment i ...

'',Ploog, ''Modern Masters'', pp. 44-45 ''

Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop of Horrors may refer to: * '' The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 American film * ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film * ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (1986 film), a 1986 American film based on th ...

''Ploog, ''Modern Masters'', p. 47 and ''

The Unbearable Lightness of Being ''The Unbearable Lightness of Being'' () is a 1984 novel by Milan Kundera about two women, two men, a dog, and their lives in the 1968 Prague Spring period of Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak history. Although written in 1982, the novel was not publ ...

'', and, he says, several

Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company, Inc., formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc. (commonly referred to as Henson), is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is kn ...

projects, such as the films ''

The Dark Crystal ''The Dark Crystal'' is a 1982 dark fantasy, dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell (actress), Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. The film was prod ...

'' and ''

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth () is an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the h ...

'' and the TV series '' The Storyteller.''Ploog, ''Modern Masters'', p. 49 Between movies, Ploog illustrated '' L. Frank Baum's the Life and Adventures of

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

'' (1992; ), a

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

adapting ''

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a 1900 children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the ma ...

'' creator's 1902 novella. With old colleague Steve Gerber, Ploog drew the

Malibu Comics Malibu Comics Entertainment, Inc. (launched as Malibu Graphics) was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. Notable titles published by Malibu included ''Th ...

Ultraverse The Ultraverse is a defunct comic book imprint published by the American company Malibu Comics which is currently owned by Marvel Comics. The Ultraverse is a shared universe in which a variety of characters – known within the comics as Ultras � ...

one-shot ''Sludge: Red X-Mas'' (Dec. 1994), but otherwise remained away from comics for another decade before teaming with veteran writer J.M. DeMatteis on the

CrossGen Cross Generation Comics or CrossGen Comics was an American comic book publisher and entertainment company that operated from 1998 to 2004. The company's assets were acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2004, and designated to Disney Publishing ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

'' Abadazad'' (May 2004). Ploog has illustrated cards for the '' Magic: The Gathering'' collectible card game.Mike Ploog entry
at Gatherer: Magic Card Database
WebCitation archive

Bibliography

Comics and magazines

Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren (publisher), James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include ''After Hours (magazin ...

*''

Creepy Creepiness is the state of being creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or unease to someone and/or something. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others; interest in horror or the macabre might come across as 'c ...

'' #44 ("Sleep") (1972) *''

Eerie Eerie may refer to: * Feeling of creepiness * Eerie (magazine), ''Eerie'' (magazine), an American horror comic first published in 1966 * Eerie (Avon), ''Eerie'' (Avon), a 1947 horror comic * Eerie (film), ''Eerie'' (film), a 2018 Filipino horror fi ...

'' #35 ("The Tower of the Demon Dooms"); #40 ("The Brain of Frankenstein") (1971–72) *''

Vampirella Vampirella () is a vampire superheroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and comic book artist Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine ''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), a sister publication of '' Creepy'' and ''E ...

'' #14 ("The Wedding Gift") (1971)

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 ...

*''

Amazing Adventures ''Amazing Adventures'' is the name of several anthology comic book series, all but one published by Marvel Comics. The earliest Marvel series of that name introduced the company's first superhero of the late-1950s to early-1960s period fans and h ...

'' #12 (inker) ( The Beast) (1972) *''

Conan The Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...

'' #57 (1975) *'' Crazy Magazine'' #1 ("Kung Fooey"); 4 ("Shafted"); #7 ("The Tattletale Heart") (1973–74) *'' Dracula Lives'' #4 ("Fear Stalker") (1974) *''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

'' #1-6 (1973) *'' Kull The Destroyer'' #11-15 (1973–74) *''

'' #5-11; ''Giant-Size Man-Thing'' #1 (1974) *''

Marvel Fanfare ''Marvel Fanfare'' was an anthology comic book series published by American company Marvel Comics. It was a showcase title featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe. Volume one ''Marvel Fanfare'' featured characters and setting ...

'' #24 (

) (1984) *'' Marvel Premiere'' #38 (

) (1977) *'' Marvel Preview'' #8 ("The Reality Manipulators") (1976) *''

Marvel Spotlight ''Marvel Spotlight'' is a comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics as a try-out book. It stood out from Marvel's other try-out books in that most of the featured characters made their first appearance in the series. The series or ...

'' #2–4 (

); #5-8 ( Ghost Rider) (1972–73) *''Marvel Super Action'' #1 ("An Ugly Mirror on

") (1976) *''

'' #1-4, #6-8, #11, #13-14, #19 (1974–76) *'' Savage Sword of Conan'' #34 ("Mirrors of Tuzun Thune") ( Kull) (1978) *''

'' #1-7, #13-16 (1972–74)

Big Apple Productions

*''

Big Apple Comix ''Big Apple Comix'' is an early independent comic book published by Flo Steinberg in 1975. A historically important link between underground comix and what would later be called alternative comics, this 36-page, 6" × 9" hybrid with glossy color ...

'' ("The Silent Minority") (1975)

Pacific Comics Pacific Comics was a comic book Distribution (marketing), distributor and Comic book publisher, publisher active from 1971 to 1984. The company began as a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill Schanes, Bill and Steve Schan ...

*'' Twisted Tales'' #2 ("Over His Head") (1983)

First Comics

*''

Classics Illustrated ''Classics Illustrated'' is an American comic book/magazine series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as '' Les Misérables'', ''Moby-Dick'', ''Hamlet'', and '' The Iliad''. Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication ...

'' #9 - ''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbu ...

'' (1990)

Tundra Publishing Tundra Publishing was a Northampton, Massachusetts-based comic book publisher founded by Kevin Eastman in 1990. The company was founded to provide a venue for adventurous, creator-owned work by talented cartoonists and illustrators. Its publica ...

*'' L. Frank Baum's The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus'' (1992)

Malibu Comics Malibu Comics Entertainment, Inc. (launched as Malibu Graphics) was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. Notable titles published by Malibu included ''Th ...

*''

Sludge Sludge (possibly , or some dialect related to slush) is a semi-solid slurry that can be produced from a range of industrial processes, from water treatment, wastewater treatment or on-site sanitation systems. It can be produced as a settled sus ...

Red X-Mas'' #1 (1994)

CrossGen Comics

*'' Abadazad'' (2004)

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) ...

*''The Stardust Kid'' #1-3 (2005)

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 ...

*''The Stardust Kid'' #4-5 (2006–07)

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 ...

*''

The Goon ''The Goon'' is a comic book series written and drawn by Eric Powell. The series mixes both a comical and violent atmosphere with a supernatural slant, which pit the titular character against undead creatures/zombies, ghosts, ghouls, mutants, sk ...

Noir'' #1 ("When Franky Fell from Favor") (2006)

Full Circle Publications

*''Thicker Than Blood'' #1-3 (with

Simon Bisley Simon Bisley is a British comic book artist best known for his 1990s in comics, 1990s work on ''ABC Warriors'', ''Lobo (DC Comics), Lobo'' and ''Sláine (comics), Sláine''. Early life Simon Bisley began drawing when he was six years old. He is ...

) (2007–08)

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 ...

*'' The Spirit'' (2007 series) #14, #31-32 (2008-09) *''The Spirit'' (2010 series) #9 ("The Christmas Spirit") (2011)

References

External links

Mike Ploog
at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators * *

Interviews

Comics Bulletin Comics Bulletin is a daily website covering the comic-book industry. History Silver Bullet Comicbooks In January 2000, New Zealand-based publisher/editor Jason Brice founded then named Silver Bullet Comicbooks. During this period, the site ...

, January 14, 2004
Dematteis & Ploog Together Again
by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean,

Newsarama ''Newsarama'' is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website ''GamesRadar+'', also owned by Future US. Hi ...

, December 3, 2004
Mike Ploog interview, page 1
an

''Alter Ego'' #62 (Oct. 2006), reprinted at Newsarama. October 7, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ploog, Mike 1940s births American comics artists American illustrators American production designers American storyboard artists American fantasy artists American game artists Inkpot Award winners Living people Marvel Comics people People from Mankato, Minnesota American science fiction artists Year of birth uncertain