Paul Ryan (September 23, 1949 – March 7, 2016) was an American

comic artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the literary ...

. He worked extensively for

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 ...

and

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 ...

on a number of

super-hero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

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 ...

titles. He is best known for his 1991 to 1996 run as

penciler 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 ...

on ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

'', which represents his longest association with an individual comic book series. From 2005 until his death in 2016, Ryan penciled and inked the daily newspaper

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

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 ...

'' for

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is an American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product License, licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, columnist, newspape ...

Biography

Early years

Paul Ryan was born in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

, in 1949. He attended St. Polycarp Grammar School in Somerville, and graduated from St. Mary of the Annunciation High School in 1967. He graduated from the

Massachusetts College of Art Massachusetts College of Art and Design, branded as MassArt, is a public college of visual and applied art in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1873, it is one of the nation's oldest art schools, and the only publicly funded independent art sch ...

in 1971 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design. After graduation Ryan enlisted in the

United States National Guard The National Guard is a U.S. state, state-based military force that becomes part of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. military's reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, reserve components of the United States Army, U.S. Army a ...

and was assigned to

Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Fo ...

, New Jersey, for Basic Training and AIT (Advanced Individual Training) in automotive mechanics. He later attended Massachusetts Military Academy in

Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston, greater Boston metropolitan area, municipal corporation, incorporated in 1812 in the United States, 1812 and located about north-nor ...

, for officer training. Ryan was a member of his National Guard pistol team, studied karate and fencing in his younger days, and at one time took up archery and weight training. As a young man, Ryan found a job in the Graphics Department of Metcalf & Eddy Engineering in Boston, where he worked for 11 years.

First steps in comics

According to a 2007 interview, "Ryan began his training or a career in comic artas a child, growing up in Somerville. He'd park himself in front of the television each night to watch George Reeves in the ''

Adventures of Superman Adventures of Superman or The Adventures of Superman may refer to: * ''The Adventures of Superman'' (radio series), program of the 1940s * ''The Adventures of Superman'' (novel), written in 1942 by George Lowther * ''Adventures of Superman'' (TV s ...

''." Ryan began drawing one-page comic stories in grade school, inspired by his love of comics to create his own. He has said that as a youngster in the

Silver Age The Ages of Man are the historical stages of human existence according to Greek mythology and its subsequent interpretatio romana, Roman interpretation. Both Hesiod and Ovid offered accounts of the successive ages of humanity, which tend to pr ...

, he was influenced by the work of

Wayne Boring Wayne Boring (June 5, 1905 – February 20, 1987) was an Americans, American Comics artist, comic book artist best known for his work on Superman from the late 1940s to 1950s. He occasionally used the pseudonym Jack Harmon. Biography Early life a ...

and

Curt Swan Douglas Curtis Swan (February 17, 1920 – June 17, 1996) was an American comics artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans call the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 195 ...

on ''

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 ...

''. In 1961, Ryan became a big fan of the ''

'' of

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

and

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 ...

, having "bought the first issue at the tender age of 11." He has acknowledged that even as a youth he studied the work of

Hal Foster Harold Rudolf Foster, FRSA (August 16, 1892 – July 25, 1982) was a Canadian-American comic strip artist and writer best known as the creator of the comic strip '' Prince Valiant''. His drawing style is noted for its high level of draftsmanship ...

Sy Barry Seymour "Sy" Barry (born March 12, 1928)
at the

Dan Barry, and

Mac Raboy Emmanuel "Mac" Raboy (April 9, 1914 – December 12, 1967) was an American comics artist best known for his comic-book work on Fawcett Comics' Captain Marvel Jr.Brent Frankenhoff & Maggie Thompson ''The Greatest Comic Book Covers Of All Time'' ...

, adding "I'm pretty much influenced by anybody whose work I admire." In 1983, in response to a general "open audition" offer from

Charlton Comics Charlton Comics was an American comic-book publishing company that existed from 1945 to 1986, having begun under a different name: T. W. O. Charles Company, in 1940. It was based in Derby, Connecticut. The comic-book line (comics), line was a divi ...

, Ryan was finally prompted to write and draw his first full-scale comics story, which he titled "BREED". Charlton had recently instituted a program whereby they would publish the best of the work submitted by aspiring comic book artists in '' Charlton Bullseye''. Payment would be in the form of 50 contributor copies of the printed piece. The artist would then have published work to show

in the hopes of landing a job with the "Big Two." Charlton accepted Ryan's story, encouraging him that a career in comics was within reach, but the title was cancelled before "BREED" saw print. The remaining stories from ''Bullseye'' ended up in the hands of Bill Black of

Americomics AC Comics (formerly known as Paragon Publications and Americomics) is a comic book publishing company started by Bill Black.

in Florida, and Black published "BREED" in ''Starmasters'' #1 (March 1984). This brought Ryan to the attention of comic book stores in the Boston area. When Marvel artist

Bob Layton Bob Layton (born September 25, 1953) is an American comic book artist, writer, and editor. He is best known for his work on Marvel Comics titles such as ''Iron Man (comic book), Iron Man'' and ''Hercules (Marvel Comics), Hercules'', and for co-fo ...

moved to Boston and needed an assistant, the employees at these stores recommended Paul Ryan to Layton. Ryan worked for Layton for a year doing his backgrounds, and through him met the editors and staff at Marvel. Layton is said to have played a vital role in Ryan's development. Ryan said that his only formal training in comics came in that 1983-1984 span, working as Bob Layton's assistant while also preparing his penciling samples for Marvel. By this time Ryan, having taken a circuitous route toward a career in comic art, was in his middle 30s.

At Marvel Comics

Soon, Ryan was getting assignments of his own, starting with inking ''The Thing'' #27 (September 1985) and then moving on to penciling ''

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 ...

'' #202, ''

Squadron Supreme The Squadron Supreme is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, of which there are several notable alternate versions. The original team was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, derived from the previous ...

'', ''The Eternals'', and a

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 ...

graphic novel. In 1986, writer

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 Ryan co-created '' D.P. 7'' for Marvel's

New Universe The New Universe is an imprint from Marvel Comics that was published in its original incarnation from 1986 to 1989. It was the first line produced by Marvel Comics utilizing a pre-conceived shared universe concept. It was created by Jim Shooter, ...

imprint. The series featured a then-uncommonly realistic view of what consequences could arise from having paranormal abilities. ''D.P. 7'' has been called "a clear forerunner - both in tone and content - of the television series ''

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

''." Ryan said that his favorite creative moment in comics was sitting down with Gruenwald and coming up with the look for ''D.P. 7'': "At Mark’s direction we 'cast' our characters based on real people. This is something that I still do when confronted with new characters. When given a description of a character by the writer I look through various magazines for just the right look."

Rich Johnston Richard "Rich" Johnston is a British comics creator, columnist, and founder of the comics news site ''Bleeding Cool''. '' The Comics Journal'' described Johnston as having claimed to be "the oldest extant comics news reporter on the Internet. ...

of Bleeding Cool proclaimed ''D.P. 7'' "a wonderful comic book, everything just seemed to gel together perfectly on that series, and on ''Quasar'' that followed it, and I was hooked. Paul had a classically clean style." In 1987 Ryan drew ''The Amazing Spider-Man Annual'' #21 which featured the wedding of

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 ...

(Peter Parker) and

Mary Jane Watson Mary Jane "MJ" Watson is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, making her first appearance in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #25 (June 1965), and subsequent ...

.''The Amazing Spider-Man Annual'' #21
at the Grand Comics Database Recalling years later his reaction to being assigned the wedding issue, Ryan admitted, "I was terrified! Excited, but knowing the historic and financial significance of this story for Marvel Comics, I couldn’t help but be a little nervous. Considering that I had only been in the business a minute and a half I should never have been given that assignment. Jim Shooter really took a chance with me. He asked. I accepted. He handed me the plot. I hope I didn’t disappoint him." Ryan penciled the first six issues of ''

Quasar A quasar ( ) is an extremely Luminosity, luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. The emission from an AGN is powered by accretion onto a supermassive black hole with a mass rangi ...

'' in 1989–90, and also worked on a significant run of ''

The Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

''. Recalling Ryan's work on the latter title, writer Jason Versaggi said that Ryan's "draft work seemed to seamlessly transition from the end of

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

's stints on those books in the ‘90s." Other Marvel highlights included pencils for ''

Avengers West Coast The West Coast Avengers is a fictional group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in ''The West Coast Avengers'' #1 (Sept. 1984), created by Roger Stern and Bob Hall. It was the fir ...

'' (shortly after inking John Byrne's art on several issues of that title) and ''

Ravage 2099 Ravage 2099 (Paul-Phillip Ravage) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Ravage was created by writer Stan Lee and penciler Paul Ryan in 1992 for Marvel Comics' Marvel 2099 imprint. Rav ...

'', a character he co-created with

. He penciled art for Byrne's scripts on ''Iron Man'' for about a year beginning in 1991, including an arc called "The Dragon Seed Saga" which featured the

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

. In 1992, concurrent with comic book projects, Ryan took over the penciling on ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...

'' Sunday comic strip written by

, inked by

Joe Sinnott Joseph Leonard Sinnott (; October 16, 1926 June 25, 2020) was an American comic book artist. Working primarily as an inker, Sinnott is best known for his long stint on Marvel Comics' ''Fantastic Four'', from 1965 to 1981 (and briefly in the la ...

, and distributed by

King Features King Features Syndicate, Inc. is an American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

. He drew that feature for just over three years, for what might have been his largest audience of readers. Of all his work for Marvel, Paul Ryan is most strongly associated with the ''

'' for his long run on their flagship title. Ryan said that when he was first offered the art assignment he actually declined, because he was reluctant to give up the ''Avengers'' to clear time in his schedule. He continued to think about the opportunity over a weekend, and finally concluded that he couldn't turn down the job of drawing his favorite Marvel title. Partnering with writer

Tom DeFalco Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thor (comic book), Thor'', ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...

, and sometimes receiving a co-plotting credit, his first issue was #356 (Sept. 1991) and his last #414 (July 1996). He trailed only

and John Byrne in total number of ''Fantastic Four'' issues drawn. His run on ''Fantastic Four'' was ended abruptly by the '' Heroes Reborn'' event. Ryan recalled that he learned of his losing the ''F.F.'' and

Jim Lee Jim Lee (; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean-born American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. As of 2023, he is the President, Publisher, and Chief creative officer, Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work ...

's taking over the title through the internet, and said, "This whole situation left a bad feeling with me toward Marvel. I was cast adrift after 11 years of loyal exclusivity."

At DC Comics and after

Shortly after Paul Ryan left Marvel, he moved over to DC Comics where he became the artist on '' Superman: The Man of Tomorrow'' and ''

The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...

''. That same year, he was one of the many creators who contributed to the '' Superman: The Wedding Album'' one-shot wherein the title character married

Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning ...

.''Superman: The Wedding Album'' #1 (Dec. 1996)
at the Grand Comics Database Ryan drew part of the ''

Superman Red/Superman Blue "Superman Red/Superman Blue" refers to two comic book storylines published by DC Comics featuring Superman. Silver Age story The original Superman-Red/Superman-Blue tale, "The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue!", is an "Elseworlds" ...

'' one-shot which launched the storyline of the same name which ran through the various Superman titles. He penciled a ''

Annual'' and various ''

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 ...

'' titles, as well as several fill-in assignments on other Superman titles. With writers

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...

and

Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series ''The Authority (comics), The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ext ...

, Ryan introduced the

Jakeem Thunder Jakeem Thunder (Jakeem Johnny Williams), initially called J.J. Thunder, is a fictional character in the DC Comics Universe, a member of the superhero team the Justice Society of America. The character appeared starting in the second season of '' ...

character in ''The Flash'' vol. 2 #134 (Feb. 1998). Paul Ryan and writer

David Michelinie David Michelinie (; born May 6, 1948) is an American comic book writer best known for scripting Marvel Comics' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and ''Iron Man'' and the DC Comics feature Superman in ''Action Comics''. Among the characters he created or ...

are the only comic book creators to have contributed to the wedding issues of both Spider-Man (Peter Parker) marrying Mary Jane Watson in ''The Amazing Spider-Man Annual'' #21 and Superman (Clark Kent) marrying Lois Lane in ''Superman: The Wedding Album''. "One of the greatest thrills I experienced working in comics was to be allowed to draw Superman," Ryan said about his time at DC. "To me, he was the first, best hero." He was a contributing artist on the ''NASCAR/Superman'' custom comic and on ''Celebrating the Century'', a stamp collecting book which DC produced for the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

. Ryan briefly returned to Marvel in 1999, teaming again with writer

, this time on the ''

Fantastic Five Fantastic Five is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books which were published by Marvel Comics. The team exists in the MC2 Universe, an alternate future to the Marvel Universe. A continuation of the Fantastic Four, the te ...

''. The turn of the Millennium found Ryan working with

Wildstorm Wildstorm Productions (stylized as WildStorm) is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi to publish through Image Comics, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC C ...

, penciling one of the ''

Left Behind ''Left Behind'' is a multimedia franchise of apocalyptic fiction written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, released by Tyndale House Publishers from 1995 to 2007. The bestselling premillennial novels are Christian eschatological narrat ...

'' graphic novels, and working with

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 ...

as a fill-in artist on such titles as ''

Ruse Ruse may refer to: Places *Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria **Ruse Municipality **Ruse Province **19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency *Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia * Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-cent ...

'' and ''

Crux CRUX is a lightweight x86-64 Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It is not based on any other Linux distribution. It also utilizes a ports system ...

''. Crossgen's recruitment of Ryan and other notable talent led DC Comics to consider that upstart publisher a significant threat in the comic book market. Ryan's involvement with ''The Phantom'' began when a fan bidding on one of Ryan's

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

auctions in 2001 contacted him, and asked if he had ever considered working for a comics company outside the U.S. This fan had been an intern at

Egmont Publishing The Egmont Group (officially Egmont International Holding A/S; known as Gutenberghus Group until 1992) is a Danish media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark. The business area of Egmont has traditionally been magazine publishi ...

, which produces ''The Phantom'' ('' Fantomen'') comic in Sweden. Ryan told him he was interested, and was given the appropriate contact information. Soon, the publisher had samples from Ryan, and he quickly signed him on to Team Fantomen. Ryan became a regular contributor of covers and finished interior art to ''Fantomen'' for the next five years, a job which would position him well for his next major assignment.

The Phantom comic strip

'' comic strip began as a weekday newspaper strip on February 17, 1936, with a color Sunday strip added in May 1939. It was originally written by creator

Lee Falk Lee Falk (), born Leon Harrison Gross (; April 28, 1911 – March 13, 1999), was an American cartoonist, writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the comic strips ''Mandrake the Magician'' and ''The Phantom''. At the ...

, and when Falk died in 1999,

Tony DePaul Tony DePaul is the current writer of the Lee Falk created adventure comic strip 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 ...

took over the writing duties. Paul Ryan was one of the several artists who have illustrated the character's comic strip adventures over the decades. In 2005 then-current artist

George Olesen George Olesen (December 6, 1924 – October 15, 2013) was an American comic book artist, best known for his work as a penciller on popular comic strip ''The Phantom''. He worked with the character for around forty years, although he did not ge ...

announced his retirement.

Jay Kennedy Jay Malcolm Kennedy (April 18, 1956 – March 15, 2007) was an American editor and writer. The author of ''The Official Underground and Newave Comix Price Guide'', he was a long-time editor at King Features Syndicate, eventually rising to the pos ...

, editor-in-chief at King Features Syndicate, chose Ryan to assume the artist's role on the daily strips, beginning with those published in January of that year (Ryan had been the artist on King's ''Amazing Spider-Man'' strip a decade earlier). Then in October 2006

Graham Nolan Graham Nolan (born March 12, 1962) is an American comic book artist, best known for work for DC Comics on Batman-related titles in the 1990s and his work on ''The Phantom'' Sunday strip. He frequently collaborates with writer Chuck Dixon. Biograp ...

, artist on ''The Phantom'' Sunday Strip, announced his intended departure from the series. Once again Kennedy called upon Ryan, who agreed to add the Sunday strip to his duties for King Features. His first Sunday appeared in newspapers on April 1, 2007. Ryan later wished to cut his workload and on July 31, 2011,

Eduardo Barreto Luis Eduardo Barreto Ferreyra (March 1, 1954 – December 15, 2011) was a Uruguayan artist who worked in the comic book and comic strip industries including several years of prominent work for DC Comics. All of his children are artists. Two o ...

took over as artist for the Sunday strip. Following Barreto's sudden death in late 2011, Ryan returned to the Sunday feature briefly until a replacement,

Terry Beatty Terry Beatty (born January 11, 1958''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; Page 107) is an artist who has worked as a penciler and inker in the American comic book industry, where he is perhaps best known for his co-creation of the female ...

, was found. One of the many highlights of Ryan's time on ''The Phantom'' is the daily adventure that ran from August 24, 2009, until May 7, 2011. Called by DePaul in its entirety "The Death of Diana Palmer Walker", this epic storyline was considered at that time to be the longest in duration of all ''The Phantom'' newspaper plots. The recurring villain of the tale, Chatu, a.k.a. the Python, is a ruthless terrorist who seeks revenge on his nemesis by striking at someone close to the Phantom.

Frew Publications Frew Publications is an Australian comic book publisher, known for its long-running reprint series of Lee Falk's ''The Phantom''. Frew formerly published other comics, including Falk's earlier creation ''Mandrake the Magician''. History Frew Publ ...

later presented the entire story as "The Python Strikes Back," which comprised the 140-page issue number 1602 of their long-running reprint series ''The Phantom''. (In May of 2021, DePaul and Manley began an adventure called ''To Wrack and Ruin at Gravelines'', which was the first part of a much larger story that subsequently surpassed "The Death of Diana Palmer Walker" in length.) DePaul credits Ryan with pitching the basis of another memorable story, "The Challenge", by posing the question, "What if someone challenged Guran for the right to be chief of the Bandar?" The story DePaul developed from that prompt ended with Guran still chief, but acknowledging the worthiness of his challenger, Kipawa, as a possible successor one day. Rich Johnston praised Ryan for his artwork on ''The Phantom'': "Here it seems he has come into his own, a richer and more luxurious style that is less tempered by the effects of Marvel or DC editorial with a greater influence from Europe." Ryan's last Phantom strip was released on Saturday, May 28, 2016.

Working methods

Speaking about his work as a comic book penciler, Ryan described his process: "I read the stories and 'see' what it should look like in my mind, do a thumbnail sketch of the picture in my head and then go to full size drawing paper." Although known primarily for his pencil art for comic books, Ryan said that he preferred to ink his own pencils: "I have worked with some amazing inkers. Some inkers made my work look better than it was. Some other inkers... not so much. When I ink my pencils, the readers get to see what I can do." On ''The Phantom'', Ryan penciled and inked. When asked how long it takes to produce his daily comic strip, Ryan estimated "four hours to pencil a strip and three hours to ink it in, crafting lighting and shadows." Ryan began with penciling only the line work. "I work out the lighting, shadows and texture in the inking stage. I go in with the brush first and hit all the shadows and large dark areas. This helps define the page. Then I go in with a finer brush or pen to add details, texture or contour lines." Ryan's art was characterized by a strong story-telling sense, careful attention to design and perspective, and solid knowledge of anatomy—on a strip that he at one time drew for publication 365 days a year. While Ryan kept reference books handy, he gave more credit to observation—and an artist's eye—for his knowledge of human anatomy as well as the structure of the world around us. "Whenever I'm in any situation, I'll constantly try to memorize things. I'll memorize a face, a room, and actually mentally outline everything." He also took particular notice of shadows. Drawings of the real people in his life, such as family and friends, appeared in his comics. He said that his eye was especially drawn to the character expressed in older faces. "You see so much history in the face. And that's something I try to bring into the work." Ryan confessed to having run around his neighborhood as a youngster with a makeshift Superman cape tied around his neck ("I got beat up a lot", he joked), and his emotional identification with comic characters continued into his professional years: "I find that while I'm illustrating a story I become so focused that I feel as if I'm ctuallyin the story, taking the part of each of the characters as I draw them," Ryan said. Rex Trailer meets Paul Ryan on 11 September 2011

Rex Trailer meets Paul Ryan on 11 September 2011

Legacy, personal and professional

Ryan continued as the artist for ''The Phantom'' daily comic strips until his death at the age of 66. He died unexpectedly on March 7, 2016, at his home in

Hudson, Massachusetts Hudson is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, with a total population of 20,092 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Before its incorporation as a town in 1866, Hudson was a ne ...

, the writer of

, collaborated with Ryan on the strip for twelve years. He wrote of his last phone conversation with Ryan, who had called to make sure he interpreted a panel the way DePaul had intended in his script. DePaul lauded the ardent professionalism of his late partner, and stated that "Paul considered it a privilege to work on a classic character created by the great

, in 1936. He and I thought exactly alike in that regard." DePaul also wrote of their shared love for

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, and of Ryan's love for horses. "Which may be why," DePaul suggested, "he was so good at drawing Hero, the Phantom’s trusty mount." DePaul posted photos of Ryan and his wife Linda Ryan enjoying a recent vacation at a ranch in

Sweet Grass County, Montana Sweet Grass County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,678. Its county seat is Big Timber. The county was founded in 1895. History The Montana Legislature authorized Sweet Grass Coun ...

. DePaul made reference in a 2017 interview to the "magnificent work Paul did for so many years, and for way less money than he was worth"; citing an example of Ryan's best work, DePaul said "Paul’s art was especially well done in the 'Voyaging Canoe', night scenes at sea, in the fog, that can’t be easy to pull off." The administrator of The Phantom fan site ''Chronicle Chamber'' marked his passing, and reminisced about meeting Ryan at the 2014 Supanova Con in Sydney, Australia, where he was the guest of honor at the ''Lee Falk Memorial Bengali'' ''Explorer’s Club'' dinner: "My overwhelming memory of Paul was just how great a bloke he was. He listened to everyone who wanted to talk to him, he kindly signed all the stuff that was thrown at him and he was incredibly generous and honest in the tales he told about working on ''The Phantom.'' The highlight for me was watching Paul create some ''Phantom'' artwork live. It was amazing and something I’ll never forget." Writer

Larry Hama Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an People of the United States, American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s. During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles ...

, Ryan's friend and collaborator at both Marvel and DC Comics, praised him as "an impeccable draftsman, a solid visual storyteller, and really, really nice guy." Hama continued, "I always knew that a plot I sent him would be drawn with a keen attention to detail, aspects of the story would be improved upon, and my mistakes would be corrected."

Mark Evanier Mark Stephen Evanier (; born March 2, 1952) is an American comic book and television writer, known for his work on the animated TV series '' Garfield and Friends'' and on the comic book '' Groo the Wanderer''. He is also known for his columns and ...

reminisced: "Some years ago, Paul and I were going to collaborate on a new comic book based on a leftover idea of Jack Kirby's. I was disappointed when the project fell through because I'd been looking forward to working with Paul. I knew from seeing his work he could draw well but when we got into discussions, I discovered what a smart, conscientious artist he was — the kind who not only produces fine work but understands what he's doing and why. What a shame to lose a good man like that." That's Entertainment manager Ken Carson noted the many store events at which Ryan had appeared over the span of twenty years, and reflected on his personality and wit: "He was a meticulous craftsman, but Paul enjoyed friendly banter as he sketched & signed for fans—and he had a mischievous sense of humor! He could say outlandish things with a straight face, but a sparkle in his eye would give him away." Brendan Burford (King Features general manager, syndication) eulogized the artist: "Paul had an illustrious career in comics that spanned decades, and we at King Features are so pleased that he was able to ply his craft to our beloved PHANTOM. He belongs right alongside the other greats who have drawn the Ghost Who Walks, and he will be missed." The King Features announcement also included some details of his personal life: "In addition to his love of storytelling through his comics and his real true passion for being a cowboy, Ryan cherished spending time with his family and was fondly referred to as 'Uncle Paul.' His passion in life was his wife, Linda, and the treasured times they shared throughout their 28 years together in marriage." In the weeks after Ryan's death, Frew Publications declared ''The Phantom'' issue number 1748 to be a "Paul Ryan Tribute" issue. This issue was Frew's first comic book to have the interior printed in color. In addition to a full-length adventure drawn by Ryan, the issue contained photographs from his 2014 visit to Australia and several remembrances. Publisher Dudley Hogarth therein attributed the following quote to Ryan: "My heroes have always been men of action. Some of them wore a mask. Some rode a horse. Some had an animal companion. A few carried a gun. Fewer still operated from a secret cave. One hero, in particular, combined all of these elements and more. He was the Phantom! If someone had told me when I was ten years old, that I would one day be the Phantom strip artist, I would not have believed them. Those things happen to other people not to me. Life is good!" Mike Manley was named to succeed Ryan on ''The Phantom'' beginning with the strip dated May 30, 2016. Ryan was several weeks ahead on the strip at the time of his death. Manley wrote, "I met Paul only once that I remember clearly at a con many years back though we rubbed shoulders at Marvel on books like Quasar with me following him on that book when he left to do other books like ''The Avengers'' and ''The Fantastic Four''. Paul left us all a great legacy to enjoy and be inspired by for the ages with his art for Marvel and his long run on the Phantom." Manley also noted that he and Paul Ryan are listed in a small and notable group of artists who have professionally drawn the adventures of both

and The Phantom. The others are

Jim Aparo James N. Aparo (; August 24, 1932 – July 19, 2005) was an American comic book artist, best known for his DC Comics work from the late 1960s through the 1990s, including on the characters Batman, Aquaman, and the Spectre (DC Comics character), Sp ...

Don Newton Don Newton (November 12, 1934 – August 19, 1984) was an American comics artist. During his career, he worked for a number of comic book publishers including Charlton Comics, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on The Pha ...

Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (; May 24, 1925 – April 4, 2013) was an American comics artist and editing, editor, primarily for DC Comics, during the late 1950s and early 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comic Books. Among his character creations are ...

(as a ghost for

Sy Barry Seymour "Sy" Barry (born March 12, 1928)
at the

Joe Giella Joe Giella (June 27, 1928 – March 21, 2023) was an American comic book artist best known as a DC Comics inker during the late 1950s and 1960s period which historians and fans call the Silver Age of Comic Books. Due to his long and prolific caree ...

(ghosting for

Bob Kane Robert Kane ( Kahn ; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book writer, animator, and artist who created Batman and many early related characters for DC Comics. He was inducted into the comic book industry's Jack Kirby ...

), and

Bibliography

AC Comics

* ''Captain Paragon and the Sentinels of Justice'' #1 (inker, letterer) (1985) * ''Colt Special'' #1 (inker) (1985) * ''Starmasters'' #1 (writer/artist) (1984)

CrossGen Comics

* ''

'' #17, 26–27, 31 (2002–2003) * '' Mystic'' #35 (2003) * ''

'' #11, 15, 20, 25 (2002–2003) * '' Solus'' #5 (2003)

DC Comics

* '' The Adventures of Superman'' #542, 567 (1997–1999) * ''

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

'' vol. 4 #66 (2000) * ''

The Batman Chronicles ''The Batman Chronicles'' is a series of comics published by DC Comics from 1995 to 2001, which lasted 23 quarterly issues. Publication history With a larger page count than typical comics of the time, most issues contained three separate storie ...

'' #23 (2001) * ''Batman: Gotham City

Secret Files ''Secret Files: Tunguska'' (German: ''Geheimakte Tunguska'') is a 2006 graphic adventure video game developed by German studios Fusionsphere Systems and Animation Arts and published by Deep Silver for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, Wii, iOS, Andr ...

'' #1 (2000) * '' Batman: Gotham Knights'' #3–4, 6–7 (2000) * '' Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight'' #123 (1999) * '' Batman: Shadow of the Bat'' #91, 93 (1999–2000) * ''DC Universe Holiday Bash'' #1 (1997) * ''

'' vol. 2 #119–136 (1996–1998) * ''The Flash 80-Page Giant'' #2 (1999) * '' Green Lantern Annual'' #9 (2000) * ''Legends of the DCU: Crisis on Infinite Earths'' #1 (1999) * ''Legion:

Science Police The Science Police is a fictional law enforcement agency in the , active in the 21st, 30th and 31st centuries. The organization has also appeared in the '' Legion of Super Heroes'' animated series, the ''DC Universe Online'' video game, and the ' ...

'' #1–4 (1998) * '' Resurrection Man'' #25 (inker) (1999) * ''

Superboy Superboy is an identity used by several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series ...

'' vol. 3 #31, 41 (1996–1997) * ''

'' vol. 2 #129, 136–138, ''Annual'' #10 (1997–1998) * ''Superman 80-Page Giant'' #3 (2000) * ''Superman Forever'' #1 (1998) * ''Superman:

Our Worlds at War "Our Worlds at War" is a comic book storyline, published by DC Comics in mid-2001. OWAW was a crossover storyline that spanned several different books, including several books starring Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern ...

Secret Files'' #1 (2001) * ''

'' #1 (1998) * ''Superman Secret Files'' #2 (1999) * '' Superman: The Man of Steel'' #77, ''Annual'' #5 (1996–1998) * '' Superman: The Man of Tomorrow'' #6–14 (1996–1999) * '' Superman: The Wedding Album'' #1 (1996) * ''

Tangent Comics Tangent Comics is a DC Comics imprint created in 1997, developed from ideas by Dan Jurgens. The line, formed from 18 one-shots, focused on creating all-new characters using established DC names, such as the Joker, Superman, and the Flash. Cont ...

/The Atom'' #1 (inker) (1997)

Egmont

* '' Fantomen'' #25/2001, 15/2002, 22/2002, 7/2003, 14/2003, 25/2003, 8/2004, 17/2004, 18/2004, 25/2004, 3/2005, 9/2005, 4/2006, 25/2006, 16/2016

Image Comics

* ''C.H.I.X. That Time Forgot'' #1 (1998)

King Features Syndicate

* ''

'' comic strip Sundays (1992–1995) * ''

'' comic strip dailies (2005–2016) and Sundays (2007–2011)

Lone Star Press

* '' Pantheon'' #10-12 (2001-2003)

Marvel Comics

* ''

A-Next A-Next is a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is the Marvel Comics 2 universe version of the Avengers. The team made its first appearance in '' What If?'' #105, the first comic featuring Spider ...

'' #4 (inker) (1999) * ''

Annual'' #21 (1987) * ''

'' #305–318, 320, 322, 324, 326–332 (1989–1991) * ''

'' #54–57 (inker), #60–63, 65–69 (1990–1991) * ''

Cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

'' #3 (1993) * '' D.P. 7'' #1–32 (1986–1989) * '' Eternals'' vol. 2 #12 (1986) * ''

'' #1–5 (1999–2000) * ''

'' #356–414 (1991–1996) *''Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comics Magazine'' #9 (2001) * ''

Force Works Force Works is the name of different fictional superhero teams appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The first version of Force Works appeared in the comic book ''Force Works'' #1 (July 1994), created b ...

'' #5 (1994) * '' G.I. Joe a Real American Hero'' #85 (1989) * ''

'' #202, 267–273, 275–279 (1986–1992) * ''Iron Man'' vol. 3 #34, 36, ''Annual 2000'' (2000–2001) * '' J2'' #5–9 (inker) (1999) * ''

Kickers, Inc. ''Kickers, Inc.'' is a twelve-issue comic book series published by Marvel Comics from 1986 to 1987 as part of the New Universe imprint. Created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, the series featured a group of former professional American football pla ...

'' #5 (1987) * ''

Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' is an American comic book anthology title that was published in three series by Marvel Comics: from 1988 to 1995; 2007 to 2008; and in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume was released on a bi-weekly basis and lasted for ...

'' #29, 62–63, 117, 152 (1989–1994) * ''

Marvel Graphic Novel ''Marvel Graphic Novel'' (''MGN'') is a line of graphic novel trade paperbacks published from 1982 to 1993 by Marvel Comics. The books were published in an oversized format, 8.5" x 11", similar to French albums. In response, DC Comics estab ...

: I, Whom the Gods Would Destroy'' (

) (1988) * ''Marvel Graphic Novel: Squadron Supreme: Death of a Universe'' (1989) *'' Maximum Security'' #1–3 (inker) (2000) *''Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet'' #1 (inker) (2000) *''

Nightmask Nightmask is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer Archie Goodwin, and first appeared in ''Nightmask'' #1 (November 1986), a series which was published under Marvel's New Uni ...

'' #3 (inker) (1987) * ''

'' #1–6 (1989–1990) * ''

'' #1–7 (1992–1993) * ''

Solo Avengers ''Solo Avengers'' was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, and was a spin-off from the company's superhero team title ''The Avengers (comic book), The Avengers''. It was published for 20 issues (December 1987–July 1989) unt ...

'' #4 (

Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with ...

) (1988) * ''

Spider-Girl Spider-Girl is the code name of several fictional Character (arts), characters in American comic book, comic books published by Marvel Comics. The most prominent version and first to receive an ongoing series is Mayday Parker from the Marvel Co ...

Annual 1999'' * ''

'' #6, 9–12 (1986) * ''The

Thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...

'' #27, 29 (inker) (1985) * '' Wild Thing'' #1 (penciller), #5 (inker) (1999–2000) * ''

X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

'' #94 (1993) *''

X-Force X-Force is a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #100 (April 1991 ...

'' #25 (inker) (1993)

Tyndale House Publishers

* ''Tribulation Force'' #1, 3–4 (2002–2003)

References

External links

Paul Ryan
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
Paul Ryan
at the Phantomwiki

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Paul 1949 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists American comics artists American comic strip cartoonists Artists from Massachusetts People from Hudson, Massachusetts Comics inkers DC Comics people Marvel Comics people Massachusetts College of Art and Design alumni