Keith Giffen
Giffen seated at a panel, wearing a Hawaiin shirt
Giffen at GalaxyCon Richmond in 2019
BornKeith Ian Giffen
(1952-11-30)November 30, 1952
Queens, New York, U.S.
DiedOctober 9, 2023(2023-10-09) (aged 70)
Tampa, Florida, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Writer, Penciller
Notable works
Annihilation
Legion of Super-Heroes
Lobo
Justice League
Ambush Bug
Blue Beetle
Doom Patrol
Scooby Apocalypse
AwardsInkpot Award 1991

Keith Ian Giffen (November 30, 1952 – October 9, 2023) was an American comics artist and writer.[1] He was known for his work for DC Comics on their Legion of Super-Heroes and Justice League titles as well as for being the co-creator of Lobo, Rocket Raccoon, and Jaime Reyes.

Biography

Keith Giffen was born in Queens, New York, on November 30, 1952.[2][3]

His first published work was "The Sword and The Star", a black-and-white text story featured in Marvel Preview #4 (Jan. 1976), with writer Bill Mantlo.[4] Giffen and Mantlo created Rocket Raccoon in Marvel Preview #7 (Summer 1976).[5] Giffen is best known for his long runs illustrating and later writing the Legion of Super-Heroes title in the 1980s and 1990s. Giffen and writer Paul Levitz crafted "The Great Darkness Saga" in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 2, #290–294 in 1982.[6] In August 1984, a third volume of the Legion of Super-Heroes series was launched by Levitz and Giffen.[7] Giffen plotted and pencilled the fourth volume of the Legion which began in November 1989.[8]

After successfully experimenting with his unorthodox brand of humor in the 1985 Legion of Substitute Heroes Special, Giffen began employing this style in many of his works.[9] He co-created the humorous Justice League International series in 1987 with J. M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire.[10] The success of that series led to a spinoff in 1989 titled Justice League Europe also co-written with DeMatteis, and later with Gerard Jones, and featuring art by Bart Sears.[11] The Giffen/DeMatteis team worked on Justice League for five years and closed out their run with the "Breakdowns" storyline in 1991 and 1992.[12] The two writers and Maguire reunited in 2003 for the Formerly Known as the Justice League miniseries[13] and its 2005 sequel, "I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League", published in JLA Classified.

Giffen created the alien mercenary character Lobo (with Roger Slifer)[14] as well as the irreverent "want-to-be" hero Ambush Bug.[15] A Doctor Fate series of back-up stories, written by Martin Pasko and drawn by Giffen appeared in The Flash #306 (Feb. 1982) to #313 (Sept. 1982).[16] DC later collected Pasko and Giffen's stories into a three-issue limited series titled The Immortal Dr. Fate (Jan. 1985 – March 1985). He was one of several artists on Wonder Woman #300 (Feb. 1983)[17][18] and was one of the contributors to the DC Challenge limited series in 1986.[19] Giffen plotted and was breakdown artist for an Aquaman limited series and one-shot special in 1989 with writer Robert Loren Fleming and artist Curt Swan for DC Comics.

Giffen worked on titles owned by several different companies including Woodgod, All Star Comics, Drax the Destroyer, Heckler, Nick Fury's Howling Commandos, Reign of the Zodiac, Suicide Squad,[20] Trencher, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and Vext. He was responsible for the English adaptation of the Battle Royale and Ikki Tousen manga, as well as creating "I Luv Halloween" for Tokyopop. He worked for Dark Horse from 1994 to 1995 on their Comics Greatest World/Dark Horse Heroes line, as the writer of two short-lived series, Division 13 and co-author, with Lovern Kindzierski, of Agents of Law. For Valiant Comics, Giffen wrote X-O Manowar, Magnus, Robot Fighter, Punx and the final issue of Solar, Man of the Atom.

Giffen took a break from the comic industry for several years, working on storyboards for television and film, including shows such as The Real Ghostbusters and Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy.

Giffen and his Justice League colleagues, J.M. DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire, have applied their humorous brand of storytelling to a title that he had drawn in the 1970s, Marvel Comics' The Defenders. Giffen later confessed concerning his 1970s run, "Back then, I was the kind of moron that I now warn new guys against becoming. ... When I think of Defenders, I think of what could have been if I'd had an ounce of professionalism in my body at that time."[21] The Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire trio also produced the Metal Men backup feature which appeared in Doom Patrol.

Giffen and DeMatteis collaborated with artist Joe Abraham on the creator-owned title Hero Squared for Boom! Studios. The two-issue mini-series Planetary Brigade chronicled the adventures of characters originating from this series.

Giffen was the breakdown artist on the DC Comics title 52, a weekly series following in the wake of the Infinite Crisis crossover, written by Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid and Grant Morrison.[22][23] He continued in that role with the follow-up weekly series Countdown to Final Crisis. He was the lead writer for Marvel Comics's "Annihilation" event,[24] having written the one-shot prologue, the lead-in stories in Thanos[4] and Drax,[25] the Silver Surfer[26] as well as the main six issue mini-series.[27] He wrote the Star-Lord mini-series for the follow-up story Annihilation: Conquest.[28]

Between 2005 and 2007 he co-created and often authored or co-authored independent comics such as 10, Tag and Hero Squared for Boom! Studios, Zapt! and I Luv Halloween for Tokyopop, Common Foe and Tabula Rasa for Desperado Publishing/Image Comics and Grunts for Arcana. Many of these were co-authored with Shannon Denton.

Giffen co-wrote OMAC with Dan DiDio as part of The New 52 company-wide relaunch until its cancellation with issue #8. In October 2011, he became writer of Green Arrow from issues #4–6.[29] Giffen and Paul Levitz collaborated on the Legion of Super-Heroes for issues #17 and 18 in 2013.[30][31] Giffen reunited with J. M. DeMatteis on the Justice League 3000 series launched in October 2013.[32][33] In 2014, he and Jeff Lemire, Dan Jurgens, and Brian Azzarello co-wrote The New 52: Futures End.[34] That same year, Giffen and Dan DiDio reunited on Infinity Man and the Forever People.[35][36] In 2016, Giffen wrote the scripts for a series about young adult versions of Sugar and Spike, drawn by artist Bilquis Evely and published as one of the series in DC's Legends of Tomorrow anthology.[37] In 2019, he worked with artist Jeff Lemire on an Inferior Five series, one that shared nothing with the original 1960s superhero humor other than the title.[38]

Giffen died from a stroke in Tampa, Florida, on October 9, 2023, at the age of 70.[39][40] DC Comics ran a series of memorials in comics that were released on Giffen's 71st birthday[41] and Marvel Comics followed suit a week later.[42]

Artwork

Giffen's art took on many styles over the years. His early work tended towards a heavy influence from Jack Kirby. After an early stint at Marvel, he began doing layouts for artist Wally Wood during the 1976 revival of the Justice Society of America in All Star Comics.

When he returned to comics after a hiatus, his style was more precise and reminiscent of George Pérez and Jim Starlin, and helped make Legion of Super-Heroes DC's second most popular comic after Pérez's New Teen Titans. It was his work on the Legion that rocketed him to comic book artist fame. He peppered his artwork with in-jokes such as upside down Superman logos, hidden Marvel characters, eyeball creatures, and scrawled humorous messages on signs in the background of his panels in the alternate futuristic alphabet Interlac.

As Giffen's style loosened up, he found himself drawn to the work of José Muñoz (see Controversy). Soon thereafter he developed a scratchier, more impressionistic style, using a highly stylized method of drawing directly with ink, on titles such as Trencher, Lobo Infanticide and Images Of Shadowhawk.

After his lengthy sabbatical from comics work, Giffen returned with a style influenced by his Justice League artist Kevin Maguire that was midway between the tight, controlled pencils of his early Legion days and the freer but less anatomically realistic style he had later adopted.

Writing

For many years, Giffen plotted and did the panel-to-panel break-downs for stories he drew, but did not write the final script. He relied on others such as Robert Loren Fleming and Tom and Mary Bierbaum to supply captions and dialogue, even when he was the main creative force behind the book. He co-wrote the Freak Force series with Erik Larsen and co-wrote two SuperPatriot mini-series. Beginning with Trencher, Giffen started writing comics fully by himself, although he still collaborates when the project calls for it.

Giffen was known for having an unorthodox writing style, often using characters in ways not seen before . His dialogue is usually characterized by a biting wit that is seen as much less zany than dialogue provided by longtime collaborators DeMatteis and Robert Loren Fleming . He is known for his humorous takes on existing characters, often focusing on their personality clashes . He has a tendency to poke fun at trends in comic books or character archetypes. His Ambush Bug miniseries is especially noted for its in-jokes such as Villian the Villain, Cheeks the Toy Wonder, and the use of DC editor Julius Schwartz as a character.

Giffen was also known for sudden plot twists and abrupt often tragic turns of fate. During his late 1980s-early 1990s run on the Legion of Super-Heroes, light comical issues were often followed by darker ones where popular characters were maimed or killed.

Work from 2007 included writing The Programme #3, Dreamwar a DC/Wildstorm crossover[4] and Reign in Hell, an eight-issue limited series, with artists Tom Derenick and Bill Sienkiewicz, about various DC Comics magical characters in Hell.[43][44] On February 7, 2009, it was announced at the New York Comic Con that he would be spearheading a revival of Doom Patrol, a title which he has long said he wanted to write.[45] He finished Grant Morrison's run on The Authority and writing a Magog ongoing series.[4] Giffen co-wrote the 26-issue biweekly Justice League: Generation Lost with Judd Winick, which saw the return of Justice League International, and wrote an arc of Booster Gold with DeMatteis and artist Chris Batista.[46] In 2011 and 2012, he co-wrote and drew OMAC with Dan DiDio for eight issues before its cancellation. DC announced in October 2011 that Giffen would be co-writing Superman vol. 3 with Dan Jurgens and their first issue was #7 (cover dated May 2012).[47]

Controversy

In February 1986 writer Mark Burbey published "The Trouble with Keith Giffen" in The Comics Journal, an examination of then-recent dramatic changes in Giffen's drawing style. The article pointed out that Giffen had changed from a slick, clean Jim Starlin-esque style to an avant-garde, heavily inked one. The article displayed several panels side by side to illustrate the magazine's allegation that Giffen was copying, or "swiping" the work of Argentinian cartoonist José Antonio Muñoz.[48][49]

Giffen alluded to the controversy by drawing Ambush Bug with the Peanuts character Snoopy in Son of Ambush Bug #5 (Nov. 1986). Giffen's frequent collaborator Robert Loren Fleming wrote the dialogue for the scene. The controversy continued, however, when Giffen was accused of swiping Muñoz again in a 1988 story in the anthology Taboo.[50]

At that point in his career, Giffen was one of the most popular comic book artists in the industry. The ensuing controversy hurt Giffen's reputation.[51] Giffen returned to drawing full-time two years later while continuing to plot the Justice League and its numerous spin-offs. This period also marked Ambush Bug's demise as a popular major character at DC. According to Giffen, however, this change had more to do with editorial discomfort with the series' humorous approach to the DC Universe: "DC was just too uncomfortable with the (admittedly nicely selling) bully pulpit they'd provided the loose cannons on the creative team".[52]

Giffen acknowledged Muñoz's influence, and in 2000 referred to the controversy this way:

I had a bad incident with studying somebody's work very closely at one point, and I resolved never, ever to do it again. I can get so immersed in somebody's work that I start turning into a Xerox machine and it's not good. . . . There was no time I was sitting there tracing or copying, no. Duplicating, pulling out of memory and putting down on paper after intense study, absolutely.[3]

Awards

Keith Giffen received an Inkpot Award in 1991.[53]

Bibliography

As artist unless otherwise noted.

Dark Horse Comics

DC Comics

DC Comics and Marvel Comics

WildStorm

  • The Authority: The Lost Year #3 -12 (writer) (2010)
  • Midnighter #10–20 (writer) (2007–2008)
  • Threshold #1–8 (writer) (2013)
  • Wetworks vol. 2 #13–15 (writer) (2007–2008)
  • Worldstorm #2 (writer) (2007)

First Comics

Image Comics

Marvel Comics

Epic Comics

  • Video Jack #1–6 (1987–1988)

Valiant Comics

Screenwriting

References

  1. ↑ "Keith Giffen, Co-Creator Of Rocket Raccoon & Lobo, Has Died, Aged 70". Comics. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  2. ↑ Miller, John Jackson (June 10, 2005). "Comics Industry Birthdays". Comics Buyer's Guide. Iola, Wisconsin. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Jon B., Cooke (August 2000). "Keith Giffen Interview". Jack Kirby Collector. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (29). Archived from the original on June 26, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Keith Giffen at the Grand Comics Database
  5. ↑ Collins, Sean (July 29, 2014). "The Rise of Guardians of the Galaxy's Rocket Raccoon". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. 'He was a throwaway character,' says artist Keith Giffen, who co-created Rocket – originally named Rocky Raccoon, after the Beatles track – with writer Bill Mantlo in 1976.
  6. ↑ Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah (2010). "1980s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. When [Levitz] wrote "The Great Darkness Saga", a five-issue epic that pitted the Legion against one of the most notorious villains of DC's long history, he and artist Keith Giffen crafted the most famous Legion story of all time and became fast fan favorites.
  7. ↑ Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 208: "As DC began to toy with the idea of relaunching some of their more popular titles using high-quality Baxter paper, the Legion of Super-Heroes was an obvious chioice. Utilizing the talents of writer Paul Levitz and artist Keith Giffen...the Legion was off and running in their own new title with a major new storyline...the Legion's other monthly comic changed its moniker to Tales of the Legion of Super-Heroes with issue #314."
  8. ↑ Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 241: "Plotted by Keith Giffen and inker Al Gordon, scripted by Tom and Mary Bierbaum, and pencilled by Giffen, this relaunch of the formerly teen team of heroes and heroines broke new ground in the fictional realm of the 30th Century.
  9. ↑ Callahan, Timothy (July 2013). "The Substitute Heroes in the Spotlight". Back Issue!. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (65): 69–72. I was very conscious of the fact that I got away with so much on the Subs Special. I was pushing DC's envelope then, on these characters. I was almost deliberately seeing how much could I get away with in a book using humor, how much DC would tolerate. That was my finger to the wind. ... I saw that there was something to this tongue-in-cheek, 'Come on, gang, we're all in on the joke' approach to comics. And I've pretty much been doing it ever since.
  10. ↑ Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 228: "It was clear that the [Justice League] needed a major overhaul. But no one quite expected how drastic the transformation would truly be in the hands of writers Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis and artist Kevin Maguire."
  11. ↑ Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 239: "Spinning out of the pages of Justice League International, an offshoot of the Justice League set up camp in Paris. Written by Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis with art by Bart Sears."
  12. ↑ Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 251: "The lauded Giffen/DeMatteis era of the Justice League came to a dramatic close with "Breakdowns", a sixteen-part storyline that crossed through the pages of both Justice League America and Justice League Europe."
  13. ↑ Cowsill, Alan "2000s" in Dolan, p. 311: "In 2003, writers J. M. DeMatteis and Keith Giffen and original artist Kevin Maguire worked on a six-part series reuniting [their version of] the team."
  14. ↑ Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 202: "When space-bike-riding renegade Lobo made his debut during the "Citadel War" storyline in The Omega Men by Roger Slifer and artist Keith Giffen, he was hardly recognizable as the rebellious anti-hero who would become one of the best-selling DC characters of the 1990s."
  15. ↑ Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 199: "[Ambush Bug] made his debut in the pages of DC Comics Presents #52...[by] writer Paul Kupperberg and artist Keith Giffen."
  16. ↑ Riley, Shannon E. (May 2013). "A Matter of (Dr.) Fate Martin Pasko and Keith Giffen Discuss Their Magical Flash Backup Series". Back Issue!. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (64): 64–68.
  17. ↑ Manning "1980s" in Dolan, p. 200: "The Amazing Amazon was joined by a host of DC's greatest heroes to celebrate her 300th issue in a seventy-two-page blockbuster...Written by Roy and Dann Thomas, and penciled by Gene Colan, Ross Andru, Jan Duursema, Dick Giordano, Keith Pollard, Keith Giffen, and Rich Buckler."
  18. ↑ Mangels, Andy (December 2013). "Nightmares and Dreamscapes: The Highlights and Horrors of Wonder Woman #300". Back Issue!. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (69): 61–63.
  19. ↑ Greenberger, Robert (August 2017). "It Sounded Like a Good Idea at the Time: A Look at the DC Challenge!". Back Issue!. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (98): 42.
  20. ↑ Manning, Matthew K.; Dougall, Alastair (2014). "2000s". Batman: A Visual History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 259. ISBN 978-1465424563. Graced by the dialogue of scripter Keith Giffen and artwork by Paco Medina, this first issue featured the supposed death of Cluemaster.
  21. ↑ DeAngelo, Daniel (July 2013). "The Not-Ready-For-Super-Team Players: A History of the Defenders". Back Issue!. TwoMorrows Publishing (65): 10.
  22. ↑ Rogers, Vaneta (August 10, 2006). "Talking With Keith Giffen II: 52, Blue Beetle & More..." Newsarama. Archived from the original on August 29, 2006.
  23. ↑ Cowsill "2000s" in Dolan, p. 325: "The title was masterminded by writers Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid, with Keith Giffen providing art breakdowns."
  24. ↑ Richards, Dave (December 14, 2005). "Star War: Giffen talks "Annihilation"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on October 26, 2008. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  25. ↑ Richards, Dave (August 29, 2005). "Monsters, Merlin, and Mentally Challenged Alien Avengers: Giffen talks Howling Commandos and Drax the Destroyer". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012.
  26. ↑ Richards, Dave (January 5, 2006). "Surfing Safari: Giffen talks Silver Surfer". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on January 21, 2014.
  27. ↑ Richards, Dave (July 31, 2006). "Let Slip the Dogs of Cosmic War: Giffen talks Annihilation". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012.
  28. ↑ Richards, Dave (April 17, 2007). "Quill's Heroes: Giffen talks Annihilation: Conquest – Star-Lord". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012.
  29. ↑ Schedeen, Jesse (September 20, 2011). "Another New 52 Departure". IGN. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014.
  30. ↑ Gerding, Stephen (November 9, 2012). "Exclusive: Levitz, Giffen Reunite on Legion of Super-Heroes". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on November 12, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2013. Arguably the most popular creative team the 31st century has ever seen, Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen are reuniting once again to tell the tales of DC Comics' teenage heroes from the future.
  31. ↑ Johnston, Rich (January 25, 2013). "Keith Giffen Leaves Legion Of Superheroes After Two Issues?". BleedingCool.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  32. ↑ Manning "2010s" in Dougall, p. 341: "The future reality of the Legion of Super-Heroes was explored by writers Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis and artist Howard Porter."
  33. ↑ Rogers, Vaneta (June 18, 2013). "Giffen, DeMatteis Spill On Justice League 3000, Answer Legion Connection". Newsarama. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
  34. ↑ Moore, Matt (December 11, 2013). "DC Readies Weekly Weekly Series, Futures End for Spring". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  35. ↑ Khouri, Andy (March 11, 2014). "O.M.A.C. Team Of Keith Giffen & Dan DiDio Reunite For Infinity Man And The Forever People". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014.
  36. ↑ "Keith Giffen Talks Forever People, DiDio Reunion, Tries to Break the Internet". Newsarama. April 2, 2014. Archived from the original on June 29, 2014.
  37. ↑ Sims, Chris (17 March 2016). "Giffen And Evely's 'Sugar And Spike' Is A Very Strange Reboot". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  38. ↑ Johnston, Rich (2021-03-17). "DC Comics Finally Finish Jeff Lemire & Keith Giffen's Inferior Five". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved 2021-12-20.
  39. ↑ "Keith Giffen, Co-Creator Of Rocket Raccoon & Lobo, Has Died, Aged 70". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  40. ↑ "Keith Giffen, Comic Book Maverick for DC and Marvel, Dies at 70". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  41. ↑ Johnston, Rich (2023-11-30). "Would've Been Keith Giffen's Birthday… Daily LITG 30th November 2023". Retrieved 2023-11-30.
  42. ↑ Johnston, Rich (2023-12-06). "Marvel Runs A Memorial For Keith Giffen In Its Comics". Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  43. ↑ Renaud, Jeffrey (July 17, 2008). "Keith Giffen Reigns In Hell!". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014.
  44. ↑ Cowsill "2000s" in Dolan, p. 334: "DC's version of Hell erupted into all-out war when the rulers of Purgatory, Blaze and Satanus invaded Neron's infernal domain. Written by Keith Giffen with art by Tom Derenick and Bill Sienkiewicz."
  45. ↑ Renaud, Jeffrey (February 11, 2009). "NYCC: Giffen New Chief of Doom Patrol". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on April 20, 2013.
  46. ↑ Rogers, Vaneta (January 12, 2010). "Justice League International Returns in Generation Lost". Newsarama. Archived from the original on July 8, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  47. ↑ Burlingame, Russ (October 16, 2011). "Dan of Steel: Dan Jurgens on Joining Team Superman". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2012. Superman editor Matt Idelson contacted Keith and me and basically said, 'Hey! How would you guys like to co-write, conspire and Dan draw Superman?' We started batting around different ideas, thoughts and notes and had a go' a day or two later.
  48. ↑ Burbey, Mark. "The Trouble With Keith Giffen," The Comics Journal #105 (February 1986), pp. 9–14.
  49. ↑ "The Official Keith Giffen Swipe List," The Comics Journal #105 (February 1986), p. 15.
  50. ↑ "More Giffen Swipes in Taboo," The Comics Journal #125 (October 1988), pp. 20–21.
  51. ↑ Jozic, Mike (1999). "Meanwhile Interviews Keith Giffen" Part 3". Meanwhile... The Web's Snappiest E'Zine. Archived from the original on April 3, 2005. [D]oing the Muñoz oriented artwork almost killed my career.
  52. ↑ Yarbrough, Beau (June 8, 2003). "A. Bug's Life: Keith Giffen's Ambush Bug is Back". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012.
  53. ↑ "Inkpot Award Winners". Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012.
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