Paul Gulacy

Paul Gulacy
Born	1953
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Penciller
Official website

Paul Gulacy (born 1953)^[1] is an American comic book illustrator best known for his work for DC Comics and Marvel Comics, and for drawing one of the first graphic novels, Eclipse Enterprises' 1978 Sabre: Slow Fade of an Endangered Species, with writer Don McGregor.

Biography

Early life and career

Paul Gulacy began freelancing for Marvel Comics as penciler of the 15-page story "Morbius, the Living Vampire" in Adventure into Fear #20 (Feb. 1974), written by Mike Friedrich and inked by Jack Abel. Following an inking assignment, over penciler Bob Brown on Daredevil #108 (march 1974), he began work on the character with which he became most associated, the philosophical martial artist/secret agent Shang-Chi in the comic Master of Kung Fu (cover-billed as The Hands of Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu) #18 (June 1974), inked by Al Milgrom. That initial story and one the next issue were written by Steve Englehart, but issue #20 (Sept. 1974), co-written by Gerry Conway and Doug Moench, and the same month's Giant-Size Master of Kung Fu #1, written by Moench, marked the beginning of an acclaimed^{[citation needed]} Moench-Gulacy collaboration on the increasingly complex, cinematic feature about the son of longtime pulp fiction supervillain Fu Manchu, who teams with British intelligence to try to bring down his father's labyrinthine plans for global domination. With some exceptions, the writer-penciler team would continue through a serialized arc to issue #50 (March 1977), culminating with the apparent death of Fu Manchu.

During this time, Gulacy took on occasional other assignments, including the covers of the science fiction film adaptation Logan's Run #6 (June 1977) and of the Western The Rawhide Kid #147 (Sept. 1978), both for Marvel; a 10-page preview of the graphic novel Sabre: Slow Fade of an Endangered Species, with writer Don McGregor, in the comics-magazine Heavy Metal vol. 2, #2 (June 1978; mislabeled "vol. 3, #2" in indicia);^[2]

Graphic-novel pioneer

Sabre (1978), one of the first graphic novels. Cover art by Gulacy.

With writer Don McGregor, Gulacy created one the first modern graphic novels, Eclipse Books' Sabre: Slow Fade of an Endangered Species. Published in August 1978 — two months before Will Eisner's more famous, graphic short-story collection A Contract with God — it was the first graphic novel to be sold in the new "direct market" of comic-book stores. Described on the credits page as a "comic novel" (the term "graphic novel" not being in common usage at the time), the trade paperback was priced at a then-considerable $6.00. It helped prove the new format's viability by going into a February 1979 second printing. Eclipse would publish a 10th-anniversary edition (hardcover ISBN 0-913035-65-3; trade paperback ISBN 0-913035-59-9) with a new Gulacy cover. A 20th-anniversary edition was published by Image Comics in 1998, and a 30th anniversary edition by Desperado Publishing in 2009.

1980s

In 1979 and 1980, Gulacy drew several horror/sci-fi/fantasy stories for Warren Publishing's black-and-white comics magazines Eerie, Vampirella, and Warren Presents; some were reprinted in Eclipse Comics Nightmares #1-2 in 1985. Gulacy also drew the cover and the six-page story "Libido", written by his Master of Kung Fu colleague Doug Moench, in the comics magazine Epic Illustrated #3 (Fall 1980), from Marvel Comics' Epic Comics imprint.

Along with the covers for independent publisher Capital Comics' superhero title Nexus #1-2 (1981 & 1982), Gulacy drew covers and an occasional story for such anthology series as Marvel's Marvel Preview and Bizarre Adventures and Eclipse Comics' Eclipse: The Magazine]. In 1983, he drew several covers for independent AC Comics' Black Diamond, Americomics, Starmasters, and Femforce Special before reteaming with Moench on the four-issue, creator-owned Epic Comics miniseries Six from Sirius (July-Oct. 1984). A four-issue sequel, Six from Sirius II (Dec. 1985 - March 1986), followed.

Through the remainder of the decade, he drew primarily for Eclipse (the company's revival of the 1940s series Airboy and a new spin-off, Valkyrie) and Dark Horse Comics. Gulacy also broke into DC Comics with Batman #393-394 (March-April 1986), written by frequent collaborator Moench, and the six-issue miniseries Slash Maraud (Nov. 1987 - April 1988), co-created with Moench. The two also collaborated on a "Rise and Shine, a series of eight-page chapters starring the superhero Coldblood, than ran in the biweekly omnibus Marvel Comics Presents' #26-25 (Aug.-Nov. 1989).

Later career

During the 1990s, Gulacy worked primarily on Batman and such science-fiction movie properties as Terminator, Predator, and Star Wars, and co-created the Valiant Comics crime series Grackle.

Among the many titles Gulacy has drawn, in his characteristic neo-Steranko style,^{[citation needed]} are the DC Comics Batman series and miniseries Legends of the Dark Knight, Batman: Prey, Batman: Outlaws, Year One: Batman/Ra's al Ghul, and, in the mid-2000s, Catwoman; DC's Green Lantern: Dragon Lord and JSA: Classified; Acclaim Comics' Eternal Warrior and Turok, Dinosaur Hunter; Dark Horse Comics' Star Wars: Crimson Empire; and Penthouse Comix's Omni Comix.

In 2002, he combined his interest in science-fiction and spy stories in DC Comics' S.C.I. Spy, and that same year returned to his signature character with his and Doug Moench's six-issue Marvel miniseries Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu (Nov. 2002 - Aoril 2003). Also for Marvel, he teamed with writer Marc Guggenheim on the four-issue miniseries Squadron Supreme: Hyperion vs. Nighthawk (March-June 2007). The following year, he worked with writer Cary Bates on the Marvel series True Believers.^[3]

Bibliography

Master of Kung Fu #1 (2002). Cover art by Gulacy.

Comics

• Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu #18-50 (with Doug Moench, Marvel Comics, 1974-1976)
• Sabre (with Don McGregor, Eclipse Comics, 1978)
• Six from Sirius (with Doug Moench, Epic Comics, 1984)
• Six from Sirius II (with Doug Moench, Epic Comics, 1986)
• Batman 393-394 (with Doug Moench, DC Comics, 1986)
• Slash Maraud (with Doug Moench, DC Comics, 1987-1988)
• Valkyrie (pencils, with author Chuck Dixon, and inks by Will Blyberg, 3-issue mini-series, Eclipse Comics, 1988)
• "Coldblood" in Marvel Comics Presents #26-35 (with Doug Moench, Marvel Comics, 1989)
• "Prey" In Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #11-14 (with Doug Moench, DC Comics, 1990)
• "Shanna the She-Devil" in Marvel Comics Presents #68-77 (with Gerard Jones, Marvel Comics, 1991)
• Terminator: Secondary Objectives (pencils, with James Robinson and inks by Karl Kesel, Dark Horse Comics, 1991)
• James Bond 007: Serpent's Tooth (with Doug Moench, Dark Horse Comics)
• Batman vs. Predator II: Bloodmatch (pencils, with Doug Moench, and inks by Terry Austin, 1995)
• Star Wars: Crimson Empire (pencils, with Mike Richardson/Randy Stradley and inks by P. Craig Russell, Dark Horse Comics, 1998)
• Star Wars: Crimson Empire II (pencils, with Mike Richardson/Randy Stradley and inks by Randy Emberlin, Dark Horse Comics, 1999)
• Batman: Outlaws (with Doug Moench, DC Comics, 2000)
• Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #137-141 (pencils, with Doug Moench and inks by Charles Yoakum, DC Comics, 2001)
• Green Lantern: Dragon Lord (with Doug Moench and inks by Joe Rubinstein, DC Comics, 2001)
• Sci-Spy (script and pencils, with co-author Doug Moench and inks by Jimmy Palmiotti, 6-issue mini-series, Vertigo, 2002)
• Master of Kung Fu (pencils, with Doug Moench and inks by Jimmy Palmiotti, Marvel Comics, 2002-2003)
• Reload (pencils, with Warren Ellis and inks by Jimmy Palmiotti, Wildstorm, 2003)
• Catwoman #25-40 (pencils, with Ed Brubaker and inks by Jimmy Palmiotti, DC Comics, 2004-2005)
• Tom Strong #34 (pencils, with Steve Moore and inks by Jimmy Palmiotti, America's Best Comics, 2006)
• JSA Classified #10-13 (pencils, with Stuart Moore and inks by Jimmy Palmiotti, DC Comics, 2006)
• Jonah Hex #12 (with Justin Gray/Jimmy Palmiotti, DC Comics, 2006)
• Penance: Relentless (with Paul Jenkins, Marvel Comics, 2007)
• True Believers (with Cary Bates, 5-issue limited series, Marvel Comics, 2008)

Books

• Spies, Vixens, and Masters of Kung Fu: The Art of Paul Gulacy (edited by Michael Kronenberg and J. David Spurlock, 128 pages, Vanguard Press, November 2005, ISBN 1887591745)

Awards

• 1977: winner of the Favourite Continued Comic Story Award at the Eagle Awards for Master of Kung Fu #48-51 with Doug Moench
• 1977: nominated for Favourite Comic Book Artist Award at the Eagle Awards
• 1979: winner of the Favourite Cover Award at the Eagle Awards for Master of Kung Fu #67
• 1988: Nominated for "Best Art Team" Eisner Award, for Valkyrie, with Will Blyberg

Notes

References

External links

• Official website
• Paul Gulacy on Marvel.com