25 Facts About Jim Steranko

Jim Steranko's work has been published in many countries and his influence on the field has remained strong since his comics heyday.

Jim Steranko went on to create book covers, become a comics historian who published a pioneering two-volume history of the birth and early years of comic books, and to create conceptual art and character designs for films including Raiders of the Lost Ark and Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Jim Steranko was inducted into the comic-book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2006.

Jim Steranko slept on a couch in the nominal living room until he was more than 10 years old.

Jim Steranko had begun drawing while very young, opening and flattening envelopes from the mail to use as sketch paper.

Jim Steranko studied the Sunday comic strip art of Milton Caniff, Alex Raymond, Hal Foster, and Chester Gould, as well as the characters of Walt Disney and Superman, provided in "boxes of comics" brought to him by an uncle.

Up through his early 20s, Jim Steranko performed as an illusionist, escape artist, close-up magician in nightclubs, and musician, having played in drum and bugle corps in his teens before forming his own bands during the early days of rock and roll.

The seminal rock and roll group Bill Haley and his Comets was based in nearby Philadelphia and Jim Steranko, who played a Jazzmaster guitar, often performed in the same local venues, sometimes on the same bill, and became friendly with Haley guitarist Frank Beecher, who became a musical influence.

Jim Steranko moved on after five years to join an advertising agency, where he designed ads and drew products ranging from "baby carriages to beer cans".

Jim Steranko initially entered the comics industry in 1957, not long out of high school, working for a short time inking pencil art by Vince Colletta and Matt Baker in Colletta's New York City studio before returning to Reading.

Stan brought Steranko into his office, and Jim left with the 'S.

Two issues later, Jim Steranko took over full penciling and began drawing the every-other-issue "Nick Fury" cover art.

Jim Steranko introduced the Madame Hydra character in his brief Captain America run.

Jim Steranko went on to write and draw a horror story that precipitated a breakup with Marvel.

Jim Steranko stresses storytelling and really knows the comics business, probably better than anyone else.

In 1973, Jim Steranko became founding editor of Marvel's official fan magazine, FOOM, which superseded the two previous official fan clubs, the Merry Marvel Marching Society and Marvelmania.

Jim Steranko served as editor and produced the covers for the magazine's inaugural four issues before being succeeded editorially by Tony Isabella.

Jim Steranko had previously been associated with Marvelmania, producing two of the club's 12 posters.

Jim Steranko then branched into other areas of publishing, including most notably book-cover illustration.

Jim Steranko formed his own publishing company, Supergraphics, in 1969, and the following year worked with writer-entrepreneur Byron Preiss on an anti-drug comic book, The Block, distributed to elementary schools nationwide.

Jim Steranko served in a similar capacity as "project conceptualist" on Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula, and wrote the episode "The Ties That Bind" of the DC Comics animated TV series Justice League Unlimited.

In 2003, Jim Steranko was interviewed by the History Channel for the documentary titled Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked.

Jim Steranko has "amassed an enormous portfolio of more than sixty projects designed to be seen in multimedia form".

Jim Steranko has won awards in fields as varied as magic, comics and graphic design.

Jim Steranko's work has been exhibited internationally in more than 160 shows.