Don Perlin

Don David Perlin
Don Perlin at the 2001 Rueben Awards in Boca Raton, FLorida
Born	Donald David Perlin August 27, 1929 (1929-08-27) (age 82)
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Writer, Penciller, Inker, Editor
Notable works	Werewolf by Night The Defenders Ghost Rider
Awards	National Cartoonists Society Comic Books Award, 1997

Don Perlin (born August 27, 1929)^[1] is an American comic book artist and occasional writer best known for Marvel Comics' Werewolf by Night, The Defenders, and Ghost Rider. In the 1990s, he worked for Valiant Comics, both as artist and editor.

Biography

At 14, Perlin began studying art under Burne Hogarth, who taught small private classes prior to co-founding the Cartoonists and Illustrators School. In 1951, Perlin was a penciller on Will Eisner's The Spirit. Perlin was drafted in 1953 and served in the United States Army.^[2]

Perlin did artwork for Harvey Comics' war and horror titles in the 1950s. The artist drew one title for Gilberton's Classics Illustrated series, No. 162, Robur the Conqueror, an adaptation of a Jules Verne novel about a power-mad genius and his "flying apparatus."^[3] The comic book was published in May 1961, the first of three printings.^[4]

In 1974 he began a long association with Marvel, where he was a full-time penciler until 1987. Perlin and writer Roger McKenzie developed the idea of Captain America running for the office of President of the United States.^[5] Marvel originally rejected the idea but it would be used later by Roger Stern and John Byrne^[6] in Captain America #250 (October 1980).^[7] McKenzie and Perlin received credit for the idea on the letters page at Stern's insistence.^[8] McKenzie and Perlin would also receive credit in the followup story in What If? #26 (April 1981).^[9] From 1980–1986, Perlin was the regular (and longest-serving) artist on Defenders. In addition to his work on The Defenders, Werewolf by Night, and Ghost Rider, Perlin penciled Transformers for two years. Perlin's Werewolf run is notable for introducing the character of Moon Knight, who he co-created with writer Doug Moench. In the late 1980s Perlin became a managing art director at Marvel, overseeing younger artists.^[2]

Perlin left the Marvel managing art direction position in 1991 to became a major part of Jim Shooter's Valiant Comics team. Besides penciling the popular series Solar, Man of the Atom and Bloodshot, Perlin also edited (among others) titles like Shadowman, Magnus Robot Fighter, and Solar. Shortly after Valiant's mid-90s demise (and takeover by Acclaim Entertainment), Perlin went into semi-retirement.^[2]

Awards

Perlin won the 1997 National Cartoonists Society Comic Books Award.

Notes

1. ^ Miller, John Jackson (June 10, 2005). "Comics Industry Birthdays". Comic Buyer's Guide. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5trAbNQWw. Retrieved December 12, 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Best, Daniel. Don Perlin interview. Adelaide Comics and Books (2003). Accessed March 11, 2009.
3. ^ William B. Jones Jr., Classics Illustrated: A Cultural History, with Illustrations (Jefferson, NC, and London: McFarland, 2002), p. 161.
4. ^ Jones, Id., p. 225.
5. ^ Brady, Matt "Looking Back:Stern & Byrne's Captain America" Newsarama November 28, 2002 Retrieved January 11, 2011
6. ^ Cronin, Brian "The Greatest Roger Stern Stories Ever Told!" Comic Book Resources May 10, 2010 Retrieved January 11, 2011
7. ^ Captain America #250 at the Grand Comics Database
8. ^ Khoury, George "The Roger Stern Interview: The Triumphs and Trials of the writer" Marvel Masterworks Resource Page Retrieved January 11, 2011
9. ^ What If? #26 at the Grand Comics Database

References

• Interview in Comic Book Artist #13 (May 2001)
• Don Perlin at the Comic Book DB

External links

• Don Perlin interview, Adelaide Comics and Books (2003)

Preceded by Mike Ploog	Werewolf by Night artist 1974–1977	Succeeded by N/A
Preceded by Don Heck	Ghost Rider artist 1977–1981	Succeeded by Alan Kupperberg
Preceded by Mike Esposito and John Tartaglione	Captain America inker 1979	Succeeded by Pablo Marcos
Preceded by Herb Trimpe	Defenders artist 1980–1986	Succeeded by N/A
Preceded by Herb Trimpe	Transformers artist 1986–1987	Succeeded by José Delbo
Preceded by N/A	Solar, Man of the Atom artist 1991–1992	Succeeded by Steve Ditko
Preceded by N/A	Bloodshot artist 1993–1994	Succeeded by Mike Vosburg

Persondata
Name	Perlin, Don
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 27, 1929
Place of birth	New York City
Date of death
Place of death