Jim Steranko

Jim Steranko
Steranko at New York Comic Con February 2009
Born	James F. Steranko November 5, 1938 (1938-11-05) (age 73) Reading, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Writer, Artist, Publisher
Notable works	Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

James F. Steranko^[1] (born 5 November 1938,^[2] Reading, Pennsylvania, United States) is an American graphic artist, comic book writer-artist-historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator.

His most famous comic book work was with the 1960s superspy feature "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." in Marvel Comics' Strange Tales and in the subsequent eponymous series. Steranko earned lasting acclaim for his innovations in sequential art during the Silver Age of comic books, particularly his infusion of surrealism, op art, and graphic design into the medium. His work has been published in many countries and his influence on the field has remained strong since his comics heyday. He 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.

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

Early life

According to his authorized biography, Jim Steranko's grandparents emigrated from the Ukraine to settle in the anthracite coal-mining region of eastern Pennsylvania. Steranko's father, one of nine siblings, began working in the mines at age 10, and as an adult became a tinsmith.^[3] Steranko later said his father and uncles "would bootleg coal — they would go up into a mountain and open up a shaft."^[4] One of three children, all boys,^[5] Steranko spent his early childhood during the American Great Depression, living in a three-room house with a tar-paper roof and outhouse toilet facilities. He slept on a couch in the nominal living room until he was more than 10 years old.^[3] Steranko's father and five uncles showed musical inclination, performing in a band that played on Reading radio in the 1930s, Steranko has said.^[6]

Steranko recalled beginning school at age 4.^[7] Later, "Because my father had tuberculosis (and I tested positive), I began third grade at what was called an 'open-window' school, a facility across the city that had a healthy program for kids with special problems. I was bused to school for four years, then dropped into standard junior high."^[7] There, being smaller and younger than his classmates, he found himself a target for bullies and young gang-members^[7] until he studied boxing and self-defense at the local YMCA and began to successfully fight back.^[8] His youngest brother was born when Steranko was 14, "severing even the minimal interaction between me and my parents."^[9]

Steranko had begun drawing while very young, opening and flattening envelopes from the mail to use as sketch paper. Despite his father's denigration of Steranko's artistic talent, and the boy's ambition to become an architect, Steranko paid for his art supplies by collecting discarded soda bottles for the bottle deposit and bundled old newspapers to sell to scrap-paper dealers. He 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. Radio programs, Saturday movie matinées and serials, and other popular culture also influenced him.^[10][11]

Steranko in 1978 described some influences and their impact on his creative philosophy:

Early influences were Chester Gould's [comic strip] Dick Tracy (not particularly in my drawing style but in subject matter and an approach to drama), Hal Foster, and Frank Robbins' [comic strip] Johnny Hazard. I still think Robbins is one of the greatest storytellers of all time. Fan seems to have a lot less opinion of Robbins for some reason, just because they're more enamored of lines. Fans seem to think that the more lines that go into a drawing the better it is. Actually, the opposite is generally true. The fewer lines you can put into a drawing the quicker it reads, and the simpler it is. [Alex] Toth is one of the few guys who can simplify an illustration to a minimum of lines with a maximum of impact.^[12]

Career

Illusionist and musician

By his account, he learned stage magic using paraphernalia from his father's stage magician act, and in his teens spent several summers working with circuses and carnivals, working his way up to sideshow performer as a fire-eater and in acts involving a bed of nails and sleight-of-hand. At school, he competed on the gymnastics team, on the rings and parallel bars, and later took up boxing and, under swordmaster Dan Phillips in New York City, fencing.^[13] At 17, Steranko and another teenage boy were arrested for a string of burglaries and car thefts in Pennsylvania.^[14]

Steranko's first published comic book art: inset in artist George Tuska's cover of Harvey Comics' Spyman #1 (Sept. 1966)

Up through his early 20s, 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.^[15] Steranko, whose first band, in 1956, was called The Lancers, did not perform under his own name, claiming he used pseudonyms to help protect himself from enemies.^[16] He also claims to have put the first go-go girls onstage.^[17] The seminal rock and roll group Bill Haley and his Comets was based in nearby Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and 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.^[18] By the late 1960s, he was a member of a New York City magicians' group, the Witchdoctor's Club.^[4]

Comics historian Mark Evanier notes that the influential comic-book creator Jack Kirby, who "based some of his characters ... on people in his life or in the news", was "inspired" to create the escape artist character Mister Miracle "by an earlier career of writer-artist Jim Steranko".^[19][20]

Early art career

During the day, Steranko made his living as an artist for a printing company in his hometown of Reading, designing and drawing pamphlets and flyers for local dance clubs and the like. He moved on after five years to join an advertising agency, where he designed ads and drew products ranging from "baby carriages to beer cans".^[11] Interested in writing and drawing for comic books, he visited DC Comics as a fan and was treated to a tour of the office by editor Julius Schwartz, who gave Steranko a copy of a script featuring the science-fiction adventurer Adam Strange. Steranko recalled in 2003, "It was the first full script I'd ever seen, complete with panel descriptions and dialogue. I learned a lot from it and eventually went on to create a few comics of my own."^[21]

After first attempting to find work at Marvel Comics in 1965, Steranko instead entered the comics industry with Harvey Comics, landing assignments under editor Joe Simon, who as one writer described was "trying to create a line of super heroes within a publishing company that had specialized in anthropomorphic animals."^[11] Here Steranko created (or helped create) and wrote the characters Spyman, Magicmaster and the Gladiator for the company's short-lived superhero line, Harvey Thriller. His first published comics art came in Spyman #1 (Sept. 1966), for which he wrote the 20-page story "The Birth of a Hero" and penciled the first page, which included a diagram of a robotic hand that was reprinted as an inset on artist George Tuska's cover.^[22][23]

Shortly afterward, Steranko showed his "Secret Agent X" proposal to Paramount Television's animation unit in New York City^{[citation needed]} (nothing became of it), and met with Marvel editor Stan Lee. Steranko inked a two-page Jack Kirby sample of typical "Nick Fury" scenes (first published in 1970 by Supergraphics in the extremely limited edition "Steranko Portfolio One", and then again thirty years later in slightly altered form in the 2000 trade-paperback collection Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.), leading to Lee's assigning him the "Nick Fury" feature in Strange Tales, a "split book" shared each issue with another feature.

Future Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas, then a staff writer, recalled Steranko's arrival at Marvel:

I met Jim [in 1965]; he brought his work up to Marvel then, I think, but it wasn't considered quite pro quality yet. The next year ... he came up to the office again — I presume he had an appointment — and I was sent out by Sol [Brodsky] to look at his work and basically brush him off. Stan was busy and didn't want to be bothered that day. But when I saw Jim's work, which was even better than what I'd seen the previous year, on an impulse I took it in to Sol and said, 'I think Stan should see this'. Sol agreed, and took it in to Stan. Stan brought Steranko into his office, and Jim left with the 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' assignment. ... I think Jim's legacy to Marvel was demonstrating that there were ways in which the Kirby style could be mutated, and many artists went off increasingly in their own directions after that.^[24]

Silver Age Steranko

The 12-page "Fury" feature was initially by Lee and Jack Kirby, with the latter supplying such inventive and enduring gadgets and hardware as the Helicarrier — an airborne aircraft carrier — as well as LMDs (Life Model Decoys) and even automobile airbags. Marvel's all-purpose terrorist organization HYDRA was introduced here as well.

A rare quiet moment for Nick Fury: Strange Tales #168 (May 1968). Art by Steranko and Joe Sinnott.

Steranko, hired as an unknown commodity with "little experience in comics",^[25] began his stint on the feature by penciling and inking "finishes" over Kirby layouts in Strange Tales #151 (Dec. 1966), just as many fellow new Marvel artists did at the time.^[25] A.M. Viturtia suggests that this played a part in the decision that "with the next issue, Stan Lee decided to change the artist [to Steranko]".^[25] Steranko also began drawing the every-other-issue "Nick Fury" cover art two issues later, and, in a rarity for comics artists, took over the series' writing with #155, after Lee was initially replaced by Roy Thomas.^[22] In another break with custom, he himself, rather than a Marvel staff artist, had become the series' uncredited colorist by as early as issue #155 (April 1967).^[22]

"Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." soon became one of the creative zeniths of the Silver Age, and one of comics' most groundbreaking, innovative and acclaimed features. Steranko "combined the figurative dynamism of Jack Kirby with modern design concepts", wrote Larry Hama. He recostumed Fury from suits and ties to "a form-fitting bodysuit with numerous zippers and pockets, like a Wally Wood spacesuit revamped by Pierre Cardin. The women were clad in form-fitting black leather a la Emma Peel in the Avengers TV show. The graphic influences of Peter Max, Op Art and Andy Warhol were embedded into the design of the pages — and the pages were designed as a whole, not just as a series of panels. All this, executed in a crisp, hard-edged style, seething with drama and anatomical tension."^[26] Ron Goulart, in his Comix: A History of Comic Books in America, wrote, "[E]ven the dullest of readers could sense that something new was happening. ... With each passing issue Steranko's efforts became more and more innovative. Entire pages would be devoted to photocollages of drawings [that] ignored panel boundaries and instead worked together on planes of depth. The first pages ... became incredible production numbers similar in design to the San Francisco rock concert poster of the period".^[27]

Steranko introduced or popularized in comics such art movements of the day as psychedelia and op art, drawing specifically on the "aesthetic of Dali," with inspiration from Richard Powers, ultimately synthesizing a style he termed "Zap Art."^[11][25] Viturtia notes that Steranko drew on the James Bond novels, and claims that the influence went both ways: "Although Steranko was primarily influenced by spy movies, after Nick Fury came on the comics scene, the directors of those same movies began to borrow heavily from Steranko himself!" He absorbed, adapted and built upon the groundbreaking work of Jack Kirby, both in the use of photomontage (particularly for cityscapes), and in the use of full- and double-page-spreads. Indeed, in Strange Tales #167 (Jan. 1968), Steranko created comics' first four-page spread, upon which panorama he or editor Lee bombastically noted, "to get the full effect, of course, requires a second ish [copy of the issue] placed side-by-side, but we think you'll find it to be well worth the price to have the wildest action scene ever in the history of comics!"^[28] All the while, Steranko spun outlandishly action-filled plots of intrigue, barely sublimated sensuality, and a cool-jazz hi-fi hipness.

Writer Steven Ringgenberg assessed that

Steranko's Marvel work became a benchmark of '60s pop culture, combining the traditional comic book art styles of Wally Wood and Jack Kirby with the surrealism of Richard Powers and Salvador Dalí. Steeped in cinematic techniques picked up from that medium's masters, Jim synthesized ... an approach different from anything being done in mainstream comics, though it did include one standard attraction: lots of females in skintight, sexy costumes. Countess Valentina (Val) Allegro De Fontaine (sic) made her debut in Strange Tales #159 (Aug. 1967) by flooring Nick Fury during a training session, proving that she could take care of herself! She looked like a character who had just stepped out of a James Bond poster.^[29]

Captain America #111 (March 1969): Steranko's signature surrealism. Inking by Joe Sinnott.

She and Steranko's other skintight leather-clad version of Bond girls pushed what was allowable under the Comics Code at the time. One example is a silent, one-page seduction sequence with the Countess in Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #2, described by Robin Green in Rolling Stone:

So one panel had the stereo in Fury's apartment to show there was music playing, cigarettes in the ash tray in one, there was a sequence of intercut shots where she moved closer to him, much more intimately, there was a kiss, there was a rose, and then there was one panel with the telephone off the hook, which the comic book code [sic; "Comics Code"] made him put back on. ... [T]he last panel on that page had Nick and his old lady kneeling, with their arms around each other, and that was entirely too much for the Code, so the panel was replaced with a picture of a gun in its holster.^[30]

When reprinted in Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Who Is Scorpio? (Marvel Enterprises, 2001; ISBN 0-7851-0766-5), however, Steranko's original final panel was reinserted. In a black-and-white long shot with screentone shading, the couple is beginning to embrace, with Fury standing and the Countess on one knee, getting up.

Fury's adventures continued in his own series, for which Steranko contributed four much-reprinted 20-page stories: "Who is Scorpio?" (issue #1); "So Shall Ye Reap...Death" (#2), inspired by Shakespeare's The Tempest; "Dark Moon Rise, Hell Hound Kill" (#3), a Hound of the Baskervilles homage, replete with a Peter Cushing manqué; and the spy-fi sequel "What Ever Happened to Scorpio?" (#5). Yet after deadline pressures forced a fill-in "origin" story by another team in issue #4, Steranko produced merely a handful of additional covers, then dropped the book. Decades afterward, however, their images are among comics' best known, and homages to his art have abounded — from updates of classic covers with different heroes in place of Fury, to recreations of famous pages and layouts.

Steranko also had short runs on X-Men (#50-51, Nov.-Dec. 1968), for which he designed a new cover logo,^[31] and Captain America (#110-111, 113, Feb.-March, May 1969),^[22] missing a deadline that required Kirby to draw issue #112 over a weekend.^{[citation needed]} With no new work immediately forthcoming, a "Marvel Bullpen Bulletins" fan page in spring 1969 announced that, "In case you've been wondering what happened to Jaunty Jim Steranko, ... [he] is working on a brand-new feature, which will shortly be spotlighted in Marvel Super-Heroes. And talk about a secret — he hasn't even told us what it is!"^[32] The referred-to project never appeared.

Steranko went on to write and draw a horror story that precipitated a breakup with Marvel. Though that seven-page tale, "At the Stroke of Midnight", published in Tower of Shadows #1 (Sept. 1969), would go on to win a 1969 Alley Award, editor Lee, who had already rejected Steranko's cover for that issue, clashed with Steranko over panel design, dialog, and the story title, initially "The Lurking Fear at Shadow House". According to Steranko at a 2006 panel^[31] and elsewhere, Lee disliked or did not understand the homage to horror author H. P. Lovecraft, and devised his own title for the story. After much conflict, Steranko either quit or was fired. Lee phoned him about a month later, after the two had cooled down.^[31] Steranko returned briefly to Marvel, contributing a romance story ("My Heart Broke in Hollywood", Our Love Story #5, Feb. 1970) and becoming the cover artist for 15 comics beginning with Doc Savage #2-3, Shanna the She-Devil #1-2, and Supernatural Thrillers #1-2 (each successively cover-dated Dec. 1972 and Feb. 1973), and ending with the reprint comic Nick Fury and his Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #2 (April 1973).^[11][22][33]

In 1973, 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. Steranko served as editor and also produced the covers for the magazine's inaugural four issues before being succeeded editorially by Tony Isabella.^[34] He had previously been associated with Marvelmania, producing two of the club's 12 posters.

Steranko gradually withdrew from comic books during this time, turning more and more to his own publishing efforts and to commercial illustration.

Publisher and paperback artist

Steranko branched into other areas of publishing, including most notably book-cover illustration. Lacking any experience as a painter, his decision to effectively quit comics in 1969 led him to "an artist friend who earned his living as a painter", from whom Steranko obtained an "hour-long lecture", and the suggestion that he work in acrylics rather than oils, for the sake of speed.^[11] From these inauspicious beginnings, he compiled a portfolio of half a dozen paintings ("two Westerns, two pin-up girls, two gothic horror and one sword-and-sorcery"^[11]) and met with Lancer Books' art director Howard Winters, to whom he immediately sold his fantasy piece. This led to a career illustrating dozens of paperback covers, popularly including those of Pyramid Books' reissues of the 1930s pulp novels of The Shadow.^[35]

The artist-historian's wraparound covers on the two-volume The Steranko History of Comics

Steranko also 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.^[36] In 1970 and 1972, Supergraphics published two tabloid-sized volumes entitled The Steranko History of Comics, a planned six-volume history of the American comics industry, though no subsequent volumes have appeared. Written by Steranko, with hundreds of black-and-white cover reproductions as well as a complete reprint of one The Spirit story by Will Eisner, it included some of the first and in some cases only interviews with numerous creators from the 1930s and 1940s Golden Age of Comic Books.

Supergraphics projects included the proposed Talon the Timeless, illustrations of which appeared in a portfolio published in witzend magazine #5,^[37] and a pinup girl calendar, "The Supergirls", consisting of 12 illustrations of sexy superheroines in costumes recalling such superheroes as Captain America and Green Lantern.^[11] Through Supergraphics he also published the magazine Comixscene, which premiered with a December 1972 cover date as a folded-tabloid periodical on stiff, non-glossy paper, reporting on the comics field. It evolved in stages into Mediascene (beginning with issue #7, Dec. 1973) and ultimately into Prevue (beginning with #41, Aug. 1980), a general-interest, standard format, popular culture magazine, running through 1994.^[38][39] In its later years, it was criticized for doing double duty as a catalog for Steranko's retailing business, particularly its erotica.^{[citation needed]}

Steranko wrote, drew, and produced the illustrated novel Chandler: Red Tide in 1976, for Byron Preiss Visual Publications/Pyramid Books. Aside from occasional covers and pinup illustrations, Steranko has rarely worked in comics since, although he did illustrate a serialized comics adaptation of the Peter Hyams 1981 sci-fi thriller Outland, for Heavy Metal magazine. A 1997 attempt to negotiate Steranko's return to S.H.I.E.L.D. did not bear fruit.^[11] Since 2007, he has worked with Radical Comics, doing covers, character and logo designs for its Hercules title and Ryder on the Storm.^{[citation needed]}

Film and television work

For the movie industry, Steranko has produced a number of posters for various films, and was a conceptual artist on Steven Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), doing production designs for the film and designing the character of Indiana Jones.^[40]"Raiders Of The Lost Ark". Empire. 2006-09-29. pp. 72–82. </ref> He also served in a similar capacity as "project conceptualist" on Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992),^[41] and wrote the episode "The Ties That Bind" of the DC Comics animated TV series Justice League Unlimited.

In 2003, Steranko worked with the History Channel to create a documentary titled Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked.

He has "amassed an enormous portfolio of more than sixty projects (which he called the 'Theater of Concepts') designed to be seen in multimedia form".^[11]

Philanthropy

In a joint venture with Marvel Comics and Diamond Comic Distributors, Vanguard Productions in 2002 sponsored Steranko's "The Spirit of America" benefit print,^[42] created to fund an art scholarship "for victims of anti-American terrorism".^[43]

Bibliography

Main article: Jim Steranko bibliography

Awards and recognition

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Steranko has won awards in fields as varied as magic, comics and graphic design. A partial list includes:

• In addition to himself being inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2006, Steranko's series Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. was inducted into comic fandom's Alley Award Hall of Fame in 1969.
• That same ceremony, Steranko took three 1968 Alley Awards, for Best Pencil Artist, Best Feature Story ("Today Earth Died", Strange Tales #168; first page depicted above), and Best Cover (Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #6).
• The following year, he won 1969 Alley Awards for Best Feature Story ("At the Stroke of Midnight", Tower of Shadows #1) and Best Cover (Captain America #113).
• 1970 Shazam Award: Outstanding Achievement by an Individual: Jim Steranko (for The Steranko History of Comics)
• The DragonCon's Julie Award (2003)^[21]

Exhibitions

Steranko's work has been exhibited internationally in more than 160 shows.^[11] Among others, his work has been shown in the following locations:

• The Louvre Museum, Paris, France (1967)
• The Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (1978)
• The Sydney Opera House, New South Wales, Australia (January 1986)

Notes

1. ^ "James F. Steranko, Reading, PA, 72 years old". PeopleFinders.com. Archived from the original on 2011-02-26. http://www.webcitation.org/5wn8w0r3t. Retrieved 2011-02-26.. .
2. ^ "Comics Creators Birthdays". Comics Buyers Guide (1636): p. 135. December 2007. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Steranko, Jim, J. David Spurlock, and Angel de la Calle (2002). Steranko Arte Noir. Vanguard Productions / Semana Negra. pp. 11–12. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Ross, Jonathan. "Jonathan Ross Meets Jim Steranko, His Comic-Book Hero", The Guardian, July 21, 2010. WebCitation archive.
5. ^ Groth, Gary. "An Interview with THE Artist...Jim Steranko", Fantastic Fanzine #11 (1970), p. 25, via Meyer, Ken Jr., "Ink Stains 23: Fantastic Fanzine 11", ComicAttack.net, October 1, 2010. WebCitation archive.
6. ^ Steranko et al., Steranko Arte Noir, p. 18
7. ^ ^{a b c} Steranko, Jim. "Blooded" (online excerpt from Steranko: Graphic Prince of Darkness, Vanguard Productions, 1998). WebCitation archive.
8. ^ "Sucker" (online excerpt from Steranko: Graphic Prince of Darkness). WebCitation archive.
9. ^ "Wrath" (online excerpt from Steranko: Graphic Prince of Darkness). WebCitation archive.
10. ^ Steranko et al., Steranko Arte Noir, pp. 12-15
11. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Lafuente, Eduardo Lopez. "Jim Steranko" (bio), Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. trade-paperback collection (Marvel Enterprises, 2000) ISBN 0-7851-0747-9
12. ^ Steranko, interviewed in Burchett, Rick, and Ed. Mantels, "Whizzard Talks to Steranko", Whizzard vol. 2, #11 [issue #16] (Summer 1978; published by Marty Klug, 5730 Chatport Road, St. Louis, Missouri), pp.15-16
13. ^ Steranko et al., Steranko Arte Noir, p. 5
14. ^ "Escape Artist One of Youths Under Arrest", Stroudsburg Daily Record, February 4, 1956, reprinted in Steranko et al., Steranko Arte Noir
15. ^ Von Busack, Richard. "Escape Artist", Metro (Silicon Valley), Dec. 12-18, 2002. WebCitation archive.
16. ^ Steranko et al., Steranko Arte Noir, p. 20
17. ^ Steranko et al., Steranko Arte Noir, p. 21: "I was the first to put a female dancer — I christened her Miss Twist — on stage. Other bands copied the bit, so I topped them by putting two girls side by side simultaneously! Then I topped that by having the girls do a discreet strip routine. Two years later, the go-go girl craze swept America".
18. ^ Steranko et al., Steranko Arte Noir, pp. 16-18
19. ^ Evanier, Mark. "The Jack FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions About Jack Kirby", "P.O.V. Online" (column), n.d., p. 1. WebCitation archive.
20. ^ Archive of Raymond,Nate. "Real Kavaliers & Clays", The Amazing Website of Kavalier & Clay (fan site). Original page
21. ^ ^{a b} Robertson, Tony. "Steranko Recognizes the Power of Kindness in Julie Award Speech", at The Drawings of Steranko. WebCitation archive.
22. ^ ^{a b c d e} Jim Steranko at the Grand Comics Database
23. ^ Spyman at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived November 5, 2011.
24. ^ Roy Thomas interview, Alter Ego #50, July 2005, p. 23. Another account appears in Steranko Arte Noir, pp. 24 & 26, in which author Spurlock claims Steranko had not gone to Marvel the previous year, had dealt only with receptionist Flo Steinberg, never did the sample-pages inking, and was supposedly given his choice of drawing any comic in Marvel's line. Eduardo Lopez Lafuente's biographical portrait in the 2000 Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. collection quotes Stan Lee, without providing a source, as asking Steranko "Which title do you want to draw?"
25. ^ ^{a b c d} Viturtia, A.M.. Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Marvel Enterprises, 2000. ISBN 0-7851-0747-9. 
26. ^ Hama, Larry. Introduction, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Who Is Scorpio?
27. ^ Goulart, Ron. Comix: A History of Comic Books in America (Bonanza Books, New York, 1971; Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 75-169-104)
28. ^ Steranko, Jim. Strange Tales #167 (Marvel, April 1967), pp. 2-5
29. ^ Ringgenberg, Steven "A Life Long Love Affair With The Pop Culture Pin Up!", Betty Pages Magazine #4, Spring 1989, via TheDrawingsOfSteranko.com. WebCitation archive.
30. ^ Green, Robin (September 16, 1971). "Face Front! Clap Your Hands, You're on the Winning Team!". Rolling Stone (via fan site Green Skin's Grab-Bag) (91): page 3 of transcription. Archived from the original on September 14, 2011. http://www.reocities.com/area51/Chamber/8346/rs91.facefront.1.html. Retrieved September 14, 2011. 
31. ^ ^{a b c} Sanderson, Peter (March 7, 2006). Steranko and Simon: Back to Back. PW Comics Week (column), Publishers Weekly. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6313558.html.  Dead link; pertinent passages reprinted at "Frightening First Fridays: Tower of Shadows #1". Diversions of the Grooovy Kind (fan site). October 31, 2008. Archived from the original on November 27, 2010. http://diversionsofthegroovykind.blogspot.com/2008/10/frightening-first-fridays-tower-of.html. 
32. ^ Marvel Bullpen Bulletins page, "Awe-Inspiring Announcements to Yawn With!" in Marvel Comics cover-dated June 1969, including The Incredible Hulk vol. 2, #116.
33. ^ Jim Steranko at ComicBookDB. Accessed April 16, 2008
34. ^ FOOM #1-4 (Feb.-Summer 1973)
35. ^ Bonfils, Robert, ed. "Jim Steranko Cover Art", Vintage Paperbacks & Digests (fan site). WebCitation archive.
36. ^ Archive of Steranko, Jim. "Comics Loses One of its Major Visionaries: Byron Preiss", Comicon.com, July 10, 2005. Original page. WebCitation archive.
37. ^ Talon Art Gallery, at The Drawings of Steranko.
38. ^ Robertson, Tony, ed. "Steranko Bibliography". WebCitation archive.
39. ^ Comixscene/Mediascene/Prevue (fan site). WebCitation archive.
40. ^ Walentis, Al. "Steranko Helped Sell Raiders", Reading Eagle, June 14, 1981, p. 66.
41. ^ Skal David J. Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen (Faber & Faber, 2004), p.280. ISBN 978-0-5712-1158-6
42. ^ "The Spirit of America", Vanguard Productions, 2002. WebCitation archive.
43. ^ "New York Comic Con Releases Expanded Guest List for their February Show", New York Comic Con press release, January 20, 2009, via Comic Book Resources. WebCitation archive (requires scrolldown).

External links

• Steranko.com (placeholder page only) Accessed October 14, 2009
• Koening, Bill. "Bill Koenig Remembers: 'Don't Yield, Back S.H.I.E.L.D.'", Her Majesty's Secret Servant (fan site), 2000. WebCitation archive.
• Meyer, Ken Jr. "1970 Jim Steranko Portfolio", "Ink Stains" 25 (column), ComicAttack,net, December 1, 2010. WebCitation archive.
• "Jim Steranko Interview", Comic Book Resources, October 10, 2001. WebCitation archive (requires scrolldown).
• Jim Steranko at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Persondata
Name	Steranko, Jim
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 5, 1938
Place of birth	Reading, Pennsylvania
Date of death
Place of death