Frank McLaughlin

Infobox Comics creator

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birthname = Frank McLaughlin
birthdate = March 18 1935
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nationality = American
area = Penciller, Inker
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Frank McLaughlin is an American comic book artist who co-created the character Judomaster; a comic strip illustrator who served as a successor artist on such popular strips as "Nancy" and "Brenda Starr"; and an author of books about cartooning and comic art.

Biography

Early life and career

Frank McLaughlin was born on March 18 1935, and grew up inspired by the work of such magazine illustrators as Coby Whitmore, Joe Bowler, Howard Terpning, and Joe De Mers, among others, as well as such earlier Art Nouveau illustrators as Gustav Klimt and Alfons Mucha, and such comic-strip artists as Alex Raymond and Milt Caniff. He studied art at the University of Bridgeport and the New Haven State Teachers College, both in Connecticut. McLaughlin's first professional art job, at 17, was drawing belt buckles for a Bridgeport manufacturer's catalog.

After college, McLaughlin, an avid baseball player, went to work for the brake manufacturer Raybestos, where he played for its internationally ranked fast-pitch softball team. After a year there, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, then returned to civilian life as a technical illustrator for Sikorsky Aircraft. McLaughlin broke into comic books in the early 1960s. A college friend recommended him to [editor] Pat Masulli at Charlton Comics in Derby, Connecticut, who hired McLaughlin as his assistant. "There were no art directors or assistant editors or any other job titles", McLaughlin said in a 2000 interview.McLaughlin interview, "Comic Book Artist" #9 (Aug. 2000), p, 84] " [I did e] verything from proofreading to art corrections, lettering titles for [editor] Ernie Hart's books, traffic managing, liaison with the Comics Code, and anything else, including cleaning the storeroom".Ibid., p. 85] He did occasional, uncredited inking on late books, including on "a couple" of stories by future comic-book legend Steve Ditko.

McLaughlin's earliest known probable credit is inking penciler Dick Giordano on the cover of, and a seven-page story in, Charlton's "Battlefield Action" #39 (Dec. 1961). McLaughlin's first confirmed credit is full pencil and ink art on a five-page story in "Reptisaurus" #8 (Dec. 1962). Giordano later became Chartlon editor, McLaughlin said, after McLaughlin turned down the job: " [Giordano] was a freelancer at the time, and then he hired me to work with him after I got through working at Charlton 9 to 5, and I'd go over to his studio, and then later on, we kind of swapped jobs, because there was a change at Charlton, and I think Pat [Masulli] was moving up, and they offered me his job. I opted to stay freelance and suggested Dick for the job. He became editor and I took over the studio", which artist Jon D'Agostino and writer Joe Gill would soon join.

Judomaster

McLaughlin, who became Charlton's art director later in the decade, worked throughout the Charlton line, including on the superhero titles "Blue Beetle", "Captain Atom" and "Son of Vulcan", the adventure comic "The Fightin' 5", the supernatural/sci-fi anthologies "Strange Suspense Stories" and "Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds", and the espionage comic "Sarge Steel" — where martial artist McLaughlin's backup features, "The Sport of Judo" and "What is Karate?", presaged the original character he would create with writer Joe Gill.

That character, Judomaster, debuted in "Special War Series" #4 (Nov. 1965), the final issue of that series, and continued in his own series, beginning with "Judomaster" #89 (June 1966), taking over the numbering of the defunct Western series "Gunmaster". The series, set in the South Pacific during World War II, featured an American soldier who, after saving a native island girl from a Japanese sniper, was taught martial arts by her grateful grandfather. He acquired a costume based on the Japanese flag, and a sidekick, Tiger, in #93 (Feb. 1967). The series ended at #98 (Dec. 1967), and the character acquired by DC Comics in 1983, during Charlton's final years.

Marvel and DC

In early 1972, McLaughlin left Charlton to freelance for both DC and Marvel Comics. His first work for the former was "The Flash" #215 (May 1972), co-inking (with Dick Giordano) penciler Irv Novick. Settling into his career as an inker, McLaughlin did a few stories for that series as well as a handful of backup features, then became a regular at Marvel, inking the likes of Wayne Boring on "Captain Marvel" and Sal Buscema on "Captain America" and "The Defenders" before becoming primarily a DC inker. Throughout the 1970s, McLaughlin inked backup stories featuring The Atom, Black Lightning, Zatanna, and "The Fabulous World of Krypton", among others, and became the regular series inker for penciler Dick Dillin's "Justice League of America", and for some issues of penciler Ernie Chan's Batman stories in "Detective Comics", and Joe Staton's "Green Lantern". Concurrently, he wrote martial-arts articles for Marvel's black-and-white comics magazine "The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu".

In the 1980s, McLaughlin was regular inker on penciler Carmine Infantino's "The Flash", Gene Colan's "Wonder Woman", and Dan Jurgens' "Green Arrow", among other assignments. During the following decade, while continuing to draw for DC, McLaughlin expanded for Acclaim Comics and Broadway Comics. His last known comics work is Broadway's "Fatale" #6 (Oct. 1996), inking J.G. Jones.

Comic strips

McLaughlin, at the suggestion of fellow comics professional Dick Giordano, showed samples of his work to comic strip artist Stan Drake in Westport, Connecticut, who immediately hired McLaughlin as assistant on the naturalistic soap-opera strip "The Heart of Juliet Jones" (replacing Tex Blaisdell, who had left to draw "Little Orphan Annie"). "I would pencil and ink just about everything that wasn't a main figure", McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin also drew for such comic strips as "Brenda Starr", "Nancy", and "The World's Greatest Superheroes". In 2001, he took over the art for Jack Berrill's Tribune Media sports strip "Gil Thorp" until February 2008, when the art for the strip was turned over to Frank Bolle, who also draws the comic strip "Apartment 3-G".

Teacher and author

McLaughlin has taught at the Paier College of Art in Hamden, Connecticut and Guy Gilchrist's Cartoonist's Academy in Simsbury, Connecticut. He co-developed the literacy program "Writing to Read" for the JHM Corporation through Nova University, in which comic-book storytelling was used to teach and encourage reading.

His books include "How to Draw Those Bodacious Bad Babes of Comics" (Renaissance Books, 2000, ISBN 1-58063-068-5) and "How to Draw Monsters for Comics", (Renaissance Books, 2001, ISBN 1-58063-069-3), both with Mike Gold.

Personal

McLaughlin practiced judo from ages 18 to 50, first studying at Joe Costa's Academy of Judo. He has a daughter, Erin; a son Terry; and a granddaughter, Kate, as of 2000.

Footnotes

References

*Frank McLaughlin interview, "Comic Book Artist" #9 (Aug. 2000), pp 84-88
* [http://lambiek.net/artists/m/mclaughlin_frank.htm Lambiek Comiclopedia: Frank McLaughlin]
* [http://www.comics.org/ The Grand Comics Database]
* [http://annemclaughlin.tripod.com/id140.html Anne McLaughlin's Graphic Design & Fine Art: "Frank McLaughlin's Accomplishments"]
* [http://hometown.aol.com/comicsproj/credits.html The Comic Strip Project: Credits]
* [http://www.toonopedia.com/judomstr.htm Don Markstein's Toonopedia: Judomaster]
* [http://www.gilchristcartoonacademy.com/inst.html Guy Gilchrist's Cartoonist's Academy: Frank McLaughlin (Professor Emeritus)]

External links

* [http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=136319 The CBR Forums: Frank McLaughlin]
* [http://mikelynchcartoons.blogspot.com/2006/08/august-19-2006-lunch-with-frank.html Mike Lynch Cartoons: "August 19, 2006: Lunch with Frank McLaughlin ... and Friends"]
* [http://www.gothamcityart.com/catalog_artist.php?offset=9&letbeg=J&letend=R Gotham City Art: Frank McLaughlin]