Francis Chuck Patton is an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

comics artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary a ...

and animator. He is best known for his work on

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

' ''

Justice League of America The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceive ...

'' in the 1980s, specifically for the period in which the team relocated to Detroit and was staffed with new, multicultural super-heroes. With writer

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

, Patton created

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

and

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down producti ...

, as well as redesigning

Vixen Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

and Steel, The Indestructible Man.

Career

Comics

A self-taught comics artist, although with a degree in art, Patton's influences included José Luis García-López, John Buscema,

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Sup ...

, and

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Early ...

. Patton was interested in journalism, but was enticed into a comics career in large part thanks to Giordano by then a top executive at DC. Patton entered the comics industry in 1983 by penciling a brief run of Creeper back-up stories in '' The Flash''. After drawing various titles including ''

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

'', ''

The Brave and the Bold ''The Brave and the Bold'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics as an ongoing series from 1955 to 1983. It was followed by two mini-series in 1991 and 1999, and was revived as an ongoing title in 2007. The focus of the series has varied ...

'', and the " Green Arrow" backup feature in '' Detective Comics'', Patton became the artist of ''

'' beginning with the August 1983 issue. During this period, Patton's roommate was fellow comics artist

Shawn McManus Shawn McManus (born June 30, 1958) is an American artist who has worked extensively over three decades for DC Comics and other companies, notably for DC's Vertigo imprint including the ''Fables'' series. Comics Born in Brookline, Massachuset ...

. Patton drew issues ##217–227 and 233–239 of ''JLA'', a period in the title's history when it underwent great changes — including the core characters of Superman, Batman, and

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

leaving the team, and the introduction of the new multicultural lineup. These changes were not well received by readers, and Patton left the title feeling as if he bore the brunt of the fans' anger. In addition to

and

, Patton also co-created the Cadre, the Overmaster, and

Paragon Paragon may refer to: Places *Paragon, Indiana, a town in the United States * Paragon, Nebraska, former community in the United States *The Paragon, Bath, a Georgian street in the Walcot area of Bath * The Paragon, Blackheath, London, built by Mi ...

. Vibe has since become a supporting character on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

's television series '' The Flash'', portrayed by actor Carlos Valdes. After leaving ''Justice League'', Patton was unsuccessful in gaining another regular penciling assignment. Instead, he worked on single issues or short runs of such DC titles as ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/ magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics Publications ...

Weekly'', ''

Blue Beetle Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional superheroes who appear in a number of American comic books published by a variety of companies since 1939. The most recent of the companies to own rights to Blue Beetle is DC Comics, which bought the ri ...

'', '' Legion of Super-Heroes'', '' The New Teen Titans'', ''

Omega Men The Omega Men are a fictional team of extraterrestrial superheroes who have appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. They first appeared in ''Green Lantern'' (vol. 2) #141 (June 1981), and were created by Marv Wolfman and Joe ...

'', '' The Outsiders'', '' Secret Origins'', and ''

Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

''. He was one of the contributors to the '' DC Challenge'' limited series in 1985. During this period, Patton did sporadic work for

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market. It was ...

and

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

, on such titles as '' New DNAgents'', '' Daredevil'', and ''

Classic X-Men ''Classic X-Men'', originally titled ''X-Men Classics'' and later retitled ''X-Men Classic'', is a reprint comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The first volume was a limited series which collected stories from the Roy Thomas/Neal Adams/ ...

''. He was considered to replace the outgoing

Todd McFarlane Todd McFarlane (; born March 16, 1961) is a Canadian comic book creator, artist, writer, filmmaker and entrepreneur, best known for his work as the artist on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and as the creator, writer, and artist on the superhero horro ...

on ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

'', but turned the offer down when he was asked to emulate McFarlane's distinctive art style.

Animation

In 1988, after half a decade in the comics industry, Patton became disillusioned with comics and moved into children's television animation. He was living in Los Angeles by this time, which is where most animated series were produced. Patton's credits include ''

Dinosaucers ''Dinosaucers'' is a 1987 animated television series co-produced in the United States and Canada, produced by DIC Animation City and distributed in syndication in the US by Coca-Cola Telecommunications. The show was created by producer Michael ...

'', ''

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), Ac ...

,'' '' Captain N: The Game Master'', '' The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3'', ''

Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas ''Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas'' is a Christmas television special, featuring characters from the animated series ''Inspector Gadget''. The special was produced by DIC Animation City and aired on NBC on December 4, 1992. Synopsis The specia ...

'', and ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

''. Patton has become a successful

animation director An animation director is either the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated film or television, and animated segment for a live action film or television show, or the animator in charge of co ...

, helming such projects as '' Dead Space: Downfall'', ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...

'' and Todd McFarlane's ''

Spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...

'', for which Patton garnered an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Animated Program".

Awards

Emmy Award

* 1993 - Outstanding Animated Program (nomination) — ''Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas'' * 1999 - Outstanding Animated Program — ''

Todd McFarlane's Spawn ''Todd McFarlane's Spawn'', also known as ''Spawn: The Animated Series'' or simply ''Spawn'' is an American adult animated superhero television series that aired on HBO from 1997 through 1999 and reran on Cartoon Network's Toonami programming b ...

Bibliography

DC Comics

* ''

Weekly'' #613–618 ( Nightwing) (1988) * '' Batman'' #385 (1985) * ''

'' #10 (1987) * ''

'' #198 ( Batman and Karate Kid) (1983) * '' DC Challenge'' #2 (1985) * '' Detective Comics'' #533–534 ( Green Arrow backup stories) (1983–1984) * '' The Flash'' #320–323 ( Creeper backup stories) (1983) * ''

'' vol. 2 #163, 177 (1983–1984) * ''

'' #217–227, 233–239, ''Annual'' #2 (1983–1985) * ''Justice League of America'' vol. 2 #7 (three pages) (2007) * '' Legion of Super-Heroes'' vol. 3 #19 (1986) * '' The New Teen Titans'' vol. 2 #15–16 (1985–1986) * ''

'' #29–30, 36 (1985–1986) * '' Outsiders Special'' #1 (1987) * '' Secret Origins'' vol. 2 #12 (

Challengers of the Unknown The Challengers of the Unknown is a fictional group of adventurers appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The quartet of adventurers explored paranormal occurrences while facing several fantastic menaces. The characters' provenance is ...

) (1987) * ''Tales of the Teen Titans'' #56–58 (1985) * ''Teen Titans Spotlight'' #13, 16 (1987) * ''

'' #6–7, 31, 33, 35 (1984–1986) * '' Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' #1, 3–5, 10–11, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22–23, 26 (1985–1987) * ''Who's Who: Update '87'' #4–5 (1987)

Eclipse Comics

* '' New DNAgents'' #4, 6, 11 (1985–1986)

Marvel Comics

* ''

'' #14–15 (1987) * '' Daredevil'' #245 (1987) * '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' vol. 2 #2 (

Tigra Tigra (Greer Grant Nelson) is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Introduced as the superpowered and gadget-wielding crime fighter the Cat in ''The Claws of the Cat'' #1 (November 1972). The ...

) (1990) * ''

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe The ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' is an encyclopedic guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications. The original 15-volume series was published in comic book format in 1982, followed by sporadic ...

Deluxe Edition'' #16 (1987)

References

External links

* *
Chuck Patton
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics * {{DEFAULTSORT:Patton, Chuck 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists African-American comics creators American animators American comics artists American comics creators DC Comics people Living people Marvel Comics people Year of birth missing (living people) Primetime Emmy Award winners