Carl Gafford (born November 23, 1953) is a

colorist In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates. Since the late 20th century it is ...

(and occasional editor) who has worked for several decades in the comics industry. His career has spanned several publishers, including

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 ...

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 ...

and

Topps Comics Topps Comics was a division of Topps, Topps Company, Inc. that published comic books from 1993 to 1998, beginning its existence during a short comics-industry boom that attracted many investors and new companies. It was based in New York City, at ...

Biography

Early life and education

Carl Gafford was a member of comics fandom as a teen, writing and drawing his own

ditto machine A spirit duplicator (also referred to as a Rexograph or Ditto machine in North America, Banda machine in the UK, Gestetner machine in Australia) is a printing method invented in 1923 by Wilhelm Ritzerfeld that was commonly used for much of the ...

fanzine ''Minotaur'' from 1968 to 1972, as well as contributing art and writing to other fanzines and the amateur press alliance CAPA-alpha ("K-a") beginning in December 1970. In c. 1968, he created Blue Plaque Publications, the first

minicomic co-op Minicomics Co-ops are entities for trading and promoting small press comics and fanzines. The most well-known of these co-ops is the United Fanzine Organization, or UFO, a co-operative of minicomic creators that has existed since about 1968, when it ...

, a cooperative of

minicomic A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term small press comic is equivalent with minicomic, reserved for those publications measuring A6 (105& ...

creators that traded and promoted small press comics and fanzines, that exists to this day. Gafford had an itinerant path through higher education, attending

Western Connecticut State University Western Connecticut State University (WCSU and WestConn) is a public university in Danbury, Connecticut. It was founded in 1903 as a teacher's college and is part of the Connecticut State University System. WCSU consists of four schools: the An ...

for two years, the

University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a public research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus University of Massa ...

for one year, and

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...

for one year. He earned his B.A. in history from the

College of Staten Island The College of Staten Island (CSI) is a public university in Staten Island, New York. It is one of the 11 four-year senior colleges within the City University of New York system. Programs in the liberal arts and sciences and professional studie ...

Early comics career

Gafford began his professional career at

as an assistant

proofreader Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or an electronic copy of a publication to find and correct reproduction errors of text or art. Proofreading is the final step in the editorial cycle before publication. Professional Traditiona ...

in the production department in March 1973, and was promoted to full proofreader at the end of the year with the retirement of Gerta Gattel. Gafford started coloring feature pages in the production department, eventually doing regular freelance coloring beginning with ''Justice League of America'' #115. He was promoted to assistant production manager in August 1974 and began work on DC's in-house fanzine, '' The Amazing World of DC Comics'', doing editing, writing, production work and color separations. Gafford moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

in September 1976, then to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in 1977 to color and write for the Hanna-Barbera comics produced for Marvel Comics. Titles included ''

Yogi Bear Yogi Bear is an anthropomorphic animal character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in '' The Huckleberry Hound Show''. Yogi Bear was the first ...

'', ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

'', ''

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...

'', ''

Laff-A-Lympics ''Laff-A-Lympics'' is an American animated comedy television series produced by Hanna-Barbera. The series premiered as part of the Saturday-morning cartoon program block '' Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics'', on ABC in 1977. The show is a spoof ...

'' and others. During this time, Gafford also worked in Hanna-Barbera's layout department on such TV shows as ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film '' Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films prod ...

'' and ''

Super Friends ''Super Friends'' is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes, which ran from 1973 to 1985 on ABC as part of its Saturday-morning cartoon lineup. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera and was based on the Justice League of ...

'' before returning to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in August 1978. Gafford went to work in Marvel Comics' production department, first as a freelancer then as the staff typesetter. Gafford left Marvel in January 1981 and began freelancing for both DC and Marvel, one of the few

s to work at both companies at the same time. He returned to staff at DC in the summer of 1981 as the proofreader, then by year's end had become Len Wein's assistant editor on ''

Justice League 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 conceived b ...

'', '' The Flash'', ''

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 ...

'', and the Batman books. At this time, Gafford became editor of '' Adventure Comics Digest'', and with writer

Bob Rozakis Robert "Bob" Rozakis (; born April 4, 1951) is an American comic book writer and editor known mainly for his work in the 1970s and 1980s at DC Comics, as the writer of Mazing Man'' and in his capacity as DC's "Answer Man". Career Bob Rozakis go ...

revived the ''

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 ...

'', with art first by

George Tuska George Tuska (; April 26, 1916 – October 16, 2009),George Tuska
at the

and later by

Alex Toth Alexander Toth (June 25, 1928 – May 27, 2006) was an American cartoonist active from the 1940s through the 1980s. Toth's work began in the American comic book industry, but he is also known for his animation designs for Hanna-Barbera throughout ...

. Gafford also wrote most of the short-lived Creeper back-up series in '' The Flash'', featuring British artist

Dave Gibbons David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story "For the Man ...

' first work for DC, — though most of the scripts were scrapped after a change of editors. He colored the second to last issue and was the artist on the final back-up.Flash #323 During this time, Gafford began coloring '' The Legion of Super-Heroes'' with #288, and continued on that run for seven years without missing an issue, totaling 125 regular issues, giants, miniseries and two different Legion books a month for a year. Gafford returned to freelance coloring for DC and Marvel in summer 1982.

1990s

In June 1990, Gafford began working for Disney Comics, producing a series of comics based on Mickey Mouse, Goofy, new TV cartoon shows like '' Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers'' and ''

Duck Tales Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ta ...

'', and the continuation of '' Uncle Scrooge'' and '' Walt Disney's Comics and Stories'' from Gladstone Publishing. He freelanced for

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

and

Innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entit ...

while at Disney, and did some editing of the final Disney Comics publication, an '' Aladdin'' miniseries, while helping to transition the end of the Disney Comics line, returning the license to Gladstone Publishing. In March 1993, Gafford moved back to New York to help

Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comic ...

launch his new

Defiant Comics Defiant Comics was a comic book publishing imprint of Enlightened Entertainment Partners, LP. Defiant was established in 1993 by former Marvel Comics and Valiant Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. Publication history Defiant was founded in th ...

line. In June 1993, Gafford was hired by former

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

editor

Jim Salicrup Jim Salicrup (; born May 29, 1957) is an American comic book editor, known for his tenures at Marvel Comics and Topps Comics. At Marvel, where he worked for twenty years, he edited books such as '' The Uncanny X-Men'', ''Fantastic Four'', '' Aven ...

for the new line of

, produced by the sports trading card publisher The

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, a ...

. Gafford was laid off from Topps at the end of January 1997{ along with other staffers, including editor-in-chief Salicrup. The few who remained were let go before year's end, and some of the inventory eventually saw print at

. Starting in 1994, Gafford returned to writing and drawing, this time for the anthropomorphic ( furry) market, and produced material that saw print at

Antarctic Press Antarctic Press is a San Antonio-based comic book publishing company which publishes " Amerimanga" style comic books. The company also produces "how-to" and "you can" comics, instructing on areas of comic book creation and craft. Beginning in ...

, Radio Comics, and Shanda Fantasy Arts. He also wrote and drew original comics stories reminiscent of 1950s and '60s superhero genres which saw print in Big Bang Comics: two stories were redrawn by other artists, but the final one ("Ladybug," a combination of Fly Girl and

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

) featured Gafford's own art, the last to appear in print.

Personal life

Gafford and his first wife Sharon have a son, William, born in May 1985. The couple separated in 1986 and divorced in 1991. He has also been married and divorced to Garrett Gafford.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gafford, Carl Living people 1953 births Comics colorists College of Staten Island alumni