Dennis Janke (born April 13, 1950Janke entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999.'' Accessed July 15, 2016. in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

)"witzend Contributors, Part 2," ''witzend'', Volume 1 (Fantagraphics Books, 2014), p. 306. is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

artist who was active in the industry from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s, primarily as an inker. He is most well known for his work on the

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 ...

character Superman, particularly his nine-year run as inker on '' Superman: The Man of Steel''. A freelancer, Janke worked for both DC 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 ...

during his career, penciling covers and stories here and there, but mostly focusing on "finish inking" over other artists' pencils. Janke has worked extensively with pencilers

Jon Bogdanove Jon Bogdanove is an American comics artist and writer. He is best known for his work on '' Power Pack'' and '' Superman: The Man of Steel'', as well as for creating the character Steel with writer Louise Simonson in 1993. Career Comics After at ...

and

Jerry Ordway Jeremiah Ordway (born November 28, 1957) is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books. He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' ...

, and is a co-creator (with artist Ordway) of Bertron (who created Doomsday), and Mr. Z (best known from the '' Superman'' story "Time and Time Again"). With

Mark Gruenwald Mark Eugene Gruenwald (; June 18, 1953 – August 12, 1996) was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler known for his long association with Marvel Comics. Biography Early career Gruenwald got his start in comics fa ...

and Paul Neary, Janke co-created Armadillo. In his career, Janke has also worked on dozens of independent comic books and

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

, including his own self-published series, ''Flaming Baloney'' (published with James R. Blevins c. 1975)."witzend Contributors, Part I," ''witzend'', Volume 1 (Fantagraphics Books, 2014), p. 293.

Biography

Education

Janke earned his BFA from the

Cleveland Institute of Art The Cleveland Institute of Art, previously Cleveland School of Art, is a private college focused on art and design and located in Cleveland, Ohio. History The college was founded in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women, at fir ...

Career

Janke's first published work was a 1974 illustration in DC Comics' ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strang ...

'', but his professional career took off a decade later when he was hired to ink

Paul Neary Paul Neary (born 1949) is a British comic book artist, writer and editor. His first work was for Warren Publishing in the 1970s before working with Dez Skinn at Marvel UK as well as work for '' 2000 AD''. He later became editor-in-chief of Ma ...

on Marvel's '' Captain America'', which he did for two years. Moving over to DC Comics in 1987, Janke inked the final nine issues of ''

Electric Warrior ''Electric Warrior'' is the second studio album by English rock band T. Rex, their sixth since their debut as Tyrannosaurus Rex. The album marked a turning point in the band's sound, moving away from the folk-oriented sound of the group's pr ...

'' over

Jim Baikie James George Baikie (28 February 1940 – 29 December 2017) was a Scottish comics artist best known for his work with Alan Moore on '' Skizz''. He was also a musician. Biography Baikie served as a Corporal with the Royal Air Force in 1956–1963 ...

's pencils. Next, he inked the four-issue mini-series ''

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The char ...

'', pencilled by

Joe Orlando Joseph Orlando (April 4, 1927 – December 23, 1998) was an Italian American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of '' Mad'' and the vice president of DC Comics, ...

and written by

Peter David Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Greatest Hits" Co ...

. Around the same time he became the regular inker on '' The Adventures of Superman'' and '' Superman'', mostly inking

's pencils. He then spent nine years as the inker of '' Superman: The Man of Steel'', mostly over

. (Bogdanove and Janke also illustrated many covers for the Steel solo title during this period.) As inker on ''Superman: The Man of Steel'', Janke contributed to, and benefited from the success of, the best-selling 1992-1993 "

The Death of Superman "The Death of Superman" is a crossover story event featured in DC Comics' Superman-related publications. The crossover, which originated from editor Mike Carlin and writers Dan Jurgens, Roger Stern, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway, and Karl Kese ...

" story arc. Janke's final major run as an inker was for '' The Spectre'' in 2002–2003 (over

Norm Breyfogle Norman Keith Breyfogle (; February 27, 1960 – September 24, 2018) was an American artist, best known for his comic book art on DC Comics' Batman franchise from 1987 to 1995. During this time, he co-created the villains Ventriloquist and Ratca ...

's pencils). Since 2003, Janke's published comics credits have been rare. Janke is currently at work on a graphic novel.

Personal life

Janke is an amateur poet.Janke bio
Inspiration for the Spirit website. Accessed July 15, 2016. He lives in Maine, in a house he was able to pay for with royalties from his work on "

Bibliography

As writer

* (with James R. Blevins) (as Z. Capistance) "Stargazer," ''

Witzend ''witzend'', published on an irregular schedule spanning decades, is an underground comic showcasing contributions by comic book professionals, leading illustrators and new artists. ''witzend'' was launched in 1966 by the writer-artist Wallace Wo ...

'' #12 (Wonderful Publishing Company, 1982) — also art * (with

) '' Adventures of Superman'' #484 (DC Comics, Nov. 1991) — also inks * (with

Roger Stern Roger Stern (born September 17, 1950) is an American comic book author and novelist. Biography Early career In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine ''CPL'' (''Contemporary Pictorial Literature''), one of the first platfor ...

) ''

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 ...

'' #671 (DC Comics, Nov. 1991) — also inks *(with

Louise Simonson Louise Simonson (née Mary Louise Alexander; born September 26, 1946) is an American comic book writer and editor. She is best known for her work on comic book titles such as ''Conan the Barbarian'', '' Power Pack'', ''X-Factor'', ''New Mutants'', ...

) '' Superman: The Man of Steel'' #6 (DC Comics, Dec. 1991) — also inks * (with Louise Simonson) "Doomsday for the Fifth Dimension," '' Action Comics Annual'' #6 (DC Comics, 1994) — also pencils and Inks

As penciler

* '' Adventures of Superman'' #496 (DC Comics, Nov. 1992) — also co-plot and inks * "Gangbuster of Suicide Slum," ''The Legacy of Superman'' #1 (DC Comics, Mar. 1993) * "Prologue: Communion," '' Doomsday Annual'' #1 (DC Comics, 1995) — also inks * "Epilogue: Requiem," '' Doomsday Annual'' #1 (DC Comics, 1995) — also inks

As inker

* '' Captain America'' (Marvel Comics, 1984-1986) * '' Masters of the Universe'' #1–5 (

Star Comics Star Comics was an imprint of Marvel Comics that began in 1984 and featured titles that were aimed at child readers and were often adaptations of children's television series, animated series or toys. The last comic published under the imprint ...

, 1986–1987) * ''

'' #11–18 (DC Comics, 1987) * ''

'' limited series (DC Comics, 1988) * '' The Adventures of Superman'' (DC Comics, 1988–1989) * '' Superman'' (DC Comics, 1989–1991, 1993) * "Circle of Fear," ''

Spelljammer ''Spelljammer'' is a campaign setting originally published for the ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' (2nd edition) role-playing game, which features a fantastic (as opposed to scientific) outer space environment. Subsequent editions have included ' ...

'' #6 (DC Comics/ TSR, Feb. 1991) * '' Superman: The Man of Steel'' (DC Comics, 1991-1999) * "

Underworld Unleashed ''Underworld Unleashed'' was a multi-title American comic book crossover event released by DC Comics in 1995. The main theme of ''Underworld Unleashed'' involved the new ruler of Hell, a demon-lord named Neron, offering first many of the DC ...

" limited series (DC Comics, Nov.–Dec. 1995) * ''Superman's Nemesis:

Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: April ...

'' limited series (DC Comics, Mar.–June 1999) * ''Domination Factor: Avengers'' limited series (Marvel Comics, Nov. 1999–Feb. 2000) * '' Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham'' limited series (DC Comics, Nov. 2000–Jan. 2001) * '' The Spectre'' (DC Comics, 2002-2003) * '' Human Defense Corps'' issues #4-6 (DC Comics, Oct.–Dec. 2003)

References

External links

*
Janke page at Inspiration for the Spirit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janke, Dennis Comics inkers American comics artists 1950 births Living people Cleveland Institute of Art alumni Artists from Maine Artists from Cleveland