Ernesto Chan (July 27, 1940 – May 16, 2012),
born and sometimes credited as Ernie Chua, was a
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
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 ...
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 and g ...
, known for work published by
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 ...
and
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 ...
, including many Marvel issues of series featuring
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...
. Chan also had a long tenure on ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
'' and ''
Detective Comics
''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...
''. Other than his work on Batman, Chan primarily focused on non-superhero characters, staying mostly in the genres of
horror,
war
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
, and
sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tale ...
.
Biography
Ernie Chan was born Ernie Chua due to what he called "a typographical error on my
birth certificate
A birth certificate is a vital record that documents the birth of a person. The term "birth certificate" can refer to either the original document certifying the circumstances of the birth or to a certified copy of or representation of the ensuin ...
that I had to use until I had a chance to change it to 'Chan' when I got my
.S.citizenship in '76." He migrated to the United States in 1970 and became a citizen in 1976.
For a number of years, he worked under the name Ernie Chua but he was later credited as Ernie Chan.
He studied with
and worked with him as the
inker
The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production.
The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a pencil ...
on ''Conan'' during the 1970s. He also inked the art of Buscema's brother
Sal 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 ...
''.
Chan entered the American comics industry in 1972 with
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 ...
as a penciler on horror/mystery titles such as ''
Ghosts'', ''
House of Mystery
''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery Comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets''. It is also the name of the titular setting of the series.
First serie ...
'', and ''
The Unexpected''. By 1974, he was working regularly for
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 ''
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...
''. From 1975–1976, Chan worked exclusively for DC including the artwork for ''
Claw the Unconquered'' which was written by
David Michelinie
David Michelinie (; born May 6, 1948) is an American comic book writer best known for scripting Marvel Comics' '' The Amazing Spider-Man'' and '' Iron Man'' and the DC Comics feature Superman in ''Action Comics''. Among the characters he create ...
. While working on the ''
Detective Comics
''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...
'' series, he drew the first appearances of
Captain Stingaree in issue #460 (June 1976) and the
Black Spider
Black Spider is the name of several fictional DC Comics supervillains. The first two were both primarily enemies of Batman.
Fictional character biographies Eric Needham
The original Black Spider first appeared in '' Detective Comics'' #463 ( ...
in #463 (Sept. 1976). Under the name Chua, he was DC Comics' primary cover artist from approximately 1975 to 1977.
Chan pencilled several issues of ''Conan'' and ''
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...
'', and worked on ''
Kull the Destroyer
Kull of Atlantis or Kull the Conqueror is a fictional character created by writer Robert E. Howard. The character was more introspective than Howard's subsequent creation, Conan the Barbarian, whose first appearance was in a re-write of a rejec ...
'' in 1977 and ''
Power Man and Iron Fist
''Power Man and Iron Fist'' (originally ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' then ''Luke Cage, Power Man'') was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the superheroes Power Man and Iron Fist.
Publication history
''He ...
'' in the 1980s. From about 1978 onward, he worked almost exclusively for Marvel and focused on Conan in the 1980s.
In the early 1990s he joined
Sega
is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...
, providing character design and art for
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s such as ''
Eternal Champions
''Eternal Champions'' is a 1993 fighting game developed and published by Sega for the Sega Genesis. It was one of the few fighting games of its time developed from the ground up as a home console title, rather than being released in arcades fi ...
''.
In 2002, he retired except for commissioned artwork
but returned to comics to draw writer Andrew Zar's adult-oriented
webcomic
Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books.
Webcomics can be co ...
''The Vat'' #1 in 2009.
Personal life
Chan was based in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
and had three children; his daughter Cleo Caron Chan was born April 25, 1978. Ernie Chan died on May 16, 2012 after a nearly yearlong battle with cancer.
Awards
Ernie Chan received an
Inkpot Award
The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual c ...
in 1980.
Bibliography
Comics work (interior pencil art, except where noted) includes:
DarkBrain
*''The Vat'' (2009)
DC Comics
*''
Adventure Comics
''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...
'' (
Spectre
Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to:
Religion and spirituality
* Vision (spirituality)
* Apparitional experience
* Ghost
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...
) #437–438; (
Seven Soldiers of Victory
The Seven Soldiers of Victory (also known as Law's Legionnaires) is a team of fictional comic book superheroes in the DC Comics universe. They first appeared in ''Leading Comics'' #1 (Winter 1941), and were created by Mort Weisinger and Mort Mesk ...
) #441 (1975)
*''
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
'' #262–264, 267, 269–270, 273–283 (1975–1977)
*''
Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew!
''Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew!'' is a DC Comics series about a team of talking animal superheroes called the Zoo Crew. The characters first appeared in a 16-page special insert in '' The New Teen Titans'' #16 (February 1982), follow ...
'' #18 (1983)
*''
Claw the Unconquered'' #1–7 (1975–1976)
*''
Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love
''Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion'' was a horror comics, horror-suspense-Romance comics in the United States (1946–1975), romance comics anthology, anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1971 to 1974, a companion to ''Secrets of ...
'' #4 (1972)
*''
DC Special Series
''DC Special Series'' was an umbrella title for one-shots and special issues published by DC Comics between 1977 and 1981. Each issue featured a different character and was often in a different format than the issue before it. ''DC Special Serie ...
'' (
The Unexpected) #4 (1977)
*''
Detective Comics
''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...
'' (
Elongated Man
Elongated Man (Randolph "Ralph" Dibny) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Flash (comics), The Flash'' #112 (February 25, 1960).
The character made his live-action debut in the The Fl ...
) #444; (
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
) #447–449, 451–453, 456, 458, 460–466 (1974–1976)
*''
Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion'' #8 (1972)
*''
Ghosts'' #4, 10–11, 14, 21, 27, 30, 70 (1972–1978)
*''
G.I. Combat
''G.I. Combat'' was an American comics anthology featuring war stories. It was published from 1952 until 1956 by Quality Comics, followed by DC Comics until its final issue in 1987. In 2012 it was briefly revived.
Publication history
The focu ...
'' #209 (1978)
*''
House of Mystery
''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery Comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets''. It is also the name of the titular setting of the series.
First serie ...
'' #203, 251, 254–257, 290 (1972–1981)
*''
House of Secrets'' #117, 124, 126, 129, 133, 137, 141, 143–144, 147–148 (1974–1977)
*''
The Joker
The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Bat ...
'' #3 (1975)
*''
Jonah Hex
Jonah Woodson Hex is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is scarred on the ...
'' #6–9 (1977–1978)
*''
Kamandi
Kamandi () is a fictional comic book character created by artist Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics. The bulk of Kamandi's appearances occurred in the comic series ''Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth'', which ran from 1972 to 1978.
Kamandi is a ...
'' #47, 49 (1976–1977)
*''
Sandman
The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes.
Representation in traditional folklore
The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
'' #2–3 (1975)
*''
Secret Society of Super Villains
Secret Society of Super Villains (SSoSV) is a DC Comics title that debuted in May–June 1976. The series presented a group of DC's supervillains, mostly foes of the Justice League of America. The series was cancelled with issue #15 in July 1978, ...
'' #4 (1976)
*''
Secrets of Haunted House
''Secrets of Haunted House'' was a horror-suspense comics anthology series published by American company DC Comics from 1975 to 1978 and 1979 to 1982.
Publication history
The series began in April–May 1975. Like its predecessor '' Secrets of ...
'' #1, 5 (1975–1976)
*''
Secrets of Sinister House
''Secrets of Sinister House'' was a horror-suspense anthology comic book series published by DC Comics from 1972–1974, a companion to '' Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion''. Both series were originally inspired by the successful ABC soap oper ...
'' #16 (1974)
*''
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
'' (Fabulous World of
Krypton
Krypton (from grc, κρυπτός, translit=kryptos 'the hidden one') is a chemical element with the symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas that occurs in trace amounts in the atmosphere and is often ...
) #282 (1974)
*''
Swamp Thing
The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental List of swamp monsters, creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or mo ...
'' #24 (1976)
*''
Tales of Ghost Castle'' #3 (1975)
*''
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 ...
'' (
Lilith
Lilith ( ; he, Wiktionary:לילית, לִילִית, Līlīṯ) is a female figure in Mesopotamian Mythology, Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. ...
) #43 (1973)
*''
The Unexpected'' #134, 146, 149, 151, 170, 182, 188 (1972–1978)
*''
Weird Mystery Tales
''Weird Mystery Tales'' was a mystery horror comics anthology published by DC Comics from July–August 1972 to November 1975.
Publication history 100 Page Super Spectacular
The title ''Weird Mystery Tales'' was first used for '' DC 100 Page S ...
'' #14 (1974)
*''
Weird War Tales
''Weird War Tales'' was a war comic book title with supernatural overtones published by DC Comics. It was published from September–October 1971 to June 1983.
Publication history
The original title ran for 12 years and 124 issues. It was ...
'' #17, 24, 26, 29–30, 42, 44, 49, 53–54, 58–59 (1973–1978)
*''
The Witching Hour'' #40, 62 (1974–1976)
*''
World's Finest Comics
''World's Finest Comics'' was an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...
'' (Superman and Batman) #242 (1976)
Marvel Comics
*''
Captain Marvel'' #24 (1973)
*''
Chamber of Chills
''Chamber of Chills'' is the name of two anthology horror comic books, one published by Harvey Publications in the early 1950s, the other by Marvel Comics in the 1970s.
Harvey Publications
The first ''Chamber of Chills'' was a 10-cent horror anth ...
'' #3 (1973)
*''
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...
'' #87, ''Annual'' #9–11 (full art); #26–36, 40–43, 70–86, 88–118, 131, 134, 142, 144, 147–153, 156–157, 168, 175, 177–178, 181–185, 187–190, 249–250, 252, 254, 275 (inks over
,
Howard Chaykin
Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an American comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett and Al Parker.
Early life ...
,
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 ...
and Mike Doherty, 1973–1993)
*''
Daredevil'' #96–98 (inks over
Gene Colan
Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)[Eugene Colan]
at the Social Security Death Index via ...
pencils, 1973)
*''
Doc Savage
Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a doctor, scientist, adventurer, detective, and polymath who "rights w ...
'' #2 (inks over
Ross Andru
Ross Andru (; born Rostislav Androuchkevitch, June 15, 1927 – November 9, 1993) Part 1: Animation: We Leave the Army", p. 21.
In 1948, Andru's first professional work as a comic strip illustrator was drawing layouts for the ''Tarzan (comics), T ...
pencils, 1972)
*''Doc Savage'' vol. 2 #8 (1977)
*''
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...
'' vol. 2 #27–29 (inks over
Tom Sutton
Thomas F. Sutton (April 15, 1937 – May 1, 2002)
He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from high school in 1955, and worked on art projects while stationed at Fort Francis E. Warren, near Laramie, Wyoming. Later, stationed at It ...
pencils, 1978)
*''Haunt of Horror'' #1 (1974)
*''King Conan'' #5, 10 (1981–1982)
*''
Kull the Conqueror
''Kull the Conqueror'' is a 1997 fantasy film about the Robert E. Howard character Kull starring Kevin Sorbo. It is a film adaptation of Howard's Conan novel ''The Hour of the Dragon'', with the protagonist changed to the author's other barbari ...
'' vol. 2 #4 (1984)
*''Kull the Destroyer'' #21–29 (1977–1978)
*''
Marvel Comics Presents'' (Starfox) #65 (1990)
*''
Marvel Two-in-One'' #35–36 (1978)
*''
Power Man and Iron Fist
''Power Man and Iron Fist'' (originally ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' then ''Luke Cage, Power Man'') was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the superheroes Power Man and Iron Fist.
Publication history
''He ...
'' #94–100 (1983)
*''
Savage Sword of Conan'' #29, 35, 68, 71, 76, 111, 113, 116, 119, 122–123, 137, 155, 158, 160–161, 164, 172–173, 177, 179, 183, 185, 187, 212, 214, 227 (full art); #62–64, 66, 71–72, 77–79, 81, 87, 95, 99–100, 102, 104, 108–109, 132-135, 137–142, 144, 146–148, 150–152, 166–169, 178–179, 185, 191–200, 202–206, 212 (inks over John Buscema,
Ernie Colón
Ernesto Colón SierraColón in English translation of Via (July 13, 1931 – August 8, 2019) was a stateside Puerto Rican comics artist, known for his wide-ranging career illustrating children's, superhero, and horror comics, as well as mains ...
,
Val Mayerik
Val Mayerik (born March 29, 1950) is an American comic book and commercial artist, best known as co-creator of the satiric character '' Howard the Duck'' for ''Marvel Comics''.
Biography
Early life and career
Val Mayerik was born in Youngstow ...
, Mike Docherty, Gary Kwapisz) (1978–1994)
*''
Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman is the code name of several fictional Character (arts), characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and original version is Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Jessica Drew (later impersonated by Veranke), the second ve ...
'' #29 (1980)
*''
Tales of the Zombie
''Tales of the Zombie'' was an American black-and-white horror comics magazine published by Magazine Management, a corporate sibling of Marvel Comics. The series ran 10 issues and one '' Super Annual'' from 1973 to 1975, many featuring stories of t ...
'' #4 (1974)
*''
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
'' #336 (1983)
Warren Publishing
* ''
Creepy
Creepiness is the state of being wikt:creepy, creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or wikt:unease, unease. A person who exhibits creepy behaviour is called a creep. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others. The ...
'' #88 (1977)
References
External links
*
*
*
Ernie Chanat Mike's Amazing World of Comics
at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Ernie
1940 births
2012 deaths
20th-century Chinese male artists
21st-century Chinese male artists
American comics artists
Comics inkers
DC Comics people
Deaths from cancer in California
Chinese comics artists
Filipino emigrants to the United States
Inkpot Award winners
Marvel Comics people
Video game artists