Rafael Kayanan is 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 ...

-born naturalised

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 ...

and Filipino martial arts master in the Sayoc Kali system.

Biography

Comics

Rafael Kayanan stated in a 2007 interview that he "grew up with Filipino ''Komiks'' masters like Alcala, Coching, and Redondo mixed in with Kirby, Sy Barry's ''The Phantom'', Kubert's ''Tarzan'', and Hal Foster's ''Prince Valiant''. From there I discovered Barry Windsor-Smith, Starlin, Adams, Wrightson, and Gulacy in the 70's. I copied and then drew my own stories on the backs of old xeroxes my mom would bring home from work." He has illustrated for every major

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 ...

publisher. His most notable work has been on

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 ...

' '' Conan the Adventurer'',

Acclaim Comics Valiant Comics is an American comic book publisher. The company was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was sold to Acclaim Entertainment ...

' ''

Turok Turok is a fictional character who first appeared in American comic books published by Western Publishing through licensee Dell Comics. He first appeared in ''Four Color Comics'' #596 (October/November 1954). After a second ''Four Color'' appear ...

'', 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 ...

' ''

Firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...

'' and '' America vs. the Justice Society''. He also inked the

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

-nominated series '' Chiaroscuro: The Life and Times of Leonardo Da Vinci'' for

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

. Kayanan has illustrated concept designs for comic book, film and game companies. During the late 1990s, he was the creator and

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

for Cross Plains Comics featuring the

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

characters created by Robert E. Howard. Kayanan developed concept designs for

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

's '' Turok: Dinosaur Hunter II''

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 ...

. He currently continues to do work for Topps Cards on licenses such as ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' and ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

''. Other titles he has worked on include ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...

'', ''

Magic: The Gathering ''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...

'', and '' Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight''. Kayanan's art is known for its rapid tempo, storytelling pace and layered depth. Much thought is evident in the choreography of dynamic action on every page. His slick and precise usage of shadows to define anatomy and emotion is as proficient as any of the longtime masters of the craft. Additional comic book work can be found in

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 known ...

' '' Conan'' #39, ''

Annihilation In particle physics, annihilation is the process that occurs when a subatomic particle collides with its respective antiparticle to produce other particles, such as an electron colliding with a positron to produce two photons. The total energy a ...

'', and fantasy novelist R.A. Salvatore's ''

Drizzt Drizzt Do'Urden () is a fictional character appearing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the '' Icewind D ...

'', ''Worlds of Dungeons & Dragons'' from

Devil's Due Publishing Devil's Due Publishing (often abbreviated as DDP) is an independent comic book publisher in the United States. Based in Chicago, Illinois, DDP is best known for its wide selection of genres, including licensed and original creator-owned proper ...

. During his collaboration 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 ...

on DC's ''The Fury of Firestorm'' series in 1984, Kayanan co-created three characters which have appeared in live-action media. The supporting character

Felicity Smoak Felicity Smoak is a fictional character appearing in comics published by DC Comics. Her first appearance was in ''The Fury of Firestorm'' #23 (May 1984), created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Rafael Kayanan. She was originally the manager of ...

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

television series ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

'' debuted in ''The Fury of Firestorm'' #23 (May 1984). The supervillain Slipknot first appeared in ''The Fury of Firestorm'' #28 (October 1984)and appeared in the ''

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

'' film in 2016. The supervillain

Weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bo ...

first appeared in ''The Fury of Firestorm'' #35 (August 7, 1985) and appeared in the '' The Suicide Squad'' film in 2021.

Film and television

Kayanan is a Master-level edged weapons (knife, sword,

tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Europ ...

) expert and instructor in Sayoc Kali. This rare combination of a visual and martial artist, has led to projects which utilize both skills to illustrate fight storyboards for film and TV. Kayanan choreographed and trained the actors, in

William Friedkin William "Billy" Friedkin (born August 29, 1935)Biskind, p. 200. is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter closely identified with the "New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in t ...

's '' The Hunted'' starring

Benicio del Toro Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rican actor and producer. He has garnered critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, two Screen A ...

and

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor and film director. He has received four Academy Award nominations, winning Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the 1993 thriller film '' The ...

. He also trained actor

Sam Rockwell Sam Rockwell (born November 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for appearing in independent films and also as a character actor portraying a wide variety of roles both comedic and dramatic in films such as '' Lawn Dogs'' (199 ...

for director

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...

's film, '' Confessions of a Dangerous Mind''. Kayanan was a development artist, fight trainer and weapons consultant for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

adaptation of

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he ...

' ''

John Carter of Mars John Carter of Mars is a fictional Virginian soldier who acts as the initial protagonist of the Barsoom stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. A veteran of the American Civil War, he is transported to the planet Mars, called Barsoom by its inhabi ...

''. His art was used for the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

tv show '' NCIS: Los Angeles''. Kayanan designed fights for the main cast of

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

, Chris O' Donnell,

Daniela Ruah Daniela Sofia Korn Ruah (born December 2, 1983) is an American-Portuguese actress and film director best known for playing NCIS Special Agent Kensi Blye in the CBS police procedural series '' NCIS: Los Angeles''. Early life Ruah was born in Bo ...

and

Eric Christian Olsen Eric Christian Olsen (born May 31, 1977), is an American actor. He is known for his portrayals of Investigator Marty Deeks on the CBS television series '' NCIS: Los Angeles'', and of Austin in the film ''Not Another Teen Movie''. Early life O ...

, as well as special guest stars

Danny Trejo Danny Trejo ( ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. He has appeared in films including ''Desperado'', ''Heat'', and the ''From Dusk Till Dawn'' film series. With frequent collaborator and his second cousin Robert Rodriguez, he portrayed ...

Ernie Reyes Jr. Ernie Reyes Jr. (born January 15, 1972) is an American actor and martial artist, known for his acting work in films such as ''The Last Dragon'', ''Red Sonja'' (1985), as Donatello's stuntman in ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', '' Teenage Mutan ...

, and

Daniel Henney Daniel Phillip Henney (born November 28, 1979) is an American actor and model. He first came into international prominence with his television debut as Dr. Henry Kim on the Korean drama ''My Lovely Sam Soon'' (2005). He has gone on to star in f ...

. Kayanan was the technical advisor for the close quarter fights inside the airplane of the film '' Non-Stop'' starring

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on ''The I ...

. Rafael Kayanan was a set illustrator and story board artist for the '' Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'' Broadway show, directed by

Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King'' debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best ...

with music created by

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

and the

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

. Kayanan worked on concept illustration for the films ''

Immortals Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

''. and '' Mirror, Mirror'' both directed by

Tarsem Singh Tarsem Singh Dhandwar (born 26 May 1961), known professionally as Tarsem, is an Indian director who has worked on films, music videos, and commercials. He directed ''The Cell (film), The Cell'' (2000), ''The Fall (2006 film), The Fall'' (2006, ...

from

Relativity Media Relativity Media is an American media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company was commercially s ...

, and the related graphic novel anthology ''Immortals: Gods and Heroes'' published by

Archaia Archaia Entertainment, LLC, commonly known as Archaia (formerly known as Archaia Studios Press), is an imprint of American comic book and graphic novel publisher Boom! Studios. Archaia Entertainment, LLC was originally an American comic book pu ...

. Other projects include the Discovery TV show ''

Lone Target ''Lone Target'', released in the USA as ''Manhunt'', is an American television series produced by Discovery Studios. The show follows ex-Navy SEAL Joel Lambert as he attempts to evade mock manhunt Manhunt may refer to: Search processes * Man ...

'', also known internationally as ''Manhunt'', starring former Navy SEAL Joel Lambert. The Kayanan designed RnD Hawk, Bontoc and Madumi Sayoc Kali- Daniel Winkler knives were prominently featured in this show. Kayanan’s Sayoc Winkler RnD Hawk is also featured in both the tv and book series '' Terminal List'' written by Jack Carr

Bibliography

As artist unless otherwise noted

Acclaim/Valiant

* '' Ice Age on the World of Magic: The Gathering'' #1–4 (1995) * ''

'' #1–4 (1998) * ''Turok: Tales of the Lost Land'' #1 (1998)

Archaia Entertainment

* '' Immortals: Gods and Heroes'' (2011)

Cross Plains Comics

* ''Robert E. Howard: A Short Biography'' #1 (1999) * ''Robert E. Howard: Myth Maker'' #1 (1999)

Dark Horse Comics

* '' Conan'' #39 (2007) * '' Star Wars: Chewbacca'' #4 (2000)

Devil's Due

* ''Worlds of Dungeons and Dragons'' (2008)

DC Comics

* '' America vs. the Justice Society'' #1 (1985) * '' Babylon 5: In Valen's Name'' (1998 as cover artist) * '' Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight'' #124 (1999) * ''

Captain Atom Captain Atom is a superhero appearing in American comic books, first in the 1960s by Charlton Comics before being acquired in the 1980s by DC Comics. Captain Atom has existed in three basic incarnations. Publication history Captain Atom was crea ...

'' #29–33, 35–40, 42–44, 47–48, 50 (1989–1991) * '' Fury of Firestorm'' #20–21, 23–30, 33–36, 38–39, 41–44, 50, ''Annual'' #1–4 (1984–1986) * ''

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's toy line ''Masters of the Universe''. The show, often referred to as simply ''He-Man'', was one of the most popular anima ...

'' #7–8 (2013–2014)

Vertigo

* '' Animal Man Annual'' #1 (1993 as inker) * '' Chiaroscuro: The Life and Times of Leonardo Da Vinci'' #1–10 (1995–1996 as inker) * ''

Shade, the Changing Man Shade, the Changing Man is a comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977. The character was Shade, the Changing Man (Vertigo), later adapted by Peter Milligan and Chris Bachalo in one of the first Vertigo Comics, Vertigo ...

'' vol. 2 #64, 67 (1995–1996 as inker)

Eclipse Comics

* ''Phaze'' #1–2 (1988)

First Comics

* '' Hawkmoon: The Jewel in the Skull'' #1–4 (1986) * ''Hawkmoon: The Mad God's Amulet'' #1–4 (1987) * ''Hawkmoon: The Runestaff'' #1–4 (1988) * ''Hawkmoon: The Sword of Dawn'' #1–4 (1987–1988)

Image Comics

* ''

Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...

'' #4 (1998)

Marvel Comics

* ''

'' #437, 439–441 (1998) * '' Conan the Adventurer'' #1–5, 9–14 (1994–1995) * ''Conan the Savage'' #7 (1996) * ''A Moment of Silence'' #1 (2001) * '' Savage Sword of Conan'' #211–213, 215, 217 (1993–1994) * '' What If?'' vol. 2 #83 (1996) * ''What If?

'' #1 (2008) * ''What If? Daredevil Vs. Elektra'' #1 (2010) * ''Within Our Reach'' #1 (1992)

Smart Pop

*'' Triumph of the Walking Dead'' (2011 as cover artist)

Topps

*''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

'' (1994 as sketch card artist) *''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...

'' (1994 as sketch card artist) *'' Lord of the Rings Evolution'' (2005 as sketch card artist) *''Lord of the Rings Masterpieces'' (2006 as sketch card artist) *'' Star Wars Clone Wars'' (2004 as sketch card artist) *''Star Wars Heritage'' (2005 as sketch card artist) *''Star Wars 30th Anniversary'' (2007 as sketch card artist)

Filmography

*'' The Hunted'' (2003) (fight choreographer) *'' Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'' (2004) (trainer) *''

'' (2011) (concept illustrator) *'' Non-Stop'' (2014) (fight choreographer) *'' NCIS: Los Angeles'' (fight technical advisor – seven episodes) *'' Pep '' (2022) (fight choreographer) *'' How I Got There '' (2023) (fight choreographer)

References

External links

*
Rafael Kayanan
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators

at AFN.org. Retrieved March 28, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kayanan, Rafael 1962 births 20th-century American artists 20th-century Filipino artists 21st-century American artists 21st-century Filipino artists American comics artists American martial artists American storyboard artists DC Comics people Filipino comics artists Filipino emigrants to the United States Filipino storyboard artists Living people Marvel Comics people