Terry Kevin Austin (born August 23, 1952) is an American comic book creator working primarily as an

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 ...

Early life and career

Austin grew up in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Michigan, and attended

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

. He started inking comics as an assistant to

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 ...

and

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 Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

, doing " Crusty Bunker" work for Adams' Continuity Associates. Theakston, Greg and Nowlan, Kevin, et al., at Austin came to prominence in 1976–1977, inking Marshall Rogers' pencils on a celebrated run of

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 the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

stories for

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 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 ...

'' collaborating with writer

Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early lif ...

. During this same period, Austin inked Michael Netzer (Nasser) on DC's

Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and designed by artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" ...

in ''

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''), ...

'' and

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in '' More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His real name is Oliver Jonas Quee ...

Black Canary The Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics: Dinah Drake and her daughter Dinah Laurel Lance. The original version was created by the writer-artist team of Robert Kanigher and ...

in ''

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 ...

'', as well as Al Milgrom on

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book 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 Comics'' in ...

' '' Captain Marvel''. He later teamed with Rogers again on Marvel's ''

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 ...

''.

X-Men

In 1977, Austin and penciler John Byrne became the new art team on ''

Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the X- ...

''. With writer

Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on '' Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marve ...

they produced a series of stories — particularly "

The Dark Phoenix Saga "The Dark Phoenix Saga" is an extended X-Men comic-book storyline published by Marvel Comics, focusing on Jean Grey and the Phoenix Force. It was written by Chris Claremont with art by John Byrne. The Dark Phoenix Saga commonly refers to the ...

" — which elevated the title into the top-selling American comic book. (Austin was given the Eagle Award for Favourite Inker three times during this period.)

Post-X-Men

Austin left ''Uncanny X-Men'' in 1981 and has since worked on a variety of titles for both Marvel and DC, including ''

'' (over Paul Smith and Dan Green pencils), ''

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 pu ...

'' vol. 2 (over Byrne), '' Justice League'' (over Kevin Maguire) and ''

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, ...

'' (over Darryl Banks). Austin contributed to several anniversary issues for DC including ''

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 conceived b ...

'' #200 (March 1982), ''

'' #400 (Oct. 1984), and ''

'' #400 (Oct. 1986). He was the regular inker of DC's ''

Superman Adventures ''Superman Adventures'' is a DC Comics comic book series featuring Superman. It is set in the continuity (and style) of '' Superman: The Animated Series''. It ran for 66 issues between 1996 and 2002. Writers on the series included Paul Dini, Mark E ...

'' for nearly six years, from 1996–2002. His inking work since 2002 has included over fifteen years of inking the ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a Japanese video game series and media franchise created by Sega. The franchise follows Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battles the evil Doctor Eggman, a mad scientist. The main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' games are platformers m ...

'' comic book series for

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc., is an American comic book publisher headquartered in Pelham, New York.

Inking style and influence

Austin's inking — especially in the period of the 1970s and early 1980s — is notable for its smooth, precise rendering; and extremely detailed backgrounds, making his embellishing work easily identifiable. His style has been highly influential on a subsequent generation of inkers including

Al Gordon Alan Gordon (born June 22, 1953) is an American comic book creator primarily known as an inker and writer. He is best known for his 1990s work on DC Comics' ''Legion of Super Heroes'' and the ''Justice League of America'', Marvel Comics' ''Fanta ...

, Andy Lanning, Scott Williams, and

Rob Liefeld Robert Liefeld (; born October 3, 1967) is an American comic book creator. A prominent writer and artist in the 1990s, he is known for co-creating the character Cable (comics), Cable with writer Louise Simonson and the character Deadpool with wri ...

Writing and penciling

Austin has also worked as a writer, primarily for Marvel's ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

'' titles and a run on ''

Cloak and Dagger "Cloak and dagger" was a fighting style common in the Renaissance involving a knife hidden beneath a cloak. The term later came into use as a metaphor, referring to situations involving intrigue, secrecy, espionage, or mystery. Overview In "The ...

''. Austin wrote and inked the

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 ...

' adaptation of ''

Splinter of the Mind's Eye ''Splinter of the Mind's Eye'' is a 1978 science-fiction novel written by Alan Dean Foster as a sequel to the film ''Star Wars'' (1977). Originally published in 1978 by Del Rey, a division of Ballantine Books, the book was written with the inte ...

'' published in 1995. His rare penciling jobs can be seen on the covers of ''Uncanny X-Men'' #123 and #142, as well as his self-published book, ''Austin Art: 60 Pages of Drawings by Terry Austin'' (2003).

Personal life

Austin resides near

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeeps ...

, where he plays volleyball and gets together often with fellow comics veteran Fred Hembeck. Austin's affection for the comic strip character

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.Easter eggs" for sharp-eyed readers.

Awards

Austin's work has gained him frequent and notable recognition over the years, including multiple Eagle Awards for best inker, an Inkpot Award, multiple '' Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards'' for Favorite Inker, and the Inkwell Awards 2008 "Favorite Inker (Retro) Award" and the 2009 "Joe Sinnott Award".

Bibliography

Aardvark-Vanaheim

* '' Cerebus Jam'' #1 (1985)

Atlas/Seaboard Comics

* ''Phoenix'' #3 (1975)

Archie Comics

* ''

'' (2002–2017)

Dark Horse Comics

* ''Star Wars:

'' (1995–1996)

DC Comics

* ''

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 ...

'' #682 (1992) * ''

'' #449–451 (1977) * ''

Adventures in the DC Universe While Batman and Superman had their own animated series and comic book follow-ups, the rest of the characters in the would appear in the following comics often. ''The Batman Adventures'' ''The Batman Adventures'' was created as a comic book t ...

Annual'' #1 (1997) * ''

All-New Collectors' Edition ''Limited Collectors' Edition'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1972 to 1978. It usually featured reprints of previously published stories but a few issues contained new material. The series was published in an overs ...

'' #C–56 ( Superman vs. Muhammad Ali) (background inks) (1978) * '' All-Star Western'' vol. 3 #7 (2012) * '' Armageddon: Inferno'' #3–4 (1992) * ''

'' #400, 500 (1986–1993) * '' Batman and Robin Adventures Annual'' #1 (1996) * ''

The Batman Chronicles ''The Batman Chronicles'' is a series of comics published by 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 ...

'' #1–2 (1995) * ''

Batman Family A collective of fictional characters appear in American comic books published by DC Comics featuring the superhero Batman as the main protagonist. Since Batman's introduction in 1939, the character has accumulated a number of recognizable suppo ...

'' #12 (1977) * ''Batman: Dark Detective'' #1–6 (2005) * ''Batman: Gotham Adventures'' #51 (2002) * '' Batman: Gotham Knights'' #21 (2001) * '' Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight'' #11–15 (1990–1991) * '' Big Book of Hoaxes'' (1996) * ''Big Book of Little Criminals'' (1996) * ''Big Book of Urban Legends'' (1994) * ''

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 varie ...

'' #166 (

and

) (1980) * '' Camelot 3000'' #7–12 (1983–1985) * '' Captain Atom'' #51 (1991) * ''Cartoon Network Presents'' #17 (1999) * ''

DC Challenge ''DC Challenge'' was a 12-issue comic book limited series produced by DC Comics from November 1985 to October 1986, as a round robin experiment in narrative. The series' tagline was "Can You Solve It Before We Do?" Publication history The ''DC C ...

'' #10 (1986) * ''

DC Retroactive ''DC Retroactive'' is a line of one-shot comic book issues published by DC Comics. It revisited periods (grouped by decades) of the company's main characters: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Justice League, and the Flash. Th ...

: Green Lantern – The '90s'' #1 (2011) * '' DC Special Series'' #10 (1978) * ''

'' #450–451, 463–468, 471–476 (1975–1978) * ''

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appe ...

'' vol. 4 #13–14 (2005) * ''

The Flash The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...

'' #233–234, 243, 245–246 (1975–1977) (Green Lantern back-up stories) * ''

'' vol. 2 #93–94, 171, ''Annual'' #3 (1977–1987) * ''Green Lantern'' vol. 3 #65, 85, 88–89, 91–95, 97–100, 102, 104, 106–114, 117 (1995–1999) * ''Green Lantern Corps Quarterly'' #4, 7 (1993) * '' Green Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame'' (2000) * '' Guy Gardner Annual'' #2 (1996) * ''Guy Gardner: Warrior'' #31 (1995) * '' Heroes Against Hunger'' #1 (1986) * '' Impulse'' #88–89 (2002) * '' Justice League'' #1, 60 (1987–1992) * ''

'' #200 (1982) * '' Just Imagine Stan Lee with John Byrne Creating Robin'' #1 (2002) * '' Kobra'' #3 (1976) * '' Legion of Super-Heroes Annual'' vol. 4 #4 (1993) * ''

Mister Miracle Mister Miracle (Scott Free) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Mister Miracle'' #1 (April 1971) and was created by Jack Kirby. Publication history Mister Miracle debuted in ...

'' vol. 3 #5–6 (1996) * '' Mystery in Space'' #112 (1980) * '' Orion'' #13–14 (2001) * ''

Secret Origins ''Secret Origins'' is the title of several comic book series published by DC Comics which featured the Origin story, origin stories of the publisher's various characters. Publication history ''Secret Origins'' was first published as a One-shot ( ...

'' vol. 2 #6 (1986) * '' Showcase '93'' #9–10 (1993) * ''Showcase '95'' #4 (1995) * '' Spirit'' #17, 19 (2008) * ''

'' #400, ''Annual'' #9 (1983–1984) * ''

'' vol. 2 #1–3, ''Annual'' #3 (1987–1991) * ''

'' #1–19, 21–31, 33–56, 58–66 (1996–2002) * '' Superman: The Man of Steel'' #49 (1995) * '' Superman: The Wedding Album'' #1 (1996) * ''

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gai ...

'' #25 (2001) * ''

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 ...

'' #51–52 (1977) * ''Who's Who in Star Trek'' #2 (1987) * ''

Who's Who in the DC Universe ''Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' (1985–87), usually referred to simply as ''Who's Who'', is the umbrella title for a number of comic book series which DC Comics published to catalogue the wide variety of fictional cha ...

'' #9–14 (1991) * ''Who's Who in the DC Universe Update 1993'' #1–2 (1992–1993) * ''Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' #2–8, 15–16, 22, 25 (1985–1987) * ''Who's Who: Update '87'' #3 (1987) * ''

'' #244–246 (1977) * '' Young Justice: Our Worlds at War'' #1 (2001)

DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics

* '' Batman Versus Predator II: Bloodmatch'' #1–4 (1994–1995)

DC Comics and Marvel Comics

* ''

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

'' #1 (1996) * ''Green Lantern /

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

: Unholy Alliances'' #1 (1995) * ''Silver Surfer / Superman'' #1 (1996)

Image Comics

* ''

Savage Dragon The Savage Dragon is a fictional superhero created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon. The character first appeared ...

'' #3 (1993) * ''

WildC.A.T.s Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi. Publication history The team first appeared in August 1992 in the first issue of their epon ...

'' #23 (1995)

Malibu Comics

* '' Hardcase'' #15 (1994) * ''

Mantra A mantra ( Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ...

'' #7 (1994) * '' Ultraforce'' #5 (1995)

Marvel Comics

* ''Adventures of

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'' #2–4 (1991–1992) * ''

The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix ''The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix'' was a four-issue comic book mini-series written by Scott Lobdell, drawn by Gene Ha, and published by American company Marvel Comics in 1994. It revealed much of the back story for the character Cable, much ...

'' #2–3 (1994) * '' Alien Legion'' #1–5 (1984) * '' Alpha Flight'' #17, 47 (1984–1987) * ''Amazing Adventure'' #1 (1988) * ''

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 mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bimonthly per ...

'' #248, 335, 337, ''Annual'' #13 (1979–1990) * '' The Avengers'' #184 (1979) * ''

'' vol. 2 #48–60, 66, 68, 70, 73 (1981–1985) * ''

Epic Illustrated ''Epic Illustrated'' was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. Similar to the US-licensed comic book magazine '' Heavy Metal'', it allowed explicit content to be featured, unlike the traditional A ...

'' #15–20, 26–34 (1982–1986) * ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first s ...

'' #286 (1986) * '' The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones'' #1–2 (1983) * ''

New Mutants The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teenaged junior class at the Xavier Institute, subs ...

'' #41–42, 53–61, 64–66, ''Special Edition'' #1 (1986–1988) * ''Marvel and DC Present

The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans ''The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans'' is a crossover comic book published by Marvel Comics which features two teams of superheroes, Marvel's the X-Men and DC Comics' the New Teen Titans. Publication history In 1982, the ''Uncanny X-Me ...

'' (1982) * '' Marvel Treasury Edition'' #28 (

Superman and Spider-Man ''Superman and Spider-Man'' is an intercompany comic book jointly published by DC Comics and Marvel Comics in July 1981. Number 28 (and final) in the ''Marvel Treasury Edition'' series, it is a "sequel" to 1976's '' Superman vs. the Amazing Spider ...

) (background inks) (1981) * ''

'' #108–109, 111–117, 119–143, 186, 237, 294–296, 316 ''Annual'' #3, 7, 9, 10 (1977–1994)

Other publishers

* ''Austin Art: 60 Pages of Drawings by Terry Austin'' (self-published, 2003)

References

External links

*
Terry Austin
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Terry 1952 births 20th-century American artists American comics artists American comics writers Artists from Detroit Comics inkers DC Comics people Inkpot Award winners Living people Marvel Comics people Wayne State University alumni