Val Mayerik

American artist

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.

Val Mayerik was born in Youngstown, Ohio. Through Adkins, who was primarily an inker for Marvel Comics, Mayerik broke into comics that summer as penciler, over Adkins layouts, of the eight page story "Spell of the Dragon", starring author John Jakes' sword and sorcery hero Brak the Barbarian. Published in the horror fantasy anthology Chamber of Chills # 2 (Jan. 1973), it appeared a month after his first published comics work, the full length "The Monster of the Monoliths" in Marvel's Conan the Barbarian # 21, which Mayerik and Russell penciled over Barry Windsor Smith layouts. Mayerik quickly found more assignments, penciling Marvel's adaptation of H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man, over Adkins layouts, in Supernatural Thrillers # 2 (Feb. 1973); and doing his first full penciling, with writer George Alec Effinger's adaptation of Lin Carter's "Thongor! Warrior of Lost Lemuria" story "Thieves of Zangabal", in Creatures on the Loose # 22 (March 1973). Mayerik, Howard Chaykin, Walt Simonson, and Jim Starlin formed Upstart Associates, a shared studio space on West 29th Street in New York City. The membership of the studio changed over time. During this time, he drew the first Howard the Duck Annual (May 1977) and Howard the Duck #22 23 (March–April 1978). As a spin off of this, he drew the four issue Acclaim Comics miniseries Magic: The Gathering — The Shadow Mage (July Oct. 1995). Mayerik has done storyboards and other art for clients ranging from Coca Cola and Microsoft to the American Indian College Fund and the Oregon Historical Society.