Карл Гаффорд: Художник и Колорист Комиксов

Cartoonist

Carl Gafford (born November 23, 1953) is a colorist (and occasional editor) who has worked for several decades in the comics industry. His career has spanned several publishers, including Marvel Comics, DC Comics and Topps Comics.

Carl Gafford was a member of comics fandom as a teen, writing and drawing his own ditto machine fanzine Minotaur from 1968 to 1972, as well as contributing art and writing to other fanzines and the amateur press alliance CAPA alpha ("K a") beginning in December 1970. In c. 1968, he created Blue Plaque Publications, the first minicomic co op, a cooperative of minicomic creators that traded and promoted small press comics and fanzines, that exists to this day. Gafford had an itinerant path through higher education, attending Western Connecticut State University for two years, the University of Massachusetts Boston for one year, and San Francisco State University for one year. He earned his B. A. in history from the College of Staten Island. At this time, Gafford became editor of Adventure Comics Digest, and with writer Bob Rozakis revived the Challengers of the Unknown, with art first by George Tuska and later by Alex Toth. Gafford also wrote most of the short lived Creeper back up series in The Flash, featuring British artist Dave Gibbons' first work for DC, — though most of the scripts were scrapped after a change of editors. He colored the second to last issue and was the artist on the final back up. During this time, Gafford began coloring The Legion of Super Heroes with #288, and continued on that run for seven years without missing an issue, totaling 125 regular issues, giants, miniseries and two different Legion books a month for a year. Gafford returned to freelance coloring for DC and Marvel in summer 1982.

In June 1990, Gafford began working for Disney Comics, producing a series of comics based on Mickey Mouse, Goofy, new TV cartoon shows like Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers and Duck Tales, and the continuation of Uncle Scrooge and Walt Disney's Comics and Stories from Gladstone Publishing. He freelanced for Dark Horse Comics and Innovation while at Disney, and did some editing of the final Disney Comics publication, an Aladdin miniseries, while helping to transition the end of the Disney Comics line, returning the license to Gladstone Publishing. In March 1993, Gafford moved back to New York to help Jim Shooter launch his new Defiant Comics line. In June 1993, Gafford was hired by former Marvel editor Jim Salicrup for the new line of Topps Comics, produced by the sports trading card publisher The Topps. Gafford was laid off from Topps at the end of January 1997{ along with other staffers, including editor in chief Salicrup. The few who remained were let go before year's end, and some of the inventory eventually saw print at Dark Horse Comics. Starting in 1994, Gafford returned to writing and drawing, this time for the anthropomorphic (furry) market, and produced material that saw print at Antarctic Press, Radio Comics, and Shanda Fantasy Arts. He also wrote and drew original comics stories reminiscent of 1950s and '60s superhero genres which saw print in Big Bang Comics: two stories were redrawn by other artists, but the final one ("Ladybug," a combination of Fly Girl and Supergirl) featured Gafford's own art, the last to appear in print.

Gafford and his first wife Sharon have a son, William, born in May 1985. The couple separated in 1986 and divorced in 1991. He has also been married and divorced to Garrett Gafford.