Ernie Chan

2025-06-23T20:07:47Z

2600:1700:3BD2:C210:54A3:F68E:5BB2:BD11: /* Personal life */

{{Short description|Chinese-American comic book artist (1940-2012)}}
{{Infobox comics creator
| image = [[File:Ernie Chan at Super-Con 2009.JPG|250px]]
| caption = Chan in May 2009.
| birth_name = Ernesto Chua
| birth_date ={{Birth date|1940|7|27}}
| birth_place = [[Commonwealth of the Philippines|The Philippines]]
| death_date ={{Death date and age|2012|5|16|1940|7|27}}
| death_place = [[Oakland, California]], U.S.
| nationality = American
| area =
| pencil = y
| ink = y
| alias = Ernie Chua
| signature =
| notable works = ''[[Batman (comic book)|Batman]]'' ''[[Conan the Barbarian (comics)|Conan the Barbarian]]'' ''[[Detective Comics]]'' ''[[Kull of Atlantis|Kull the Conqueror]]'' ''[[Savage Sword of Conan]]''
| awards = [[Inkpot Award]] (1980) [[Inkwell Awards]] (2024) Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame
}}
'''Ernesto Chan''' (July 27, 1940 – May 16, 2012),<ref name="CBG">{{cite web|last=Miller |first=John Jackson|author-link= John Jackson Miller|url=http://cbgxtra.com/knowledge-base/for-your-reference/comics-industry-birthdays |title=Comics Industry Birthdays |work=[[Comics Buyer's Guide]] |date=June 10, 2005 |location=Iola, Wisconsin |access-date=December 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218031356/http://cbgxtra.com/knowledge-base/for-your-reference/comics-industry-birthdays |archive-date=February 18, 2011 |url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name=GMA>{{cite web|last=Lamentillo |first=Anna Mae Yu |url=http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/258679/news/nation/comics-artist-ernie-chan-71-passes-away |title=Comics artist Ernie Chan, 71, passes away |publisher=[[GMA News and Public Affairs|GMA News]] |date=May 18, 2012 |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029193628/http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/258679/news/nation/comics-artist-ernie-chan-71-passes-away |url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> born and sometimes credited as '''Ernie Chua''', was a [[Filipinos|Filipino]]-[[Americans|American]] [[comics artist]], known for work published by [[Marvel Comics]] and [[DC Comics]], including many Marvel issues of series featuring [[Conan the Barbarian (comics)|Conan the Barbarian]]. Chan also had a long tenure on ''[[Batman (comic book)|Batman]]'' and ''[[Detective Comics]]''. Other than his work on Batman, Chan primarily focused on non-superhero characters, staying mostly in the genres of [[Horror comics|horror]], [[War comics|war]], and [[sword and sorcery]].

==Biography==
Ernie Chan was born Ernie Chua due to what he called "a typographical error on my [[birth certificate]] that I had to use until I had a chance to change it to 'Chan' when I got my [U.S.] citizenship in '76."<ref>{{cite journal|title= The Amazing Chan (Interview)|journal= [[Marvel Age]]|publisher = Marvel Comics|issue= 109|date= February 1992|page= 10}}</ref> He migrated to the United States in 1970 and became a citizen in 1976.<ref name="official site">{{cite web|url= http://www.erniechan.com/about.asp|title= About Ernie Chan|publisher= Ernie Chan official website|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160411173548/http://www.erniechan.com/about.asp|archive-date= April 11, 2016|url-status= dead|df= mdy-all}}</ref> For a number of years, he worked under the name Ernie Chua but he was later credited as Ernie Chan.<ref name=gcd1>{{gcdb|type=credit|search=Ernie+Chua|title=Ernie Chua}}</ref><ref name=gcd2>{{gcdb|type=credit|search=Ernie+Chan|title=Ernie Chan}}</ref> He studied with [[John Buscema]] and worked with him as the [[inker]] on ''Conan'' during the 1970s. He also inked the art of Buscema's brother [[Sal Buscema|Sal]] on ''[[The Incredible Hulk (comic book)|The Incredible Hulk]]''.

Chan entered the American comics industry in 1972 with [[DC Comics]] as a penciler on horror/mystery titles such as ''[[Ghosts (comics)|Ghosts]]'', ''[[House of Mystery]]'', and ''[[The Unexpected (1968 comic book)|The Unexpected]]''. By 1974, he was working regularly for [[Marvel Comics]] on ''[[Conan the Barbarian (comics)|Conan the Barbarian]]''. From 1975–1976, Chan worked exclusively for DC including the artwork for ''[[Claw the Unconquered]]'' which was written by [[David Michelinie]].<ref>{{cite book|last=McAvennie|first= Michael|last2=Dolan|first2=Hannah, ed.|chapter= 1970s|title = DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]] |year=2010|location= London, United Kingdom|isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9|page= 163|quote = David Michelinie's pen and Ernie Chan's pencils and inks provided the magic for this fantasy series that introduced Claw the Unconquered, a barbaric outlander with a deformed claw-like right hand.}}</ref> While working on the ''[[Detective Comics]]'' series, he drew the first appearances of [[Captain Stingaree]] in issue #460 (June 1976)<ref>{{cite book|last= Manning|first= Matthew K.|last2=Dougall|first2=Alastair, ed.|chapter= 1970s|title= Batman: A Visual History|publisher= [[Dorling Kindersley]]|year= 2014|location= London, United Kingdom|page= 123|isbn= 978-1465424563|quote= The swashbuckling villain Captain Stingaree...debuted in this volume by writers Bob Rozakis and future ''Batman'' movie producer Michael Uslan. Drawn by Ernie Chan, this story saw Stingaree launch a campaign against Batman.}}</ref> and the [[Black Spider]] in #463 (Sept. 1976).<ref>Manning "1970s" in Dougall, p. 123: "The Black Spider made his way to Gotham City in this story's lead tale by writer Gerry Conway and artist Ernie Chan."</ref> Under the name Chua, he was DC Comics' primary cover artist from approximately 1975 to 1977.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.lambiek.net/artists/c/chan_ernie.htm|title= Ernie Chan|date= July 10, 2012|publisher= [[Lambiek|Lambiek Comiclopedia]]|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140221123358/http://www.lambiek.net/artists/c/chan_ernie.htm|archive-date= February 21, 2014|url-status= live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Chan pencilled several issues of ''Conan'' and ''[[Doctor Strange (comic book)|Doctor Strange]]'', and worked on ''[[Kull of Atlantis|Kull the Destroyer]]'' in 1977 and ''[[Power Man and Iron Fist]]'' in the 1980s. From about 1978 onward, he worked almost exclusively for Marvel and focused on Conan, including the annuals, in the 1980s.<ref name=gcd2 />

In the early 1990s he joined [[Sega]], providing character design and art for [[video game]]s such as ''[[Eternal Champions]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|title=How to Get a Job in the Game Industry|journal=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|issue=16|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|date=April 1996|page=42}}</ref>

In 2002, he retired except for commissioned artwork<ref name="official site" /> but returned to comics to draw writer Andrew Zar's adult-oriented [[webcomic]] ''The Vat'' #1 in 2009.<ref name=darkbrain>{{cite web | title = Ernie Chan Interview | date = November 30, 2009 | publisher = Dark Brain Comics | url = http://darkbraincomics.deviantart.com/art/Ernie-Chan-Interview-145278129 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100327094039/http://darkbraincomics.deviantart.com/art/Ernie-Chan-Interview-145278129 | df = mdy-all | url-status = dead | archive-date = March 27, 2010 }}</ref>

==Personal life==
Chan was based in [[Oakland, California]], and had three children;<ref>Lin, Sam Chu. "Asians Fulfill Fantasies As Comic Book Artists," ''[[AsianWeek]]'' (June 17, 1988), p. 12.
</ref> his daughter Cleo Caron Chan was born April 25, 1978. His daughter Kate Ann Chan was born on July 8, 1980. <ref>"[[Bullpen Bulletins]]," Marvel Comics cover-dated November 1978.</ref> Ernie Chan died on May 16, 2012, after a nearly yearlong battle with cancer.<ref name=GMA />

==Awards==
Ernie Chan received an [[Inkpot Award]] in 1980.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/inkpot.php|title= Inkpot Award Winners |publisher= Hahn Library Comic Book Awards Almanac|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120709055558/http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/inkpot.php|archive-date= July 9, 2012|url-status= live}}</ref>

In 2024, Chan was inducted into the [[Inkwell Awards]] Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame.<ref name=fcn_lifetime_2024>[https://www.firstcomicsnews.com/inkwell-awards-2024-lifetime-achievement-winners-announced/ First Comics News - Inkwell Awards 2024 Lifetime Achievement Awards Announced]</ref>

==Bibliography==
Comics work (interior pencil art, except where noted) includes:

===DarkBrain===
*''The Vat'' (2009)

===DC Comics===
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*''[[Adventure Comics]]'' ([[Spectre (DC Comics character)|Spectre]]) #437–438; ([[Seven Soldiers of Victory]]) #441 (1975)
*''[[Batman (comic book)|Batman]]'' #262–264, 267, 269–270, 273–283 (1975–1977)
*''[[Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo Crew!]]'' #18 (1983)
*''[[Claw the Unconquered]]'' #1–7 (1975–1976)
*''[[Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love]]'' #4 (1972)
*''[[DC Special Series]]'' ([[The Unexpected (1968 comic book)|The Unexpected]]) #4 (1977)
*''[[Detective Comics]]'' ([[Elongated Man]]) #444; ([[Batman]]) #447–449, 451–453, 456, 458, 460–466 (1974–1976)
*''[[Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion]]'' #8 (1972)
*''[[Ghosts (comics)|Ghosts]]'' #4, 10–11, 14, 21, 27, 30, 70 (1972–1978)
*''[[G.I. Combat]]'' #209 (1978)
*''[[House of Mystery]]'' #203, 251, 254–257, 290 (1972–1981)
*''[[House of Secrets (DC Comics)|House of Secrets]]'' #117, 124, 126, 129, 133, 137, 141, 143–144, 147–148 (1974–1977)
*''[[The Joker (comic book)|The Joker]]'' #3 (1975)
*''[[Jonah Hex]]'' #6–9 (1977–1978)
*''[[Kamandi]]'' #47, 49 (1976–1977)
*''[[Sandman (DC Comics)|Sandman]]'' #2–3 (1975)
*''[[Secret Society of Super Villains]]'' #4 (1976)
*''[[Secrets of Haunted House]]'' #1, 5 (1975–1976)
*''[[Secrets of Sinister House]]'' #16 (1974)
*''[[Superman (comic book)|Superman]]'' (Fabulous World of [[Krypton (comics)|Krypton]]) #282 (1974)
*''[[Swamp Thing (comic book)|Swamp Thing]]'' #24 (1976)
*''[[Tales of Ghost Castle]]'' #3 (1975)
*''[[Teen Titans]]'' ([[Lilith (DC Comics)|Lilith]]) #43 (1973)
*''[[The Unexpected (1968 comic book)|The Unexpected]]'' #134, 146, 149, 151, 170, 182, 188 (1972–1978)
*''[[Weird Mystery Tales]]'' #14 (1974)
*''[[Weird War Tales]]'' #17, 24, 26, 29–30, 42, 44, 49, 53–54, 58–59 (1973–1978)
*''[[The Witching Hour (DC Comics)|The Witching Hour]]'' #40, 62 (1974–1976)
*''[[World's Finest Comics]]'' (Superman and Batman) #242 (1976)
{{div col end}}

===Marvel Comics===
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*''[[Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell)|Captain Marvel]]'' #24 (1973)
*''[[Chamber of Chills]]'' #3 (1973)
*''[[Conan the Barbarian (comics)|Conan the Barbarian]]'' #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 [[John Buscema]], [[Howard Chaykin]], [[Gil Kane]] and Mike Doherty, 1973–1993)
*''[[Daredevil (Marvel Comics series)|Daredevil]]'' #96–98 (inks over [[Gene Colan]] pencils, 1973)
*''[[Doc Savage#Comic Books|Doc Savage]]'' #2 (inks over [[Ross Andru]] pencils, 1972)
*''Doc Savage'' vol. 2 #8 (1977)
*''[[Doctor Strange (comic book)|Doctor Strange]]'' vol. 2 #27–29 (inks over [[Tom Sutton]] pencils, 1978)
*''Haunt of Horror'' #1 (1974)
*''King Conan'' #5, 10 (1981–1982)
*''[[Kull of Atlantis|Kull the Conqueror]]'' 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]]'' #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]], [[Val Mayerik]], Mike Docherty, Gary Kwapisz) (1978–1994)
*''[[Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew)|Spider-Woman]]'' #29 (1980)
*''[[Tales of the Zombie]]'' #4 (1974)
*''[[Thor (Marvel Comics)|Thor]]'' #336 (1983)
{{div col end}}

===Warren Publishing===
* ''[[Creepy (magazine)|Creepy]]'' #88 (1977)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{official website|http://www.ErnieChan.com}} {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710200313/http://www.erniechan.com/index.asp |date=July 10, 2011 }}
* {{comicbookdb|type=creator|id=1206|title=Ernie Chan}}
* {{comicbookdb|type=creator|id=2241|title=Ernie Chua}}
* [http://www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/creator.php?creatorid=208 Ernie Chan] at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
* [http://www.maelmill-insi.de/UHBMCC/namc15.htm#N403 Ernie Chan ("Ernie Chua")] at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators

{{s-start}}
{{succession box|title=''[[Batman (comic book)|Batman]]'' artist|before= [[Irv Novick]]|after= [[Romeo Tanghal]]|years= 1975–1977}}
{{succession box|title=''[[Detective Comics]]'' artist|before=[[Jim Aparo]]|after= [[John Calnan]]|years= 1975–1976}}
{{end}}
{{Inkpot Award 1980s}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Ernie}}
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American male artists]]
[[Category:20th-century Filipino male artists]]
[[Category:21st-century American male artists]]
[[Category:21st-century Filipino male artists]]
[[Category:American comics artists]]
[[Category:American video game artists]]
[[Category:Comics inkers]]
[[Category:DC Comics people]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in California]]
[[Category:Chinese comics artists]]
[[Category:Filipino emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Inkpot Award winners]]
[[Category:Marvel Comics people]]
[[Category:Video game artists]]

wiki143 - User contributions [en]

Ernie Chan