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Comic book creators:
(top row, left to right) Jack Kirby, John Byrne, Frank Miller, Art Adams, Jim Lee, Dave Sim
(second row) Art Spiegelman, Alan Moore, Mark Millar, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis, David Lloyd,
(third row) Jean “Moebius” Giraud, Milo Manara, Simone Bianchi, Francisco Solano López, Alberto Breccia, Go Nagai,
(bottom row) Riyoko Ikeda, Kazuki Takahashi, Wendy Pini, Louise Simonson, Gail Simone and Valerie D'Orazio.

A comic book creator is any one of a number of people working to create a comic book or graphic novel. The production of a comic book by one of the major comic book companies in the U.S. can involve a writer, a penciller, an inker, a colorist, and a letterer, typically overseen by an editor.

[edit] Roles

Depending on the type of production, the different roles can be taken on by different persons:

• In most alternative and small press comics, the same person will write and illustrate, although it is still common for a separate person to produce the color separations, and sometimes the lettering.
• Within the major US comic book publishing companies, like DC Comics and Marvel Comics, a different person is generally assigned to each task, although exceptions - particularly in writing/pencilling or pencilling/inking - do occur.
• In Japan, a mangaka usually writes and pencils his own work, with his assistants handling the inking and screentone, and his editor the lettering (usually in a standardized font, not looking handdrawn).
• In other cases, typically in most European comics, there are usually two or three artists involved: a writer, an artist who provides lettered artwork, and a colorist where necessary.

Editing houses will employ letterers when translating work, and it is not uncommon for them to utilize artists to retouch artwork to make it more suitable for their domestic market.

[edit] See also

• Artist
• Women in comics

[edit] Comic artists

• Cartoonist
• Comic strip creator
• Mangaka
• Penciller
• Inker
• Colorist
• Letterer

[edit] Lists

• List of comic creators
• List of cartoonists
• List of female comics creators

[edit] Genres

• Comic book
• Graphic novel
• Webcomic

[edit] Publishers

• DC Comics
• Marvel Comics

[edit] External links

• Comic Book Creator - Self-Publishing Software
• BBC Blast - Becoming a comic book artist
• Make Your Own Comic - Step by Step Article
• Comic Creator - Flash game from Blue Peter

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