R.I.P. David Anthony Kraft
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R.I.P. David Anthony Kraft
News has come today that former Marvel writer and editor David Anthony Kraft has passed away last week due to Covid, according to website CBR. Beginning in the mid-70s, Kraft, who was known also with the nickname DAK, wrote much loved and remembered comics especially for Marvel (The Defenders, The Savage She–Hulk), but also DC (World’s Finest) and Atlas/Seaboard; he also wrote children’s books for a number of other publishers.
He is best known as the founder and publisher of Fictioneer Books, founded in 1974 to publish science fiction books and comics but whose publications with the greatest impact on comics fandom were David Anthony Kraft’s Comics Interview, which ran 150 issues from 1983 to 1995, and Comics Revue, which collected newspaper strips [still published today by a different publisher, now with classic newspaper strips, as a perfect bound $ 19.99 (!) bi-monthly magazine].
Comics Interview was among the best-selling comics magazines during much of its run, featuring in-depth interviews with comic creators and exposing them to their fans during a time in which opportunities for that kind of connection were limited; in the final part of its run it suffered from competition from magazines like the infamous Wizard, which were (much) more focused on the speculation side of the hobby.
Although it didn’t sell as well, Comics Revue presented recent newspaper strips in a format that allowed them to be experienced as they were released, in a format more permanent and accessible than out-of-town newspapers; CR was then sold to Rick Norwood's Manuscript Press which is still publishing the mag with strips like Flash Gordon, Tarzan, Modesty Blaise, Steve Canyon, The Phantom and Mandrake. During its heyday Fictioneer Books published also popular comics like the Southern Knights, Dragon and Cycops, which saw the debut of artist Brian Steelfreeze, among the other ones.
In 2010 DAK founded CO2 Comics and began publishing omnibus-sized chronological collections of the interviews from the magazine in 2010 but then, only three volumes were released and they're all listed now as non available ; here's the cover to the first volume:
He is best known as the founder and publisher of Fictioneer Books, founded in 1974 to publish science fiction books and comics but whose publications with the greatest impact on comics fandom were David Anthony Kraft’s Comics Interview, which ran 150 issues from 1983 to 1995, and Comics Revue, which collected newspaper strips [still published today by a different publisher, now with classic newspaper strips, as a perfect bound $ 19.99 (!) bi-monthly magazine].
Comics Interview was among the best-selling comics magazines during much of its run, featuring in-depth interviews with comic creators and exposing them to their fans during a time in which opportunities for that kind of connection were limited; in the final part of its run it suffered from competition from magazines like the infamous Wizard, which were (much) more focused on the speculation side of the hobby.
Although it didn’t sell as well, Comics Revue presented recent newspaper strips in a format that allowed them to be experienced as they were released, in a format more permanent and accessible than out-of-town newspapers; CR was then sold to Rick Norwood's Manuscript Press which is still publishing the mag with strips like Flash Gordon, Tarzan, Modesty Blaise, Steve Canyon, The Phantom and Mandrake. During its heyday Fictioneer Books published also popular comics like the Southern Knights, Dragon and Cycops, which saw the debut of artist Brian Steelfreeze, among the other ones.
In 2010 DAK founded CO2 Comics and began publishing omnibus-sized chronological collections of the interviews from the magazine in 2010 but then, only three volumes were released and they're all listed now as non available ; here's the cover to the first volume:
Re: R.I.P. David Anthony Kraft
Barry_Allen wrote:News has come today that former Marvel writer and editor David Anthony Kraft has passed away last week due to Covid
That is pretty awful. I didn't know his work too much, except as below, but I liked what I knew.
Barry_Allen wrote:Comics Interview was among the best-selling comics magazines during much of its run, featuring in-depth interviews with comic creators
I love(d) that magazine. I still have some. I thought they did a great job focusing on what mattered from the people they interviewed.
Barry_Allen wrote:Comics Revue presented recent newspaper strips in a format that allowed them to be experienced as they were released
Again, love(d) this one. I have a great interest in comic strips and this is a good way to get to see them.
Mbast1- Posts : 1720
Join date : 2012-02-02
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Re: R.I.P. David Anthony Kraft
Same for me, loved “The Defenders" he wrote for several issues (#44-68); about The Savage She-Hulk, which was Bruce Banner's cousin first regular series ever, he wrote every issue from 2 to 25 (the last issue), but he wrote also some issues of Creatures on the loose and before these, he was the editor for Marvel own fanzine, FOOM from 1974 to 1978Mbast1 wrote:
That is pretty awful. I didn't know his work too much, except as below, but I liked what I knew.
Mbast1 wrote:
I love(d) that magazine. I still have some. I thought they did a great job focusing on what mattered from the people they interviewed.
I completely agree, btw last Sunday I re-discovered two issues of Comics Interview at my parent's house, one of these maybe Tony also owns...
Mbast1 wrote:
Again, love(d) this one. I have a great interest in comic strips and this is a good way to get to see them.
At time I was a subscriber to Comic Relief (it was quite cheap, also from Europe) which published modern strips like Bloom County, Gary Larson's The Far Side, Calvin & Hobbes, Outland, Doonesbury and Life In Hell (by Matt Groening) with columns by Dave Barry and others, and bought also some issues of Comics Express, published by DAK, which had Pogo, Mother Goose & Grimm, the New Breed, Ernie and Bizarro, among the others.
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