| Jackson Guice | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 27, 1961 Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Penciller, Inker |
| Pseudonym(s) | Butch Guice |
| Notable works | Action Comics The Flash Micronauts Ruse |
Jackson "Butch" Guice (born June 27, 1961,[1] in Chattanooga, Tennessee),[2] is an American comic book artist who has worked steadily in the mainstream comics industry since the early 1980s.
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Growing up in the 1960s, Guice was fond of "the legendary stop-motion animator and filmmaker" Ray Harryhausen, whose influence can be seen in some of Guice's work, most notably the Humanoids project Olympus.[3]
His first credited comics work was on issue #48 the toy-spin-off title Micronauts (Dec 1982), although he had previously ghosted for Pat Broderick on Rom Annual 1982. He notes that "[b]oth were breaking points for me getting into comics".[4]
Prior to his work appearing in Marvel's Mego-licenced Micronauts title (which was one of Marvel's first three "direct sales" titles), Guice "had been doing a little bit of fanzine work", and "designing patches and emblems for a small company in North Carolina."[4] On the strength of his fanzine work, (and, Guice believes, at the behest of Rom Annual writer Bill Mantlo) Marvel editor Al Milgrom offered him a tryout on Micronauts. Guice recalls that, immediately after accepting he:
"went out roller skating that night [and] fell and broke the elbow on my drawing arm. Thankfully when they put the cast on, they had the arm bent, so it was more a case of drawing from the shoulder. It was quite a baptism of fire to start off my career."[4]
His tryout successful, Guice continued penciling Micronauts until #58. He doesn't recall there being any effort made to tie the comic to the toys, and by the time he came on-board, writer Bill Mantlo "was essentially wrapping up his run."[4] In July 1983, "The Butch Guice Portfolio" appeared in the pages of Marvel Fanfare #9, and during the early 1980s Guice contributed to the 1983 The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Chris Claremont and Bill Mantlo's X-Men and the Micronauts 4-issue miniseries as well as occasional issues of a number of different titles, many featuring the Micronauts. Also in 1984, he drew the Marvel Comics adaptation of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and inked Dazzler.
In 1986, he penciled X-Factor, while concurrently contributing pencils to The New Mutants. In mid-1987, he was credited with inks to "Brian Guice" 's pencils for five issues of Adventure Publications' Adventurers, which was written and edited by Scott Behnke.
Also in 1987, Guice collaborated on several different titles with writer Mike Baron, including issues of First Comics' Badger, Nexus and The Chronicles of Corum. Guice also worked with Baron on projects for DC Comics. He penciled Teen Titans Spotlight #7 and #8, before gaining more popularity among DC readers with his work on the relaunched, post-Crisis on Infinite Earths The Flash #1. This third Flash series featured Wally West after the demise of Barry Allen in the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" series. Guice drew ten of the first eleven issues.
At the start of 1987, Guice contributed to the Southern Knights series, published by Comics Interview Publications, and in 1988-89, he produced a series of covers for the Quality Comics/Fleetway 2000 AD reprint-title 2000AD Showcase, while also penciling the Iron Man title for Marvel. In 1989 he became the artist on Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme. Guice's cover for Doctor Strange #15 (March 1990) generated legal action against Marvel Comics by singer Amy Grant. A US District Court sealed an out-of-court settlement between Grant and Marvel in early 1991, with a consent decree that Marvel did not admit to any liability or wrongdoing.[5][6][7] In 1991, Guice took over penciling Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., before moving back to DC for a long run on one of their Superman titles.
Between April 1992 and July 1995, Guice (with writers Roger Stern and David Michelinie) produced artwork for over thirty issues of Action Comics. Guice started on #676 and continued until #711. During this run, Guice and Stern (along with editor Mike Carlin, Dan Jurgens, Louise Simonson and others) were the architects of "The Death of Superman" storyline, in which Superman died and was resurrected. Spinning out of that event, Stern and Guice collaborated on a Supergirl miniseries.
While drawing Action Comics, he also worked with writer James Robinson on Dark Horse's The Terminator: Endgame miniseries (Sep-Oct 1992), and with Chris Claremont on the first four issues of Dark Horse's Aliens/Predator: The Deadliest of the Species (Jul '93 - Jan '94).
Towards the end of 1995, Guice moved to Valiant Comics, becoming the regular penciller Eternal Warrior. In 1996, he provided interior artwork for an issue of Magnus, Robot Fighter and two issues each of Turok, Dinosaur Hunter and X-O Manowar.
In November 1996, Guice penciled part of the Acclaim comic Sliders: Narcotica, based on the TV series Sliders and written by the show's star Jerry O'Connell. Having Guice draw the series was:
"a personal treat for Jerry [O'Connell] as "Butch" Guice (as he used to be called during his successful run at Marvel Comics) was a favorite of his during his comic-reading years."[8]
Guice returned to the DC and Marvel Universes when he illustrated the four-issue DC/Marvel: All Access mini-series follow-up to the cross-company DC Versus Marvel/Marvel Versus DC event, from December 1996 to February 1997. He was also one of many artists to contribute to the landmark marriage of Superman and Lois Lane in Superman: The Wedding Album (December 1996).
In May 1997, Guice launched Resurrection Man with writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, pencilling all 27 issues and inking most of them. He also produced the special #1,000,000 issue for the DC One Million event. Resurrection Man was cancelled in August 1999, and in March 2000, Guice became the regular penciller and inker on Birds of Prey. Starting with #15, Guice stayed until #34. For a year and a half Guice devoted his time to Birds of Prey, although he also provided art for the a "Robin & Oracle" story in Batman: Gotham City Secret Files and Origins and "Universe X" Spidey special, from Marvel.
After Birds of Prey #34 (October 2001) Guice left DC Comics and moved to Tampa, Florida to work for new company CrossGen. Guice was brought in to launch Ruse with writer Mark Waid, and the comic launched in November 2001. Effectively a Victorian steampunk detective story, although set on an analogue of Earth in the far-distant future, and part of CrossGen's 'Sigilverse', allowing one of the series' main characters to display the magical powers for which that allows. Guice continued as the penciller of Ruse until the comic was cancelled with #26 (January 2004). Guice resigned from CrossGen "just prior to the layoffs" and before the remaining staff were released from "exclusivity status".[3]
Writer Geoff Johns, "one of Humanoids' biggest supporters from the very beginning of [their] US publishing program," pitched a story with Kris Grimminger featuring "every great monster from Greek mythology, from Medusa to the Stymphalian Birds."[3] Humanoids editor Paul Benjamin began the search "throughout the world for a great artist who would appeal to both an American and a European audience. Butch was always on our mind for the book, but he was busy drawing Ruse for CrossGen. We began talking to Butch once he became available and Olympus was a perfect fit."[3]
He said of Humanoids and Olympus:
"I've been interested in working with Paul Benjamin and Humanoids for several years now... [their] approach to their material, both in quality and design of product as well as the extensive worldwide market they've cultivated with a variety of genres, held enormous interest for me. After my resignation from the CrossGen staff, I contacted Paul and we started talking about possibilities. Once I read the two scripts for Olympus, I knew it was exactly the type of thing I would enjoy drawing. Having it be written by Geoff and Kris was a very pleasurable bonus."[3]
Although intended as two volumes, to date, only the first has seen print. This is likely due to the lapsing of Humanoids US-distribution deal with DC,[9] as Guice said in December 2003, while working on Volume One that that book "wraps in March [2004]", which him then "scheduled to start work on volume two almost immediately".[3]
After leaving CrossGen's , Guice worked with writer Warren Ellis on a six-issue story-arc entitled "New Maps of Hell" for DC's JLA: Classified title. A month after this, Guice was part of the "One Year Later" revamp of Aquaman, in Kurt Busiek's Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis, debuting with #40 of the previous Aquaman title. Guice stayed for eight issues, and Busiek said of his artist colleague:
"Aside from being a terrific artist and strong storyteller, Butch can really make you believe in the exotic fantasy worlds of the Atlantic oceanscape. And he draws a great King Shark -- and a creepy Dweller, to boot. And cool warriors, gorgeous women, strange creatures and more. He's the perfect guy for this book, and I've wanted to work with him for years."[10]
Shortly after leaving Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis, Guice provided rotating art duties for The Invincible Iron Man, with issue #19-20's World War Hulk tie-in issue, in August–September 2007, and then returning for another two, before starting as inker on Captain America for #32-34, and then taking over full duties as of #35.
Guice penciled a miniseries taking place in the Ultimate Universe, entitled "Ultimate Origins," written by Brian Michael Bendis. Bendis wrote of Guice "I've been a fan of his for years and years, and when I saw what he was doing in Iron Man [with Gage]... I had to have him."[11]
He's also the penciler on the Wildstorm mini-series Storming Paradise, written by Chuck Dixon.
Guice and his wife Julie have a daughter, Elizabeth Diane, born in 1988.[12]
Comics work (interior art) includes: