Kyle Baker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kyle Baker |
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Baker at the New York Comic Con
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| Born | Kyle John Baker 1965 (age 59–60) Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist, Writer, Penciller, Inker, Publisher, Letterer, Colourist |
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Notable works
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Why I Hate Saturn Plastic Man Nat Turner |
| Awards | Eisner Awards (eight) Harvey Awards (five) Glyph Comics Awards (five) Inkpot Award |
Kyle John Baker (born 1965) is an American cartoonist, comic book writer, artist, and animator. He is famous for his graphic novels and for bringing back the Plastic Man comic series in the 2000s.
Baker has won many important awards for his work in comics, including several Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards.
Kyle Baker: Comic Creator and Animator
His Early Life and Artistic Journey
Kyle Baker was born in Queens, New York City, in 1965. His dad was an art director and his mom managed a school's audiovisual department. Both of his parents had studied art.
His father, who worked in advertising, would often draw pictures for Kyle and his siblings. This was Kyle's first exposure to art.
Kyle also loved the "funny papers" (comic strips) when he was little. He enjoyed reading comics like Pogo, Peanuts, and B.C.. He especially liked drawing characters from B.C. and the Muppets.
He even made up his own cartoon characters and drew stories about them. He also loved Mad magazine, which is known for its funny stories and art.
When he was 11, Kyle used a Super-8 movie camera to make animated cartoons. He even made a stop-motion film where a clay King Kong fought model airplanes! In junior high, he made his own comic books and sold them for five cents each.
Breaking into the World of Comics
In his last year of high school, Kyle Baker got an internship at Marvel Comics. He helped out by making photocopies and sorting fan mail. He said he always wanted to create funny comics, not just superhero stories.
He learned a lot from experienced artists and writers at Marvel. He would practice inking by copying drawings from famous artists like John Buscema.
While working at Marvel, Kyle also studied graphic design and printmaking at the School of Visual Arts. He later started working freelance with a famous graphic designer named Milton Glaser, helping him with children's books.
Kyle's first official work at Marvel was a small drawing in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe in 1984. He later drew and inked a three-issue comic series based on the 1986 movie Howard the Duck.
First Big Comic Book Projects
Kyle Baker also tried to sell his funny drawings to newspapers, but they weren't interested. However, a Marvel editor asked him to draw some one-panel jokes about the X-Men superhero team.
His first graphic novel was called Cowboy Wally. A graphic novel is like a long comic book that tells a complete story. Kyle said that one of the characters in the book was a lot like him.
Even though Cowboy Wally didn't sell many copies, it helped convince DC Comics that he was a good artist. This led to him drawing DC's The Shadow comic series.
Around this time, Kyle also started writing comics. He adapted Through the Looking Glass and Cyrano de Bergerac into comic books. He said he learned to write stories because people kept asking him to.
Creating Why I Hate Saturn and More
Kyle Baker became very well-known for his 1990 graphic novel, Why I Hate Saturn. This book won an Eisner Award, which is a major award in the comic book world.
He explained that he wrote Why I Hate Saturn because he wanted to create stories his own way. He was tired of being told what and how to draw. He wanted to own his creative work.
Drawing for Magazines and Newspapers
After Why I Hate Saturn, Kyle Baker's cartoons and funny drawings started appearing in many popular magazines. These included BusinessWeek, Entertainment Weekly, Mad, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone.
He also spent three years drawing a weekly comic strip called "Bad Publicity" for New York magazine.
Bringing Stories to Life Through Animation
Kyle Baker has also worked in animation. His animated work has been shown on TV channels like BET and MTV. He also worked on Looney Tunes projects, including the movie Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
He was a "guest art director" for Cartoon Network's Class of 3000 and helped plan the Christmas special for the show.
In 1994, Kyle directed an animated music video for the hip hop singer KRS-One. Marvel Comics even released a comic book version of it with an audiocassette.
He also worked on a 10-page comic story called "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Babysitter" for DC Comics. This story won an Eisner Award for "Best Short Story."
Kyle has also written and planned episodes for the popular TV show "Phineas and Ferb."
His Work in the 2000s and Beyond
In the 2000s, Kyle Baker drew a Captain America comic series called Truth. He also wrote and drew most of the 20-issue comic series Plastic Man, which brought back the classic superhero.
In 2006, Kyle started his own company, Kyle Baker Publishing. He released a four-part comic series about Nat Turner, a historical figure. He also published The Bakers, a comic series based on his own family life.
In 2007 and 2008, he created a six-issue comic series called Special Forces. This series was a funny but serious look at teen soldiers and military service. The New York Times called it a very strong satire about the Iraq War.
Teaching Others to Draw
In 2008, Kyle Baker wrote an art instruction book called How to Draw Stupid and Other Essentials of Cartooning. This book helps people learn how to draw cartoons.
That same year, he hosted the Harvey Awards, another important event in the comics industry. In 2010, he became the regular artist for Marvel Comics' Deadpool Max series.
Awards and Recognitions
Kyle Baker has won many awards for his creative work:
- Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist: Humor:
* 1999 - You Are Here * 2000 - I Die at Midnight; "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Babysitter" * 2004 - Plastic Man; The New Baker * 2005 - Plastic Man; Kyle Baker, Cartoonist * 2006 - Plastic Man; The Bakers
- Eisner Award for Best Short Story:
* 2000 - "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Babysitter"
- Eisner Award for Best New Series:
* 2004 - Plastic Man
- Eisner Award for Best Title for Younger Readers:
* 2005 - Plastic Man
- Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album of Original Work:
* 1991 - Why I Hate Saturn * 1999 - You Are Here * 2014 - The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story
- Harvey Award for Best New Series:
* 2005 - Plastic Man
- Harvey Award for Special Award for Humor:
* 2005 - Plastic Man * 2006 - Plastic Man
- Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work:
* 2009 - Nat Turner
- 2006 Glyph Comics Awards:
* Story of the Year - Nat Turner * Best Artist - Kyle Baker, Nat Turner * Best Cover - Nat Turner #1
- 2007 Glyph Comics Awards:
* Best Artist - Kyle Baker, The Bakers
- 2008 Glyph Comics Awards:
* Best Artist - Kyle Baker, Nat Turner: Revolution
