Gene Day

• Birth Name — Howard Eugene Day • Born — 13 August 1951 • Died — 23 September 1982 • Place of death — Gananoque, Ontario, Canada • Cartoonist — y • Write — y • Pencil — y • Ink — y • Notable Works — Star Wars, Master of Kung Fu • Awards — Joe Shuster Award, 2007 Inkwell Awards SASRA, 2022

Gene Day began his career with Canadian underground and independent comics, for which he published the short-lived title Out of the Depths in 1974, and collaborated with Dave Sim on Oktoberfest Comics #1 (Now and Then Publications, 1976). Day also penciled for Skywald Publications' horror comics magazines Psycho and Nightmare, starting in late 1974, as well as the science fiction-oriented Orb. For Mike Friedrich's early independent-comics company Star Reach, Day variously wrote/drew stories in 1977 and 1978 for the namesake anthology title Star Reach and its sister magazines Imagine and Quack, the latter a talking animal comic. Other work includes "Cheating Time!", written by Mark Burbey, in Dr. Wirtham's Comix & Stories #4 (1979). In 1977 he illustrated the Greg Stafford's fantasy wargame Nomad Gods. His continuing relationship with Stafford's company, Chaosium would see him produce artwork for many of their products, including the cover of the first edition of the horror roleplaying game Call of Cthulhu in 1981. From 1975 until 1980, Gene Day published, under the imprint Shadow Press, at least 23 issues - the last being numbered #24/25, and there having been no #13 - of the fanzine/magazine Dark Fantasy: The Magazine Of Underground Creators for which he was also an art contributor.

In 1979, Day wrote and drew an early graphic novel, Future Day (Flying Buttress Press), a hardcover collection of seven stories that he called a "graphic album". Dave Sim was the letterer. Day did illustrations for the fantasy role-playing games Arena of Khazan: A Tunnels & Trolls Solitaire Dungeon (1979), Space Opera Core Rules by Fantasy Games Unlimited (1980), and Call of Cthulhu (1981). Day began his several-year association with Master of Kung Fu by inking penciler Mike Zeck starting with issue #76 (May 1979). He began doing finished art over Zeck's breakdowns starting with issue #94 (Nov. 1980), and became series penciler from #102–120 (July 1981–Jan. 1983), after having split the work with Zeck on the double-sized #100. In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Day's work on Master of Kung-Fu sixth on its list of the "Top 10 1970s Marvels". Day inked Carmine Infantino on Marvel's Star Wars series, occasionally doing finished art over breakdowns, and penciling #68–69 (Feb.–March 1983), which take place on Boba Fett's ancestral homeworld of Mandalore. In addition, Day inked Thor and Marvel Two-in-One featuring the Thing.

Day died of a coronary crossing a street in his hometown of Gananoque, Ontario.

Day's work in his 1979, graphic novel-like story collection: • "Gifts of Silver Splendor" (6 p.) • "Hive" (6 p.) • "Days of Future Past" (6 p.) • "Gauntlet" (6 p.) • "Paper Dragon" (5 p.) • "War Games" (10 p.) • "Black Legion" (text story, 7 p.)

• Swords of Cerebus #3 (1981)

• Tales of the New Teen Titans #3 (inks over George Perez) (1982)

• The Amazing Spider-Man #206 (inks over John Byrne) (1980) • The Avengers #181 (inks over John Byrne); #201 (inks over George Perez) (1979–1980) • Bizarre Adventures #30 (1982) • Black Panther #13–15 (inks over Jerry Bingham) (1979) • Epic Illustrated #32 (writer) (1985) • Further Adventures of Indiana Jones #3 (1983) • Marvel Premiere #51–52 (Black Panther) (inks over Jerry Bingham); #54 (Caleb Hammer) (1979–1980) • Marvel Spotlight vol. 2 #3 (Captain Marvel) (inks over Pat Broderick) (1979) • Marvel Team-Up #80 (inks over Mike Vosburg) (1979) • Marvel Two-in-One #49 (inks over Alan Kupperberg); #56–58, 60, 64–65 (inks over George Perez); #61–63, 66 (inks over Jerry Bingham); #67–69, 71, Annual #6 (inks over Ron Wilson); #70 (inks over Michael Netzer) (1979–1981) • Master of Kung Fu #102–111, 114–118, 120 (full art); #76–77, 79–101 (inks over Mike Zeck) (1979–1983) • Savage Sword of Conan #68–69, 74, 102–104, 106 (1981–1984) • Star Trek #14, 16 (inks over Luke McDonnell) (1981) • Star Wars #68–69 (full art); #18, 21, 25, 28, 30, 33, 35–37, 45, 47 (inks over Carmine Infantino) (1978–1983) • Thor #300, 310–315 (inks over Keith Pollard) (1980–1982)

• Gene Day's Black Zeppelin #1–5 (1985–1986)

• Star Reach #6, 8–9, 11, 15 (1976–1978)