Greg Theakston

Infobox Comics creator


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birthname = Greg Allan Theakston
birthdate = birth date and age|1953|11|21
location = Detroit, Michigan
deathdate =
deathplace =
nationality = American
area = Colorist
Inker
Penciller
Publisher
alias = Earl P. Wooton
notable works =
awards =

Greg Allen Theakston (born November 21, 1953 ["Comics Buyers Guide" #1636 (December 2007); Page 135] ) is an American comics artist and illustrator.

Early life

Greg Theakston was born in Detroit, Michigan as the second oldest of five boys. He attended Ella Fitzgerald Elementary School (along with Stevie Wonder), Post Junior High School, East Junior High School, Farmington High School, Danial Boone High School (Orlando, Fl.), and Redford High School.

Career

He contributed to The Fantasy Fans and Comic-collector's Group on their fanzine "The Fan Informer", as well as his own publication, "The Aardvark Annual".

Theakston was also involved in The Detroit Triple Fan Fair, a multi-media convention from 1970-78, eventually owning it after work on a dozen shows. He graduated in 1971 and immediately went to work with comic artist Jim Steranko for the better part of a year. Theakston then quickly went into low-brow illustration for various men's magazines including "Gent", "Dude", and "Nugget". As he eventually built his portfolio, Theakston began working for lower-tier paperback companies, working his way up the illustration ladder. These companies include Berkley Books, Dell, Ace, DAW, Zebra, Tor, St. Martin's Press, Warner, Ballentine Books, Belmont-Tower, IF and Galaxy, and many others. Among various assignments were jobs for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Image, Warren, Personality, The "New York Daily News", Archie Comics, as well as periodicals and magazines including "National Lampoon", "The New York Times", Kitchen Sink, "Playboy", "TV Guide", and "Rolling Stone". He was a regular illustrator at Mad Magazine for over ten years and has worked regularly with numerous comics publishers on projects such as "Omega Men", "Super Powers", "DC Comics Presents", DC's "Who's Who", "Hunger Dogs", "Planet of the Apes", and various others. [ [http://www.comicbookdb.com/creator.php?ID=2874 Theakston's biography at The Comic Book Database] ] Theakston has over four hundred published paintings to his credit, scores of storyboards, and too many convention sketches to remember.An original member of The Crusty Bunkers, Theakston worked closely with Neal Adams at Continuity Associates between 1972 and 1979, producing animatics, storyboards, comic art, and various commercial assignments.

Theakston's movie poster work includes "The Return of the Swamp Thing", "Invaders From Mars", "Silk Stockings", "B'Wani Junction", "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse", "The Jungle Book", and "Mogombo".

Theakston has seven lithographs in the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art.

Greg has run Pure Imagination, a comic book, magazine, and comics-related publisher since 1975. His biographical work there includes an estimated 150,000 words on Jack Kirby, his long-time friend and work associate, 250,000 words on Bettie Page, and numerous pieces on great comic book artists for himself and various other publishers.

His name has been given to a process called "Theakstonizing", named by DC editor-in-chief, Dick Giordano, which bleaches color from old comics pages, used in the restoration of Comics for reprinting [ [http://www.lib.msu.edu/comics/rri/brri/blea.htm Michigan State University Libraries] , Reading Room Index to the Comic Art Collectionrefers to an article on "Theakstonizing". Page retrieved 24 October 2004.] An example of this is noted in No Time for Sergeants.To date, he has reconstructed over 10,000 pages of classic comic art, including work on Superman, Batman, Captain America, Green Lantern, The Flash, Porky Pig, The Spirit, All-Winners, The Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, Archie, Dick Tracy, Torchy, Pogo, and various collections of popular comics artists, including Jack Kirby, Alex Toth, Basil Wolverton, Steve Ditko, Frank Frazetta, Jack Cole, Lou Fine, Wallace Wood, and many others.

Theakston co-founded and produced the Atlanta Burlesque troupe Dames A'Flame (1996-2001) with Eve Wynne-Warren A.K.A Torchy Taboo, one of only five regularly performing Burlesque companies in the U.S. at the time.

His "Betty Pages" magazine (1987-93) spawned a world-wide fad for the Tease From Tennessee, and was followed-up by "Tease!" magazine (1993-2003.)

He is the father of three children, and resides in Brooklyn, New York as of 2001.

Other professional work includes paper-boy, short-order cook, carpenter, printer, private investigator, comic book inker, artist, and colorist, photo archivist, and photographer.

References

*"Deadline: So Much to Do and So Little Time" ("Pure Imagination", 2007)