Lou Manna has
been a professional artist for the past 25 years. He began
his career as an assistant to comic book artist Jim Janes
on DC Comics' popular series THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES.
Later, Lou went on to assist artist Rich Buckler, working
with him on Marvel and DC Comics titles such as All STAR
SQUADRON and WORLD'S FINEST and WHAT IFs.
After about
two years of assisting, Lou was ready to make a break and
he began to get regular assignments at DC Comics working
for a few years on DC's mystery line of books, The House
of Secrets, The Unexpected, and The House of Mystery. This
led to Lou getting a call from Marvel Comics where he went
on to draw a few Spider Man books, and later on the popular
X-Men character Rogue.
At this time
Lou was asked to plot and draw the first revival of Wally
Wood's cult series the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. agents. He was responsible
for plotting and illustrating the new series and was the
associate editor on the titles as well. The books received
rave notices but the series was plagued with problems and
was around for only a few issues.
Lou went
back to DC Comics where he began a run on Roy Thomas's series,
The YOUNG ALL-STARS and Lou penciled the INFINITY INC. ANNUAL,
as well as a few issues of that title. Lou also drew a few
issues of DC's Who's Who series.
Lou left
the comic field and entered the corporate world when he accepted
a position as the Creative Service Director of the Chase Manhattan
Bank, where he was responsible for the look of the creative
service department and the increasing high end work in both
their advertising and media center. He later moved on to become
the Graphics Manager of Accenture, a world-class consulting
firm. Lou went on to work for dozens of other clients, including
Barkley's Bank, Oppenheimer Capital, The New York Mets, Elmherst
General Hospital, and many others.
But his
love for the comic media always stayed with him, and he often
produced small jobs for independent companies just to keep
his creative hand in the comic world.
In 2000,
Lou decided he wanted back in and drew a self-published creator
owned series named Salem St. James. Lou did it to prove to
himself that he could turn out work again on a regular basis
and he has been working more and more on comic related projects
ever since. He later went on to work for Benington books producing
a comic on political figures, which included President Bill
Clinton, Bob Dole, and Colin Powell. He also produced and
continues to produce a series of Illustrated History Books
on STATEN ISLAND for the STATUE OF LIBERTY CULTURAL ARTS ASSOCIATION
AT GATEWAY. He has written and drawn 5 books so far, with
several more planned. Lou also got a chance to work on one
of his favorite characters, when Moonstone books asked him
to draw two 48 page graphic novels on THE PHANTOM, which were
released in the summer of 2003 and 2004. Lou also went on
to draw the highly acclaimed series SOULCATCHER in 2005.
Entering
a new stage in his creative life, Lou has accepted several
new projects that appeal to his interest and has found several
areas in which he can produce high-end professional quality
art. Storyboards, Posters, Concepts, Comic Books, Spot Illustrations,
Toy Designs, Characters and other work all are in the range
of Lou's ability.
He
has been a true professional for over 25 years, never missing
a deadline and always producing a wide range of work. He hopes
his next 25 years will bring him new and exciting projects
to keep him busy for years to come.
