Greg LaRocque

Greg LaRocque (born February 24, 1954)[1] is an American comics artist best known for his work on the Legion of Super-Heroes and The Flash.

Greg LaRocque
Born (1954-02-24) February 24, 1954
Baltimore, Maryland
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Penciller
Notable works
The Avengers
The Flash vol. 2
Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3
Power Man and Iron Fist

Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, LaRocque worked as an assistant teacher at the Professional Institute of Art while still a teenager. He started his art career in the advertising field.[2]

Comics career

Greg LaRocque began his comics career at DC Comics and his first published work was the story "That Which Conquers All" in Mystery in Space #115 (Jan. 1981). This was followed by a series of OMAC back-up stories in The Warlord #42–47 (Feb.–July 1981). His first work for Marvel Comics appeared in Power Man and Iron Fist #73 (Sept. 1981).[3] He drew several issues of Marvel Team-Up including the last issue of the series.[4] He and writer Louise Simonson then launched a new Spider-Man title, Web of Spider-Man, in April 1985.[5] After returning to DC Comics, LaRocque became prominent for his work illustrating the Legion of Super-Heroes. He stated in a 2013 interview that "I decided to leave Marvel for personal reasons, and the first person I called was [editor] Karen Berger. She handed me the next available Legion script, and the day I handed in the work she offered me the book."[6] He drew The Flash with writer William Messner-Loebs from issue #15 (Aug. 1988) through #79 (Aug. 1993). A career highlight was redesigning the Flash's costume.[2] LaRocque and Messner-Loebs introduced Linda Park as a supporting character in the series in The Flash vol. 2 #28 (July 1989)[7] and reintroduced the Pied Piper as a reformed villain and established the character as gay, in issue #53 (Aug. 1991).[8]

Exiled Studio released LaRocque's creator owned material in the three-issue mini-series The Exiled, followed by CryBaby, Exiled Studio's first color comic book. The CryBaby story arc was concluded in the 80-page graphic novel Extinction. LaRocque's The Dreaming graphic novel was published by Exiled Studio in 2009.[9]

LaRocque's work among the independent companies includes London Night Studios, Peregrine Entertainment, Realm Press, Catfish Comics, and Avatar Press. In 2010 he helped launch the revival of Dave Cockrum's Futurians with a cover for David Miller Studio. LaRocque's fantasy art was exhibited at Gallery Provocateur in Chicago[10] to coincide with his appearance at the 2010 Chicago ComicCon. He returned to DC Comics in 2011 to draw the DC Retroactive: The Flash - The '80s one-shot.[3][11]

Bibliography

Alternative Comics

DC Comics

Exiled Studio
  • The Exiled #1 (1998)

London Night

Marvel Comics

References
  1. Miller, John Jackson (June 10, 2005). "Comics Industry Birthdays". Comics Buyer's Guide. Iola, Wisconsin. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  2. "Greg LaRocque". Lambiek Comiclopedia. May 25, 2014. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014.
  3. Greg LaRocque at the Grand Comics Database
  4. Manning, Matthew K. (2012). "1980s". In Gilbert, Laura (ed.). Spider-Man Chronicle Celebrating 50 Years of Web-Slinging. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 146. ISBN 978-0756692360. Spider-Man's classic team-up title came to an end in spectacular fashion in this Louise Simonson story illustrated by Greg LaRocque.
  5. Manning "1980s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 147: "Spider-Man swung into the pages of an all-new ongoing series in this first issue by writer Louise Simonson and penciler Greg LaRocque."
  6. Schweier, Philip (October 2013). "Back to the Future: The Legion in the 1980s". Back Issue!. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing (68): 61.
  7. Cronin, Brian (October 26, 2014). "Almost Hidden – William Messner-Loebs' Run on Flash". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on October 13, 2015. He introduced Linda Park, which is likely his most significant contribution to the Flash mythos.
  8. Cronin, Brian (August 8, 2011). "Almost Hidden - The Pied Piper Comes Out of the Closet". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on June 18, 2017. We gained one of the few openly gay superhero supporting characters in DC Comics History in 1991's Flash #53, written by William Messner-Loebs and drawn by Greg LaRocque and Jose Marzan Jr.
  9. Lorah, Michael C. (December 26, 2008). "Stories From Exile: Checking in with Greg LaRocque". Newsarama. Archived from the original on September 24, 2013.
  10. "The Art of Greg LaRocque". Gallery Provocateur. August 2010. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014.
  11. Elias, Greg (June 27, 2011). "Interview: Greg LaRocque on DC Retroactive: The Flash – The '80s". Speedforce.org. Archived from the original on August 16, 2013.
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