ERNIE CHAN - Conan Comic Book Artist

Filipino-American comic book artist Ernie Chan, who was best known for his work on Marvel's "Conan the Barbarian" series, died of cancer on May 16, 2012, at age 71. He was born in The Philippines on July 27, 1940. He began working in comics at Marvel in the early 1970s, and was soon inking for John Buscema on "Conan the Barbarian" and Sal Buscema on "The Incredible Hulk". Originally known as Ernie Chua, he also illustrated such titles as "Doctor Strange", "Kull the Destroyer", "Spectacular Spider-Man", "Master of Kung Fu", and "Power Man". He also worked at DC in the 1970s and 1980s, where he was co-creator of "Claw the Unconquered" in 1975. He was cover artist on numerous series and drew the "Batman" title for several years. He became a U.S. citizen in 1976 and reclaimed his family name, Ernie Chan. He later worked as an artist and designer for video games and animated productions including "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest" in the mid-1990s. He largely retired in 2002, but had been involved in illustrating the adult-oriented webcomic "The Vat" in recent years.