Kyle John Baker is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series Plastic Man.

Baker has won numerous Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards for his work in the comics field.

Biography

Early life and career

Kyle Baker was born in Queens, New York City, the son of art director John M. Baker and high-school audiovisual-department manager Eleanor L. Baker. He has a brother and a sister, Edwin Baker and Cheryl Baker, and now, three daughters and a son - Lillian, Jacqueline and Madeleine Baker, and Isaac Baker.

Other influences included the Charlton Comics artwork of Jim Aparo and Steve Ditko. Part of his duties involved photocopying, and he would take copies of John Buscema penciling home on which to practice inking. but dropped out after two years. After a handful of inking assignments on issues of Transformers, The Avengers Annual #14 (1985) and elsewhere, Baker made his professional story-illustration debut as penciler and inker of the publisher Lodestone Comics' Codename: Danger #2 (October 1985), with a 23-page story written by Brian Marshall, Mike Harris, and Robert Loren Fleming. Cover penciling and more interior inking for Marvel and occasionally DC followed. His first story penciling for one of the two major comics companies was the three-issue Howard the Duck: The Movie (December 1986 - February 1987), adapting the 1986 film Howard the Duck, and which he self-inked.

First graphic novel

At the recommendation of freelance artist Ron Fontes, an editor at the Dolphin imprint of the publishing house Doubleday expressed interest in Baker's sample strips of the character Cowboy Wally, "and asked if I had any more. I lied and said I did."

He began scripting comics around this time: Baker penciled and inked First Comics' Classics Illustrated #3 & 21 (February 1990 & March 1991), adapting, respectively, Through the Looking Glass and Cyrano de Bergerac. While Peter David scripted the latter, Baker himself wrote the adaptation of the Lewis Carroll work.

Baker said in 1999 he was writing a Christmas movie for Paramount Pictures, titled U Betta Watch Out, and was animating a TV-movie title Corey Q. Jeeters, I'm Telling on You.

He is credited with writing and storyboarding on the "Phineas and Ferb" television episodes "Candace Loses Her Head" and "Are You My Mummy?".

2000s

Baker drew writer Robert Morales' Marvel Comics miniseries Truth #1-7 (January–July 2003), a Captain America storyline with parallels to the Tuskegee experiment. He also wrote and drew all but two issues (#7 and #12) of the 20-issue comedic adventure series Plastic Man vol. 4 (February 2004 - March 2006), starring the Golden Age of Comic Books superhero created by Jack Cole for Quality Comics. Baker contributed to the Dark Horse Comics series The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist, a spin-off of Michael Chabon's novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. The New York Times reviewed the 2009 trade-paperback collection of the first four issues, calling it "the harshest, most serrated satire of the Iraq War yet published."

In 2008, Watson-Guptill published How to Draw Stupid and Other Essentials of Cartooning, Baker's art instruction book. That same year, Baker hosted the comics industry's Harvey Awards. In 2010, he became regular artist on Marvel Comics' mature-audience MAX-imprint series, Deadpool Max.

Most recently, he was inducted into the Eisner Hall of Fame at San Diego Comic Con on July 25, 2025.

Bibliography

Early work

  • Codename: Danger #2: "From the Halls of Montezuma ..." (a, with Robert Loren Fleming, Mike Harris and Brian Marshall, Lodestone, 1985)
  • The Cowboy Wally Show (w/a, graphic novel, 128 pages, Doubleday, 1988, )
  • Asylum #2: "Death Disenchanted" (a, with Fred Schiller, New Comics Group, 1989)
  • Dick Tracy #1-3 (a, with John Francis Moore and Len Wein, Walt Disney Company, 1990)
  • Classics Illustrated (Berkley Publishing):
  • Lewis Carroll: Through the Looking-Glass (w/a, in #3, tpb, 48 pages, 1990, )
  • Edmond Rostand: Cyrano De Bergerac (a, with Peter David, in #21, tpb, 48 pages, 1991, )

Marvel Comics

  • Marvel Super Special #41: "Howard the Duck: The Movie" (a, with Danny Fingeroth, 1986)
  • Nightmask #11: "Nightmare in New Orleans" (a, with Roy and Dann Thomas, 1986)
  • What The--?! #3-4: "Mutant Beach Party!" (a, with Kurt Busiek, 1988)
  • Classic X-Men #38: "Strangers on a Lift" (a, with Ann Nocenti, 1989)
  • Critical Mass #2: "St. George: A Knight without Armor" (a, with D. G. Chichester and Margaret Clark, Epic, 1990)
  • Clive Barker's Hellraiser #7: "Clowning Around" (a, with D. G. Chichester, Epic, 1991)
  • Damage Control #1: "The Sure Thing" (a, with Dwayne McDuffie, 1991)
  • Epic Lite #1: "Al Space" (w/a, Epic, 1991)
  • Break the Chain (a, with KRS-One, one-shot, Marvel Music, 1994)
  • Truth: Red, White & Black #1-7 (a, with Robert Morales, 2003)
  • Marvel Romance Redux: Restraining Orders are for Other Girls: "My Magical Centaur!" (w, with Don Heck, 2006)
  • X-Men Fairy Tales #2: "The Friendship of the Tortoise and the Eagle" (a, with C. B. Cebulski, 2006)
  • Deadpool:
  • Deadpool #900: "One Down" (a, with Charlie Huston, 2009)
  • Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth (a, with Victor Gischler):
  • Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth (hc, 328 pages, 2010, ; tpb, 2011, ) incl
  • Prelude to Deadpool Corps #5 (a, with Victor Gischler, 2010)
  • DeadpoolMAX (a, with David Lapham and Shawn Crystal, 2010–2012)

DC Comics

  • The Shadow #8-19, Annual #2 (a, with Andrew Helfer, 1988–1989)
  • Action Comics #610: "Phantom Stranger: Kenny and the Demon!" (a, with Paul Kupperberg, 1988)
  • Justice, Inc. #1-2 (a, with Andrew Helfer, 1989)
  • Why I Hate Saturn (w/a, graphic novel, 200 pages, Piranha Press, 1990, )
  • Justice League America #50: "Ktrrogarrx!" (w/a, 1991)
  • Fast Forward #2: "Lester Fenton & the Walking Dead" (w/a, Piranha Press, 1992)
  • Elseworlds 80 Page Giant: "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Babysitter" (w/a, with Liz Glass, 1999)
  • Batman: Gotham Knights #11: "Snow Job!" (a, with Bob Kanigher, 2001)
  • Just Imagine Stan Lee with John Buscema Creating Superman: "On the Street" (a, with Stan Lee and Michael Uslan, co-feature, 2001) collected in Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating the DC Universe Volume 1 (tpb, 216 pages, 2002, )
  • 9-11 Volume 2 (graphic novel, 224 pages, 2002, ):
  • "Still Life" (a, with Ed Brubaker)
  • "The Call" (a, with Eddie Berganza)
  • "What We Learned Today" (a, with Eddie Berganza)
  • Plastic Man vol. 4, #1-6, 8-11, 13-20 (2004-2006) (w/a)
  • The Spirit: #7 (2007); vol. 2, #2 (2010)
  • "N.I.M.B.Y" (a, with Harlan Ellison)
  • Countdown #23: "The Origin of Mr. Mxyzptlk" (a, with Scott Beatty, co-feature, 2007)
  • Wednesday Comics #1-12: "Hawkman" (w/a, 2009)
  • MAD: "The All-Time Pantheon of Oddball Music Fans" (a, with Mike Snider, in #343, 1996)
  • MAD: "Joey Buttafuoco's Guide to Chivalry" (a, with C. J. Burke, in #356, 1997)
  • Gen<sup>13</sup>: Carny Folk: "Sideshow on the Edge of Forever" (a, with John Arcudi, one-shot, Wildstorm, 2000)
  • ABC Special: "Spectors from Projectors" (a, with Alan Moore, 2001)
  • Tom Strong #13: "The Family Strong and the Tower at Time's End!" (a, with Alan Moore, Chris Sprouse, Russ Heath Jr. and Peter Poplaski, 2001)

Vertigo

  • You are Here (w/a, graphic novel, 160 pages, 1998, )
  • V2K: I Die at Midnight (w/a, one-shot, 2000)
  • King David (w/a, graphic novel, 104 pages, 2002, )
  • Undercover Genie (w/a, a collection of short strips and illustrations from non-comics publications, 128 pages, 2003, )
  • House of Mystery #10: "Fig's Adventure in Stuffytown" (a, with Peter and Bethany Keele, 2010)
  • Mystery in Space: "The Dream Pool" (a, with Kevin McCarthy, one-shot, 2012)

Kyle Baker Publishing

  • The New Baker: "The Cartoon Issue" (w/a, one-shot, 2003)
  • The Bakers: Do These Toys Belong Somewhere? (hc, 96 pages, 2006, ) collects:
  • Cartoonist (w/a):
  • Volume 1 (tpb, 128 pages, 2004, )
  • Volume 2: Now with More Bakers (tpb, 128 pages, 2005, )
  • The Bakers (w/a, one-shot, 2005)
  • Nat Turner #1-4 (w/a, 2005)

Other publishers

Dark Horse:

  • The Residents: Freak Show: "Everyone Comes Here, Nobody Laughs When They Leave" (w/a, graphic novel, 80 pages, 1992, )
  • Instant Piano #1-4 (w/a, 1994–1995)
  • Michael Chabon Presents: The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist #1: "Sequestered" (a, with Kevin McCarthy, 2004)
  • The Bakers Meet Jingle Belle (a, with Paul Dini, one-shot, 2006)
  • Creepy #8: "Loathsome Lore" (a, with Dan Braun, 2012)
  • Birth of a Nation: A Comic Novel (a, with Reginald Hudlin and Aaron McGruder, graphic novel, 144 pages, Crown, 2004, )
  • Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #12: "Blood Curse of the Evil Fairies!" (w/a, Bongo, 2006)
  • Goosebumps Volume 3: "The Horror at Camp Jellyjam" (w/a, graphic novel, 144 pages, Graphix, 2007, )

Image:

  • Special Forces #1-4 (w/a, 2007–2009)
  • The Bakers: Babies and Kittens (w/a, hc, 96 pages, 2008, )
  • Rocketeer Adventures 2 #3: "Butchy Saves Betty" (w/a, IDW Publishing, 2012)

Covers only

  • Web of Spider-Man #9 (Marvel, 1985)
  • The Spectacular Spider-Man #112 (Marvel, 1986)
  • Marvel Age #43, 83 (Marvel, 1986–1990)
  • The Amazing Spider-Man #287 (Marvel, 1987)
  • The Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told hc (DC Comics, 1988)
  • Action Comics #603 (DC Comics, 1988)
  • Critical Mass #1, 4 (Epic, 1990)
  • Challengers of the Unknown #3 (DC Comics, 1991)
  • Monster Menace #1 (Marvel, 1993)
  • Marvel Tales #282 (Marvel, 1994)
  • Doom Patrol #76-87 (Vertigo, 1994–1995)
  • Dr. Strange vs. Dracula #1 (Marvel, 1994)
  • Showcase '94 #4 (DC Comics, 1994)
  • 2099 Unlimited #5-6 (Marvel, 1994)
  • Gen<sup>13</sup> #40 (Wildstorm, 1999)
  • The Comics Journal #219 (Fantagraphics Books, 2000)
  • Peter Parker: Spider-Man #42-43 (Marvel, 2002)
  • Back Issue #8 (TwoMorrows, 2005)
  • Tales from the Crypt #1 (Papercutz, 2007)

Awards

  • Eisner Award, Best Writer/Artist—Humor:
  • 1999 - Kyle Baker, You Are Here (DC Comics/Vertigo)
  • 2000 - Kyle Baker, I Die at Midnight (DC/Vertigo); "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Babysitter" in Elseworlds 80-Page Giant #1 (DC)
  • 2004 - Kyle Baker, Plastic Man (DC); The New Baker (Kyle Baker Publishing)
  • 2005 - Kyle Baker, Plastic Man (DC); Kyle Baker, Cartoonist (Kyle Baker Publishing)
  • 2006 - Kyle Baker, Plastic Man (DC); The Bakers (Kyle Baker Publishing)
  • Eisner Award, Best Short Story:
  • 2000 - "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Babysitter" by Kyle Baker in Elseworlds 80-Page Giant (DC)
  • Eisner Award, Best New Series:
  • 2004 - Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker (DC)
  • Eisner Award, Best Title for Younger Readers/Best Comics Publication for a Younger Audience:
  • 2005 - Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker and Scott Morse (DC)
  • Eisner Award, Best Reality-Based Work
  • 2006 - Nat Turner, by Kyle Baker (Kyle Baker Publishing)
  • 2014 - The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story, with Vivek Tiwary and Andrew C. Robinson
  • Eisner Award, Hall of Fame
  • 2025 - Voters' Choice
  • Harvey Award, Best Graphic Album of Original Work:
  • 1991 - Why I Hate Saturn by Kyle Baker (Piranha Press)
  • 1999 - You Are Here by Kyle Baker (Paradox Press)
  • 2014 - The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story, with Vivek Tiwary and Andrew C. Robinson (Dark Horse)
  • Harvey Award, Best New Series:
  • 2005 - Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker (DC)
  • Harvey Award, Special Award for Humor:
  • 2005 - Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker (DC)
  • 2006 - Plastic Man, by Kyle Baker (DC)
  • Harvey Award, Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work
  • 2009 - Nat Turner (Abram Books)
  • 2006 Glyph Comics Awards
  • Story of the Year - Nat Turner, Kyle Baker, writer and artist
  • Best Artist: Kyle Baker, Nat Turner
  • Best Cover: Nat Turner #1, Kyle Baker, illustrator
  • 2007 Glyph Comics Awards
  • Best Artist: Kyle Baker, The Bakers
  • 2008 Glyph Comics Awards
  • Best Artist: Kyle Baker, Nat Turner: Revolution

References

  • QualityJollity.com (official site). Archived from the original July 15, 2011.
  • Luxury Cartooning (official blog). Archived from the original July 22, 2011.
  • Archive of KyleBaker.com (former official site)
  • Kyle Baker at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators