Lead, ink, and legacy: In conversation with artist Klaus Janson

If there’s an award for Most Valuable All-Rounder in Comics, Klaus Janson would be a pretty sure bet to win. Janson - who’s worked as a penciler, inker, colorist, writer, and teacher across his decades-long career – broke into comics 40 years ago with an uncredited appearance in Marvel’s Jungle Action #6; soon afterwards, he became the ongoing inker on The Defenders, before beginning a long term association with Daredevil in 1975.

It’s his work on Daredevil – specifically the work finishing the pencils and layouts of Frank Miller during the his career-making run in the early '80s – that many still go to as a prime example of what Janson is capable of, but that’s underselling his talents significantly. Outside of being an accomplished an inker and finisher (something he’s also done on titles including Fantastic Four, The Avengers, Spider-Man, Superman, and Detective Comics, where he famously worked wonders over Gene Colan’s pencils), he’s also an extremely accomplished penciller in his own right, having illustrated projects as diverse as The Punisher, Batman/Spawn: War Devil, and the short lived Epic superhero series, St. George.

But that’s not all! If that wasn’t impressive enough, Janson has also been shaping the next generation of comic book artists since the '90s, when he started teaching at the School of Visual Arts in New York City; something of a second career to him since then, with his offering additional courses at Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art and even holding storytelling seminars for new creators and editors at Marvel on an irregular basis. He’s even written How-To books The DC Comics Guide to Pencilling Comics and The DC Comics Guide to Inking Comics.

I don’t think I’m pulling your leg when I tell you that Klaus Janson has quite a resume; but now he can add another category: being interviewed by Popverse. Chloe Maveal caught up with him at Fan Expo New Orleans earlier this year for a quick conversation about what he’s done so far, and what brings him the most pleasure out of all of it.

Popverse: So we’re here at Fan Expo ! Klaus, you’ve obviously been doing things like this for quite some time considering your time spent in comics.

I only started really going to conventions about maybe six, seven years ago when I met Jason [Janson’s manager, sat next to him at the booth]. And part of the reason was just because it was so convenient for me not to do anything. He makes the arrangements. He makes the travel plans, and he has the conventions lined up. I've just come and enjoy myself [laughs]





You get the best of it then, don’t you? Just seeing people come up to the table while we’re talking here – you've been told that you’re a legend twice in two minutes. Does it feel just as special now as it did when you first started doing