Famous First Fridays: Rich Corben's Warren Debut

Richard Corben is one of comics' most enduring and influential artists. His nearly 3-dimensional style (enhanced by his superhumanly endowed male and female figures) have won him millions of fans the world over. That the brutal, he-man antics of his characters flow from the pen of such a self-admittedly shy person just goes to show how powerful and liberating comics can be both for creators and fans. Rich began drawing at an early age, knowing it would be his life's work. He stuck with it, going to art college and submitting work to various mainstream and underground publishers. Corben's craftsmanship was further honed by his work for an industrial film company as he struggled to break into the ranks of comicbook creators. Corben produced reams of work for the underground comics scene (often going by the pen-name "Gore"), becoming a cult-legend both in the U.S. and overseas. After years of producing spec-work for Warren, he finally got his break into mainstream comics with Creepy #36's (cover-dated November 1970) "Frozen Beauty".

From there, Corben became one of Warren's--and comics'--most popular artist/writers. Though he stayed quite busy with his Warren work, Corben never turned his back on the undergrounds that spawned him. Eventually, the whole world fell for Corben's art when they got their hands on Meatloaf's spectacular Bat Out of Hell album. Add that to his involvement in the ground-breaking comics magazine Heavy Metal, and Corben became a super-star. Naturally his most popular creation, Den, would make it into the legendary 1981 Heavy Metal flick.

Corben's first Warren cover!

If you were rockin' in the Groovy Age, you own this album!

Take a ride, ride, ride, ride, ride...

Corben is still going strong, producing comics for grown-ups...and is still much loved by fans who grew up with him. Do yourself a favor and get the whole Richard Corben experience by visiting his official website. You'll be thanking Ol' Groove for sending ya there!