USA: Ron Frenz

Ronald Wade Frenz is a comic book artist best known for his work for Marvel Comics. He is famous for his work on The Amazing Spider-Man in the 1980s and later for his work with Spider-Girl, whom he co-created with writer Tom DeFalco. Frenz and DeFalco had already co-created the New Warriors in the pages of The Mighty Thor. Frenz began working at Marvel in the early 1980s. His early work included such titles as Ka-Zar the Savage, Star Wars, The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones and Marvel Saga. His first credited work for Marvel was published in Ka-Zar The Savage vol.1 #16. Frenz has historically worked on comic book series where the characters did not have their original costumes or identities. Spider-Man wore his black costume, Thor took on a new secret identity and appearance, and Superman changed his uniform and powers while Frenz was the regular cartoonist on his titles. Frenz became the regular cartoonist for The Amazing Spider-Man in 1984 and stories he drew include “The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man” in The Amazing Spider-Man Vol.1 #248 and the first appearance of Spider-Man's black suit in The Amazing Spider-Man Vol.1 #252. Among the new characters introduced during his tenure with the series were the Cougar in The Amazing Spider-Man Vol.1 #256 and Silver Marten in The Amazing Spider-Man Vol.1 #265. Frenz and DeFalco revealed that the “black suit” was an alien creature in The Amazing Spider-Man Vol.1 #258. Frenz also drew The Amazing Spider-Man Annual vol.1 #18 (1984), a story written by Stan Lee, which chronicled the wedding of two Spider-Man sidekicks, J. Jonah Jameson and Marla Madison. Frenz had initially come to the series as a temporary replacement for John Romita Jr. but stayed on when it became apparent that he teamed well with the writer, DeFalco. Jim Owsley, editor of the Spider-Man titles at the time, has said that “Frenz was a Spider-Man enthusiast, bordering on fanaticism.” In 1986, Frenz and DeFalco left The Amazing Spider-Man on Owsley's orders. The authors became the creative team for The Mighty Thor in 1987 and introduced Eric Masterson in The Mighty Thor Vol.1 #391 (May 1988). Eric Masterson would later become the superhero known as Thunderstrike, who starred in his own series in 1993 by Frenz and DeFalco. In 1995, Frenz moved to DC Comics and became the cartoonist for Superman. The following year, he was one of the many authors who contributed to Superman: The Wedding Album, in which the character married Lois Lane. Superman acquired a new costume and new superpowers in Superman vol. 2 #123 (May 1997). Frenz drew part of the Superman Red/Superman Blue special, which kicked off the eponymous story, which ran through the various Superman titles. Frenz returned to Marvel with the limited series Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives in 1997. DeFalco and Frenz reunited to introduce Spidergirl in What If Vol.2 #105. Spider-Girl began as a regular series in October 1998 and continued through Spider-Girl vol.1 #100 (September 2006). A new series titled The Amazing Spider-Girl appeared the following December. Other collaborations by Frenz and DeFalco include the short-lived series A-Next. Frenz illustrated “This Happened to Me” in Outdoor Life magazine. He has also worked as an editor at Charlton Spotlight magazine. On June 4, 2009, Frenz received the Nemo Award for Excellence in the Cartoon Arts.