Jim Steranko Gets the Spotlight at a Very Special Big Apple Comic Con

If there is ever a comic book creator who changed how we look at the medium within the least amount of published issues, it’s Jim Steranko. At a time when major comic book publishers in the country were restricting artists to a house style, Steranko took the paneling and layouts and turned them into eye-catching pop art. At Big Apple Comic Con 2025, Steranko not only spoke before a packed house at a special spotlight panel but received an award from the convention for his tremendous and enduring influence on the comic book industry.

At the panel, moderated by Mike Carbonaro and Mike Raphael, Steranko was asked about his origin story in comic books, recalling his roots as the son of Ukrainian immigrants in Pennsylvania’s coal country. Steranko shared his hardscrabble upbringing in a small home that only had tar paper for a roof. With his mother teaching him how to read through cheap comic books available at the time, Steranko proudly declared that comics “are in my blood” and had been from an early age.

As Steranko became a working professional in New York City in the ‘60s, he decided to create his own original comic book character, reflecting the spy craze in movies and television spurred by the success of James Bond. Dubbing his creation Agent X, Steranko was encouraged to pitch his work to the major comic book publishers of the era by his personal hero and mentor, Joe Simon, co-creator of Captain America. This led Steranko to schedule a number of pitch meetings throughout Manhattan on one fateful day that changed his career forever, including his then-fledgling role in the industry.

Dissatisfied with the reactions he got from his first meetings, Steranko ended his marathon day by going to Marvel Comics’ offices where he managed to get in one last meeting with Stan Lee. Noting that the artwork that Steranko pitched with was crude, Lee explained that “it has energy, and I can sell energy,” encouraging him to pick which of Marvel’s current titles he wanted to take on the helm. Knowing that trying to follow comic book auteur Jack Kirby on any of his titles would be “suicide,” Steranko decided to take the reins on Strange Tales, which had a recurring feature starring secret agent Nick Fury.

Feeling he couldn’t do worse than Fury’s current stories, involving him taking on fantasy villains at the time, Steranko repositioned the title to be a stylish espionage series; it became an overnight success. Steranko went on afterward to write and illustrate other celebrated work, including providing concept art for Raiders of the Lost Ark. As the spotlight panel came to a close, Steranko announced his plans to create the long-awaited third volume of The Steranko History of Comics. Steranko then received his award, with Carbonaro also receiving an award at the panel for his work in organizing Big Apple Comic Con and being a longstanding vanguard of the comic book industry.

The panel was followed by an eBay Live charity auction with proceeds going to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc), a nonprofit organization supporting independent bookstores and comic book shops in times of unexpected financial need. Hosted by Carbonaro and Raphael, three Steranko items from Big Apple Comic Con were provided as part of the charity stream: an autographed limited print of Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., an autographed print of the wraparound cover to The Steranko History of Comics II, and a vintage 1975 Star Trek event poster illustrated and signed by Steranko.

All three items sold in what quickly became a record-breaking charity auction and a continued testament to Steranko’s long-lasting comic book legacy.