Brent Anderson
Encyclopedia
Brent Anderson is an American
comic book
artist
known for his work on X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills
and the comic book series Astro City
.
. The first Marvel comic he read was Fantastic Four
#69, "By Ben Betrayed" (Dec. 1967), "They were a family who had super-powers and helped each other out. I wanted to be part of a family like that," he says. Anderson began writing and drawing his own comics on school binder paper, creating a pantheon of his own that included "Radium the Robot" and "The Chameleon".
illustrations, Anderson's first professional comics work appeared in the mid-1970s in independent/underground publications such as All-Slug, Tesserae, and Venture.
, written by Bruce Jones
, became Anderson's first regular series. The X-Men
graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills
followed, as well as artwork on a number of Marvel Comics series, including the heroic space-opera Strikeforce: Morituri
. During this period, Anderson was active doing artwork for independent publishers Pacific Comics
and Eclipse Comics
, including the innovative cinematic comic Somerset Holmes.
In 1995
, Anderson co-created (with writer Kurt Busiek
and cover artist Alex Ross
), the award-winning Astro City
. Anderson is currently the regular artist on Kurt Busiek
's Astro City
, having just completed Astro City: Silver Agent
, a two-issue special for DC
/Wildstorm
.
Other recent work included J. Michael Straczynski's Rising Stars: Untouchable spin-off series written by Fiona Avery
covering the life story of special assassin Laurel Darkhaven. Work continues on a 200-plus page graphic novel, Jar of Ashes, written by Shirley Johnston. Anderson is working with writer Marv Wolfman
on a one-shot featuring Green Lantern
and Plastic Man
entitled Green Lantern/Plastic Man: Weapons of Mass Deception, expected to be released in December 2010.
, one of Anderson's many artistic influences. Anderson's work is known for its focus on character. "My greatest joy in drawing comics comes when I've added nuance to a character with just the right expression and illustrated a scene that captures the perfect moment of mood. When the characters come to life I feel alive. That's why I've dedicated my professional life to creating comics."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
known for his work on X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills
X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills
X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills is a graphic novel published in 1982 by Marvel Comics, starring their popular superhero team the X-Men...
and the comic book series Astro City
Astro City
Kurt Busiek's Astro City is a comic book series centered on a fictional American city of that name. Written by Kurt Busiek, the series is co-created and illustrated by Brent Anderson with character designs and painted covers by Alex Ross...
.
Early life
In junior high school, Brent Anderson discovered the pantheon of characters in Marvel ComicsMarvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. The first Marvel comic he read was Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
#69, "By Ben Betrayed" (Dec. 1967), "They were a family who had super-powers and helped each other out. I wanted to be part of a family like that," he says. Anderson began writing and drawing his own comics on school binder paper, creating a pantheon of his own that included "Radium the Robot" and "The Chameleon".
Early career
After doing fanzineFanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
illustrations, Anderson's first professional comics work appeared in the mid-1970s in independent/underground publications such as All-Slug, Tesserae, and Venture.
Comics professional
In 1981, Ka-Zar The SavageKa-Zar
Ka-Zar is the name of two jungle-dwelling comics fictional characters published in the United States. The first appeared in pulp magazines of the 1930s, and was adapted for his second iteration, as a comic book character for Timely Comics, the 1930s and 1940s predecessor of Marvel Comics...
, written by Bruce Jones
Bruce Jones (comics)
Bruce Jones, whose pen names include Philip Roland and Bruce Elliot, is an American comic book writer, novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter whose work included writing Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk from 2001-2005.-Early career:...
, became Anderson's first regular series. The X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills
X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills
X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills is a graphic novel published in 1982 by Marvel Comics, starring their popular superhero team the X-Men...
followed, as well as artwork on a number of Marvel Comics series, including the heroic space-opera Strikeforce: Morituri
Strikeforce: Morituri
Strikeforce: Morituri is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics from 1986 to 1989. The series was created by writer Peter B. Gillis and artist Brent Anderson....
. During this period, Anderson was active doing artwork for independent publishers Pacific Comics
Pacific Comics
Pacific Comics was an independent comic book publisher that flourished from 1981-1984. It was also a chain of comics shops and a distributor. It began out of a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes...
and Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
, including the innovative cinematic comic Somerset Holmes.
In 1995
1995 in comics
-January:*After Xavier: The Age of Apocalypse is launched. All X-titles change to different names for the next four months.* Thor marks his 400th appearance in Marvel Comics with issue #482....
, Anderson co-created (with writer Kurt Busiek
Kurt Busiek
Kurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.-Early life:...
and cover artist Alex Ross
Alex Ross
Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross is an American comic book painter, illustrator, and plotter. He is praised for his realistic, human depictions of classic comic book characters. Since the 1990s he has done work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics Nelson Alexander "Alex" Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an...
), the award-winning Astro City
Astro City
Kurt Busiek's Astro City is a comic book series centered on a fictional American city of that name. Written by Kurt Busiek, the series is co-created and illustrated by Brent Anderson with character designs and painted covers by Alex Ross...
. Anderson is currently the regular artist on Kurt Busiek
Kurt Busiek
Kurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.-Early life:...
's Astro City
Astro City
Kurt Busiek's Astro City is a comic book series centered on a fictional American city of that name. Written by Kurt Busiek, the series is co-created and illustrated by Brent Anderson with character designs and painted covers by Alex Ross...
, having just completed Astro City: Silver Agent
Astro City
Kurt Busiek's Astro City is a comic book series centered on a fictional American city of that name. Written by Kurt Busiek, the series is co-created and illustrated by Brent Anderson with character designs and painted covers by Alex Ross...
, a two-issue special for DC
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
/Wildstorm
WildStorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
.
Other recent work included J. Michael Straczynski's Rising Stars: Untouchable spin-off series written by Fiona Avery
Fiona Avery
Fiona Kai Avery is a comic book and television writer. Avery was hired as a reference editor for the fifth season of Babylon 5, and later continued in that role for the failed spin-off Crusade...
covering the life story of special assassin Laurel Darkhaven. Work continues on a 200-plus page graphic novel, Jar of Ashes, written by Shirley Johnston. Anderson is working with writer Marv Wolfman
Marv Wolfman
Marvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.-1960s:...
on a one-shot featuring Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
and Plastic Man
Plastic Man
Plastic Man is a fictional comic-book superhero originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by writer-artist Jack Cole, he first appeared in Police Comics #1 ....
entitled Green Lantern/Plastic Man: Weapons of Mass Deception, expected to be released in December 2010.
Art style
Anderson's work fits into the category of "realism" defined by Neal AdamsNeal Adams
Neal Adams is an American comic book and commercial artist known for helping to create some of the definitive modern imagery of the DC Comics characters Superman, Batman, and Green Arrow; as the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates; and as a creators-rights advocate who...
, one of Anderson's many artistic influences. Anderson's work is known for its focus on character. "My greatest joy in drawing comics comes when I've added nuance to a character with just the right expression and illustrated a scene that captures the perfect moment of mood. When the characters come to life I feel alive. That's why I've dedicated my professional life to creating comics."
Awards
- Inkpot AwardInkpot AwardThe Inkpot Award, bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International, is given to some of the professionals in comic book, comic strip, animation, science fiction, and related pop-culture fields, who are guests of that organization's yearly multigenre fan convention, commonly known as...
, 1985 - Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
- Best New Series, 1996
- Best Single Issue, 1996, 1997, 1998
- Best Continuing Series, 1997, 1998
- Best Serial Story, 1998
- Harvey AwardHarvey AwardThe Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
- Best New Series, 1996
- Best Single Issue or Story, 1996
- Best Graphic Album, previously released work, 1997
- Squiddy Award (Best Creative Team), 1996
- Don Thompson AwardDon Thompson AwardThe Compuserve Comics and Animation Forum's Don Thompson Awards were given for achievement in comic books, comic strips, and animation. Initiated in 1992, they were originally known as the Compuserve Comics and Animation Forum Awards for the CompuServe forum that created and gave out the award...
- Best Achievement by Penciler, 1996
- Favorite Single Creative Team (with Kurt BusiekKurt BusiekKurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.-Early life:...
), 1998
- Xanadu Award, 1998