Bruce Jones (comics)
Encyclopedia
Bruce Jones, whose pen name
s 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.
from his native Kansas City, Missouri
, looking for work as a comics artist
. He made his professional debut with Major Publications
' black-and-white horror
-comics magazine
Web of Horror #3 (April 1970), writing and drawing the six-page story "Point Of View". Jones went on to write for Warren Publishing
's black-and-white horror-comics Creepy
and Eerie
, and, under the pseudonym
Philip Roland, for rival Skywald's line. During this time he wrote his first novel, The Contestants.
Jones later freelanced for Marvel Comics
, writing stories for Ka-Zar
and Conan the Barbarian
, as well as writing and drawing anthological
science fiction
and other stories for Marvel's black-and-white magazine line. In 1979, Jones met April Campbell and formed a writing partnership. From 1982-1984, Jones and Campbell, who formed the company Bruce Jones Associates, packaged, edited, and chiefly wrote the Pacific Comics
titles Twisted Tales
and Alien Worlds
, as well as Somerset Holmes
, Silverheels, and Pathways to Fantasy. During this time, Jones published the short story
collection The Twisted Tales of Bruce Jones, with a cover and occasional illustrations by Richard Corben
. When Pacific went bankrupt, subsequent issues were published by Eclipse Comics
.
five-issue miniseries (1986–1987), published by Fantagor Press, and played the space pilot in the "Relief Station" segment of Corben's and co-writer-director Christopher Wheate's direct-to-video
feature The Dark Planet. By the early 1990s, Jones had shifted to screenwriting
, working on HBO's The Hitchhiker TV series and several television movie
s with writing partner and now-wife April Campbell Jones. He also wrote a series of thriller novels including Sprinter, Maximum Velocity, and Game Running. From 1990 to 1992, Jones took over as writer of the newspaper
comic strip
Flash Gordon
, then drawn by Ralph Reese
, occasionally assisted by Gray Morrow
. He returned to Kansas City with his wife and children in 2000 and wrote two more novels, Still Life and Death Rites, under the pseudonym Bruce Elliot.
In 2001, he was contacted by Marvel editor Axel Alonso
, with whom Jones had worked when Alonso was at rival company DC Comics
. Alonso offered him a job scripting the then-floundering comic The Incredible Hulk. Sales of the title rose significantly, and in 2003, Jones noted that he planned to stay on as Hulk writer "until they [Marvel] throw me off". However, the following year he signed a two-year contract with rival company DC Comics
. In the interim, he scripted the five-issue series Call of Duty: The Precinct #1-5, a naturalistic
drama about the New York City Police Department
.
Other work includes a seven-issue stint on Nightwing
, a Deadman series for Vertigo, and various limited series for DC comics, including Man-Bat
, OMAC
, and Vigilante
.
In 2005, Jones' 10-page story "Jenifer" from Creepy
#63 (July 1974), drawn by Bernie Wrightson
, became the basis for filmmaker Dario Argento
's segment of Masters of Horror
, a Showtime television series.
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
s include Philip Roland and Bruce Elliot, is an American
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...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, novelist, illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
whose work included writing Marvel Comics
Marvel 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 Incredible Hulk from 2001-2005.
Early career
Jones broke into comics in the early 1970s when he moved to New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from his native Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, looking for work as a comics artist
Comics artist
A comics artist is an artist working within the comics medium on comic strips, comic books or graphic novels. The term may refer to any number of artists who contribute to produce a work in the comics form, from those who oversee all aspects of the work to those who contribute only a part.-Comic...
. He made his professional debut with Major Publications
Major Publications
Major Publications, also known was Major Magazines, was a publisher specializing in comic magazines, most notably the satirical magazine Cracked, the most durable imitator of Mad magazine. Founded by Robert C...
' black-and-white horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
-comics magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
Web of Horror #3 (April 1970), writing and drawing the six-page story "Point Of View". Jones went on to write for Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing
Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades...
's black-and-white horror-comics Creepy
Creepy
Creepy was an American horror-comics magazine launched by Warren Publishing in 1964. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. The anthology magazine was initially published quarterly but...
and Eerie
Eerie
Eerie was an American magazine of horror comics introduced in 1966 by Warren Publishing. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. Each issue's stories were introduced by the host...
, and, under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Philip Roland, for rival Skywald's line. During this time he wrote his first novel, The Contestants.
Jones later freelanced for Marvel Comics
Marvel 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...
, writing stories for Ka-Zar
Ka-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...
and Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian is a fictional sword and sorcery hero that originated in pulp fiction magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, several films , television programs, video games, roleplaying games and other media...
, as well as writing and drawing anthological
Comics anthology
Comics anthologies collect works in the medium of comics that are too short for standalone publication.- U.S. :- UK :British comics have a long tradition publishing comics anthologies, often weekly...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and other stories for Marvel's black-and-white magazine line. In 1979, Jones met April Campbell and formed a writing partnership. From 1982-1984, Jones and Campbell, who formed the company Bruce Jones Associates, packaged, edited, and chiefly wrote the 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...
titles Twisted Tales
Twisted Tales
Twisted Tales was a horror comics anthology published by Pacific Comics and, later, Eclipse Comics, in the early 1980s. The title was edited by Bruce Jones and April Campbell.-Publication history:...
and Alien Worlds
Alien Worlds
Alien Worlds was a science fiction anthology comic book published by Pacific Comics and, later, Eclipse Comics, in the early 1980s. The title was edited by Bruce Jones and April Campbell.-Publication history:...
, as well as Somerset Holmes
Somerset Holmes
Somerset Holmes was a 6-issue comic book mini-series written by Bruce Jones and co-plotted by April Campbell with art by Brent Anderson. The first four issues were published by Pacific Comics; after Pacific went out of business the last two issues were published by Eclipse Comics which later...
, Silverheels, and Pathways to Fantasy. During this time, Jones published the short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
collection The Twisted Tales of Bruce Jones, with a cover and occasional illustrations by Richard Corben
Richard Corben
Richard Corben is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in Heavy Metal magazine...
. When Pacific went bankrupt, subsequent issues were published by 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...
.
Later career
Jones wrote artist Richard Corben's Rip in TimeRip in Time
Rip in Time is a five-part comic book limited series written by Bruce Jones and illustrated by Richard Corben, first published by Fantagor Press in 1986...
five-issue miniseries (1986–1987), published by Fantagor Press, and played the space pilot in the "Relief Station" segment of Corben's and co-writer-director Christopher Wheate's direct-to-video
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...
feature The Dark Planet. By the early 1990s, Jones had shifted to screenwriting
Screenwriting
Screenwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is a freelance profession....
, working on HBO's The Hitchhiker TV series and several television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
s with writing partner and now-wife April Campbell Jones. He also wrote a series of thriller novels including Sprinter, Maximum Velocity, and Game Running. From 1990 to 1992, Jones took over as writer of the newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
, then drawn by Ralph Reese
Ralph Reese
Ralph Reese is an American artist who has illustrated for books, magazines, trading cards, comic books and comic strips, including a year drawing the Flash Gordon strip for King Features...
, occasionally assisted by Gray Morrow
Gray Morrow
Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow was an American illustrator of paperback books and comics.-Biography:Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Morrow is best known as art director of Spider-Man between 1967 and 1970 and as illustrator of the syndicated Tarzan, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and Prince Valiant comic...
. He returned to Kansas City with his wife and children in 2000 and wrote two more novels, Still Life and Death Rites, under the pseudonym Bruce Elliot.
In 2001, he was contacted by Marvel editor Axel Alonso
Axel Alonso
Axel Alonso is American comic book creator, known primarily as an editor at DC Comics from 1994–2000, and at Marvel Comics from 2000 to the present. At DC, he edited a number of books published under their Vertigo line, such as Doom Patrol, Animal Man, Hellblazer, Preacher and 100 Bullets...
, with whom Jones had worked when Alonso was at rival company DC Comics
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...
. Alonso offered him a job scripting the then-floundering comic The Incredible Hulk. Sales of the title rose significantly, and in 2003, Jones noted that he planned to stay on as Hulk writer "until they [Marvel] throw me off". However, the following year he signed a two-year contract with rival company DC Comics
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...
. In the interim, he scripted the five-issue series Call of Duty: The Precinct #1-5, a naturalistic
Naturalism (literature)
Naturalism was a literary movement taking place from the 1880s to 1940s that used detailed realism to suggest that social conditions, heredity, and environment had inescapable force in shaping human character...
drama about the New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
.
Other work includes a seven-issue stint on Nightwing
Nightwing
Nightwing is a name that has been used by several fictional characters in the DC Comics Universe. It was conceived as a Kryptonian analogue to the character of Batman, with Nightwing's frequent partner Flamebird based on Robin...
, a Deadman series for Vertigo, and various limited series for DC comics, including Man-Bat
Man-Bat
Man-Bat is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by DC Comics, usually as a supervillain and adversary of Batman, though occasionally depicted as a heroic character. He first appeared in Detective Comics #400 and was created by Frank Robbins and Neal Adams...
, OMAC
OMACs
The OMACs are a fictional type of powerful cyborg that exist in the DC Comics universe...
, and Vigilante
Vigilante (comics)
Vigilante is the name used by several fictional characters appearing in DC Comics. The original character was one of the first DC Comics characters adapted for live-action film, beating Superman by one year.-Greg Saunders:...
.
In 2005, Jones' 10-page story "Jenifer" from Creepy
Creepy
Creepy was an American horror-comics magazine launched by Warren Publishing in 1964. Like Mad, it was a black-and-white newsstand publication in a magazine format and thus did not require the approval or seal of the Comics Code Authority. The anthology magazine was initially published quarterly but...
#63 (July 1974), drawn by Bernie Wrightson
Bernie Wrightson
Bernie "Berni" Wrightson is an American artist known for his horror illustrations and comic books.-Biography:...
, became the basis for filmmaker Dario Argento
Dario Argento
Dario Argento is an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, particularly in the subgenre known as giallo, and for his influence on modern horror and slasher movies....
's segment of Masters of Horror
Masters of Horror
Masters of Horror is an informal social group of international film writers and directors specializing in horror movies and an American television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network.- Origin :...
, a Showtime television series.
External links
- Masters of Horror: "Jenifer" at the Internet Movie Database