Dave Simons
Encyclopedia
Dave Simons was an American
comic book
artist known for his work on Conan
, Ghost Rider
, Red Sonja
, and Spider-Man
for Marvel Comics
and Forgotten Realms
for DC Comics
. He is also known for commercial storyboard and games artwork work on The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs
and Greyhawk Ruins
.
and always wanted to be a comic book artist
. "I always wanted to do comics since I was about eight years old ... so I started making a point of drawing something every day. I figured if I just kept doing that, then eventually I'd get better at it."
After a stint in the Coast Guard
, and a chance series of meetings with Frank Robbins
, Simons elected to undertake formal training to be an artist. As part of his education Simons attended the now legendary art workshops run by Marvel Comics
artist John Buscema
. It was while attending these classes that he became friends with future comic book artists Ken Landgraf and
Armando Gil.
It was through Landgraf that Simons produced his first published work, which consisted of mainly commercial illustrations and the occasional soft-core pornographic comic book.
editor Rick Marschall
at a convention in the late 1970s, Simons was able to get his samples seen and assessed. At the time Marschall was overseeing the Curtis Magazines
line for Marvel, and Simons was duly assigned the duty of inking the first issue of the Howard the Duck
magazine. After submitting the story Simons was assigned a fill-in Falcon
story, which he inked with the assistance of Gil over Sal Buscema
s pencils. This marked his first professional work for Marvel and in mainstream comic books.
Simons was then assigned both pencilling and inking jobs for Marvel. One of the artists whose pencils he inked was Gene Colan
. "Gene Colan was always my favorite penciler to work on ... [T]hat was like a match made in heaven because a lot of people didn't understand Gene's shading. I thought, 'this is great, this is a great jumping on point if you're gonna do black and white stuff'". Colan has spoken highly of Simons's talent. "Do you know how few artists have ever been able to ink my very complex and often inscrutable pencils? Do you know how exquisitely Dave Simon inks my pencils? ... I've yet to see anything Dave has done that I haven't loved! Artists and inkers have come and gone but Dave remains today still at the top of his form!" Simons' attention to detail came into high demand in the 1980s and his inking credits include artists such as Keith Pollard
, Ron Wilson
, Frank Miller
, John Buscema, Marc Silvestri
, Greg LaRocque
, John Romita Jr and Ed Hannigan
. Titles that featured his inking include Thor
, The Thing
, Marvel Premiere
, Night Thrasher
, Iron Man
, King Conan, Doctor Strange
, Star Wars
, Star Trek
, Thundercats
and others.
Simons's tenure at Marvel was not limited to inking. He proved himself to be a very capable penciler and his pencils and ink combination were featured in titles such as The Spectacular Spider-Man
, Team America, What If
, Marvel Comics Presents
, Bizarre Adventures, Red Sonja
, Web of Spider-Man
, and King Conan
. He also provided cover art to titles such as Power Man and Iron Fist
, Ghost Rider
, Darkhold
, Machine Man
, Kull The Conqueror
, Marvel Team-Up
, Marvel Two-in-One
, Crystar, Moon Knight
and many others, along with pin-ups for the black and white magazine Savage Sword of Conan
"Pencilling, if you're doing it right ... is a much tougher gig than inking. Even though I usually liked to know what was going on, with inking you don't necessarily have to be involved with the story. With pencilling you have to be intimately involved with the story because you're the one who's bringing the writers work and intentions across to the readers, as to what he's trying to communicate there. You have to think of the drama, the camera angles, and the composition, make sure you leave room for the word balloons, all those sorts of things".
. His run on the title saw him first inking veteran artist Don Perlin
before joining with Bob Budiansky
to create one of the best remembered runs of the characters history. Budiansky and Simons worked with writers Roger Stern
and J.M. DeMatteis. "The only speed bump we hit in this whole thing was when Simons, who of that team is the unsung hero, left", Budiansky recalled. "He used to come to the office dressed in leather. I mean, this was not an act, he'd come dressed in one of these black leather, zipper jackets. I don't know if he also wore leather pants. He might have worn them. But anyway, the point is, he knew how to ink leather, which was really important for Ghost Rider. So when he left the book we never really were able to replace that look that he gave the book. The rest of the team was all somewhat saddened by his departure." Marvel attempted to duplicate the highly detailed and rendered look that Budiansky and Simons were able to give the character when the character was relaunched in the early 1990s but never quite succeeded.
. At DC he worked on Deathstroke The Terminator
,
Spelljammers, Dragonlance
, and Forgotten Realms
. "I liked the combination of me and Rags Morales ... [H]e has that Frazetta thing going on and I was hip to that and tried to bring that out a lot." Simons worked on a number of cartoon based books during his time at DC and his work is featured in titles such as Cartoon Network Block Party. During this time he also illustrated Roger Rabbit at Disney.
Masters Of The Universe
, Zula Patrol,
Psi-Kix and Maya and Miguel. "The list of shows I've worked on is certainly longer than the list of comic books that I've worked on at this point", Simons once commented Simons also storyboarded for the show Spy Dogs, which was directed by Will Meugniot and later, Mike Joens. Dave worked again with Gil on this show, hiring him as a storyboard artist. Simons has the distinction of working on both an animated TV program and the comic book spin-off at the same time, this was when he worked on the animated show Courage The Cowardly Dog
, which he subsequently drew the DC
comic book of the same name.
, along with contributing art to various trading card sets issued by Rittenhouse
. He contributed art for Dynamic Forces and Red Sonja
variant cover series and the 100 Hulks
project.
In 2009 Simons accepted a seat on the committee for the Inkwell Awards
and remained a member until his passing.
.
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 known for his work on Conan
Conan (Marvel Comics)
Conan is a fictional character based on Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian. He was introduced to the comic book world in 1970 with Conan the Barbarian, written by Roy Thomas, illustrated by Barry Smith and published by Marvel Comics....
, Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (comics)
Ghost Rider is the name of several fictional supernatural antiheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Night Rider and subsequently to Phantom Rider.The first supernatural Ghost Rider is...
, Red Sonja
Red Sonja
Red Sonja, the She-Devil with a Sword, is a fictional character, a high fantasy sword and sorcery heroine created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith, and loosely based on Red Sonya of Rogatino in Robert E. Howard's 1934 short story "The Shadow of the Vulture"...
, and Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
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...
and Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
for 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...
. He is also known for commercial storyboard and games artwork work on The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs
The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs
The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs is a children's animated series, produced by Saban Entertainment, that aired on Fox Kids from 1998 until it was cancelled in 1999.-Plot:...
and Greyhawk Ruins
Greyhawk Ruins
Greyhawk Ruins is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was published in 1990 by TSR, Inc...
.
Early life
Dave Simons grew up in 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...
and always wanted to be a comic book artist
Comic Book Artist
Comic Book Artist was an American magazine founded by Jon B. Cooke devoted to anecdotal histories of American comic books, with emphasis on comics published since the 1960s...
. "I always wanted to do comics since I was about eight years old ... so I started making a point of drawing something every day. I figured if I just kept doing that, then eventually I'd get better at it."
After a stint in the Coast Guard
Coast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...
, and a chance series of meetings with Frank Robbins
Frank Robbins
Franklin "Frank" Robbins was a notable American comic book and comic strip artist and writer, as well as a prominent painter whose work appeared in museums including the Whitney Museum of American Art, where one of his paintings was featured in the 1955 Whitney Annual Exhibition of American...
, Simons elected to undertake formal training to be an artist. As part of his education Simons attended the now legendary art workshops run by 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...
artist John Buscema
John Buscema
John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...
. It was while attending these classes that he became friends with future comic book artists Ken Landgraf and
Armando Gil.
It was through Landgraf that Simons produced his first published work, which consisted of mainly commercial illustrations and the occasional soft-core pornographic comic book.
Marvel Comics
Approaching then-MarvelMarvel 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...
editor Rick Marschall
Rick Marschall
Rick Marschall is a writer/editor and comic strip historian, described by Bostonia magazine as "America's foremost authority on pop culture." Marschall has served as an editor for both Marvel and Disney comics, plus several syndicates.Marschall has written and edited more than 62 books on cultural...
at a convention in the late 1970s, Simons was able to get his samples seen and assessed. At the time Marschall was overseeing the Curtis Magazines
Curtis Magazines
Curtis Magazines was an imprint of Marvel Comics that existed from 1971 to 1980. The imprint published black-and-white magazines that did not carry the Comics Code Authority seal. Initially, page counts varied between 68,76, and 84 pages....
line for Marvel, and Simons was duly assigned the duty of inking the first issue of the Howard the Duck
Howard the Duck
Howard the Duck is a comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik. The character first appeared in Adventure into Fear #19 and several subsequent series have chronicled the misadventures of the ill-tempered, anthropomorphic, "funny...
magazine. After submitting the story Simons was assigned a fill-in Falcon
Falcon (comics)
The Falcon is a fictional comic book superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics.Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan, and introduced in Captain America #117 , the character is mainstream comics' first African-American superhero...
story, which he inked with the assistance of Gil over Sal Buscema
Sal Buscema
Silvio "Sal" Buscema is an American comic book artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he enjoyed a ten-year run as artist of The Incredible Hulk...
s pencils. This marked his first professional work for Marvel and in mainstream comic books.
Simons was then assigned both pencilling and inking jobs for Marvel. One of the artists whose pencils he inked was Gene Colan
Gene Colan
Eugene Jules "Gene" Colan was an American comic book artist best known for his work for Marvel Comics, where his signature titles include the superhero series, Daredevil, the cult-hit satiric series Howard the Duck, and The Tomb of Dracula, considered one of comics' classic horror series...
. "Gene Colan was always my favorite penciler to work on ... [T]hat was like a match made in heaven because a lot of people didn't understand Gene's shading. I thought, 'this is great, this is a great jumping on point if you're gonna do black and white stuff'". Colan has spoken highly of Simons's talent. "Do you know how few artists have ever been able to ink my very complex and often inscrutable pencils? Do you know how exquisitely Dave Simon inks my pencils? ... I've yet to see anything Dave has done that I haven't loved! Artists and inkers have come and gone but Dave remains today still at the top of his form!" Simons' attention to detail came into high demand in the 1980s and his inking credits include artists such as Keith Pollard
Keith Pollard
Keith Pollard is an American comic book artist. Originally from the Detroit area, Pollard is best known for his simultaneous work on the Marvel Comics titles Fantastic Four, Thor, and The Amazing Spider-Man in the late 1970s-early 1980s.Pollard made his professional comics debut in 1974 with...
, Ron Wilson
Ron Wilson
Ronald Lawrence Wilson is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey player and current head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League and the United States men's national ice hockey team at the 2010 Winter Olympics. He is also the former head coach of the San Jose...
, Frank Miller
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
, John Buscema, Marc Silvestri
Marc Silvestri
Marc Silvestri is an American comic book artist, creator and publisher. He currently acts as the CEO for Top Cow Productions.-Early life:Marc Silvestri was born in Palm Beach, Florida.-Career:...
, Greg LaRocque
Greg LaRocque
Greg LaRocque is an American comic book illustrator.Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, LaRocque worked as an assistant teacher at the Professional Institute of Art while still a teenager. He started his art career in the advertising field...
, John Romita Jr and Ed Hannigan
Ed Hannigan
Ed Hannigan is an American a writer, artist, and editor of comic books for both Marvel Comics and DC Comics. His most notable writing credits include work on The Defenders during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As the artist on The Spectacular Spider-Man, Hannigan co-created the characters Cloak...
. Titles that featured his inking include Thor
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
, The Thing
Thing (comics)
The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
, Marvel Premiere
Marvel Premiere
Marvel Premiere is an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It ran for 61 issues from April 1972 to August 1981....
, Night Thrasher
Night Thrasher
Night Thrasher is a fictional character, a superhero published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Thor #411 , and was created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz.-Publication history:...
, Iron Man
Iron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
, King Conan, Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange
Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in Strange Tales #110 ....
, Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, Thundercats
ThunderCats
ThunderCats is an American animated television series that was produced by Rankin/Bass Productions debuting in 1984, based on the characters created by Tobin "Ted" Wolf. The series follows the adventures of a group of cat-like humanoid aliens...
and others.
Simons's tenure at Marvel was not limited to inking. He proved himself to be a very capable penciler and his pencils and ink combination were featured in titles such as The Spectacular Spider-Man
The Spectacular Spider-Man
The Spectacular Spider-Man is the name of several comic books and one magazine series starring Marvel Comics' Spider-Man.The character's main series, The Amazing Spider-Man, was extremely successful, and Marvel felt the character could support more than one title. This led the company in 1968 to...
, Team America, What If
What If (comics)
What If, sometimes rendered as What If...?, is the title of several comic book series published by Marvel Comics, exploring "the road not traveled" by its various characters...
, Marvel Comics Presents
Marvel Comics Presents
Marvel Comics Presents was an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics originally from 1988 to 1995; it returned for a second volume in 2007-2008.-Volume 1:The first volume was released on a biweekly basis and lasted for 175 issues...
, Bizarre Adventures, Red Sonja
Red Sonja
Red Sonja, the She-Devil with a Sword, is a fictional character, a high fantasy sword and sorcery heroine created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith, and loosely based on Red Sonya of Rogatino in Robert E. Howard's 1934 short story "The Shadow of the Vulture"...
, Web of Spider-Man
Web of Spider-Man
Web of Spider-Man is the name of two different monthly comic book series starring Spider-Man that have been published by Marvel Comics since 1985, the first volume of which ran for 129 issues between 1985 and 1995, and the second of which ran for 12 issues between 2009 and 2010.-Volume 1:The first...
, and King Conan
King Conan
King Conan is a collection of five fantasy short stories written by Robert E. Howard featuring his seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian, first published in hardcover by Gnome Press in 1953. The stories originally appeared in the 1930s in the fantasy magazine Weird Tales...
. He also provided cover art to titles such as Power Man and Iron Fist
Power Man and Iron Fist
Power Man and Iron Fist was a Marvel comic book featuring the superheroes Power Man and Iron Fist.-Hero For Hire/Power Man:...
, Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (comics)
Ghost Rider is the name of several fictional supernatural antiheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Night Rider and subsequently to Phantom Rider.The first supernatural Ghost Rider is...
, Darkhold
Darkhold
The Darkhold, also known as The Book of Sins, is a fictional book in the Marvel Comics universe.-Publication history:The Darkhold was co-created by Gerry Conway and Mike Ploog. The Darkhold was first mentioned in Marvel Spotlight #3 but first shown in Marvel Spotlight #4...
, Machine Man
Machine Man
Machine Man is a fictional character, an android superhero in the Marvel Comics Universe. The character was created by Jack Kirby for 2001: A Space Odyssey #8 , a comic written and drawn by Kirby featuring concepts based on the eponymous Stanley Kubrick film and Arthur C. Clarke novel...
, Kull The Conqueror
Kull the Conqueror
Kull the Conqueror is a 1997 fantasy film about the Robert E. Howard character Kull starring Kevin Sorbo. It is a movie adaptation of Howard's Conan novel The Hour of the Dragon, with the protagonist changed to the author's other barbarian hero Kull...
, Marvel Team-Up
Marvel Team-Up
Marvel Team-Up is the name of several American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series featured two or more Marvel characters in one story...
, Marvel Two-in-One
Marvel Two-in-One
Marvel Two-In-One was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics that featured the Fantastic Four member, the Thing, in a different team-up each issue with a different character. The series continued from the team-up stories starring the Thing in the final two issues of Marvel...
, Crystar, Moon Knight
Moon Knight
Moon Knight is a fictional character, a mercenary-turned-superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character exists in the Marvel Universe and was created by Doug Moench and Don Perlin...
and many others, along with pin-ups for the black and white magazine Savage Sword of Conan
Savage Sword of Conan
The Savage Sword of Conan was a black-and-white magazine-format comic book series published beginning in 1974 by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of Marvel Comics, and then later by Marvel itself. Savage Sword of Conan starred Robert E...
"Pencilling, if you're doing it right ... is a much tougher gig than inking. Even though I usually liked to know what was going on, with inking you don't necessarily have to be involved with the story. With pencilling you have to be intimately involved with the story because you're the one who's bringing the writers work and intentions across to the readers, as to what he's trying to communicate there. You have to think of the drama, the camera angles, and the composition, make sure you leave room for the word balloons, all those sorts of things".
Ghost Rider
Simons' best known Marvel work was his run on the first series of Ghost RiderGhost Rider (comics)
Ghost Rider is the name of several fictional supernatural antiheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Night Rider and subsequently to Phantom Rider.The first supernatural Ghost Rider is...
. His run on the title saw him first inking veteran artist Don Perlin
Don Perlin
Don Perlin is an American comic book artist and occasional writer best known for Marvel Comics' Werewolf by Night, The Defenders, and Ghost Rider...
before joining with Bob Budiansky
Bob Budiansky
Bob Budiansky is an American comic book writer, editor, and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel's Transformers comic. He also created the Marvel character Sleepwalker and wrote all 33 issues of that comic.-Career:...
to create one of the best remembered runs of the characters history. Budiansky and Simons worked with writers Roger Stern
Roger Stern
Roger Stern is an American comic book author and novelist.-Early career:In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine CPL , one of the first platforms for the work of John Byrne...
and J.M. DeMatteis. "The only speed bump we hit in this whole thing was when Simons, who of that team is the unsung hero, left", Budiansky recalled. "He used to come to the office dressed in leather. I mean, this was not an act, he'd come dressed in one of these black leather, zipper jackets. I don't know if he also wore leather pants. He might have worn them. But anyway, the point is, he knew how to ink leather, which was really important for Ghost Rider. So when he left the book we never really were able to replace that look that he gave the book. The rest of the team was all somewhat saddened by his departure." Marvel attempted to duplicate the highly detailed and rendered look that Budiansky and Simons were able to give the character when the character was relaunched in the early 1990s but never quite succeeded.
DC Comics
In the 1990s Simons left Marvel and crossed companies to DC ComicsDC 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...
. At DC he worked on Deathstroke The Terminator
Deathstroke
Deathstroke the Terminator , originally simply the Terminator, and known by the Teen Titans as Slade, is a fictional character, a supervillain and sometimes antihero in the DC Comics Universe. He is a mercenary and assassin who first appeared in The New Teen Titans #2...
,
Spelljammers, Dragonlance
Dragonlance
Dragonlance is a shared universe created by Laura and Tracy Hickman, and expanded by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis under the direction of TSR, Inc. into a series of popular fantasy novels. The Hickmans conceived Dragonlance while driving in their car on the way to TSR for a job application...
, and Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...
. "I liked the combination of me and Rags Morales ... [H]e has that Frazetta thing going on and I was hip to that and tried to bring that out a lot." Simons worked on a number of cartoon based books during his time at DC and his work is featured in titles such as Cartoon Network Block Party. During this time he also illustrated Roger Rabbit at Disney.
Animation career
In the late 1990s Simons left the comic book industry and moved into animation. As an artist he provided storyboards to such shows as Captain Planet, Exo-Squad,Masters Of The Universe
Masters of the Universe
Masters of the Universe is a media franchise created by Mattel....
, Zula Patrol,
Psi-Kix and Maya and Miguel. "The list of shows I've worked on is certainly longer than the list of comic books that I've worked on at this point", Simons once commented Simons also storyboarded for the show Spy Dogs, which was directed by Will Meugniot and later, Mike Joens. Dave worked again with Gil on this show, hiring him as a storyboard artist. Simons has the distinction of working on both an animated TV program and the comic book spin-off at the same time, this was when he worked on the animated show Courage The Cowardly Dog
Courage the Cowardly Dog
Courage the Cowardly Dog is an American animated television series created by John R. Dilworth for Cartoon Network. Its central plot revolves around a somewhat anthropomorphic dog named Courage who lives with his owners, Muriel and Eustace Bagge, an elderly, married farming couple in the "Middle of...
, which he subsequently drew the 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...
comic book of the same name.
Post-animation
Simons also created characters. He developed Beastball Saga, with Sebastian Mondrone. He was also developing a new character, Donna Thyme, with writer Daniel Best. Simons' last comic book work was on the book Army Of DarknessArmy of Darkness
Army of Darkness, also known as Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness or simply Evil Dead III, is a 1992 horror comedy fantasy action film directed by Sam Raimi. It is the third and final installment in The Evil Dead trilogy. The film was written by Raimi and his brother Ivan, produced by Robert Tapert,...
, along with contributing art to various trading card sets issued by Rittenhouse
Rittenhouse
-People with Rittenhouse surname:*Ariel Rittenhouse , US female athlete in swimming and diving*David Rittenhouse , US astronomer, inventor, mathematician, and public official*Moses F...
. He contributed art for Dynamic Forces and Red Sonja
Red Sonja
Red Sonja, the She-Devil with a Sword, is a fictional character, a high fantasy sword and sorcery heroine created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith, and loosely based on Red Sonya of Rogatino in Robert E. Howard's 1934 short story "The Shadow of the Vulture"...
variant cover series and the 100 Hulks
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....
project.
In 2009 Simons accepted a seat on the committee for the Inkwell Awards
Inkwell Awards
The Inkwell Award, sometimes shortened to the Inkwells, is a trophy given in the field of inking in American comic books. The awards were partially named after the Yahoo group whose members include many in the inking community, and after the personal website name of organization founder Bob Almond...
and remained a member until his passing.
Death
Dave Simons died on June 9, 2009 at the age of 54, following a long battle with cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
.
External links
- Dave Simons interview. Adelaide Comics and Books.