Ralph Reese
Encyclopedia
Ralph Reese is an American
artist who has illustrated for books, magazines, trading cards, comic book
s and comic strip
s, including a year drawing the Flash Gordon
strip for King Features
. Prolific from the 1960s to the 1990s, he is best known for his collaboration with Byron Preiss
on the continuing feature "One Year Affair", serialized in the satiric magazine National Lampoon from 1973 to 1975 and then collected into a 1976 book.
Reese early in his career worked in the studio of Wally Wood
, assisting on both mainstream and alternative-press comics and on trading cards. He went on to do mainly fantasy and horror
illustrations for science-fiction magazines and black-and-white horror-comics magazines. He drew a large number of fantasy, horror and science-fiction stories for Marvel Comics
, DC Comics
and Valiant Comics
.
, Reese attended New York's High School of Art and Design
. While still an art student in 1966, Reese began his career at age 16 as an assistant to artist Wally Wood
. Wood became a dominant influence on Reese's art, but he also admired the work of Reed Crandall
, Jack Davis
, Steve Ditko
, Mort Drucker, Hal Foster, Frank Frazetta
, Don Martin, Alex Raymond
, Angelo Torres
and Al Williamson
.
trading cards, DC Comics
stories and Wood's independent comics
. His first confirmed comics work is an illustration for a one-page text story, "...And Thereby Hangs A Tale...", in witzend
#1 (Summer 1966). His first comics story are was co-penciling and co-inking
with Wood a 10-page science-fiction in Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon
(1969). In 2001, Reese recalled his duties at the Wood's studio:
With the Wood Studio as a launching pad, Reese became a prolific freelancer. In 1969, he did a cover and numerous interior illustrations for Galaxy Science Fiction
. For Robert Sproul's Major Publications, he was a regular 1969-70 contributor to Web of Horror, edited by Terry Bisson
. His first confirmed solo comics story credit is as penciler-inker of Bisson's four-page story "The Skin-Eaters' in Major Publications
' Web of Horror #1 (Dec. 1969). He illustrated two Otto Binder
stories in Web of Horror #2 (Feb. & April 1970).
. He sometimes collaborated with Larry Hama
. In Comics Interview #37 (1986), Hama recalled working with Reese and Wood:
Reese worked from 1972 to 1977 at Neal Adams
' Continuity Associates
studio at 9 East 48th Street in Manhattan
. There he became acquainted with a group of freelance artists that included Jack Abel
, Sergio Aragones
, Dick Giordano
, Russ Heath
, Bob McLeod, Marshall Rogers
, Joe Rubinstein and Lynn Varley
. At Continuity, Reese and Hama sometimes worked as a team, and they created illustrations for a variety of clients, including the Children's Television Workshop.
Reese's comic book credits include pages for Acclaim
, Byron Preiss
, Eclipse Comics
, Marvel Comics
, Skywald Publications
and Warren Publishing
. While working in the mainstream, he also contributed to underground titles, including Conspiracy Capers, Drool, and editor Jay Lynch
's Kitchen Sink Press
comic Bijou Funnies.
His work for DC Comics included stories for House of Mystery
, House of Secrets, The Witching Hour
and The Unexpected.
In 1973, Reese illustrated Thomas Disch's "The Roaches" for the black-and-white horror-comics magazine Monsters Unleashed
, published by Marvel's Curtis Magazines
imprint
, and the following year, he continued in a similar vein with art for Gerry Conway
's story, "The Rats" in Haunt of Horror. With these two stories, featuring extreme close-up drawings of roaches and rats, Reese depicted horror lurking in real-life vermin, and both stories had several reprints.
After he collaborated with Byron Preiss on the feature "One Year Affair" in the National Lampoon
, the two did installments of a follow-up, "Two Year Affair". For Atlas/Seaboard Comics
he drew "Midnight Muse" in Devilina #1 (January 1975). In 1982, Reese teamed with Al Williamson
, Dan Green and Carlos Garzon on a comics adaptation of the movie
Blade Runner
. In 1985, Reese horror stories were reprinted in the two issues of Reese's Pieces (Eclipse). Also during the 1980s, Reese illustrated more than a dozen titles in Bantam Books
' Choose Your Own Adventure
series.
In 1989 and 1990, he drew both the daily
and Sunday strip
s of King Features' Flash Gordon
, scripted by Bruce Jones
. From 1992 to 1997, he did much work for the comic book Magnus Robot Fighter and other Valiant Comics
series, including Raj and X-O Manowar
. Also in the 1990s, he contributed to several Paradox Press
titles: The Big Book of Hoaxes, The Big Book of Freaks, The Big Book of Losers and The Big Book of Little Criminals.
In 2009, Reese returned to DC with "The Thirteenth Hour" in issue #13 (July 2009) of editor Angela Rufino's House of Mystery
revival for Vertigo. In 2010, an interview with Reese was reprinted in Pure Imagination's Wild Wood.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist who has illustrated for books, magazines, trading cards, 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...
s and 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....
s, including a year drawing the 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...
strip for King Features
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
. Prolific from the 1960s to the 1990s, he is best known for his collaboration with Byron Preiss
Byron Preiss
Byron Preiss was an American writer, editor, and publisher. He founded and served as president of Byron Preiss Visual Publications, and later of iBooks.-Early life and career:...
on the continuing feature "One Year Affair", serialized in the satiric magazine National Lampoon from 1973 to 1975 and then collected into a 1976 book.
Reese early in his career worked in the studio of Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
, assisting on both mainstream and alternative-press comics and on trading cards. He went on to do mainly fantasy and 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...
illustrations for science-fiction magazines and black-and-white horror-comics magazines. He drew a large number of fantasy, horror and science-fiction stories 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...
, 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...
and Valiant Comics
Valiant Comics
Valiant Comics is a comic book imprint published by various publishers since its inception with Voyager Communications, Inc. in 1989, later Acclaim Comics, Inc. Its assets were purchased from the bankruptcy of the Acclaim Entertaintment by Valiant Entertainment, Inc. in 2007.-Voyager...
.
Early life and career
Born 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...
, Reese attended New York's High School of Art and Design
High School of Art and Design
The High School of Art and Design is a Career and Technical Education high school located at 1075 Second Avenue, between 56th and 57th Streets in Manhattan, New York City, New York.It is operated by the New York City Department of Education...
. While still an art student in 1966, Reese began his career at age 16 as an assistant to artist Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
. Wood became a dominant influence on Reese's art, but he also admired the work of Reed Crandall
Reed Crandall
Reed Crandall was an American illustrator and penciller of comic books and magazines. He was best known for the Quality Comics character Blackhawk and for stories in the critically acclaimed EC Comics of the 1950s.Crandall was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009.-Early...
, Jack Davis
Jack Davis (cartoonist)
Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories...
, Steve Ditko
Steve Ditko
Stephen J. "Steve" Ditko is an American comic book artist and writer best known as the artist co-creator, with Stan Lee, of the Marvel Comics heroes Spider-Man and Doctor Strange....
, Mort Drucker, Hal Foster, Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for work in comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers and other media...
, Don Martin, Alex Raymond
Alex Raymond
Alexander Gillespie "Alex" Raymond was an American cartoonist, best known for creating Flash Gordon for King Features in 1934...
, Angelo Torres
Angelo Torres
Angelo Torres is an American cartoonist and caricaturist whose work has appeared in many comic books, as well as a long-running regular slot in Mad magazine, typically film or television parodies.-Biography:...
and Al Williamson
Al Williamson
Alfonso "Al" Williamson was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western and science-fiction/fantasy...
.
Wally Wood studio
Reese contributed to various Wood projects, including ToppsTopps
The Topps Company, Inc., manufactures chewing gum, candy and collectibles. Based in New York, New York, Topps is best known as a leading producer of baseball cards, football cards, basketball cards, hockey cards and other sports and non-sports themed trading cards.-Company history:Topps itself was...
trading cards, 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...
stories and Wood's independent comics
Alternative media
Alternative media are media which provide alternative information to the mainstream media in a given context, whether the mainstream media are commercial, publicly supported, or government-owned...
. His first confirmed comics work is an illustration for a one-page text story, "...And Thereby Hangs A Tale...", in witzend
Witzend
witzend, published on an irregular schedule spanning decades, was an underground comic showcasing contributions by comic book professionals, leading illustrators and new artists. witzend was launched in 1966 by the writer-artist Wallace Wood, who handed the reins to Bill Pearson from 1968–1985...
#1 (Summer 1966). His first comics story are was co-penciling and co-inking
Inker
The inker is one of the two line artists in a traditional comic book or graphic novel. After a pencilled drawing is given to the inker, the inker uses black ink to produce refined outlines over the pencil lines...
with Wood a 10-page science-fiction in Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon
Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon
Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon is a two-issue comic book series that represents one of the earliest independent comics. The first issue was self-published by prominent writer-artist Wally Wood in 1969, with a second issue published by CPL Gang Publications in 1976.This comic-book series is unrelated...
(1969). In 2001, Reese recalled his duties at the Wood's studio:
With the Wood Studio as a launching pad, Reese became a prolific freelancer. In 1969, he did a cover and numerous interior illustrations for Galaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by an Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break in to the American market. World Editions hired as editor H. L...
. For Robert Sproul's Major Publications, he was a regular 1969-70 contributor to Web of Horror, edited by Terry Bisson
Terry Bisson
Terry Ballantine Bisson is an American science fiction and fantasy author best known for his short stories...
. His first confirmed solo comics story credit is as penciler-inker of Bisson's four-page story "The Skin-Eaters' in 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...
' Web of Horror #1 (Dec. 1969). He illustrated two Otto Binder
Otto Binder
Otto Oscar Binder was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books...
stories in Web of Horror #2 (Feb. & April 1970).
Comics and commercial illustration
During the 1970s, Reese's artwork surfaced in a wide variety of publications, from underground comics to slick magazines, including National Lampoon and EsquireEsquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
. He sometimes collaborated with Larry Hama
Larry Hama
Larry Hama is an American comic book writer, artist, actor and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s....
. In Comics Interview #37 (1986), Hama recalled working with Reese and Wood:
Reese worked from 1972 to 1977 at Neal Adams
Neal 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...
' Continuity Associates
Continuity Associates
Continuity Studios is a New York City- and Los Angeles-based art and illustration studio formed by cartoonists Neal Adams and Dick Giordano...
studio at 9 East 48th Street in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. There he became acquainted with a group of freelance artists that included Jack Abel
Jack Abel
Jack Abel a.k.a. Gary Michaels was an American comic book artist best known as an inker for leading publishers DC Comics and Marvel Comics. He was DC's primary inker on the Superman titles in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and inked penciler Herb Trimpe's introduction of the popular superhero...
, Sergio Aragones
Sergio Aragonés
Sergio Aragonés Domenech is a cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to Mad Magazine and creator of the comic book Groo the Wanderer....
, Dick Giordano
Dick Giordano
Richard Joseph "Dick" Giordano was an American comic book artist and editor best known for introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes, and serving as executive editor of then–industry leader DC Comics...
, Russ Heath
Russ Heath
Russell Heath, Jr. is an American artist best known for his comic book work — particularly his DC Comics war stories for several decades and his 1960s art for Playboy magazine's Little Annie Fanny featurettes — and for his commercial art, two pieces of which, depicting Roman and...
, Bob McLeod, Marshall Rogers
Marshall Rogers
Marshall Rogers was an American comic-book artist best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics in the 1970s, particularly as one of the illustrators of Batman and Silver Surfer...
, Joe Rubinstein and Lynn Varley
Lynn Varley
Lynn Varley is an award-winning colorist, notable for her collaborations with her former husband, comic book writer/artist Frank Miller, whom she divorced in 2005.-Biography:...
. At Continuity, Reese and Hama sometimes worked as a team, and they created illustrations for a variety of clients, including the Children's Television Workshop.
Reese's comic book credits include pages for Acclaim
Acclaim
Acclaim may refer to:positive recognition*Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher*Acclaim Games, an online video game company based in California, USACars:*Plymouth Acclaim, a mid-size sedan...
, Byron Preiss
Byron Preiss
Byron Preiss was an American writer, editor, and publisher. He founded and served as president of Byron Preiss Visual Publications, and later of iBooks.-Early life and career:...
, 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...
, 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...
, Skywald Publications
Skywald Publications
Skywald Publications is a 1970s publisher of black-and-white comics magazines, primarily the horror anthologies Nightmare, Psycho, and Scream. It also published a small line of comic books and other magazines....
and 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...
. While working in the mainstream, he also contributed to underground titles, including Conspiracy Capers, Drool, and editor Jay Lynch
Jay Lynch
Jay Lynch is an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his Bijou Funnies and other titles. His work is sometimes signed Jayzey Lynch. He has contributed to Mad, and in 2008, he expanded into the children's book field.-Early life and career:Born in Orange,...
's Kitchen Sink Press
Kitchen Sink Press
Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen owned and operated Kitchen Sink Press until 1999. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in...
comic Bijou Funnies.
His work for DC Comics included stories for House of Mystery
House of Mystery
The House of Mystery is the name of several horror-mystery-suspense anthology comic book series. It had a companion series, House of Secrets.-Genesis:...
, House of Secrets, The Witching Hour
The Witching Hour (DC Comics)
The Witching Hour was a DC comic book horror anthology that ran from 1969 to 1978. Its tagline was "It's 12 o'clock... The Witching Hour!"...
and The Unexpected.
In 1973, Reese illustrated Thomas Disch's "The Roaches" for the black-and-white horror-comics magazine Monsters Unleashed
Monsters Unleashed
Monsters Unleashed was a black-and-white magazine published by Curtis Magazines from 1973-1975. The focus of Monsters Unleashed was on Marvel's own monsters: Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night, and Frankenstein's monster...
, published by Marvel's 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....
imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
, and the following year, he continued in a similar vein with art for Gerry Conway
Gerry Conway
Gerard F. "Gerry" Conway is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man...
's story, "The Rats" in Haunt of Horror. With these two stories, featuring extreme close-up drawings of roaches and rats, Reese depicted horror lurking in real-life vermin, and both stories had several reprints.
After he collaborated with Byron Preiss on the feature "One Year Affair" in the National Lampoon
National Lampoon
National Lampoon was both a ground-breaking American humor magazine and also a wide range of productions directly associated with that magazine. The magazine ran from 1970 to 1998, and was originally a spinoff of the Harvard Lampoon....
, the two did installments of a follow-up, "Two Year Affair". For Atlas/Seaboard Comics
Atlas/Seaboard Comics
Atlas/Seaboard is the term comic-book historians and collectors use to refer to the 1970s line of comics published as Atlas Comics by the American company Seaboard Periodicals, to differentiate from the 1950s' Atlas Comics, a predecessor of Marvel Comics...
he drew "Midnight Muse" in Devilina #1 (January 1975). In 1982, Reese teamed with Al Williamson
Al Williamson
Alfonso "Al" Williamson was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western and science-fiction/fantasy...
, Dan Green and Carlos Garzon on a comics adaptation of the movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
. In 1985, Reese horror stories were reprinted in the two issues of Reese's Pieces (Eclipse). Also during the 1980s, Reese illustrated more than a dozen titles in Bantam Books
Bantam Books
Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
' Choose Your Own Adventure
Choose Your Own Adventure
Choose Your Own Adventure is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actions and the plot's outcome. The series was based on a...
series.
In 1989 and 1990, he drew both the daily
Daily strip
A daily strip is a newspaper comic strip format, appearing on weekdays, Monday through Saturday, as contrasted with a Sunday strip, which typically only appears on Sundays....
and Sunday strip
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
s of King Features' 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...
, scripted by Bruce Jones
Bruce Jones
Ian Roy Jones is an English actor, best known for his role as cab driver Les Battersby-Brown in Coronation Street. He left the role in 2007. His real name is Ian Roy Jones, but he took the name of his father for professional purposes.-Early life:Jones was born to Bruce and Irene Jones in...
. From 1992 to 1997, he did much work for the comic book Magnus Robot Fighter and other Valiant Comics
Valiant Comics
Valiant Comics is a comic book imprint published by various publishers since its inception with Voyager Communications, Inc. in 1989, later Acclaim Comics, Inc. Its assets were purchased from the bankruptcy of the Acclaim Entertaintment by Valiant Entertainment, Inc. in 2007.-Voyager...
series, including Raj and X-O Manowar
X-O Manowar
X-O Manowar is a fictional superhero co-created by writer and former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, artist Bob Layton, and Jon Hartz. Current Marvel Comics Chief Creative Officier Joe Quesada was a key creator in the origin of X-O Manowar as seen in X-O Manowar #0...
. Also in the 1990s, he contributed to several Paradox Press
Paradox Press
Paradox Press was a division of DC Comics formed in 1993 after editor Mark Nevelow departed from Piranha Press. Under the initial editorship of Andrew Helfer and Bronwyn Carlton the imprint was renamed. It is best known for graphic novels like A History of Violence and Road to Perdition...
titles: The Big Book of Hoaxes, The Big Book of Freaks, The Big Book of Losers and The Big Book of Little Criminals.
In 2009, Reese returned to DC with "The Thirteenth Hour" in issue #13 (July 2009) of editor Angela Rufino's House of Mystery
House of Mystery (Vertigo)
House of Mystery is an occult and horror-themed comic book anthology series based on the classic House of Mystery series that ran from 1951 to 1983...
revival for Vertigo. In 2010, an interview with Reese was reprinted in Pure Imagination's Wild Wood.