Rick Leonardi
Encyclopedia
Rick Leonardi is an American
comic book
illustrator who has worked for various books for Marvel Comics
and DC Comics
, including Cloak and Dagger
, The Uncanny X-Men , The New Mutants, Spider-Man 2099
, Nightwing
, Batgirl
, Green Lantern Versus Aliens
and Superman
. He has also worked on feature film tie-in books, such as Star Wars
: General Grievous
and Superman Returns Prequel
#3.
. He graduated from Dartmouth College
in 1979. His professional career began in 1980.
.
He is credited, along with fellow illustrator Mike Zeck
, of designing the black-and-white costume to which Spider-Man
switched during the 1984 Secret Wars
miniseries, and later wore for a time. According to the Spider-Man 1/2 special, the costume began as a design by Zeck that Leonardi embellished. The plot that developed as a result of Spider-Man's acquisition of the costume led to the creation of the Spider-Man villain known as Venom
(though in a 2007 Comic Book Resources
story, fan Randy Schueller claims to have devised a version of a black costume for Spider-Man in a story idea that he was paid for).
From 1992 to 1994, Leonardi drew the first 25 issues of Spider-Man 2099
with writer Peter David
(with the exception of issues 9, 14, 18, and 21).
Leonardi drew the 2000 crossover miniseries Green Lantern Versus Aliens
. His subsequent series work includes the runs on Nightwing
, of which he illustrated most of the issues between #71 - 84 from 2002 to 2003, and on Batgirl
, of which he drew issues #45 - 52 from 2003 to 2004. Subsequent miniseries he drew include Star Wars
: General Grievous
in 2005, and the 2006 movie tie-in, Superman Returns Prequel
#3. He followed up that with other superhero titles such as Superman
#665 and #668 (2007), JLA: Classified #43 (November 2007), Witchblade
#112 (January 2008), and the 2008 miniseries DC Universe: Decisions.
Leonardi provided the artwork for the Vigilante
series that debuted from DC in December 2008.
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...
illustrator who has worked for various books 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 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...
, including Cloak and Dagger
Cloak and Dagger (comics)
Cloak and Dagger are a fictional comic book superhero duo in the . They were created by writer William "Bill" Mantlo and designed by artist Edward Hannigan.-Publication history:...
, The Uncanny X-Men , The New Mutants, Spider-Man 2099
Spider-Man 2099
Spider-Man 2099 is a fictional comic book superhero, created by Peter David and Rick Leonardi in 1992 for Marvel Comics' Marvel 2099 line. His secret alter ego is Miguel O'Hara, a brilliant geneticist living in New York in the year 2099 A.D...
, Nightwing
Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
, Batgirl
Cassandra Cain
Cassandra Cain is a fictional character in the , one of several who has served as Batgirl, an important character in the Batman comic book franchise. Cassandra's backstory presents her as the daughter of assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva, she was deprived of speech and human contact during her...
, Green Lantern Versus Aliens
Green Lantern Versus Aliens
Green Lantern Versus Aliens is a four-issue comic book mini-series published jointly by DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics monthly from September 2000 to December 2000...
and Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
. He has also worked on feature film tie-in books, such as 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...
: General Grievous
General Grievous
General Grievous is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, an antagonist in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. He was voiced by Matthew Wood...
and Superman Returns Prequel
Superman Returns
Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film directed by Bryan Singer. It is the fifth and final installment in the original Superman film series and serves as a alternate sequel to Superman and Superman II by ignoring the events of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace .The film stars...
#3.
Early life
Leonardi was born in Philadelphia in 1957, and grew up in Haverhill, MassachusettsHaverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...
. He graduated from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
in 1979. His professional career began in 1980.
Career
Rick Leonardi's well-known works in the 1980s include various sporadic fill-in issues of The Uncanny X-Men and The New Mutants, as well as runs on Cloak and DaggerCloak and Dagger (comics)
Cloak and Dagger are a fictional comic book superhero duo in the . They were created by writer William "Bill" Mantlo and designed by artist Edward Hannigan.-Publication history:...
.
He is credited, along with fellow illustrator Mike Zeck
Mike Zeck
Mike Zeck is an American comic book illustrator.-Biography:Zeck was born in Greenville, Pennsylvania to Michael and Kathryn Jean Zeck...
, of designing the black-and-white costume to which 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...
switched during the 1984 Secret Wars
Secret Wars
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars is a twelve-issue comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter with art by Mike Zeck and Bob Layton...
miniseries, and later wore for a time. According to the Spider-Man 1/2 special, the costume began as a design by Zeck that Leonardi embellished. The plot that developed as a result of Spider-Man's acquisition of the costume led to the creation of the Spider-Man villain known as Venom
Venom (comics)
Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
(though in a 2007 Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
story, fan Randy Schueller claims to have devised a version of a black costume for Spider-Man in a story idea that he was paid for).
From 1992 to 1994, Leonardi drew the first 25 issues of Spider-Man 2099
Spider-Man 2099
Spider-Man 2099 is a fictional comic book superhero, created by Peter David and Rick Leonardi in 1992 for Marvel Comics' Marvel 2099 line. His secret alter ego is Miguel O'Hara, a brilliant geneticist living in New York in the year 2099 A.D...
with writer Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
(with the exception of issues 9, 14, 18, and 21).
Leonardi drew the 2000 crossover miniseries Green Lantern Versus Aliens
Green Lantern Versus Aliens
Green Lantern Versus Aliens is a four-issue comic book mini-series published jointly by DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics monthly from September 2000 to December 2000...
. His subsequent series work includes the runs on Nightwing
Dick Grayson
Dick Grayson is a fictional superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and illustrator Jerry Robinson, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940....
, of which he illustrated most of the issues between #71 - 84 from 2002 to 2003, and on Batgirl
Cassandra Cain
Cassandra Cain is a fictional character in the , one of several who has served as Batgirl, an important character in the Batman comic book franchise. Cassandra's backstory presents her as the daughter of assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva, she was deprived of speech and human contact during her...
, of which he drew issues #45 - 52 from 2003 to 2004. Subsequent miniseries he drew include 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...
: General Grievous
General Grievous
General Grievous is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, an antagonist in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. He was voiced by Matthew Wood...
in 2005, and the 2006 movie tie-in, Superman Returns Prequel
Superman Returns
Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film directed by Bryan Singer. It is the fifth and final installment in the original Superman film series and serves as a alternate sequel to Superman and Superman II by ignoring the events of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace .The film stars...
#3. He followed up that with other superhero titles such as Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
#665 and #668 (2007), JLA: Classified #43 (November 2007), Witchblade
Witchblade
Witchblade is an American comic book series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint of Image Comics, from 1995 until present. The series was created by Top Cow editors Marc Silvestri and David Wohl, writers Brian Haberlin and Christina Z, and artist Michael Turner.The series follows Sara...
#112 (January 2008), and the 2008 miniseries DC Universe: Decisions.
Leonardi provided the artwork for the 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:...
series that debuted from DC in December 2008.