Val Semeiks
Encyclopedia
Valdis "Val" Semeiks is an American
comic book artist
who has mostly worked for DC Comics
and Marvel Comics
.
n parents.
Semeiks graduated from College with degrees in Chemistry
and Mathematics
, before pursuing a career in advertising
, working as "an art director for a regional ad agency". He has been working in the comics field since 1986, mostly as a penciller although he has been known to ink his own work. His first professional credit was with Marvel
, "drawing King Kull back-up stories for The Savage Sword of Conan
, which ultimately led to him becoming the monthly artist on Conan the Barbarian, allowing him to leave his day job and forge a fulltime career as a comics artist.
He is perhaps best known for his next major credits, long runs on both The Demon and Lobo for DC Comics
primarily working with writer Alan Grant, whose plots Semeiks calls "laugh-out-loud funny," leading him to call his time on Lobo (upon which he worked with inker John Dell) "about as much fun as anyone can have drawing comics". He also provided the artwork to Alan Grant and John Wagner
's 1995 DC/2000 AD
crossover title Lobo/Judge Dredd
: Psycho-Bikers vs. The Mutants From Hellhttp://en.dcdatabaseproject.com/Lobo/Judge_Dredd:_Psycho_Bikers_vs._the_Mutants_From_Hell_(1995). (As part of the 1996 DC vs. Marvel event, the DC and Marvel Universes briefly combined to form the Amalgam Universe. Alan Grant and Semeiks were reunited in 1997 to produce a comic as part of the Amalgam Comics
line, when Val drew the all-too-brief adventures of "Lobo the Duck
," where he demonstrated his versatility with a much more cartoon-like approach to the artwork.)
Returning briefly to Marvel, Semeiks was reunited with his first editor - Larry Hama
- this time acting as writer on Wolverine
, upon which Semeiks worked, alongside a number of other titles. Returning again to DC, Semeiks worked on a number of JLA
projects with then-JLA-writer Grant Morrison
, including JLA/WildC.A.T.S., DC One Million
, and the 1999 limited series
Superman's Nemesis: Lex Luthor
with writer David Michelinie
.
Semeiks has also drawn stories penned by Dwayne McDuffie
for Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, and has also worked on non-Superhero projects including cartoon work for MAD Magazine and DC's "Big Book" series (from Paradox Press
) as well as "video game and toy design work too".
, in the lead-up to DC's Infinite Crisis
event when artist Dale Eaglesham
fell ill. In 2006, he helped wrap up the second volume of Flash
, illustrating issues #227-230.
Val has also illustrated fantasy author R.A. Salvatore's Icewind Dale Trilogy in three comicbook mini-series (Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver and Halfling's Gem).
Starting in Fall 2009 he will be contributing to Marvel's relaunch of 'Web of Spider-Man
.'
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
who has mostly worked 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...
and 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...
.
Biography
Val Semeiks was born in the USA on February 5, 1955 to LatviaLatvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
n parents.
Semeiks graduated from College with degrees in Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, before pursuing a career in advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, working as "an art director for a regional ad agency". He has been working in the comics field since 1986, mostly as a penciller although he has been known to ink his own work. His first professional credit was with Marvel
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...
, "drawing King Kull back-up stories for The Savage Sword of 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....
, which ultimately led to him becoming the monthly artist on Conan the Barbarian, allowing him to leave his day job and forge a fulltime career as a comics artist.
He is perhaps best known for his next major credits, long runs on both The Demon and Lobo 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...
primarily working with writer Alan Grant, whose plots Semeiks calls "laugh-out-loud funny," leading him to call his time on Lobo (upon which he worked with inker John Dell) "about as much fun as anyone can have drawing comics". He also provided the artwork to Alan Grant and John Wagner
John Wagner
John Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since.He is best known for his work on...
's 1995 DC/2000 AD
2000 AD (comic)
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...
crossover title Lobo/Judge Dredd
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a comics character whose strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running . Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner...
: Psycho-Bikers vs. The Mutants From Hellhttp://en.dcdatabaseproject.com/Lobo/Judge_Dredd:_Psycho_Bikers_vs._the_Mutants_From_Hell_(1995). (As part of the 1996 DC vs. Marvel event, the DC and Marvel Universes briefly combined to form the Amalgam Universe. Alan Grant and Semeiks were reunited in 1997 to produce a comic as part of the Amalgam Comics
Amalgam Comics
Amalgam Comics was a publishing imprint shared by DC Comics and Marvel Comics, in which the two comic book publishers merged their characters into new ones . These characters first appeared in a series of twelve comic books which were published in 1996, between issues 3 and 4 of the Marvel vs...
line, when Val drew the all-too-brief adventures of "Lobo 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...
," where he demonstrated his versatility with a much more cartoon-like approach to the artwork.)
Returning briefly to Marvel, Semeiks was reunited with his first editor - 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....
- this time acting as writer on Wolverine
Wolverine (comic book)
Wolverine is a number of Marvel Comics comic book series starring the X-Men member Wolverine.-Publication history:The first Wolverine was a limited series written by Chris Claremont with pencils by Frank Miller, inks by Joe Rubinstein, letters by Tom Orzechowski, and colored by Glynis Wein...
, upon which Semeiks worked, alongside a number of other titles. Returning again to DC, Semeiks worked on a number of JLA
JLA (comic book)
JLA was a monthly comic book published by DC Comics from January 1997 to April 2006 featuring the Justice League.-Publication history:The low sales of the various Justice League spinoff books by the mid-1990s prompted DC to revamp the League as a single team on a single title...
projects with then-JLA-writer Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
, including JLA/WildC.A.T.S., DC One Million
DC One Million
"DC One Million" was a crossover storyline that ran through a self titled, weekly limited series and through special issues of almost all "DCU" titles published by DC Comics in November 1998...
, and the 1999 limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
Superman's Nemesis: Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
with writer David Michelinie
David Michelinie
-Biography:Some of his earliest work is for DC Comics's House of Secrets and a run on Swamp Thing , following Len Wein and preceding Gerry Conway, illustrated by Nestor Redondo. Michelinie did a run on Aquaman in Adventure Comics which led to the revival of the Sea King's own title in 1977...
.
Semeiks has also drawn stories penned by Dwayne McDuffie
Dwayne McDuffie
Dwayne Glenn McDuffie was an American writer of comic books and television, known for creating the animated television series Static Shock, writing and producing the animated series Justice League Unlimited, and co-founding the pioneering minority-owned-and-operated comic-book company Milestone...
for Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, and has also worked on non-Superhero projects including cartoon work for MAD Magazine and DC's "Big Book" series (from 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...
) as well as "video game and toy design work too".
Recent work
In 2005, Val produced a fill-in issue (#3) for the hit series Villains UnitedVillains United
Villains United is a six-issue comic book limited series, written by Gail Simone with art by Dale Eaglesham and Wade Von Grawbadger, published by DC Comics in 2005...
, in the lead-up to DC's Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis
Infinite Crisis is a 2005 - 2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, and a number of tie-in books...
event when artist Dale Eaglesham
Dale Eaglesham
Dale Eaglesham is a comic book illustrator who has been working in the industry since 1986. He is best known for his work on titles like Conan, Punisher, Green Lantern, Villains United, Justice Society of America and Fantastic Four...
fell ill. In 2006, he helped wrap up the second volume of Flash
Flash (comics)
The Flash is a name shared by several fictional comic book superheroes from the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in Flash Comics #1 ....
, illustrating issues #227-230.
Val has also illustrated fantasy author R.A. Salvatore's Icewind Dale Trilogy in three comicbook mini-series (Crystal Shard, Streams of Silver and Halfling's Gem).
Starting in Fall 2009 he will be contributing to Marvel's relaunch of '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...
.'