Bernard Edward Mireault (born 1961) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
comic book artist and writer.
Comics critic Timothy Callahan has argued that Mireault is one of the unheralded creators who helped bring in the
Modern Age of Comic Books
The Modern Age of Comic Books is a period in the history of American superhero American comic book, comic books which began in 1985 and continues through the present day. During approximately the first 15 years of this period, many comic book cha ...
:
Biography
Mireault was born in
Marville,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, where both parents were stationed while working for the
Canadian Forces
}
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force.
...
. In 1963, the Mireault family moved back to Canada. Raised as an
Anglophone
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...
in
Rawdon, Quebec
Rawdon is a municipality located on the Ouareau River in southwestern Quebec, Canada, about 60 kilometres north of Montreal. It is the seat for the Matawinie Regional County Municipality, Regional County Municipality of Matawinie, in the Lanaudiè ...
, he has been an active participant in the
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...
scene, participating in the comix jams since their early inception and contributing to local zines and underground publications. At the same time he has worked in the mainstream comics industry as an artist and colourist, as well as an animator and illustrator.
Among his comics works are ''Dr. Robot'', ''Mackenzie Queen'', ''Bug-eyed Monster'', ''
The Blair Witch Chronicles'', and ''Left Alone: The Rustin Parr Killings'', ''Two Fisted Science: Safecracker'', ''When is a Door?'' ''The Tragic Though Amusing History of Clay Face II'', and the creator-owned comic ''The Jam'', first published as a backup feature in
Northguard
Northguard is a fictional superhero, created by Mark Shainblum and Gabriel Morrissette, who originally appeared in Canadian comic books published by Matrix Graphics Series. Northguard made his first appearance in ''New Triumph Featuring Northgua ...
from
Matrix Graphic Series, and then published in its own title from 1985 by various publishers starting with
Matrix Graphic Series and then
Comico,
Slave Labor Graphics
Slave Labor Graphics (SLG) is an independent American comic book publisher, well known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics. Creators associated with SLG over the years include Evan Dorkin, Roman Dirge, Sarah Dyer, Woodrow Phoenix, Jhon ...
,
Tundra Publishing
Tundra Publishing was a Northampton, Massachusetts-based comic book publisher founded by Kevin Eastman in 1990. The company was founded to provide a venue for adventurous, creator-owned work by talented cartoonists and illustrators. Its publicat ...
,
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...
, and
Caliber Press
Caliber Comics or Caliber Press is an American comic book publisher founded in 1989 by Gary Reed. Featuring primarily creator-owned comics, Caliber published over 1,300 comics in the decade following its inception and is ranked as one of America ...
.
Mireault also served as the artist on the story arc ''The Devil Within'' for
Matt Wagner
Matt Wagner (born October 9, 1961) is an American comics artist and writer who is best known as the creator of the series ''Mage'' and ''Grendel (comics), Grendel''.
Career
Matt Wagner's first published comic book work was ''Comico Primer'' #2 ( ...
's
''Grendel'' comics in the late 1980s – notably coloured by
Joe Matt
Joe Matt (born September 3, 1963) is an American cartoonist, best known for his autobiographical work, ''Peepshow''.
Early life
Matt was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He started drawing comics in 1987.
Career
In his autobiographical com ...
. Mireault also coloured several ''Grendel'' story arcs: Warchild, Devil's Hammer, Devil in Our Midst, Devil Tracks, Devil Eyes, Devil by the Deed, The Devil's Apprentice.
As a colourist he had a long-standing collaborative relationship with
Salgood Sam
Max Douglas (born September 15, 1970) is a Canadian comic book creator. Since approximately 1996, he has worked under the pen name of Salgood Sam which is derived from a reverse spelling of his name.
Published works ''Early Career''
Douglas sta ...
a.k.a.
Max Douglas
Max Douglas (born September 15, 1970) is a Canadian comic book creator. Since approximately 1996, he has worked under the pen name of Salgood Sam which is derived from a reverse spelling of his name.
Published works ''Early Career''
Douglas sta ...
, a fellow Canadian artist. Together they worked on ''Wonder Woman Vs. the Red Menace'', ''
Muties
Muties is a six issue miniseries from Marvel Comics which ran from February to July 2002.
It focused on six different Mutants, and each story was essentially self-contained. The miniseries was supposed to show the day-to-day sufferings of mutant ...
'' #6: ''The Patriot Game'', and ''
Revolution on the Planet of the Apes
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
''.
Another long-standing collaborative relationship has been with
Mike Allred
Michael Dalton Allred is an American comic book artist and writer most famous for his independent comics creations, ''Madman'' and ''iZombie''. His style is often compared to pop art, as well as commercial and comic art of the 1950s and 1960s ...
, with whom he's produced ''Madman Jam: The Fall of the House of Escher'', ''
Creatures of the Id
Creature often refers to:
* An animal, monster, or alien
Creature or creatures may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Creature'' (1985 film), a 1985 science fiction film by William Malone
* ''Creature'' (miniseries), a 1998 TV movie abou ...
'', and ''The Everyman''. And Mireault's character Dr. Robot first appeared as a back-up in the back of Mike Allred's ''Madman''.
Mireault also has a part-time
band
Band or BAND may refer to:
Places
*Bánd, a village in Hungary
*Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
*Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania
* Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...
called Bug-Eyed Monster, for which he writes the occasional song.
Bibliography
*
Mackenzie Queen
Mackenzie, Mckenzie, MacKenzie, or McKenzie may refer to:
People
* Mackenzie (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Mackenzie (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
* Clan Mackenzie, a Sco ...
*
The Jam
The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 198 ...
*
Dr. Robot
Awards
Mireault was inducted into the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame as part of the
Joe Shuster Awards
The Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards (or Joe Shuster Awards) are given out annually for outstanding achievements in the creation of comic books, graphic novels, webcomics, and comics retailers and publishers by Canadians. The awards ...
in 2020.
Notes
References
*
*
Bernie Mireaultat the
Lambiek
Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ), though since 2007, his son Boris Kousemaker is the current owner. From 1968 to 2015, it was located ...
Comiclopedia
External links
* {{official website, https://web.archive.org/web/20071024021056/http://bem.spiltink.org/%7D%7D%7D%7D
Article announcing Mireault signing with Kitchen, Lind & Associates{{in lang, fr
{{Canadian cartoonists
{{Authority control
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mireault, Bernie
Living people
1961 births
Canadian comics creators