Brad W. Foster (born April 26, 1955) is an American

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

. He has also been Artist Guest of Honor at multiple conventions such as

ArmadilloCon ArmadilloCon is a science fiction convention held annually in Austin, Texas, USA, since 1979. As the second longest running science fiction convention in Texas, it is sponsored by the Fandom Association of Central Texas and is known for its empha ...

10, Conestoga 9, Archon 35, NASFiC 2010, and

73rd World Science Fiction Convention The 73rd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Sasquan, was held on 19–23 August 2015 at the Spokane Convention Center in Spokane, Washington, United States. The convention was chaired by Sally Woehrle. Participants ...

Biography

Foster was born in 1955 in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. In 1977, he received a bachelor's degree in

environmental design Environmental design is the process of addressing surrounding environmental parameters when devising plans, programs, policies, buildings, or products. It seeks to create spaces that will enhance the natural, social, cultural and physical environm ...

from

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, then continuing his studies for two more years at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, concentrating on techniques of fine and commercial art. In 1976, he founded the small press publishing company Jabberwocky Graphix, initially to print and distribute his own art and comics, although he has subsequently published the work of over 300 other artists from around the world. Among the Jabberwocky Graphix publications were some of the early

minicomic A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term small press comic is equivalent with minicomic, reserved for those publications measuring A6 (105& ...

format booklets, ranging from the standard 8-pager up to the thick, 375 page "One Year's Worth". Between 1987 and 1988, he wrote and drew four issues of the comic book ''Mechthings'', which were published by

Renegade Press Renegade Press was an American comic book company, founded by Canadian Deni Loubert, that operated from 1984 to 1988. Notable titles published by Renegade included '' Flaming Carrot'', '' Ms. Tree'', and '' normalman''. History Loubert was pub ...

. In the early 1990s he worked on ''

Shadowhawk ShadowHawk is a fictional antihero created by Jim Valentino. He was first advertised in the ''Malibu Sun'' free promotional magazine in May of 1992. His official Image Comics debut was in the second issue of Rob Liefeld's '' Youngblood'' series. ...

'' for

Jim Valentino Jim Valentino (born October 28, 1952) is an American writer, penciler, editor and publisher of comic books, best known for his 1990–1992 work on ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' for Marvel Comics, and for co-founding Image Comics, a company publis ...

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

. For that comic he was listed in the credits as the "Big-Background Artist", which referred to his role in both penciling and inking the larger and more detailed background designs only on certain select panels and pages, rather than throughout. From 1987 to 1991 he was a regular contributing illustrator to the science fiction magazine ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances i ...

''. In 2008 he began producing illustrations for the newsletter ''Ansible'', published by British author

David Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for most ...

, creating a full color version for the on-line edition, and a different black-and-white version for the print edition. Since 2010 he has written and drawn the monthly cartoon "The Funny Business of Art" for Sunshine Artist magazine.

Awards

Foster has won multiple awards for his artwork at various art festivals and conventions around the country, including twice at The

Red River Revel The Red River Revel (called simply The Revel by locals) is an annual festival of food, culture, art and music that takes place in Shreveport, Louisiana, annually in the month of October. The Revel began in 1976 as a bicentennial celebration, spons ...

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

. *

Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist The Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist is given each year for artists of works related to science fiction or fantasy which appeared in low- or non-paying publications such as semiprozines or fanzines. A Hugo Award for professional artists is also gi ...

** 2011 (won) ** 2010 (won) ** 2008 (won) ** 1994 (won) ** 1992 (won) ** 1989 (won) ** 1988 (won) ** 1987 (won) * 1988, Chesley Award from the

Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists The Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists, ASFA, is a non-profit, educational association, whose membership is made up of amateur and professional artists, art directors, art show managers, publishers and collectors involved in the vis ...

for "Best Unpublished Monochrome". * 2001,

Bill Rotsler Charles William Rotsler () was an American artist, cartoonist, pornographer and science fiction author. Rotsler was a four-time Hugo Award winner and one-time Nebula Award nominee. Rotsler's papers including dozens of matted color drawings ...

Award * 2004, Cat Writer's Association: Muse Award - Best Series of Illustrations * 2006, Cat Writer's Association: Muse Award - Best Series of Illustrations * 2011,

Rebel Award The Rebel Award is a lifetime achievement award for a science fiction fan "who has done a great deal for Southern Fandom." The Rebel is given annually by DeepSouthCon, a bidded convention held in different states of the former Confederacy. There ...

for his contributions for Southern fandom at

FenCon FenCon is a literary science fiction and fantasy Science fiction convention, convention with filk held each year on or around the fourth full weekend of September in or around Dallas, Texas. The name is derived from "fen", the fannish plural of "f ...

DeepSouthCon The DeepSouthCon (DSC) is an annual science fiction convention, which is hosted in different cities in the Southern United States. Site selection is by vote of the membership of a given DSC, for the convention to be held 2 years in the future. DS ...

49 Foster was the artist guest of honor for the 2010

NASFiC NASFiC, a.k.a. the North American Science Fiction Convention, is a science fiction convention scheduled only during years where the Worldcon is being held outside the North American continent. NASFiC bids are voted on by the membership of the Wor ...

ReConStruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

, Conestoga 9 in 2005, and Archon 35 in 2011, and Sasquan, the

, in 2015.

Selected works

*''The Adventures of Olivia'' #1 - 5 (co-writer/artist 1989-1996) Jabberwocky Graphix *''Altered Image'' #1 (inker, 1998)

*''

File 770 ''File 770'' is a long-running science fiction fanzine, newszine, and blog site published/administered by Mike Glyer. It has been published every year since 1978, and has won a record eight Hugo Awards for Best Fanzine, with the first win in 1 ...

'' 1984 through present (covers and illustrations)

Mike Glyer Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

publisher *'' Fission Chicken'' #1 - 4 (color finished art over pencils by J. P. Morgan)

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was found ...

*''

Highlights for Children ''Highlights for Children'', often referred to simply as ''Highlights'', is an American children's magazine. It began publication in June 1946, started by Garry Cleveland Myers and his wife Caroline Clark Myers in Honesdale, Pennsylvania (the pr ...

'' 1983 (hidden pictures page) *''Mechthings'' #1 - 4 (writer/artist 1987-1988) Renegade Press *''Slam Bang'' #1 (1985) through present (various covers, comic strips and illustrations) Fan-Atic Press *''

'' #5 - 11 ("Big Background Artist", 1993, 1994)

References

External links

Brad W. Foster's Jabberwocky Graphix business website

2001 Rotsler Award: Brad Foster

Interview with Brad W. Foster from "City Limits Gazette", at Poopsheet Foundation

Q&A with Cartoonist Brad Foster at "The Oxford American"

Gaming-related bio and data, in French, at "Grog"

Interview with Brad W. Foster at "Wire Rim Books"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Brad W. Hugo Award-winning artists Living people American speculative fiction artists Fantasy artists Science fiction artists Science fiction fans 1955 births Texas A&M University alumni University of Texas at Austin College of Fine Arts alumni