Dan Parsons is an American

comic book artist 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 ...

and illustrator. He is best known for his work on ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' and ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...

''.

Career

Dan Parsons started out in comics self-publishing his creator-owned series ''Harpy'', which became part of the late-1990s indy comics “ bad girl” movement. He wrote and penciled ''Harpy'' as an ongoing comic book series, and, with its increasing visibility, Parsons was hired to pencil and ink another popular “bad girl” series called ''

Razor A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors. While the razor has been in existence since before t ...

'' (London Night Studios). Parsons illustrated the story "Luna" for

Avatar Press Avatar Press is an independent American comic book publisher founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen, and based in Rantoul, Illinois. Avatar Press is most notable for publishing Bad girl art, bad girl comics, such as ''Faust (Avatar Press), Fau ...

's '' Threshold'' #30, which was written by David Quinn (''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

''). Parsons provided wash tones for

Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is a British comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ( ...

's '' Strange Kiss'', as well as the sequel, '' Stranger Kisses''. He also penciled, inked, and did cover work for the classic ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...

'' comic book series ( Millennium Press); All this while still working full time as a scientific researcher at

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center (abbreviated JHBMC or Bayview; formerly Francis Scott Key Medical Center and Baltimore City Hospitals) is teaching hospital trauma center, neonatal intensive care unit, geriatrics center, and is home to the Johns ...

. Parsons went on to release another creator-owned series: ''Savage Planet'', which he describes as a tribute to the

EC Comics Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-195 ...

of the 1950s, honoring the work of

Frank Frazetta Frank Frazetta (born Frank Frazzetta ; February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010) was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers, and other media. He is ...

and

Al Williamson Alfonso Williamson (March 21, 1931 – June 12, 2010) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western, science fiction and fantasy. Born in New York City, he spent much of his early childhood in ...

. It was at SDCC 2002, promoting the release of ''Savage Planet'', that Parsons met

Jan Duursema Jan Duursema (born October 27, 1954) is an American comics artist known for her work on the ''Star Wars'' comics franchise. She is the creator of Denin and Vila from Naldar, the Twi'lek Jedi Aayla Secura and the Kiffar Jedi Quinlan Vos. Career ...

, the ongoing penciller of ''Star Wars''. Recognizing Parsons’ similarity of inking style with Williamson, (the original classic ''Star Wars'' cartoonist); Duursema recommended Parsons to the ''Star Wars'' team over at

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 ...

. He was hired immediately, and worked at Dark Horse as the primary inker on a wide range of ''Star Wars'' titles, including ''

'', ''Legacy'', ''

Dawn of the Jedi ''Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi'' is an American comic book series set in the '' Star Wars'' universe. The series, published by Dark Horse Comics, is written by John Ostrander, penciled by Jan Duursema, inked by Dan Parsons, and colored by Wes Dzi ...

'', ''Clone Wars'', ''

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

'', '' Rebel Heist'' and many more. He continued inking ''Star Wars'' comic book titles until the end of the Dark Horse era in 2014, (when the Disney Corporation purchased the ''Star Wars'' franchise). Parsons would win an Inkwell Award in 2010 and again in 2015, for his ink work on the ''Star Wars'' comics. Other inking credits include

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

Nightwing Nightwing is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character has appeared in various incarnations; the identity was adopted by Dick Grayson when he left his role as Batman's vigilante partner Robin. Although ...

Convergence Convergence may refer to: Arts and media Literature *''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen * "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics: **A four-part crossover storyline that united the four Wei ...

'' and other

titles: ( ''Ghost'', ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

''). Parsons has also done some work for Hollywood. In 2011, he did a series of elaborate pencil drawings for the season one Blu-ray/DVD for HBO's ''

''. His renditions of

Aegon the Conqueror George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' saga features a large cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others beyo ...

and other characters have become the definitive visual representations of

George R.R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels '' A So ...

's literary creations. More recently he illustrated an ''

Avatar: the Last Airbender ''Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (abbreviated as ''ATLA''), also known as ''Avatar: The Legend of Aang'' in some regions or simply ''Avatar'', is an American anime-influenced animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and ...

'' book for

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

Insight Editions Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intui ...

and a graphic novel adaptation of

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...

’s 1937 sci-fi classic, ''Anthem''. In addition to these projects, Parsons worked on numerous trading cards for the

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American Football Card, American football, Baseball card, baseb ...

Company from 2002 to present. Parsons is currently penciling and wash-painting a new

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

five-issue miniseries ('' Brothers of Baker Street''), and inking

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability w ...

’s new six-issue ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

'' miniseries ('' Tsu’tey’s Path'').

Awards

He is a double recipient (2010 and 2015) of the Inkwell Award for his work on ''Star Wars'' comics from

. In 2014, he received a Ghastly Award for excellence in horror comics. In September 2018, Parsons was named

Inkwell Awards The Inkwell Award, sometimes shortened to the Inkwells, is a trophy given in the field of inking in American comic books. The awards were partially named after the Yahoo group whose members include many in the inking community, and after the pe ...

Special Ambassador.First Comics News - Inkwell Awards Adds New Special Ambassadors
/ref>Inkwell Awards Launches 11th Season with New Special Ambassadors Rags Morales, Dan Parsons
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parsons, Dan Living people American comics artists Year of birth missing (living people)