Eric James Shanower (born October 23, 1963) is an American cartoonist, best known for his Oz novels and comics, and for the ongoing retelling of the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...

as '' Age of Bronze''.

Early life

Eric Shanower was born on October 23, 1963. Upon his graduation from

Novato High School Novato High School (NHS) is a public high school located in Novato, California, in Marin County. It is a part of the Novato Unified School District. History Built in 1955 and founded in 1957, three years before Novato was incorporated as a c ...

in 1981, he attended

The Kubert School The Kubert School, formerly the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art and Joe Kubert School, is a private, for-profit technical school focused on cartooning and located in Dover, New Jersey. It teaches the principles of sequential art a ...

Interview with Eric Shanower, November 5, 2005
. Accessed June 16, 2008
Accessed via Archive.org June 16, 2008 in

Dover, New Jersey Dover is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. Located on the Rockaway River, Dover is about west of New York City and about west of Newark, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 18,157,

, graduating in 1984.Shanower, Eric ''Age of Bronze: Sacrifice'' (

Image An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

, 2004),

Career

Shanower's first major published works were the ''Oz'' graphic novels, which are ''

The Enchanted Apples of Oz ''The Enchanted Apples of Oz'' is the first of the modern graphic novels based on American author L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz world, written by Eric Shanower. The book tells the story of Valynn, who protects a garden containing an enchanted appl ...

'', ''The Secret Island of Oz'', ''The Ice King of Oz'', ''The Forgotten Forest of Oz'', and ''The Blue Witch of Oz'' released by

First Comics First Comics was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991, known for titles like ''American Flagg!'', ''Grimjack'', ''Nexus'', ''Badger'', ''Dreadstar'', and ''Jon Sable''. Along with competitors like Pacific Comics and ...

and

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 ...

between 1986 and 1992. They are collected in a single large volume titled ''Adventures in Oz'', published by IDW. He has also written and illustrated a full-length Oz novel, '' The Giant Garden of Oz'', and a collection of short Oz stories, ''The Salt Sorcerer of Oz''. As an illustrator, he has worked on books by Oz historians, including ''

The Wicked Witch of Oz ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' by Rachel Cosgrove Payes, ''

The Rundelstone of Oz ''The Rundelstone of Oz'' is a novel by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. It is a volume in the List of Oz books, series of fictional works about the Land of Oz, by L. Frank Baum and his successors. ''The Rundelstone of Oz'' was originally the opening sectio ...

'' by

Eloise Jarvis McGraw Eloise Jarvis McGraw (December 9, 1915 – November 30, 2000) was an American author of children's books and young adult novels. Career McGraw also contributed to the Oz series started by L. Frank Baum; working with her daughter, graphic artis ...

, ''

The Runaway in Oz ''The Runaway in Oz'' is an Oz book by long-time Oz illustrator John R. Neill. It was written originally during 1943 and was meant to be the thirty-seventh book in the Oz series. However, Neill died before he could edit or illustrate the book. ...

'' by

John R. Neill John Rea Neill (November 12, 1877 – September 19, 1943) was a magazine and children's book illustrator primarily known for illustrating more than forty stories set in the Land of Oz, including L. Frank Baum's, Ruth Plumly Thompson's, and three o ...

, and '' The Third Book of Oz'' by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

. Other Oz projects include his illustrations for ''

Paradox in Oz ''Paradox in Oz'' is a 1999 novel written by Edward Einhorn. As its title indicates, the book is an entry in the series of books about the Land of Oz written by L. Frank Baum and a host of successors. The book ''Paradox in Oz'' was published by ...

'' and ''The Living House of Oz'' by

Edward Einhorn Edward Einhorn (born September 6, 1970) is an American playwright, theater director, and novelist, noted for the comic absurdism of his drama and the imaginative richness of his literary works. A native of Westfield, New Jersey, Einhorn graduated ...

. He wrote adaptations of L. Frank Baum's first six original Oz novels for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

, illustrated by artist

Skottie Young Skottie Young (born March 3, 1978) is an American comic book artist, children's book illustrator and writer. He is best known for his work with various Marvel Comics characters, his comic book adaptations of L. Frank Baum's Oz books with Eric ...

. The first, ''

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz after s ...

'' was released in a hardcover collection on September 2, 2009. The follow-up, ''

The Marvelous Land of Oz ''The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman'', commonly shortened to ''The Land of Oz'', published in July 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baum's books set in the Land of Oz, and th ...

'' began in November 2009 as an 8 issue monthly comic series, while the third mini i.e. ''

Ozma of Oz ''Ozma of Oz: A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of Kansas, Billina the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger; Besides Other Good People Too Numerous to Mention Faithfully Recorded Herein'', p ...

'' began in November 2010. The fourth and fifth books, ''

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz ''Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz'' is the fourth book set in the Land of Oz written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by John R. Neill. It was published on June 18, 1908 and reunites Dorothy Gale with the humbug Wizard from ''The Wonderful Wizard ...

'' and ''

The Road to Oz ''The Road to Oz: In Which Is Related How Dorothy Gale of Kansas, The Shaggy Man, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter Met on an Enchanted Road and Followed it All the Way to the Marvelous Land of Oz.'' is the fifth of L. Frank B ...

'', were also subsequently adapted by Shanower and Young for Marvel Illustrated. The collaboration concluded with their adaptation of the sixth book, ''

The Emerald City of Oz ''The Emerald City of Oz'' is the sixth of L. Frank Baum's fourteen Land of Oz books. It was also adapted into a Canadian animated film in 1987. Originally published on July 20, 1910, it is the story of Dorothy Gale and her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em ...

''. He wrote the comic series Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland for IDW. The first issue was released August 20, 2014.

''Age of Bronze''

In February 1991, Shanower "conceived the idea to tell the story of the

in the comics medium," aiming to combine "the myriad versions of the Greek myth with the archaeological record" to showcase the tale in "authentic historical detail." This aim has been manifested in the ongoing comic book '' Age of Bronze'', debuting in late 1998 from

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 ...

. As of 2018, the series has been collected in four (of a projected seven) volumes: * ''A Thousand Ships'' * ''Sacrifice'' * ''Betrayal Part One'' * ''Betrayal Part Two'' The seven volumes in their entirety will cover the complete story of the war. The books contain extensive

bibliographies Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

, for the story, the setting and historical

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

, drawing on the excavation work

Heinrich Schliemann Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann (; 6 January 1822 – 26 December 1890) was a German businessman and pioneer in the field of archaeology. He was an advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an archaeologi ...

(et al.) and the publication '' Studia Troica.'' The book does not depict the gods or any mythical beings, with

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology ...

portrayed as a relatively normal human being rather than a centaur. Similarly, the

Nymphs A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typ ...

are portrayed as human priestesses rather than as supernatural beings.

Other work

Shanower has also drawn a number of one shot comics, such as

Ed Brubaker Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...

's '' Prez'' "Smells Like Teen President" and An Accidental Death (also written by Brubaker) published by Fantagraphics in 1993. For Marvel's Epic line, he illustrated The Elsewhere Prince (1990), based on characters created by the French cartoonist Moebius. His work has appeared in magazines throughout the USA and Europe as well as in books and on TV.

Awards

Shanower won

Eisner Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

for Best Writer-Artist in 2001 and 2003, won a for Best Serialized Comic in 2006, and was nominated for the

Ignatz Award The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping a ...

for Outstanding Artist in 1999 for his work on ''Age of Bronze''. ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' miniseries written by Shanower, illustrated by

, won two Eisners in 2010, for Best Limited Series or Story Arc and Best Publication for Kids. His short story "Happily Ever After" was part of ''

How Beautiful the Ordinary ''How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity'' is an anthology of LGBTQ short stories for young adults edited by American author Michael Cart. It was first published in 2009. The anthology contains an introduction by Cart, 11 short st ...

: Twelve Stories of Identity'', an anthology of

LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

for

young adults A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

published in 2009. The book was a

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

finalist for LGBT Children's/Young Adult literature.Gonzalez, Antonio. "Finalists announced for the 22nd Annual Lambda Literary Awards."
Lambda Literary Foundation. March 16, 2010.

Personal life

Shanower lives in San Diego with his partner David Maxine, who runs

Hungry Tiger Press Hungry Tiger Press is an American specialty publisher of books, compact discs, comic books and graphic novels, focused on the works of L. Frank Baum, other authors of Oz books, and related Americana. Hungry Tiger has also published rare, early ...

, a publisher of Oz books, Oz-related comics and compact discs, which the two started in 1994.

References

External links

*
Hungry Tiger PressAge of Bronze
official site
Eric Shanower
at Prism Comics

su

/sup>
Another interview, focusing on The Age of Bronze
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shanower, Eric James American cartoonists American comics artists American comics writers Gay artists American gay writers The Kubert School alumni LGBT comics creators LGBT people from Florida People from Key West, Florida Living people 1963 births Eisner Award winners for Best Writer/Artist