Lowell Cunningham (born c. 1958/1959) is an American comic book author. He is best known for creating the comic book '' The Men in Black'', which later became the basis for a

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or ...

Early life

Lowell Cunningham was raised in

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

, the son of farmers Ralph and Ruby Cunningham, the latter of whom was also an office worker for the state government. A fan of

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...

and

espionage fiction Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligen ...

spy-fiction TV shows in his youth, he went on to a bachelor's degree in philosophy from

The University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

in 1985.

Career

Following college, Cunningham worked for nearly three years in the circulation department of the Knox County Library in Knoxville, Tennessee. After his 1990

comic-book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are oft ...

series '' The Men in Black'' from

Aircel Comics Aircel Comics (Aircel Publishing) was a comic book publisher founded by Barry Blair, in Ottawa, Ontario in 1985. In 1988, it merged with American publisher Eternity Comics, itself an imprint of Malibu Comics, and in the late 1980s was taken over b ...

finished its run, Cunningham worked as a factory security guard. When his comic became the basis for the 1997 film ''

Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are purported men dressed in black suits who claim to be quasi-government agents, who harass, threaten, or sometimes even assassinate unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses t ...

'', Cunningham earned what he said in an interview that year was an initial "six-figure sum. In the low six figures. I've been living off it for five years." This launched a media franchise that has included the sequels ''

Men in Black II ''Men in Black II'' (stylized as ''MIIB'') is a 2002 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld from a screenplay by Robert Gordon and Barry Fanaro. It is the second film in the original trilogy and a sequel to ''M ...

'' (2002) and ''

Men in Black 3 ''Men in Black 3'' (stylized as ''MIB³'') is a 2012 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and Josh Brolin. It is the third installment in the ''Men in Black'' film se ...

'' (2012), a 2019 spin-off '' Men in Black: International'', and an animated television program, '' Men in Black: The Series'', which ran from October 1997 to June 2001. Cunningham went on to co-write four ''

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 ...

'' parody

short films A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

with director John E. Hudgens, released from 2000 to 2005, and in 2012 returned to comics with

About Comics About Comics is a publisher of comics and comics-related material founded in 1998 by Nat Gertler. According to Gertler, it is intended to be "eithera mainstream comics publisher, nor an alternative comics publisher". The company has published w ...

' ''Jack Ooze'', starring a

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

turned semi-liquid superhero.

Personal life

As of 2008, Cunningham lived in West Knoxville, Tennessee.

Bibliography

Comics

Comics work includes: *'' The Men in Black'' (with

Sandy Carruthers Sandy Carruthers is a Canadian-American artist and retired graphic design instructor, known for his work as the first illustrator of the original ''Men in Black'' comic book series, and as creator of the webcomic series, ''Canadiana: the New Spirit ...

, three-issue

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

, January–March 1990, trade paperback, June 1990, ) *''

Alien Nation ''Alien Nation'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Rockne S. O'Bannon (later known for ''Farscape''), comprising film, television, and other media productions about alien refugees living on Earth. The series began with the ...

: The Skin Trade'' (with

Leonard Kirk Leonard Kirk is an American-born comic book artist living in Canada. He has worked on such properties as ''Supergirl (comic book), Supergirl'', ''Justice Society of America, JSA'', ''Star Trek'', ''Batman (comic book), Batman'', and ''Witchblade' ...

, four-issue miniseries,

Malibu Comics Malibu Comics Entertainment, Inc. (also known as Malibu Graphics) was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. Notable titles published by Malibu included '' ...

, March–June 1991) *''The Men in Black Book II'' (with Sandy Carruthers & Scott Dutton, three-issue miniseries, Aircel Comics, May–July 1991) *''Alien Nation: The Public Enemy'' (with Sandy Carruthers, three-issue miniseries, Malibu Comics, Dec. 1991 - March 1992) *''Men In Black: Far Cry'' (with Dietrich Smith,

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

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 ...

, Aug. 1997) *''Men in Black: Movie Adaptation'' (with Rod Whigham, one-shot, Marvel Comics, Oct. 1997) *''Men In Black: Retribution'' (with Rod Whigham, one-shot, Marvel Comics, Dec. 1997) *''Jack Ooze'' (About Comics, 2012)

Short films

Star Wars parodies with John Hudgens include: *''

Crazy Watto ''Crazy Watto'' is a two-minute-long fan film that made its debut on the Internet in 2000. The film is a spoof of used car deal ads shown on television, featuring Watto from '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace''. Watto offers up for sale ...

'' (2000) *''

Darth Vader's Psychic Hotline ''Darth Vader's Psychic Hotline'' is a fan film that made its debut on the Internet on April 16, 2002, created by fans of the '' Star Wars'' franchise. It is a spoof of '' Star Wars'' and Miss Cleo-type psychic hotline infomercials, with Darth V ...

'' (April 2002) *'' The Jedi Hunter'' (August 2002) *'' Sith Apprentice'' (March 2005)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Lowell American comics writers American science fiction writers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)