Mark Russell (born 1971) is an American author, cartoonist, and comic book writer.

Books

Russell is the author of ''God Is Disappointed in You'' (Top Shelf Productions, 2013), a modern re-telling of the Bible (with cartoons by New Yorker cartoonist

Shannon Wheeler Shannon Wheeler is an American cartoonist, best known as a cartoonist for ''The New Yorker'' and for creating the satirical superhero Too Much Coffee Man. Early life Shannon Wheeler grew up in Berkeley, California, brought up by his mother. His ...

) as well as a follow up book about non-canonical Christian and Jewish texts called ''Apocrypha Now'' (Top Shelf Productions/IDW, 2016).

Comics

In 2015, Russell made his debut in comics with his critically acclaimed reboot of the 1973–74 comic '' Prez'' (Issues 1–6, DC Comics), drawn by Ben Caldwell, in which a teenager is elected and serves as President of the United States. Following Prez, Russell was hired to write ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighb ...

'' comic book series for DC Comics, drawn by Steve Pugh. ''The Flintstones'' was nominated for two Eisner Awards, including Best Limited Series and Best Humor Publication, as well as being nominated for a Harvey Award for Book of the Year. In 2018, DC Comics published Russell's comic '' Exit, Stage Left!: The Snagglepuss Chronicles'', which reinvented the titular Hanna Barbera character as a gay southern gothic playwright living in 1950s New York. ''Exit Stage Left!: The Snagglepuss Chronicles'' won the 2019 GLAAD Award for Outstanding Comic. The series was also nominated for the Eisner Award for Best Limited Series and Russell was nominated for the Eisner Award for Best Writer. February 2019 saw the publication of Russell's ''The Wonder Twins'' with artist Stephen Byrne as part of DC's new Wonder Comics line, curated by Brian Michael Bendis, which was nominated for a 2020 Ringo award for Best Humor Comic. 2019 also saw the publication of Russell's comic ''Second Coming'' by

Ahoy Comics Ahoy Comics is an American comic book publisher. It was founded in 2018 by publisher Hart Seely, editors Tom Peyer and Stuart Moore, and chief creative officer Frank Cammuso. At its launch, Ahoy sought to distinguish itself from other comics publ ...

. Originally slated to be published by DC/Vertigo, the comic was dropped by the label due to the religious and controversial subject matter, only to be later picked up and published by Ahoy. Volume I of ''Second Coming'' was published in March 2020, featuring an Introduction by

Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is known as Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and for narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–present) as ...

. A second series of ''Second Coming'' was released starting in December 2020. Russell's acclaimed satirical comic ''Billionaire Island'', also released in 2020, reunited him with Flintstones artist Steve Pugh. In 2021, Russell wrote ''Fantastic Four: Life Story'' for

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

, which retells the story of the first family of Marvel in a decade-by-decade format. 2021 also saw the release of his title One-Star Squadron, drawn by artist Steve Lieber, about declining superheroes who are forced to make a living in the marketplace, and Not All Robots with artist Mike Deodato, which won the 2022 Eisner Award for Best Humor Publication. In 2022, DC Comics released Superman: Space Age, written by Mark Russell with art by Mike Allred, to critical acclaim. Other comic book titles written by Mark Russell include a

Red Sonja Red Sonja is a fictional sword and sorcery comic-book superheroine created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics in 1973, partially inspired by Robert E. Howard's character Red Sonya of Rogatino. Marvel Comics p ...

series for Dynamite Comics, ''Judge Dredd: Under Siege'' (IDW, 2018), ''The Lone Ranger: The Devil's Rope'' (Dynamite, 2018) and ''Superman vs Imperious Lex'' (DC, 2021).

Personal life

Mark Russell was born in Springfield, Oregon and currently lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and family.

Miscellaneous

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Russell self-published his stories and cartoons in a zine called ''The Penny Dreadful.'' In 2019, Russell appeared on an episode of Storytellers Telling Stories with Jude Brewer, recounting his early days on Public Access Television. In November 2020, Russell appeared on an episode of Indie Comics Spotlight with Tony Farina & Mike Burton on the podcast feed Comics In Motion, discussing Billionaire Island and Second Coming. On September 16, 2021, Mark Russell appeared on a YouTube channel called "Lost'n Comics", where he discussed his comic origin story, his ongoing career and current work.

References

External links

DC Comics Eaglesport
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Mark 1971 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) American cartoonists