Michael Jay Harris (born 1962) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

who was active in the industry from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. Harris was able to use his personal interests in weapons and

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

to establish himself as an illustrator for characters like

The Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

and

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), Ac ...

, and titles like '' Cops: The Job'', and '' No Escape''.

Biography

Harris attended New York City's

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School (pronounced ), commonly referred to among its students as Stuy (pronounced ), is a State school, public university-preparatory school, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school ...

('79) where he studied under

Frank McCourt Francis McCourt (August 19, 1930July 19, 2009) was an Irish-American teacher and writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his book ''Angela's Ashes'', a tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood. Early life and education Frank McC ...

and

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

, where he studied under

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ''Little Ann ...

Marshall Arisman Marshall Arisman (October 14, 1938 – April 22, 2022) was an American illustrator, painter, storyteller, and educator. Biography Arisman was born in Jamestown, New York, on October 14, 1938, where he grew up on a dairy farm. He studied adve ...

, and Gil Stone;Harris entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books'', 1928–1999. Harris's influences included

J. C. Leyendecker Joseph Christian Leyendecker (March 23, 1874 – July 25, 1951) was a German-American illustrator, considered one of the preeminent American illustrators of the early 20th century. He is best known for his poster, book and advertising illustrati ...

Heinrich Kley Heinrich Kley (15 April 1863 in Karlsruhe – 1945 in Munich) was a German illustrator, editorial illustrator and painter. Kley studied "practical arts" at the Karlsruhe Akademie and finished his studies in Munich. His early works were conventio ...

, and

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...

. Breaking into the industry in 1985, Harris worked as a fill-in artist on several

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 ...

titles, such as ''Web of Spider-Man'', ''The 'Nam'', ''Nomad'', and ''Nova: Deathstorm''. Harris (with writer

David Michelinie David Michelinie (; born May 6, 1948) is an American comic book writer best known for scripting Marvel Comics' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and '' Iron Man'' and the DC Comics feature Superman in ''Action Comics''. Among the characters he created o ...

) co-created the

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

enemies

Chance Chance may refer to: Mathematics and Science * In mathematics, likelihood of something (by way of the Likelihood function and/or Probability density function). * ''Chance'' (statistics magazine) Places * Chance, Kentucky, US * Chance, Mary ...

and Foreigner, both in ''Web of Spider-Man'' #15 (June 1986). Later, Harris contributed to ''Punisher War Zone'', and ''Punisher War Journal'', and illustrated the Marvel

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

''Cops: The Job'', '' No Escape'', and '' Dragon Strike''. During the 1980s, before becoming a Marvel Comics regular, Harris also freelanced for

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 ...

(where he illustrated, among others, ''All-Star Squadron''), Comico,

Deluxe Comics Deluxe Comics was a short-lived comic book publishing company which published one title, ''Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents''. History Deluxe Comics was a division of Singer Publishing, founded by David M. Singer (11 February 1957–24 Augus ...

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market. It was ...

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 ...

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

Harris Publications Harris Publications Inc. was an American special interest media company, operating over 75 brands with print, digital, mobile and live event platforms prior to its sale to Athlon Media in 2016. It produced magazines that educate, entertain, inf ...

. In the mid-1990s, Harris worked for

Tekno Comix Tekno Comix was an American publishing company that produced comic books from 1995 to 1997. History The company was founded by Laurie Silvers and Mitchell Rubenstein as a division of their publicly traded company, Big Entertainment. Tekno Comix ...

/Big Entertainment on such titles as ''Lost Universe'' and ''

Lady Justice Lady Justice ( la, Iustitia) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems. Her attributes are scales, a sword and sometimes a blindfold. She often appears as a pair with Prudentia. Lady Justice originates from the ...

''. During this period Harris also did some

mini-comics, which were packaged with the toys; and illustrated a

Magnus, Robot Fighter Magnus, Robot Fighter is a fictional superhero, appearing in comic books created by writer/artist Russ Manning in 1963.Steve Holland, ''Sci-Fi Art : a graphic history''. Lewes : ILEX, 2009. (pp. 102-3) Magnus first appeared in ''Magnus Robot Fight ...

trading card A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other ...

for

Valiant Comics Valiant Comics is an American comic book publisher. The company was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was sold to Acclaim Entertainment ...

. Leaving comic books in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, Harris moved on to the

computer game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

and

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

industries. While working at Interplay, his artwork for Max 2 was included in the

Society of Illustrators The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition. History Founding The Society of Illustrators was founded on ...

40th Annual Exhibition. Harris has had no significant comic book credits since 1999, but contributes

Editorial Cartoons A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine ...

to the

American Thinker ''American Thinker'' is a daily online magazine dealing with American politics from a politically conservative viewpoint. It was founded in 2003 by attorney Ed Lasky, health-care consultant Richard Baehr, and sociologist Thomas Lifson, and ini ...

online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a print magazine format to being online only was the computer magaz ...

on a regular basis. Harris enlisted in the New York National Guard in 1986 as a 19D

Cavalry Scout Cavalry Scout is the job title of someone who has achieved the military occupational specialty of 19D Armored Reconnaissance Specialist in the Combat Arms branch of the United States Army. As with all enlisted soldiers in the United States Cavalr ...

. He was selected for

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and Enlisted rank, enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a Commission (document), commission as Commissioned officer, officers in the armed forces of a country. ...

and was commissioned as an

armored cavalry Armoured cavalry are combat units using armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) instead of horses. They began to replace horse cavalry in the heavy shock and the light reconnaissance, skirmishing and exploitation/pursuit roles in most armies comme ...

officer in 1988, and is proficient with a variety of

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

, armor weapons and

demolitions Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking ...

. He is also a

student, having studied

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in around 1 ...

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

, and T'ang Soo Do.Harris bio, ''Punisher: The Prize'' (Marvel Comics, 1990). He has served in a variety of positions with the

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

and

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

, and was assessed to the

Active Guard Reserve Active Guard Reserve (AGR) refers to a United States Army and United States Air Force federal military program which places Army National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers and Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve airmen on federal active duty st ...

program in 2004. Harris has served combat tours in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

and continued to produce artwork for the Army informally while working in operational assignments. He retired from the Army in 2016, at the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, with 30 years of active and reserve service.

Bibliography

Comics work includes: * ''

All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League, Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its se ...

'' #48-49, #61-62

over only Over may refer to: Places *Over, Cambridgeshire, England *Over, Cheshire, England *Over, South Gloucestershire, England * Over, Tewkesbury, near Gloucester, England ** Over Bridge *Over, Seevetal, Germany Music Albums * ''Over'' (album), by Pe ...

(DC, August—September 1985, September-October 1986) * ''

Web of Spider-Man ''Web of Spider-Man'' is the name of two different monthly comic book series starring Spider-Man that have been published by Marvel Comics since 1985, the first volume of which ran for 129 issues between 1985 and 1995, and the second of which ran f ...

'' #6, (Marvel, November 1985),13-15 (Marvel, April-June 1986) * ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...

'' #278 (Marvel, July 1986) - Part of the

Scourge of the Underworld The Scourge of the Underworld is the name of a series of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Writer/editor Mark Gruenwald originally created the Scourge in 1985 as a plot device intended to thin the ...

crossover story * ''

Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

: The Prize'' (with writer C.J. Henderson) (Marvel Comics, 1990) *

Punisher War Zone ''The Punisher War Zone'' or ''Punisher War Zone'' is a comic book spin-off title featuring the Punisher, a fictional character published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The first installment of the series ran for 41 issues and two 64-page ...

#9-11 (Marvel Comics) * ''

'' trading cards (Valiant, Dec. 1991) — card #13, Mogul Badur * ''Cops: The Job'' (Marvel, June–Sept. 1992) * ''Daredevil Vs. Vapora'' #1 (Marvel, 1993) * '' Dragon Strike'' (Marvel, Feb. 1994) — official adaptation of the

TSR, Inc. TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...

role-playing game '' DragonStrike''. * ''

Penthouse Comix ''Penthouse Comix'' was an American mass-market, magazine-sized comic book, published by Penthouse International/General Media Communications from spring 1994 through July 1998. Founded and initially edited by George Caragonne and Horatio Weisfel ...

'' #1 (Penthouse, Spring 1994) * '' No Escape'' limited series (Marvel, June–Sept. 1994) — Novel/movie adaptation based on 1987 novel ''The Penal Colony'' (1987) and 1994 screenplay '' No Escape''. * ''

'' volume 2 (with writer Neil Gaiman) (Tekno Comix, June 1996–February 1997) Non-comics work includes: * '' Beat the House''

Interplay Entertainment Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca ...

, Inc. 1997 * '' Conquest 2'' computer game,

, Inc. 1998 * '' MAX2'' computer game,

, Inc. 1998 * '' Godzilla: The Series'' (animation),

Adelaide Productions Adelaide Productions is a television animation division of Sony Pictures Television that was founded on April 12, 1993, by Columbia Pictures Television.

, Inc. 1998 * '' Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles'' (animation),

Adelaide Productions Adelaide Productions is a television animation division of Sony Pictures Television that was founded on April 12, 1993, by Columbia Pictures Television.

, Inc. 1998 * ''

Heavy Gear ''Heavy Gear'' is a mecha science fiction game universe published since 1994 by Canadian publisher Dream Pod 9. It includes a tabletop tactical wargame, a role-playing game, and a combat card game ('' Heavy Gear Fighter''). The setting is also k ...

'' (animation),

Adelaide Productions Adelaide Productions is a television animation division of Sony Pictures Television that was founded on April 12, 1993, by Columbia Pictures Television.

, Inc. 1999 * ''

Jackie Chan Adventures ''Jackie Chan Adventures'' is an American animated television series, created by John Rogers, Duane Capizzi and Jeff Kline, and produced by Sony Pictures Television (originally as Columbia TriStar Television for the first three seasons). The car ...

'' (animation),

Adelaide Productions Adelaide Productions is a television animation division of Sony Pictures Television that was founded on April 12, 1993, by Columbia Pictures Television.

, Inc. 1999

Notes

References

Mike Harris
at

Lambiek Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ), though since 2007, his son Boris Kousemaker is the current owner. From 1968 to 2015, it was located ...

's Comiclopedia *Official Site https://mikeharrisartwork.wordpress.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Mike Stuyvesant High School alumni School of Visual Arts alumni Living people United States Army officers 1962 births American comics artists Jewish American artists 21st-century American Jews