Roxanne Starr is an American
graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...
and
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 of ...
letterer
A letterer is a member of a team of comic book creators responsible for drawing the comic book's text. The letterer's use of typefaces, calligraphy, letter size, and layout all contribute to the impact of the comic. The letterer crafts the comi ...
.
Biography
Early life and education
Roxanne Starr was born in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
to German parents, however was raised in the United States after moving to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
at the age of two. Her career in art began at age fourteen when she took a summer job as a colorist for a textile design company. She later graduated from the
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...
with a degree in Art and minor in Philosophy. Starr took commercial art courses at the
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 ...
, taking two years off to work as a Traffic Editor at ''The
National Enquirer
The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years.
The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in tabl ...
''. Her first job after college was in advertising at a
Madison Avenue
Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...
agency.
''Flaming Carrot Comics''
In 1980, Starr moved to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
where she freelanced as a graphic designer.
[ In 1982, she began lettering comics, initially with ]Bob Burden
Bob Burden is an American comic book artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''Flaming Carrot Comics'' and the ''Mystery Men''.
Early life
Burden was born the eldest of three siblings in Buffalo, New York. His father worked at Westin ...
's ''Flaming Carrot Comics
''Flaming Carrot Comics'' was an American superhero comic book created by Bob Burden, featuring the absurd, surreal adventure of the Flaming Carrot.
The series first appeared in ''Visions'' #1, a magazine-size comic book publication. Flaming Carr ...
''.
At first, she hand-lettered her works, but eventually created fonts to imitate her style.
In 1984, soon after Starr started working on ''Flaming Carrot'', the book was picked up by Canadian-based publisher Aardvark-Vanaheim
Aardvark-Vanaheim is a Canadian independent comic book publisher founded in 1977 by Dave Sim and Deni Loubert and is best known for publishing Sim's ''Cerebus''.
For a brief time, the company also published other titles, sometimes under the name ...
. Four years later, Starr became ''Flaming Carrots editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
when it was picked up by 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 ...
.[
]
The 1990s
By the early 1990s, Starr was freelancing as a comic book letterer while working a day job in the magazine industry. As a Commercial Art Director, she gave cover and interior editorial art assignments to comics artists like Dave Johnson, Craig Hamilton
Craig Peter Hamilton (born 1 September 1979, Dumfries) is a Scotland, Scottish international rugby union player. He is a Lock (rugby union), lock and currently plays at Whitley Bay Rockcliff RFC, Northumbria University Men's 1st XV and previous ...
, and Michael Zulli
Michael Zulli is an American artist known for his work as an animal and wildlife illustrator and as a comic book illustrator.
Career
Michael Zulli's career in the comics industry began in October 1986 with ''The Puma Blues'', on which he collabor ...
.
In the early 1990s, Starr was assigned by editor Paul Jenkins to re-letter the first two issues of Alan Moore
Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and ''From Hell' ...
and Bill Sienkiewicz
Boleslav William Felix Robert Sienkiewicz ( ; born May 3, 1958) is an American artist known for his work in comic books—particularly for Marvel Comics' ''New Mutants'', '' Moon Knight,'' and '' Elektra: Assassin''. Sienkiewicz's work in the 198 ...
's ultimately unfinished project '' Big Numbers'' — which was to be picked up by Tundra Publishing
Tundra Publishing was a Northampton, Massachusetts-based comic book publisher founded by Kevin Eastman in 1990. The company was founded to provide a venue for adventurous, creator-owned work by talented cartoonists and illustrators. Its publicat ...
— and continue on as the project letterer of the remaining issues. ''Big Numbers'' would halt with only two issues released commercially.
Starr did most of her professional lettering during the comics’ boom of the 1990s. In addition to ''Flaming Carrot Comics'', titles she worked on included books published by 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 '' ...
' Ultraverse
The Ultraverse is a defunct comic book imprint published by the American company Malibu Comics which is currently owned by Marvel Comics. The Ultraverse is a shared universe in which a variety of characters – known within the comics as Ultras †...
imprint (1993–1995) and James D. Hudnall's '' ESPers'' (1996–1997). The majority of her work was with Caliber Comics
Caliber Comics or Caliber Press is an American comic book publisher founded in 1989 by Gary Reed. Featuring primarily creator-owned comics, Caliber published over 1,300 comics in the decade following its inception and is ranked as one of America ...
, lettering Brian Michael Bendis
Brian Michael Bendis (; born August 18, 1967) is an American comic book writer and artist. He has won five Eisner Awards for both his creator-owned work and his work on various Marvel Comics books.Bendis, Brian Michael and Oeming, Michael Avon, ' ...
' creator-owned ''Jinx
A jinx (also jynx), in popular superstition and folklore, is a curse or the attribute of attracting bad or negative luck.
The word ''"jynx"'' meaning the bird wryneck and sometimes a charm or spell has been in use in English since the seventeent ...
'' (1997) and Joe Pruett
Joe Pruett (January 8, 1966) is an People of the United States, American comic book writer, editor, and publisher.
Biography
Pruett broke into the industry during the year of 1989 as Bob Burden's assistant on Flaming Carrot Comics, where he inked ...
's anthology comic book series ''Negative Burn
''Negative Burn'' is a black-and-white anthology comic book published beginning in 1993 by Caliber Press, and subsequently by Image Comics and Desperado Publishing. Edited by Joe Pruett, ''Negative Burn'' is noted for its eclectic range of genres, ...
'' (1998).[ Starr lettered a number of "The Alan Moore Songbook" stories in ''Negative Burn'' — stories written by Moore and illustrated by various artists.
]
Present
Starr currently lives in Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, and still works with Bob Burden on his various creator-owned projects,[ including his 2012 Flaming Carrot ]Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
campaign which raised $42,048. In 2015, Stable Enterprises Press released ''Stable Enterprises first issue, "Sexy Enterprises", an illustrated novel written by Starr, with art by Timothy Paul. ''Sexy Enterprises'' is ta pseudo-autobiographical parody novel about the comics industry and the many freelance artists with whom Starr has worked.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starr, Roxanne
Living people
French emigrants to the United States
American graphic designers
Women graphic designers
City College of New York alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
French female comics artists
American female comics artists
French comics artists
Comic book letterers
Women calligraphers