Russ Jones (born July 16, 1942 in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
novelist, illustrator, and magazine editor, active in the publishing and entertainment industries over a half-century, best known as the creator of the magazine ''
Creepy'' for
Warren Publishing. As the founding editor of ''Creepy'' in 1963, he is notable for a significant milestone in comics history by proving there was a readership eager to read graphic stories in a black-and-white magazine format rather than in a color comic book.
[Richardson, Peter]
"Russ Jones, Woody and the Genesis of Creepy"
Cloud 109 (July 6, 2010).
During the mid-1960s, Jones also pioneered the presentation of original comics formatted directly for paperback books, such as ''
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...
's Treasury of Terror'' (Pyramid, 1966).
[Kaye, Edward. "The A-Z of Canadian Comic Book Creators: J is for Russ Jones".]
/ref>
Comics and graphic novels
While in the Marine Corps, Jones worked on ''Leatherneck
Leatherneck is a military slang term in the USA for a member of the United States Marine Corps. It is generally believed to originate in the wearing of a "leather stock" that went around the neck. Its original purpose was to protect the neck fro ...
'' magazine. Arriving in New York, he teamed with Wally Wood and Joe Orlando
Joseph Orlando (April 4, 1927 – December 23, 1998) was an Italian American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of '' Mad'' and the vice president of DC Comics, ...
on several comics-related projects, some for Warren Publishing. Jones drew and scripted comic book stories for a variety of publishers, including Marvel, Seaboard, Gold Key, and Charlton. He penciled 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 ...
' ''Mystery in Space
''Mystery in Space'' is the name of two science fiction American comic book series published by DC Comics, and of a standalone Vertigo anthology released in 2012. The first series ran for 110 issues from 1951 to 1966, with a further seven issues c ...
'', and his slick brush inking provided a polish to many DC romance comics, some inked in collaboration with Bhob Stewart. Jones and Stewart also teamed on scripts and art for Charlton Comics' ''Ghostly Tales
''Ghostly Tales'' was a horror-suspense anthology comic book series published by Charlton Comics from 1966 to 1984 (though it was primarily a reprint title from 1978 onward). The book was "hosted" by Mr. L. Dedd (later changed to I. M. Dedd), a m ...
''.[ Jones teamed with penciler ]Jay Scott Pike
Jay Scott Pike (September 6, 1924 – September 13, 2015) was an American comic book artist and commercial illustrator known for his 1950s and 1960s work for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, advertising art, and as a good girl artist. He created t ...
as inker on DC's ''Heart Throbs
''Heart Throbs'' was a romance comic published by Quality Comics and DC Comics from 1949 to 1972. Quality published the book from 1949–1957, when it was acquired by DC. Most issues featured a number of short comics stories, as well advice column ...
'' for the long-running feature "3 Girls—Their Lives—Their Loves," which ran from 1966–1970.
Russ Jones Productions' ''Dracula'' (Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...
, 1966) was an adaptation of Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...
's tale into a graphic novel illustrated by Alden McWilliams with text by Otto Binder and Craig Tennis. In addition to other story adaptations for Jones, Tennis later wrote the book ''Johnny Tonight'' about his experiences as a talent coordinator working with Johnny Carson
John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six Pr ...
and '' The Tonight Show''.
Among other published paintings, Jones did the covers for '' Famous Monsters of Filmland'' #30 and its short-lived sister magazine's ''Monster World
The series, also known as the series, is a franchise of video games published by Sega and developed by Westone Bit Entertainment (formerly Escape). Beginning with the original ''Wonder Boy'' arcade game released in April 21, 1986, the game has s ...
'' #1 (both 1964)
Magazines
In the years following ''Creepy'', Jones founded and edited several other popular culture magazines, including ''Monster Mania''. His magazine ''Flashback'', co-edited with Stewart, employed an unusual approach to the coverage of Hollywood's past by devoting an entire issue to the films of a specific year. A series of front covers by Jack Davis caricatured famed scenes from classic cinema. Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...
cradling Woody Woodpecker, rather than the falcon statue of '' The Maltese Falcon'', was the Davis cover for the issue on the films of 1941.[
]
Novels
Jones wrote more than two dozen paperback novels under the name Jack Younger and other pseudonyms. ''Devlin'' ( Manor Books, 1976), with Kennedy-like characters, carries the blurb, "They were the most powerful family on Earth—but was that power spawned in hell?" Younger also is the byline on ''Maniac!'' (Manor, 1977), ''Demon'' (Carlyle, 1979) and ''Claw'' (Manor, 1976), a tale of vicious cats, as noted in the back cover blurb:
:''Beware the cats!''
:From out of nowhere, thousands of cats swarmed through the remote summer resort. They were considered only a nuisance at first-until they suddenly went crazy. In the beginning, they preyed on only the young, the aged, the helpless. But as their numbers grew, they began attacking anyone-anywhere-without fear. They kept on coming, relishing the taste of human blood. The town was surrounded; isolated from the mainland. Those who had survived the deadly onslaught huddled together for protection-waiting for help... waiting for an answer... waiting... if only for death...[Jones, Russ. ''Claw''. Manor Books, 1976.]
His work as an illustrator was displayed on front and back covers for '' Castle of Frankenstein'' and other magazines. His paintings were also seen in the feature film, '' The Salton Sea'' (2002).
References
Further reading
"Wentworth's Day", illustrated by Russ Jones for ''Christopher Lee's Treasury of Terror''
External links
Russ Jones' Monster ManiaTom Weaver interviews Russ Jones in ''Eye on Science Fiction'' (McFarland, 2003).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Russ
1942 births
Canadian comics artists
Canadian comics writers
Canadian magazine editors
Comic book publishers (people)
Comics inkers
Living people