Sam Kieth (born January 11, 1963) is an American

comics 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 g ...

and writer, best known as the creator of ''

The Maxx ''The Maxx'' is an American comic book series created by Sam Kieth in 1993 and originally published monthly until 1998 by Image Comics for 35 issues, before being collected in trade paperback by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. The first appearance ...

'' and ''

Zero Girl ''Zero Girl'' is a five-issue comic book written and illustrated by Sam Kieth, and published by Homage Comics (an imprint of DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC E ...

''.

Career

Comics

Kieth's first published work was "a story in the back of a Comico comic" when he was "about seventeen"; it was "about a killer rabbit named Max the Hare".'' Wizard: The Guide to Comics'' #2, October 1991; "Future Stars"; p. 121 He came to prominence in 1984 as the

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a pencil ...

Matt Wagner Matt Wagner (born October 9, 1961) is an American comics artist and writer who is best known as the creator of the series ''Mage'' and ''Grendel (comics), Grendel''. Career Matt Wagner's first published comic book work was ''Comico Primer'' #2 ( ...

's ''

Mage Mage most commonly refers to: * Mage (paranormal) or magician, a practitioner of magic derived from supernatural or occult sources * Mage (fantasy) or magician, a type of character in mythology, folklore, and fiction *Mage, a character class in s ...

'', and a year later as the inker of ''

Fish Police ''Fish Police'' is a comic book series by American cartoonist Steve Moncuse. The plot centers on law and crime in a fictional underwater metropolis with the protagonist, Inspector Gill, trying to solve various crimes, often Mafia-related, while a ...

''. In 1989, he penciled the first five issues (the " Preludes & Nocturnes" story arc) of writer

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

's celebrated series '' The Sandman'' and collaborated with Alan Grant on a

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

story in ''

Secret Origins ''Secret Origins'' is the title of several comic book series published by DC Comics which featured the origin stories of the publisher's various characters. Publication history ''Secret Origins'' was first published as a one-shot in 1961 and c ...

Special'' #1. He illustrated two volumes of writer

William Messner-Loebs William Francis Messner-Loebs (; born William Francis Loebs, Jr., February 19, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer from Michigan, also known as Bill Loebs and Bill Messner-Loebs. His hyphenated surname is a combination of his and his wif ...

' ''

Epicurus the Sage ''Epicurus the Sage'' was a two-issue limited series graphic novel, written by William Messner-Loebs, with art by Sam Kieth. The two issues were published in 1989 and 1991 by Piranha Press, the "alternative comics" imprint of DC Comics. Plot A ...

'', drew an ''

Aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...

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 ...

for

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 ...

, and drew ''

The Incredible Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...

'' #368, which led to drawing numerous covers for ''

Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' was an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics originally from 1988 to 1995. It returned for a second volume in 2007–2008, and a third volume that started in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume ...

''. In 1993, Kieth left Marvel to create the original series ''

'' for fledgling publisher

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

. ''The Maxx'' ran 35 issues, all of which were plotted and illustrated by Kieth. William Messner-Loebs scripted #1–15 and

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' ...

wrote #21. In 1995, ''The Maxx'' was adapted as part of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's short-lived animation series ''MTV's Oddities'', which included

Eric Fogel Eric Fogel (born May 11, 1969) is an American director, writer, animator, producer, and voice actor who is best known as the creator of ''Celebrity Deathmatch''. He also created cult shows '' The Head'', '' Starveillance'' and ''Glenn Martin, ...

's '' The Head''. After taking a break from comics to pursue other interests, Kieth created the series ''

'' 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 ...

Wildstorm Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wilds ...

imprint in 2001. He followed that with the drama '' Four Women'' later that year and ''Zero Girl: Full Circle'' in 2003. In August 2004, he launched the ''Scratch'' series featuring a teenage werewolf. Kieth then wrote and drew the five-issue series ''Batman: Secrets'', featuring the Joker, and ''Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious'', a two-issue

starting in August 2007. This was followed by 2009's ''Lobo: Highway to Hell'', written by

Scott Ian Scott Ian (born Scott Ian Rosenfeld, December 31, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the thrash metal band Anthrax. Ian is the guitarist and a founding member of the crossover thrash band Stormtroo ...

of the band

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

, and the painted story "Ghosts", which appeared in ''

Batman Confidential ''Batman Confidential'' is an American monthly comic book series from DC Comics which debuted on December 6, 2006 and concluded on March 2, 2011. Like a previous Batman series, '' Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight'', ''Batman Confidential'' feat ...

'' #40–43. In 2010, Kieth wrote and illustrated the original hardcover graphic novel ''Arkham Asylum: Madness'', which spent two weeks on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list, reaching number five in the category of "Hardcover Graphic Books". ''Ojo'' comprises the first, and ''My Inner Bimbo'' the second, in a cycle of original limited series or graphic novels published by

Oni Press Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's merger with Lion Forge Comics. The merged company, Oni–Lion Forge Publishing Grou ...

, which he dubbed "The Trout-a-Verse". The cycle concerned the intertwined lives of Annie (''Ojo''), Lo (''My Inner Bimbo''), Dana, Nola, Otto, and others all connected by an encounter with an urban legend known as the Magic Trout. In the UK, he has contributed to '' 2000 ADs ''

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology Comic book, comic. He is the ...

'' and provided several covers for the ''

Nemesis the Warlock ''Nemesis the Warlock'' is a comic series created by writer Pat Mills and artist Kevin O'Neill which appeared in the pages of the British weekly comics anthology '' 2000 AD''. The title character, a fire-breathing demonic alien, fights agains ...

'' reprint title. In 2011, Kieth began drawing

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...

's '' 30 Days of Night'' series. IDW released the 48-page ''The Sam Kieth Sketchbooks: Vol. 1'', followed by a second volume in August 2010.

Other media

In addition to co-producing ''The Maxx'' animated series for MTV, Kieth co-wrote "No Smoking", the pilot to ''

Cow and Chicken ''Cow and Chicken'' is an American animated comedy television series created by David Feiss for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It is the third of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. It follows the su ...

'' (created by his cousin,

David Feiss David Feiss (born 1959) is an American animator, writer, director, and storyboard artist.Lenburg, Jeff, ''Who's Who in Animated Cartoons: An International Guide to Film & Television'' (Applause Theater & Cinema Books, 2006), 80. Feiss began his ca ...

), and directed the film ''Take It to the Limit'' (2000) for

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

Concorde-New Horizons New Concorde (NC) is an American Los Angeles, California based film distribution company founded by Roger Corman. NC got its start in 1983 when Corman formed the production and distribution Concorde-New Horizons (CNH) as one of the first producti ...

Personal life

Kieth began living with his future wife when he was 15 years old and she was 20 years older than him.

Awards

Sam Kieth received an

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual c ...

at the

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...

in 2013.

Bibliography

AfterShock Comics

* '' Eleanor & the Egret'' (2017)

Comico Comics

* ''

Primer Primer may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Primer'' (film), a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth * ''Primer'' (video), a documentary about the funk band Living Colour Literature * Primer (textbook), a t ...

'' #5 (writer/artist) (first published art) (1983) * ''

Justice Machine The Justice Machine is a fictional team of superheroes originally created by Michael Gustovich and appearing in comic books from many small publishers in the 1980s and 1990s. Publication history Justice Machine debuted in Noble Comics' ''Justice ...

'' #11 (inker) (1987) * ''

'' #10–15 (inker) (1985–1986)

Dark Horse Comics

* '' Aliens: Earth War'' #1–4 (1990)

DC Comics

* ''Arkham Asylum: Madness'' HC (writer/artist) (2010) * ''

'' #40–43 (writer/artist) (2010) * ''Batman/Lobo: Deadly Serious'' #1–2 (writer/artist) (2007) * ''Batman: Secrets'' #1–5 (writer/artist) (2006) * ''Batman/The Maxx: Arkham Dreams'' #1 (2018) * ''Batman: Through the Looking Glass'' HC (2012) * ''

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is a character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker (character), Joker in ''Batman: The An ...

'' vol. 2 #0 (2014) * ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery Comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets''. It is also the name of the titular setting of the series. First serie ...

'' vol. 2 #23 (2010) * ''

Infinity, Inc. Infinity, Inc. is a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first incarnation is mostly composed of the children and heirs of the Justice Society of America (JSA), making them the Society's analogue to t ...

'' #49 (inker) (1988) * '' Lobo: Highway to Hell'' #1–2 (2010) * '' Manhunter'' #1–3, 12 (inker) (1988–1989) * '' The Sandman'' vol. 2 #1–5 (1989) * ''Scratch'' #1–5 (writer/artist) (2004) * ''

Special'' #1 (1989) * ''

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents ''T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents'' is a fictional team of superheroes that appeared in comic books originally published by Tower Comics in the 1960s. They were an arm of the United Nations and were notable for their depiction of the heroes as everyday pe ...

'' vol. 2 #4 (2012)

Piranha Press

* ''

'' #1–2 (1989–1991) * ''Fast Forward'' #3 (1993)

WildStorm

* ''Epicurus the Sage'' TPB (2003) * '' Four Women'' #1–5 (writer/artist) (2001–2002) * ''

'' #1–5 (writer/artist) (2001) * ''Zero Girl: Full Circle'' #1–5 (writer/artist) (2003)

Eclipse Comics

* '' Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters'' #6–8 (1987)

Fantagraphics Books

* '' Critters'' #7, 11–12, 23 (writer/artist) (1986–1987), #21 (cover art) (1988)

Fishwrap Productions

* ''

'' #1 (inker and pin-up) (1985)

Image Comics

* ''

Darker Image ''Darker Image'' was an American comic book published by Image Comics. The series was intended as 4-issue miniseries, serving as an introduction to three "grim and gritty" characters. The series, however, only had one published issue, published i ...

'' #1 (plotter/artist) (1993) * ''Friends of Maxx'' #1–3 (1996–1997) * ''

'' #1–35 (plotter/artist) (1993–1998)

Marvel Comics

* ''

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English novelist, playwright, author, film director, and visual artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading h ...

Hellraiser ''Hellraiser'' is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker, and produced by Christopher Figg, based on Barker's 1986 novella ''The Hellbound Heart''. The film marked Barker's directorial debut. Its plot invol ...

'' #12 (1992) * ''

Freddy Krueger Freddy Krueger () is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. He was created by Wes Craven and made his debut in Craven's ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as the malevolent spirit ...

A Nightmare On Elm Street ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' is a 1984 American supernatural slasher film written and directed by Wes Craven and produced by Robert Shaye. It is the first installment in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' franchise and stars Heather Langenkamp ...

'' #2 (back cover pin-up) (1989) * ''

'' #368 (artist) (1990) * ''

Marvel Age ''Marvel Age'' was a promotional comic book-sized magazine from Marvel Comics published from 1983 to 1994. Basically a comic-length edition of the Bullpen Bulletins page, ''Marvel Age'' contained previews of upcoming Marvel comics, as well as in ...

'' #105 (cover art and interview with reprinted art) (1991) * ''

'' #85–92, 100, 117–122 (cover and art); #94–99 and 101–111 (cover only) (1991–1993) * '' Peter Parker: Spider-Man'' vol. 2 #56–57 (2003) * ''Savage Hulk'' #1 (1996) * ''Wolverine/Hulk'' #1–4 (writer/artist) (2002) * ''

X-Men Unlimited ''X-Men Unlimited'' was the title of three comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The purpose of this title was to run stories that fit between the main X-Men comics. The stories included all characters (heroes and villains) from the X-tit ...

'' #9 (2005)

Oni Press

* ''Ojo'' #1–5 (2004–2005) * ''My Inner Bimbo'' #1–5 (2006–2008)

References

External links

* *
Sam Kieth
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{DEFAULTSORT:Kieth, Sam 1963 births 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists American comics artists American comics writers DC Comics people Inkpot Award winners Living people Marvel Comics people Place of birth missing (living people)