Tom Mandrake (born 1956) 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 ...

, perhaps best known for his collaborations with writer

John Ostrander John Ostrander (born April 20, 1949) is an American writer of comic books, including ''Suicide Squad'', ''Grimjack'' and '' Star Wars: Legacy''. Career Ostrander studied theology with the intent of becoming a Catholic priest, but now describes ...

on several series, including ''

Grimjack Grimjack is the main character of a comic book originally published by the American company First Comics. John Ostrander and Timothy Truman are credited as co-creators of the character, although Ostrander had been developing Grimjack with artist L ...

'' (from

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 ''

Firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...

'', ''The

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writ ...

'', and ''

Martian Manhunter The Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Joseph Samachson and designed by artist Joe Certa, the character first appeared in the story "The Manhunter from Mars" ...

'' from

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 ...

.John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake collaborations
at the Grand Comics Database

Early life

Mandrake grew up as a fan of

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 ...

of the 1960s, as well as painters of the

Brandywine School The Brandywine School was a style of illustration—as well as an artists colony in Wilmington, Delaware and in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, near the Brandywine River—both founded by artist Howard Pyle (1853–1911) at the end of the 19th century. ...

, particularly

Maxfield Parrish Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustration, illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. His ...

and

Howard Pyle Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. In 1894, he began ...

. Together with his friend L.B. Kellogg, he created a

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

titled ''First Flight'' while in high school. Mandrake spent two years at Cleveland's

Cooper School of Art The Cooper School of Art was a private art college located in Cleveland, Ohio. The school emphasized education and career preparation for the commercial art market. It operated from 1924 until 1981. Overview The Cooper School of Art featured a ...

, and then two more years at

The Kubert School The Kubert School, formerly the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art and Joe Kubert School, is a private, for-profit technical school focused on cartooning and located in Dover, New Jersey. It teaches the principles of sequential art and ...

, where he earned his degree.

Career

Mandrake began working for

where he drew backup stories for the ''

Sgt. Rock Sgt. Franklin John Rock is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Sgt. Rock first appeared in ''Our Army at War'' #83 (June 1959), and was created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert. The character is a W ...

'' title. In a 2001 interview, he recalled "finally landing my first real work, that was a two part story in DC's ''

New Talent Showcase ''Showcase'' is a comic anthology series published by DC Comics. The general theme of the series was to feature new and minor characters as a way to gauge reader interest in them, without the difficulty and risk of featuring untested characters in ...

''. Once again with my old buddy L.B. at the writers helm on our pirate epic 'Skydogs'." For

, Mandrake provided finished art over layouts by

Sal Buscema Sal Buscema (; ; born Silvio Buscema, January 26, 1936) is an American comics artist, primarily for Marvel Comics, where he enjoyed a ten-year run as artist of ''The Incredible Hulk'' and an eight-year run as artist of ''The Spectacular Spider-Ma ...

on the ''

New Mutants The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically us ...

'' title. Back at DC, he and writer

Doug Moench Douglas Moench (; born February 23, 1948) is an American comic book writer notable for his ''Batman'' work and as the creator of Moon Knight, Deathlok, Black Mask, ''Electric Warrior'' and ''Six from Sirius''. He is also known for his critically ...

created the Black Mask in ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

'' #386 (August 1985) and the

Film Freak The Batman family enemies are a collection of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters are depicted as adversaries of the superhero Batman and his allies. Since Batman first appeared in ''Detectiv ...

in ''Batman'' #395 (May 1986). Mandrake was one of the contributors to the ''

DC Challenge ''DC Challenge'' was a 12-issue comic book limited series produced by DC Comics from November 1985 to October 1986, as a round robin experiment in narrative. The series' tagline was "Can You Solve It Before We Do?" Publication history The ''DC Ch ...

'' limited series in 1986 after finishing his run on ''Batman''. In 1992, Mandrake and writer John Ostrander launched ''The

'' series at DC Comics. In issue #54 (June 1997), the creative team introduced the character Michael Holt as a new version of Mister Terrific. Following the end of ''The Spectre'' series, they moved onto a ''Martian Manhunter'' series. In 2001, he worked with writer

Dan Mishkin Dan Mishkin (born March 3, 1953) is an American comic book writer, and co-creator (with Gary Cohn) of the DC Comics characters Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld and Blue Devil. Biography As an adolescent, Dan Mishkin formed a writing partnership ...

on the short lived series '' Creeps'' and in 2006 on the children's book ''The Forest King: Woodlark's Shadow''. In 2007, a story-arc titled "Grotesk" reuniting Ostrander and Mandrake appeared in ''

'' issues 659-662. An '' X-Files/30 Days of Night'' crossover in 2010 was drawn by Mandrake and co-written by ''30 Days'' creator

Steve Niles Steve Niles (born June 21, 1965) is an American comic book author and novelist, known for works such as '' 30 Days of Night'', '' Criminal Macabre: A Cal McDonald Mystery'', ''Simon Dark'', ''Mystery Society'', and '' Batman: Gotham County Line''. ...

and Adam Jones, the guitarist for the band

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

. Mandrake drew the '' DC Retroactive: Batman - The '70s'' one-shot (Sept. 2011) and a revival of

Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's '' The New Te ...

's '' Night Force'' series (May–Nov. 2012). He collaborated with

J. Michael Straczynski Joseph Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series ''Babylon 5'' ( ...

on the ''Sidekick'' series in 2013–2014.

Personal life

Mandrake is married to fellow comic book artist

Jan Duursema Jan Duursema (born October 27, 1954) is an American comics artist known for her work on the ''Star Wars'' comics franchise. She is the creator of Denin and Vila from Naldar, the Twi'lek Jedi Aayla Secura and the Kiffar Jedi Quinlan Vos. Career ...

, whom he met while both were students at

. Their wedding was held on the school's grounds. The couple have a son, Jack Moses Mandrake, and a daughter, Sian Mandrake, who is also a Kubert School-trained comics illustrator.

Bibliography

DC Comics

*'' 52'' #33 (2007) *'' 9-11 - The World's Finest Comic Book Writers & Artists Tell Stories to Remember Volume Two'' (2002) *''

Action Comics Weekly ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as National Allied Publications, and later as National Comics Publications and ...

'' #627–634 (

Nightwing Nightwing is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character has appeared in various incarnations; the identity was adopted by Dick Grayson when he left his role as Batman's vigilante partner Robin. Although ...

and

Speedy Speedy refers to something or someone moving at high speed. Speedy may refer to: Ships * HMS ''Speedy'', nine ships of the Royal Navy * ''Speedy''-class brig, a class of naval ship * ''Speedy'' (1779), a whaler and convict ship despatched i ...

) (1988–1989) *''

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Several different editions of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ga ...

'' #23, 31–32, ''Annual'' #1 (1990–1991) *''

Animal Man Animal Man (Bernhard "Buddy" Baker) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As a result of being in proximity to an exploding extraterrestrial spaceship, Buddy Baker acquires the ability to temporarily "borrow" t ...

'' #39 (1991) *'' Arion, Lord of Atlantis'' #5–13, 33–34 (1983–1985) *'' Armageddon: Inferno'' #1, 4 (1992) *''

'' #386–392, 395–399, 479, 494, 659–662 (1985–1986, 1992–1993, 2007) *''

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 ...

'' #44–48 (2010) *'' Batman Villains

Secret Files and Origins ''Secret Files and Origins'' (abbreviated ''SF&O'') is a series of One-shot (comics), one-shot comic books and Limited series (comics), miniseries produced by DC Comics during the late 1990s and 2000s. Publication history The books are a combina ...

'' #1 (1998) *'' Batman: Battle for the Cowl: Commissioner Gordon'' #1 (2009) *''

Blackest Night "Blackest Night" is a 2009–10 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous central miniseries, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis, along with a number of tie-in issues. ''Blackest Nig ...

: Tales of the Corps'' #2 (2009) *'' Convergence Suicide Squad'' #1–2 (2015) *''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

'' #11 (2008) *''

Crime Bible The ''Crime Bible'' is a fictional religious book that has appeared in various comic book series published by DC Comics. The book and the religious groups that have formed around it exist within DC's main shared universe, known as the DC Universe ...

: The Five Lessons'' #1 (2007) *''

'' #12 (1986) *''

DC Comics Presents ''DC Comics Presents'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 which ran for 97 issues and four ''Annual''s. It featured team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters in the DC Universe. A recurring back ...

'' #75, 94 (1984–1986) *'' DC Retroactive: Batman – The '70s'' #1 (2011) *''DCU Heroes Secret Files'' #1 (1999) *''DCU Villains Secret Files'' (1999) *''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...

'' #633, 656, 835–836, ''Annual'' #5, 11 (1991–1993, 2007–2009) *'' Firestorm, the Nuclear Man'' #86–100 (1989–1990) *''

Fringe Fringe may refer to: Arts * Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe" * Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival * Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre * The Fringe, the ...

'' #1–6 (2008–2009) *''

Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

'' #93, 98 (1980–1981) *''

Green Lantern Secret Files Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

'' #1 (1998) *''

Hawkworld ''Hawkworld'' is a comic book series published by American company DC Comics from 1989 to 1993. The initial storyline was published as a three-issue mini-series and then, based on the high sales and interest level generated by this limited serie ...

'' #13 (1991) *''

Heroes Against Hunger ''Heroes Against Hunger'' is a 1986 all-star benefit comic book for African famine relief and recovery. Published by DC Comics in the form of a "comic jam" or exquisite corpse, the book starred Superman and Batman. Spearheaded by Jim Starlin and B ...

'' #1 (1986) *''JLA / JSA Secret Files & Origins'' #1 (2003) *'' JLA: Destiny'' #1–3 (2002) *'' JSA'' #60–62 (2004) *''JSA Secret Files'' #1 (1999) *''

Justice League of America The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...

'' #240 (1985) *''The Kents'' #9–12 (1998) *'' Legends of the Dark Knight 100-Page Super Spectacular'' #1 (2014) *''Legends of the DC Universe 3-D Gallery'' #1 (1998) *'' Lobo Gallery: Portraits of a Bastich'' #1 (1995) *''

'' #1–4, 6–9, 12–20, 22–23, 25–32, #0, #1,000,000 (1998–2001) *''

'' #1–2 (1984) *''The

New Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

'' vol. 2 #22 (1986) *'' Night Force'' vol. 3 #1–7 (2012) *''

The Saga of Swamp Thing The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/ plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations ...

'' #9 (1983) *''

Scooby Apocalypse ''Scooby Apocalypse'' is a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics, which began in May 2016. It re-imagines the characters from the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise, particularly the 1969 TV series ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', setting them in ...

'' #14, 26, 28 (2017–2018) *''

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 ...

'' #8 (

Shadow Lass Shadow Lass is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in books published by DC Comics. She first appeared as a statue in ''Adventure Comics'' #354 (March 1967), and was created by Jim Shooter and Curt Swan. She was called Shadow Woman, was ...

) (1986) *''

'' #349, 352–354, 359, 361–363, 365–366, 369, 371, 376, 378 (1981–1983) *'' Shazam!: The New Beginning'' #1–4 (1987) *''Showcase '95'' #8 (1995) *'' Spanner's Galaxy'' #1–6 (1984–1985) *''The

'' vol. 3 #1–13, 15, 17–19, 21–22, 0, 23, 25, 27–31, 35–44, 46–62 (1992–1998) *''

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

'' #56 (1991) *''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

and

vs. Vampires and Werewolves'' #1–6 (2008–2009) *''Swamp Thing'' vol. 2 #50, 77–78, 83–85, 110–111, 114–115 (1986–1992) *'' Tales of the Unexpected'' vol. 2 #6 (2007) *'' The Unexpected'' #213 (1981) *'' Unknown Soldier'' #247 (1981) *'' Victorian Undead'' #4 (2010) *''Victorian Undead II'' #1 (2011) *'' The Warlord'' #62, 123–128 (1982–1988) *''

Weird War Tales ''Weird War Tales'' was a war comic book title with supernatural overtones published by DC Comics. It was published from September–October 1971 to June 1983. Publication history The original title ran for 12 years and 124 issues. It was ...

'' #104 (1981) *''

Who's Who in the DC Universe ''Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' (1985–87), usually referred to simply as ''Who's Who'', is the umbrella title for a number of comic book series which DC Comics published to catalogue the wide variety of fictional cha ...

'' #2, 10 (1990–1991) *''Who's Who in the DC Universe Update 1993'' #1 (1992) *''Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' #5, 8, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21 (1985–1986) *''Who's Who: Update '87'' #1, 5 (1987) *''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'' #300 (1983) *'' The X-Files / 30 Days of Night'' #1–6 (2010–2011)

Eclipse Comics

*''

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

'' #10 (1986)

First Comics

*''

Classics Illustrated ''Classics Illustrated'' is an American comic book/magazine series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as ''Les Misérables'', ''Moby-Dick'', ''Hamlet'', and ''The Iliad''. Created by Albert Kanter, the series began publication in 1 ...

'' #5 (

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

) (1990) *''

'' #31–54, 75 (1987–1990)

Image Comics

*''The Safest Place'' (with co-authors Victor Riches and

Steven Grant Steven Grant (born October 22, 1953) is an American comic book writer best known for his 1985–1986 Marvel Comics mini-series ''The Punisher'' with artist Mike Zeck and for his creator-owned character Whisper. Biography Comic books Grant has ...

2008) *''Sidekick'' #1–6 (2013–2014)

Marvel Comics

*'' Call of Duty: The Precinct'' #1–5 (2002–2003) *'' Exiles'' #33 (2003) *'' G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' #143 (1993) *''

Ghost Rider Ghost Rider is the name of multiple antiheroes and superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider. The first s ...

/ Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance'' #4 (inker) (1992) *'' Hulk: Unchained'' #1–3 (2004) *'' The Incredible Hulk Annual'' #19 (inker) (1993) *''Marvel Holiday Special'' #4 (

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

) (1995) *''

'' #9–17 (inker) (1983–1984) *''

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 ...

'' vol. 6 #24–27 (2003) *''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' #92 (inker) (1985) *''

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

'' vol. 2 #66 (2003) *''

Weapon X Weapon X is a fictional clandestine government genetic research facility project appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are conducted by List of government agencies in Marvel Comics, Department K, which turns willing ...

'' #23–28 (2004) *'' X-Men 2 Movie Prequel: Wolverine'' #1 (2003) *'' X-Men Annual'' #7 (inker) (1984) *''

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 ...

'' #1 (2004)

References

External links

* *
Tom Mandrake
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
Official Tom Mandrake Message Board
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mandrake, Tom 1956 births 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists American comics artists DC Comics people Living people Marvel Comics people Role-playing game artists The Kubert School alumni