Bruce Eliot Jones (born 1946) whose pen names include Philip Roland and Bruce Elliot, is an American

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 ...

writer, novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter whose work included writing

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book 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 Comics'' in ...

' ''

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 ...

'' from 2001 to 2005.

Biography

Early career

Jones broke into comics in 1969 when he moved to New York City from his native

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

, looking for work as a

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 ...

. He made his professional debut with

Major Publications Major Publications, also known as Major Magazines, was the publisher of the satirical magazine ''Cracked'', the most durable imitator of ''Mad'' magazine. Founded by Robert C. Sproul in 1958, the company generally imitated other publishers' succes ...

' black-and-white horror-comics magazine ''Web of Horror'' #3 (cover dated April 1970), writing and drawing the six-page story "Point of View". Jones then wrote for

Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include '' After Hours'', '' Creepy'', '' Eerie'', '' F ...

's black-and-white horror-comics ''

Creepy Creepiness is the state of being wikt:creepy, creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or wikt:unease, unease. A person who exhibits creepy behaviour is called a creep. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others. The ...

'' and ''

Eerie ''Eerie'' was an American magazine of horror comics introduced in 1966 by Warren Publishing. Like '' Mad'', it was a black-and-white magazine intended for newsstand distribution and did not submit its stories to the comic book industry's volunta ...

'', and, under the pseudonym Philip Roland, for rival

Skywald Publications Skywald Publications was an American publisher of black-and-white comics magazines, primarily the horror anthologies ''Nightmare'', ''Psycho'', and ''Scream''. It also published a small line of comic books and other genre magazines. Skywald's or ...

' line.Sanford, Jay Allen
"The birth and death of Pacific Comics: Bill and Steve Schanes started on 5011 Cass Street in Pacific Beach,"
''San Diego Reader'' (Aug. 19, 2004). During this time he wrote his first novel, ''The Contestants'' (Bee-Line, 1970). Jones later freelanced for

, writing stories for '' Ka-Zar'' and ''

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and ''Conan the Destroyer''), ...

'', as well as writing and drawing anthological science fiction and other stories for Marvel's black-and-white magazine line. In 1979, Jones met April Campbell and formed a writing partnership. From 1982–1984, Jones and Campbell, who formed the company Bruce Jones Associates,

packaged Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a ...

, edited, and chiefly wrote the

Pacific Comics Pacific Comics (PC) was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1981 to 1984. It was also a chain of comics shops and a distributor. It began at a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes. Alo ...

titles ''

Twisted Tales ''Twisted Tales'' was a horror comics anthology published by Pacific Comics and, later, Eclipse Comics, in the early 1980s. The title was edited by Bruce Jones and April Campbell. Publication history ''Twisted Tales'' was published on a bi-mon ...

'' and ''

Alien Worlds ''Alien Worlds'' is an American science fiction anthology comic that was published by Pacific Comics and, later, Eclipse Comics, in the early 1980s. It was edited by Bruce Jones and April Campbell.Johnston, Rich"When Diamond Comic Distributor ...

'', as well as '' Somerset Holmes'', ''Silverheels'', and ''Pathways to Fantasy''. When Pacific went bankrupt, subsequent issues were published by

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 ...

. During this time, Eclipse published the four-issue limited series '' The Twisted Tales of Bruce Jones'', with stories and almost all the artwork by Jones himself.

Later career

Jones wrote artist Richard Corben's '' Rip in Time'' five-issue miniseries (1986–1987), published by Fantagor Press. By the early 1990s, Jones had shifted to screenwriting, working on HBO's '' The Hitchhiker'' TV series and several television movies with writing partner and now-wife April Campbell Jones. He also wrote a series of thriller novels including ''Sprinter'', ''Maximum Velocity'', and ''Game Running''. From 1990 to 1992, Jones took over as writer of the newspaper

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established '' Buck Rogers'' adv ...

'', then drawn by Ralph Reese, occasionally assisted by

Gray Morrow Dwight Graydon "Gray" Morrow (March 7, 1934 – November 6, 2001).e., the Gilberton Company, publisher of the ''Classics Illustrated'' comic-book series of literary adaptations], and I was given a script. One thing led to another and I was soo ...

. He returned to Kansas City with his wife and children in 2000 and wrote two more novels, ''Still Life'' and ''Death Rites'', under the pseudonym Bruce Elliot. In 2001, he was contacted by Marvel editor

Axel Alonso Axel Alonso () is an American comic book creator and former journalist, best known as the former editor in chief at Marvel Comics, a role which he held from January 2011 until November 2017.Marston, George (November 17, 2017)"AXEL ALONSO Out, CB C ...

, with whom Jones had worked when Alonso was at rival company

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 the ...

. Alonso offered him a job scripting the then-floundering comic ''

''. Sales of the title rose significantly, and in 2003, Jones noted that he planned to stay on as ''Hulk'' writer "until they arvelthrow me off". However, the following year he signed a two-year contract with rival company

. In the interim, he scripted the five-issue series ''Call of Duty: The Precinct'' #1–5, a naturalistic drama about the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act i ...

. Other work includes a seven-issue stint on ''

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 ...

'', a '' Deadman'' series for

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

, and various limited series for DC comics, including ''

Man-Bat Man-Bat (Dr. Robert Kirkland "Kirk" Langstrom) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Introduced in ''Detective Comics'' #400 (June 1970) as an enemy of the superhero Batman, the character belongs to t ...

'', '' OMAC'', and ''

Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

''. In 2005, Jones' 10-page story "Jenifer" from ''

'' #63 (July 1974), drawn by

Bernie Wrightson Bernard Albert Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017), sometimes credited as Bernie Wrightson, was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his adaptation of the novel ''Frankenstein'' illustration work, and for his o ...

, became the basis for filmmaker

Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and critic. His influential work in the horror genre during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the subgenre known as ''giallo'', has led him ...

's segment of ''

Masters of Horror ''Masters of Horror'' is an anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network. Origin In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherman Oaks, ...

'', a Showtime television series.

Personal life

Jones and his oft-times writing partner April Campbell have been married since 1984.

Awards

Bruce Jones 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 conv ...

in 2004.

Bibliography

DC Comics

* ''

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 the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

'' #345–346, 348–351 (

Catwoman Catwoman is a fictional character created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Debuting as "the Cat" in ''Batman'' #1 (spring 1940), she is ...

backup stories) (1982) * ''Batman Villains

Secret Files and Origins ''Secret Files and Origins'' (abbreviated ''SF&O'') is a series of one-shot comic books and miniseries produced by DC Comics during the late 1990s and 2000s. Publication history The books are a combination of origin stories (similar to the earli ...

2005'' #1 (2005) * '' Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight'' #207–211 (2006) * ''Batman: Through the Looking Glass'' #1 (2012) * ''

Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

'' vol. 2 #26–31 (2008) * ''DCU: Brave New World'' #1 (2006) * '' Deadman'' #1–13 (2006–2007) * '' Flinch'' #1, 4, 9, 12, 14 (1999–2000) * ''

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 re ...

'' #109 (1982) * ''

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 se ...

'' #294–295, 298–309, 311–312, 320 (1981–1983) * ''

'' #1–5 (2006) * '' Mystery in Space'' #117 (1981) * ''

'' #118–124 (2006) * '' OMAC'' vol. 3 #1–8 (2006–2007) * ''

Our Fighting Forces ''Our Fighting Forces'' is a war comics anthology series published by DC Comics for 181 issues from 1954–1978. Publication history ''Our Fighting Forces'' began with an October–November 1954 cover date. Writer-editor Robert Kanigher's wo ...

'' #139 (1972) * ''

Saga of the 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 in v ...

'' #1 ( Phantom Stranger backup story) (1982) * ''Saga of the Swamp Thing Annual'' #1 (1982) * ''

Strange Adventures ''Strange Adventures'' is a series of American comic books published by DC Comics, the first of which was August–September 1950, according to the cover date, and published continuously until November 1973. Original series ''Strange Adventures ...

'' vol. 2 #2 (1999) * '' Talent Showcase'' #18 (1985) * '' Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Raising Cain'' #1–3 (2008) * ''

'' vol. 2 #1–6 (2005–2006) * '' The War that Time Forgot'' #1–12 (2008–2009) * '' The Warlord'' vol. 3 #1–10 (2006–2007) * ''

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 ...

'' #103 (1981) * ''Weird War Tales Special'' #1 (2000) * ''

Weird Western Tales ''Weird Western Tales'' is a Western genre comics anthology published by DC Comics from June–July 1972 to August 1980. It is best known for featuring the adventures of Jonah Hex until #38 (Jan.–Feb. 1977) when the character was promoted to h ...

'' vol. 2 #4 (2001) * ''Wildstorm Winter Special'' #1 ( Wildcats) (2005) * ''Year One: Batman Scarecrow'' #1–2 (2005)

Eclipse Comics

* '' Alien Encounters'' #6–9 (1986) * ''

'' #8–9 (1984–1985) * '' Somerset Holmes'' #5–6 (1984) * ''Tales of Terror'' #4, 6–7, 9 (1986) * ''The Twisted Tales of Bruce Jones'' #1–4 (1986)

Marvel Comics

* ''

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 mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bimonthly per ...

Annual'' #26 (1992) * ''

Bizarre Adventures ''Marvel Preview'' is a black-and-white comics magazine published by Magazine Management for fourteen issues and the affiliated Marvel Comics Group for ten issues. The final issue additionally carried the imprint Marvel Magazines Group. Publica ...

'' #29, 33 (1981–1982) * '' Call of Duty: The Precinct'' #1–5 (2002–2003) * ''

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 ...

: Red, White & Blue'' HC (2002) * ''Captain America: What Price Glory #1–4 (2003) * ''

Clive Barker's Hellraiser ''Hellraiser'' is an English/American horror media franchise that consists of eleven films, as well as various comic books, and additional merchandise and media. Based on the novella by English author Clive Barker titled ''The Hellbound Heart'', ...

'' #15 (1992) * ''

'' #131–134, 136–144, 147–149 (1982–1983) * '' Daredevil: The Movie'' #1 (2003) * ''

Epic Illustrated ''Epic Illustrated'' was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. Similar to the US-licensed comic book magazine '' Heavy Metal'', it allowed explicit content to be featured, unlike the traditional A ...

'' #3 (1980) * '' Heroes for Hope Starring the X-Men'' #1 (1985) * ''

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 (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

and

Thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuse ...

: Hard Knocks'' #1–4 (2004–2005) * ''Hulk/

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a musc ...

: Six Hours'' #1–4 (2003) * '' Hulk: The Official Movie Adaptation'' #1 (2003) * ''

'' vol. 3 #34–76 (2002–2004) * '' Ka-Zar the Savage'' #1–27 (1981–1983) * '' Kingpin'' #1–7 (2003–2004) * ''

Kull the Conqueror ''Kull the Conqueror'' is a 1997 fantasy film about the Robert E. Howard character Kull starring Kevin Sorbo. It is a film adaptation of Howard's Conan novel ''The Hour of the Dragon'', with the protagonist changed to the author's other barbari ...

'' #1 (1983) * ''

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 ...

'' #13 (

Shanna the She-Devil Shanna the She-Devil (Shanna O'Hara, Lady Plunder) is a fictional jungle adventurer superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Carole Seuling and penciller George Tuska, she made her first appeara ...

) (1989) * ''

Marvel Feature ''Marvel Feature'' was a comic book showcase series published by Marvel Comics in the 1970s. It was a tryout book, intended to test the popularity of characters and concepts being considered for their own series. The first volume led to the launc ...

'' #2–5 (

Red Sonja Red Sonja is a fictional sword and sorcery comic-book superheroine created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics in 1973, partially inspired by Robert E. Howard's character Red Sonya of Rogatino. Marvel Comics p ...

) (1976) * ''

Marvel Graphic Novel ''Marvel Graphic Novel'' (''MGN'') is a line of graphic novel trade paperbacks published from 1982 to 1993 by Marvel Comics. The books were published in an oversized format, 8.5" x 11", similar to French albums. In response, DC Comics establi ...

Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

'' (1989) * ''Marvel Holiday Special'' #2 (

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 ...

) (1993) * ''

Moon Knight Moon Knight is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in '' Werewolf by Night'' #32 (August 1975). The son of a r ...

: Divided We Fall'' #1 (1992) * ''

Savage Sword of Conan ''The Savage Sword of Conan'' was a black-and-white magazine-format comic book series published beginning in 1974 by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of American company Marvel Comics, and then later by Marvel itself. ''Savage Sword of Conan'' starre ...

'' #8, 64, 67, 70, 72, 77, 79–82, 157 (1975–1989) * ''

The Spectacular Spider-Man ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics. Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', Marvel felt the character could support ...

Annual'' #12 (1992) * '' Spider-Man's Tangled Web'' #7–9 (2001–2002) * '' Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction'' #2–6, ''Annual'' #1 (1975–1976) * '' Venom: The Enemy Within'' #1–3 (1994) * ''

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 ...

Annual'' #8 (1992) * ''Wolverine: Xisle #1–5 (2003) * ''

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-t ...

'' #46, 48 (2003)

Pacific Comics

* ''

'' #1–7 (1983–1984) * ''Silverheels'' #1–3 (1983–1984) * ''Somerset Holmes'' #1–4 (1983-1984) * ''Three Dimensional Alien Worlds'' #1 (1984) * ''

'' #1–8 (1982–1984)

References

External links

* Arndt, Richard J
"The Complete Skywald Checklist"
* Arndt, Richard J

* ttp://imdb.com/title/tt0643108/ ''Masters of Horror'': "Jenifer"at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Biography

Early career

Later career

Personal life

Awards

Bibliography

DC Comics

Eclipse Comics

Marvel Comics

Pacific Comics

References

External links

Further reading