Frank Brunner (born February 21, 1949) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complic ...

best known for his work at

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 ...

in the 1970s.

Early life

Brunner attended Manhattan's High School of Art and Design. He was in the same graduating class as

Larry Hama Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s. During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles on the TV shows ''M*A*S*H' ...

and Ralph Reese. He studied at the New York University Film School.

Career

Comics

Brunner entered the comics profession as a horror writer-artist for the black-and-white comics magazines ''Web of Horror'', '' Creepy'', ''

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 ''

Vampirella Vampirella () is a fictional vampire superheroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and comic book artist Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine ''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), a sister publication of '' Cre ...

''. His first work for

was inking an 11–page Watcher backup story in ''The

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

'' #6 (June 1969). Brunner's best-known color-comics work is his Marvel Comics collaboration with writer Steve Engelhart on the

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

hero

Doctor Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

in '' Marvel Premiere'' #9–14 (July 1973–March 1974) and in ''Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts'' #1–2 and #4–5 (June–August 1974 and Oct.–Dec. 1974). The two killed Dr. Strange's mentor, the

Ancient One The Ancient One is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was the mentor of Doctor Strange and was his predecessor as Sorcerer Supreme. The character was voiced by Michael Ansara in the 1978 telev ...

, and Strange became the new Sorcerer Supreme. Englehart and Brunner created a multi-issue storyline in which a sorcerer named Sise-Neg ("Genesis" spelled backward) goes back through history, collecting all magical energies, until he reaches the beginning of the universe, becomes all-powerful and creates it anew, leaving Strange to wonder whether this was, paradoxically, the original creation.

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

, seeing the issue after publication, ordered Englehart and Brunner to print a retraction saying this was not God but ''a'' god, so as to avoid offending religious readers. The writer and artist concocted a fake letter from a fictitious minister praising the story, and mailed it to Marvel from Texas; Marvel unwittingly printed the letter, and dropped the retraction order. In 2010,

Comics Bulletin Comics Bulletin was a daily website covering the American comic-book industry. History Silver Bullet Comicbooks The site was founded in January 2000 as Silver Bullet Comicbooks by its New Zealand-based publisher/editor Jason Brice. During thi ...

ranked Englehart and Brunner's run on the "Doctor Strange" feature ninth on its list of the "Top 10 1970s Marvels". Other Marvel credits include Howard the Duck's first two solo stories in ''Giant-Size Man-Thing'' #4 and #5 (May and Aug. 1975) and the first two issues of the ''Howard the Duck'' comic book series (Jan. and March 1976), as well as the

anthologies In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

Chamber of Chills ''Chamber of Chills'' is the name of two anthology horror comic books, one published by Harvey Publications in the early 1950s, the other by Marvel Comics in the 1970s. Harvey Publications The first ''Chamber of Chills'' was a 10-cent horror anth ...

'', ''

Haunt of Horror Haunt is a synonym for ghost 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 bar ...

'', and '' Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction''. He drew covers for the supernatural series '' The Tomb of Dracula'' and the swamp-monster series ''Man-Thing''. Also for Marvel, Brunner adapted Robert E. Howard's

sword-and-sorcery Sword and sorcery (S&S) is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the ...

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...

hero

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''), ...

in the 42-page story "The Scarlet Citadel", and drew many covers for the similar series ''

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 ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''. Brunner left Marvel in 1979 and wrote an essay in ''

The Comics Journal ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing re ...

'' stating that he "felt the romance with comics was over". Brunner and novelist

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has worke ...

collaborated on a comics adaptation of Moorcock's sword-and-sorcery hero Elric in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine. It was reprinted in publisher

Mike Friedrich Mike Friedrich (; born March 27, 1949) is an American comic book writer and publisher best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics, and for publishing the anthology series '' Star*Reach'', one of the first independent comics. He is also an a ...

's ''

Star Reach ''Star Reach'' (also spelled ''Star*Reach'') was an American science fiction and fantasy comics anthology published from 1974 to 1979 by Mike Friedrich. Publication history One of the first American mainstream independent comic books, ''Star*R ...

Greatest Hits''. Brunner briefly returned to comics in the early-1980s as artist on the

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 ...

title '' Warp!'', based on the science fiction play that ran briefly on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in the 1970s. He then wrote and drew the

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

'' The Seven Samuroid'' (1984), a science-fiction takeoff of the movie classic ''

Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai drama film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The story takes place in 1586 during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. It follows the story of a village of desperate farmers who hire sev ...

''.

Film and television

Brunner moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

and began a career in movie and television

animation Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

, working on projects for

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...

('' Jonny Quest''),

Walt Disney Imagineering Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attra ...

(Euro ''

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland is one of the many themed lands featured at all of the Magic Kingdom styled Disney theme parks around the world owned or licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Each version of the land is different and features numerous attractions t ...

'' movie), Warner Bros. (preproduction ''

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 ...

'' design) and DreamWorks (''Invasion USA''). He was the head of character design for the Fox

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

''.

Bibliography

Books

*''The Brunner Mystique (Artist Index Series Volume One)'' (Hendrik Sharples and Steven R. Johnson, March 1976) *''Brunner's Beauties'' (Eros Comix, August 1993) *''Eyes Of Light: the Fantasy Art of Frank Brunner'' (Vanguard Productions, 2002) *''Mythos: The Fantasy Realms of Frank Brunner'' (Vanguard Productions, 2007)

Comics and magazines

Interior art (except where noted) includes:

First Comics

*'' Warp!'' #1–9 (1983)

Marvel Comics

*''

'' #2–4 (1973) *''

'' #1–5 (also covers) (1974) *'' Giant-Size Man-Thing'' # 4–5 (1975) (first two Howard the Duck solo appearances) *'' Howard the Duck'' #1–2 (also covers) (1976) *'' Marvel Premiere'' (Doctor Strange feature) #4 (inker); #6, 9–14 (1972–1974) *'' Monsters Unleashed'' #2 (1973) *''Mystic Hands of Dr. Strange'' #1 (2010) *''

'' #30 (1978) *''

'' #6 (inker) (1969) *'' Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction'' #1 (1975)

Pacific Comics

* '' Alien Worlds'' #6 (cover and interior art) (1984)

Star Reach

*''Quack'' #1, 6 (1976–1977) *''

'' #3 (also painted cover); #10, 12 (covers only) (1974–1977)

Warren Publishing

*'' Creepy'' #39, 45 (1971–1972) *''

'' #35 (1971) *''

'' #10 (1971)

Other publishers

*''Adventures of Chrissie Claus'' #31 (cover) *''Brunner's Carnal Delights'' #1 (cover) (Carnal) *'' Castle of Frankenstein'' (Kable News) *''

Crawdaddy! ''Crawdaddy'' was an American rock music magazine launched in 1966. It was created by Paul Williams, a Swarthmore College student at the time, in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music. The magazine w ...

'' *''

Flare A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala in some Latin-speaking countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illumination, ...

'' #29 (cover) (Hero) *''Flare Adventures'' #13, 15-19 (covers) (Hero) *'' Monster Times'' *''

'' #2 (cover) (Dynamite Entertainment) *''Unknown Worlds of Frank Brunner'' (cover) (

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 ...

) *''Silver Comics'' #1, 4, 6 (covers) (Silver) *''Karmatron'' #20 (cover and interior art, 1987) (Cepsa) *''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by ''Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan (magazine), Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appear ...

'' (covers) (Best Sellers Illustrated) *''Witchgirls Inc.'' #1-3, 5 (covers) *''Wild Stars'' #1-6 (covers) (Little Rocket)

Art portfolios

*''Flesh & Fantasy''

Bran Mak Morn Bran Mak Morn is a hero of five pulp fiction short stories by Robert E. Howard. In the stories, most of which were first published in ''Weird Tales'', Bran is the last king of Howard's romanticized version of the tribal race of Picts.Rusty Burke ...

*'' Elric'' *''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'' *''

Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the ...

'' (Alice II) *'' Stormbringer'' (Elric II) *''Flesh & Fantasy II'' *''Legends of Arzack''

Trading cards (Topps)

*''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...

'' *''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

Galaxy'' *''

'' *'' Mars Attacks'' *'' Satan's Six''

Film

Live-action

*''

Cellar Dweller ''Cellar Dweller'' is a 1988 American monster horror film about a comic book artist who unleashes a demon after drawing it. It was directed by John Carl Buechler, written by Don Mancini (credited as Kit Du Bois), and stars Debrah Farentino and ...

'' *''From Time To Time'' (

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

) *''

Dr. Strange Doctor Stephen Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as Sorce ...

'' ( CBS) *''Dinosaur Valley Girls''

Animation

*'' The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest'' *''

Sky Commanders ''Sky Commanders'' is an animated television series made by Hanna-Barbera with the co-production of Toei Animation. It premiered in July 1987 as part of ''The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera'' and lasted for thirteen episodes. It was based on ...

'' *''Dark Water'' *'' Dino-Riders'' *''

Once Upon a Forest ''Once Upon a Forest'' is a 1993 animated musical adventure film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Based on the ''Furlings'' characters created by Rae Lambert, the film was directed by Charles Grosvenor a ...

'' (feature) *''

'' (1992–1995) *'' Darkstalkers'' *'' Skeleton Warriors'' *''

Extreme Ghostbusters ''Extreme Ghostbusters'' is an American animated television series based on the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. It is a spin-off to the animated series '' The Real Ghostbusters''. The series originally aired on the syndicated Bohbot Kids Network's ...

Record-album covers

*''Faithful Breath'' *''Mandator'' *''

Necronomicon The ', also referred to as the ''Book of the Dead'', or under a purported original Arabic title of ', is a fictional grimoire (textbook of magic) appearing in stories by the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first men ...

'' ( German heavy metal bands) *''

Veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

'' (Danish heavy metal band)

Poster prints

*''The Faerie Princess'' ( Dreamweaver Studios) *''Four Queens Of The Tarot'' (Color) *''Dreamtide'' (Dreamweaver) *''Go Ask Alice'' (Dreamweaver) *''Raiders Of The Lost Egg'' (Vanguard)

References

External links

*
Frank Brunner
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{DEFAULTSORT:Brunner, Frank 1949 births 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists Album-cover and concert-poster artists American animators American comics artists American illustrators American speculative fiction artists Fantasy artists High School of Art and Design alumni Inkpot Award winners Living people Marvel Comics people Pin-up artists Role-playing game artists Science fiction artists Tisch School of the Arts alumni

Early life

Career

Comics

Film and television

Bibliography

Books

Comics and magazines

First Comics

Marvel Comics

Pacific Comics

Star Reach

Warren Publishing

Other publishers

Art portfolios

Trading cards (Topps)

Film

Live-action

Animation

Record-album covers

Poster prints

Further reading

References

External links