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 a ...

Harvey Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit * Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

Wellsville, Ohio Wellsville is a village in southern Columbiana County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. Its population was 3,113 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Salem micropolitan area, north of Steubenville and south of Youngstown. In its he ...

Dan Adkins Danny L. AdkinsDanny L. Adkins
at the

Russell first became well known with his 11–issue ''

Amazing Adventures ''Amazing Adventures'' is the name of several anthology comic book series, all but one published by Marvel Comics. The earliest Marvel series of that name introduced the company's first superhero of the late-1950s to early-1960s period fans and h ...

'' run and subsequent

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 ...

featuring

Killraven Killraven (Jonathan Raven) is a character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as a freedom fighter in several Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apoca ...

, hero of a future version of

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

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 ...

'', collaborating with writer

Don McGregor Donald Francis McGregor (born June 15, 1945) is an American comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics; he is the author of one of the first graphic novels. Early life Don McGregor was born in Providence, Rhode Island, where he ...

. Comics historian

Peter Sanderson Peter Sanderson Jr. (born April 25, 1952) In print issue #1650 (February 2009), p. 107 is a comic book critic and historian, as well as an instructor/lecturer in the New York area concerning the study of graphic novels/comic books as literature. ...

wrote that, "McGregor's finest artistic collaborator on the series was P. Craig Russell, whose sensitive, elaborate artwork, evocative of '' Art Nouveau'' illustration, gave the landscape of Killraven's America a nostalgic, pastoral feel, and the Martian architecture the look of futuristic castles." At

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 ...

, Russell inked Batman stories in '' Batman Family'' and '' Detective Comics'' over the pencils of Michael Golden and

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, an ...

respectively. Withdrawing for a while from mainstream comics, Russell produced a number of experimental strips, many of which were later published in his ''Night Music'' series and in '' Epic Illustrated''.

''Elric'' (1982–1997)

Russell's first '' Elric'' story, the Roy Thomas scripted "The Dreaming City", was published by Marvel Comics in 1982 as ''

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 ...

'' #2, following initial publication of the first half of the graphic novel in ''Epic Illustrated''. For the next series, "Elric of Melnibone", also written by Roy Thomas, Russell shared art duties with Michael T. Gilbert. This story was published by

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 ...

as ''Elric'' issues #1–6 in 1983–1984. Russell did not return to Elric until 1997 when he collaborated directly with

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 ...

on ''Elric: Stormbringer'', co-published by

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 know ...

and

Topps Comics Topps Comics was a division of Topps, Topps Company, Inc. that published comic books from 1993 to 1998, beginning its existence during a short comics-industry boom that attracted many investors and new companies. It was based in New York City, at ...

.

''Night Music'' (1984–1990)

In 1984, Russell began ''Night Music'', an ongoing anthology series for

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 ...

featuring some of his most heralded literary and operatic adaptations. Russell has previously used the same title for a black and white collection of the earliest of these works, 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 ...

. Included in this series was "The King's Ankus", adapted from

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

's ''Jungle Book''. Russell had previously inked a number of ''Jungle Book'' adaptations drawn by

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...

, published in ''

Marvel Fanfare ''Marvel Fanfare'' was an anthology comic book series published by American company Marvel Comics. It was a showcase title featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe. Volume one ''Marvel Fanfare'' featured characters and settings ...

'' #8–11 (May–Nov. 1983). The series included "Pelleas & Melisande", adapted from

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...

's play of the same name which had been turned into an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

by Claude Debussy, and "Salome" adapted from Oscar Wilde's play of the same name which was the basis for Richard Strauss's

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

. Opera would continue to resurface in Russell's work, including a four-part adaptation of ''The Magic Flute'', taken from

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

.

Other work

Russell inked

Mike Mignola Mike Mignola (; born September 16, 1960) is an American comics artist and writer best known for creating ''Hellboy'' for Dark Horse Comics, part of a shared universe of titles including ''B.P.R.D.'', '' Abe Sapien'', '' Lobster Johnson'', '' Wit ...

's pencils on the ''

Phantom Stranger The Phantom Stranger is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, of unspecified paranormal origins, who battles mysterious and occult forces, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in an ...

'' limited series in 1987. Russell illustrated issue #50 of writer Neil Gaiman's comic book series '' The Sandman''. The story was titled "Ramadan" and was later included in the collection '' The Sandman: Fables and Reflections''. Russell drew the first story in Gaiman's later Sandman

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 ...

, '' Endless Nights'', and adapted both Gaiman's short story "

Murder Mysteries "Murder Mysteries" is a fantasy short story by Neil Gaiman first published in the 1992 anthology ''Midnight Graffiti'' and later collected in his collections '' Angels and Visitations'' and '' Smoke and Mirrors''. Plot The narrator, a young ...

" and his

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

''

Coraline ''Coraline'' () is a dark fantasy horror children's novella by British author Neil Gaiman. Gaiman started writing ''Coraline'' in 1990, and it was published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and HarperCollins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best ...

'' into comics form. He has adapted another Gaiman Sandman work, '' Sandman: The Dream Hunters'', and a Robert E. Howard

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'') ...

story, "The Jewels of Gwahlur". Russell got involved with a collaborative art project with the Web-based artist group Kaleidospace in 1994. Beginning in 2000,

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 know ...

published Russell's adaptation of Richard Wagner's operatic cycle, ''

The Ring of the Nibelung (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the ''Nibel ...

'' as 14 comic books; in 2001, the series won two Eisner Awards: for Best Finite Series/Limited Series, and for Best Artist/Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team. The series since been published as a single-volume hardcover book. He has adapted the fairy tales of Oscar Wilde into comic-book albums from

NBM Publishing Nantier Beall Minoustchine Publishing Inc. (or NBM Publishing) is an American graphic novel publisher. Founded by Terry Nantier in 1976 as Flying Buttress Publications, NBM is one of the oldest graphic novel publishers in North America. The compa ...

. In December 2007, Desperado published ''The Art of P. Craig Russell'', a 256-page retrospective of Russell's career. It was nominated for the 2008 Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Book. A documentary feature about the artist, ''Night Music: The Art of P. Craig Russell'', premiered at the 2008 Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus, Ohio. In November 2015, Wayne Alan Harold Productions published the ''P. Craig Russell Sketchbook Archives'', a 250-page hardcover art book featuring the best of Russell's personal sketchbooks. The same publisher is currently creating an Artist's Edition-type line of 12" x 17" hardcovers that reproduce Russell's original art at full-size,."

Awards and nominations

* 1985: Best Finite Series

Kirby Award The Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards were a set of awards for achievement in comic books, presented from 1985-1987. Voted on by comic-book professionals, the Kirby awards were the first such awards since the Shazam Awards ceased in 1975. Sponsored ...

for ''Night Music'' (Nominated) * 1986: Best Finite Series Kirby Award for ''Night Music'' #4–5, "Pelleas and Melisande" (Nominated) * 1986: Best Artist Kirby Award for ''Night Music'' #4–5, "Pelleas and Melisande" (Nominated) * 1987: Best Single Issue Kirby Award for ''Night Music'' #6, "Salome" (Nominated) * 1993: Best Penciller/Inker,Color Publication Eisner Award for ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde''; '' Robin 3000''; '' Legends of the Dark Knight: Hothouse'' (Winner) * 1993:

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 ...

* 1994: Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team Eisner Award for '' The Sandman'' #50 (Winner) * 1995: Best Graphic Album-New Eisner Award for ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde'' Vol. 2 (Winner) * 1998: Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team Eisner Award for '' Elric: Stormbringer''; '' Dr. Strange: What Is It That Disturbs You, Stephen?'' (Winner) * 1999: Best Single Issue Eisner Award for ''The Clowns'' (Nominated) * 2001: Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team Eisner Award for ''Ring of the Nibelung'' (Winner) * 2001: Best Finite Series/Limited Series Eisner Award for ''Ring of the Nibelung'' (Winner) * 2004: Best Short Story Eisner Award for "Death and Venice" in '' The Sandman: Endless Nights'' (Winner) * 2009: Best Publication for Teens/Tweens Eisner Award for ''

Coraline ''Coraline'' () is a dark fantasy horror children's novella by British author Neil Gaiman. Gaiman started writing ''Coraline'' in 1990, and it was published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and HarperCollins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best ...

:The Graphic Novel'' (Winner) * 2019: Master Cartoonist Award, Cartoon Crossroads Columbus

Bibliography

From early in his career, Russell has numbered his works in the order in which they were drawn, similar to the treatment of works by classical musical composers. The works are usually labeled somewhere within the art with the word "Opus" (or an abbreviation thereof) and its corresponding number. # ''The Chimera'' (1973) # ''

Killraven Killraven (Jonathan Raven) is a character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as a freedom fighter in several Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apoca ...

'' (1974–1976) # '' Doctor Strange Annual'' #1 (1976) # ''Dance on a Razor's Edge'' (1977) # ''Parsifal'' (1976–77) # ''The Avatar and the Chimera'' (1978) # ''Siegfried and the Dragon'' (1978) # ''La Somnanbula'' (1979) # ''Breakdown on the Starship Remembrance'' (1979) # ''Elric: The Dreaming City'' (1979–80) # ''Isolation and Illusion'' (1981) # ''Elric: While the Gods Laugh'' (1981) # '' Killraven: Last Dreams Broken'' (1982) # ''King of the Castle'' (1982–83) # ''Elric: Elric of Melniboné'' (1982–84) # ''The Drinking Song of Earth's Sorrow'' (1984) # ''The Insomniac'' (1971–84) # ''Unto this World'' (1984) # ''Jungle Book: The King's Ankus'' (1984–85) # ''Eine Heldentraum'' (1985) # ''Pelléas & Mélisande'' (1985) # ''Elric: The Dreaming City ''(2nd version, 1986) # ''Salomé'' (1986) # ''Batman: Robin 3000'' (1986–92) # ''Jungle Book: Red Dog'' (1987) # ''Ariane and Bluebeard'' (1988) # ''Human Remains'' (1989) # ''The Magic Flute'' (1989–90) # ''From Beyond'' (1994) # ''The Golden Apples of the Sun'' (1992) # ''The Gift of the Magi'' (1990) # ''A Voyage to the Moon'' (1991) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Selfish Giant'' (1992) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Star Child'' (1992) # '' Batman: Hothouse'' (1992) # '' The Sandman: Ramadan'' (1992) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Young King'' (1993) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Remarkable Rocket'' (1993) # ''X: Devils'' (1994) # ''Jungle Book: Spring Running'' (1996) # ''Elric: Stormbringer'' (1993–95) # ''Elric: One Life, Furnished in Early Moorcock'' (1996) # ''Dr. Strange: What is it that disturbs you, Stephen?'' (1996) (updated version of Doctor Strange Annual #1) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Birthday of the Infanta'' (1997) # ''The Clowns'' (1997) # '' Star Wars: Episode 1 – Queen Amidala'' (1999) # ''The Ring of the Nibelung'' (2000–2001) # '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales of the Slayers – Presumption'' (2002) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Devoted Friend'' (2004) # ''In Flanders Field'' (2002) # ''Murder Mysteries'' (2002) # ''Between Two Worlds'' (2002) # '' The Sandman: Death and Venice'' (2003) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: Nightingale and the Rose'' (2004) # ''Gone'' (2003) # '' Fables: The Last Castle'' (2003) # '' Hellboy: Weird Tales: Command Performance'' (2003) # ''The Godfather's Code'' (2004) # ''Lucifer'' #50 (2004) # '' Daredevil'', vol. 2, #65 (2004) # '' Conan: The Jewels of Gwahlur'' (2005) # ''

Coraline ''Coraline'' () is a dark fantasy horror children's novella by British author Neil Gaiman. Gaiman started writing ''Coraline'' in 1990, and it was published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and HarperCollins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best ...

'' (2008) # '' Hellboy: The Vampire of Prague'' (2007) # '' Sandman: The Dream Hunters'' (2008) # ''

The Spirit The Spirit is a fictional masked crimefighter created by cartoonist Will Eisner. He first appeared June 2, 1940, as the main feature of a 16-page, tabloid-sized, newsprint comic book insert distributed in the Sunday edition of Register and Trib ...

: Art Walk'' (2011) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Happy Prince'' (2012) # ''Fables: A Delicate Balance'' (2012) # ''The Graveyard Book'' (2013) # ''From Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire: Beheading'' (2013) # ''Little Nemo in Final Slumberland'' (2013) # ''Day and Night (Two Songs)'' (2014) (as yet unpublished) # ''Two Songs by Hugo Wolf (Spring, Autumn)'' (2014) (as yet unpublished) # ''

All-New Invaders ''All-New Invaders'' was a reboot of the classic comic book series ''Invaders'' Publication history The series was published by Marvel Comics between 2014–15. It was created by James Robinson, Mukesh Singh and Steve Pugh. It featured many of t ...

'' #12 (layouts and inking) (2014) # ''The Spectre of the Rose (Two Songs: Serenade, Departure)'' (2015) (as yet unpublished) # ''Pendant to the Rose (A Symbolist Fantasy)'' (2016) (as yet unpublished) # ''The Giver'' (2019) # ''American Gods'' (2017-2019) # ''The Problem of Susan'' (2019) # ''Locks'' (2019) # ''Norse Mythology'' (2020)

References

External links

The Art of P. Craig Russell
(official website)
P. Craig Russell
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, P. Craig 1951 births 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists American comics artists American comics writers American illustrators Comics inkers DC Comics people Eisner Award winners for Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team Gay artists Harvey Award winners for Best Artist or Penciller Inkpot Award winners Kent State University faculty LGBT comics creators LGBT people from Ohio American LGBT writers Living people Marvel Comics people People from Kent, Ohio People from Wellsville, Ohio

Biography

Early life and career

''Elric'' (1982–1997)

''Night Music'' (1984–1990)

Other work

Awards and nominations

Bibliography

References

External links