James O'Barr (born January 1, 1960) 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 comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the literar ...
, writer and
graphic artist
A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming l ...
. He created the comic book series ''
The Crow
''The Crow'' is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fianc� ...
''.
Early life
O'Barr, an
orphan
An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew language, Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages ...
, was raised in the
foster care
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family mem ...
system.
Career
At 18, O'Barr enlisted in the
Marines
Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...
. While stationed in West Germany, he illustrated combat manuals for the U.S. military.
Before he joined the Marines, O'Barr's fiancée, Beverly, had been killed by a drunk driver. Part of the reason O’Barr joined the military was the hope that service would help him cope with his grief. While living in West Berlin in 1981, O'Barr began to work on his comic, ''The Crow'', as a means of dealing with his personal tragedy. O'Barr was further inspired by a Detroit newspaper account of the murder of a young couple over a $20 engagement ring. In ''The Crow'', the protagonist,
Eric
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization).
The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...
, and his fiancée, Shelly, are murdered by a gang of criminals. Eric then returns from the dead, guided by a supernatural
crow
A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...
, to hunt their killers.
After his discharge from the Marines, O'Barr returned to Detroit, where he continued to paint and illustrate while working a day job at an auto body shop. ''The Crow'' was eventually published in association with
Gary Reed of
Caliber Press
Caliber Comics or Caliber Press is an American comic book publisher founded in 1989 by Gary Reed (comics), Gary Reed. Featuring primarily creator-owned comics, Caliber published over 1,300 comics in the decade following its inception and is rank ...
. The first miniseries was published in 1989. ''The Crow'' has since sold more than 750,000 copies worldwide.
O'Barr's own hope that his project would result in a personal
catharsis
Catharsis is from the Ancient Greek word , , meaning "purification" or "cleansing", commonly used to refer to the purification and purgation of thoughts and emotions by way of expressing them. The desired result is an emotional state of renewal an ...
went unfulfilled. During an interview in 1994, he said, "
I drew each page, it made me more self-destructive, if anything... There is pure anger on each page".
In the 1990s, O'Barr was affiliated with the
experimental metal
Avant-garde metal (also known as avant-metal, experimental metal, art metal and experimetal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music loosely defined by use of experimentation and innovative, avant-garde elements, including non-standard and unconventi ...
band
Trust Obey
Trust Obey was an American band based in Kansas City, Missouri and founded by John Bergin and Brett Smith, who comprised the creative nucleus of the group. They released six studio albums: ''Rip Saw'' (1989), '' The Veil'' (1990), ''Locust'' (19 ...
, which was signed briefly to
Trent Reznor
Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He came to prominence as the founder, lead singer, multi-instrumentalist, and primary songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. T ...
's Nothing label. Trust Obey released the album ''
Fear and Bullets
''Fear and Bullets'' is a soundtrack album by Trust Obey created through a collaboration between James O'Barr and longtime friend John Bergin as a soundtrack to O'Barr's graphic novel '' The Crow''. It was originally released in 1994 along wit ...
: Music to Accompany The Crow'' in 1993. The album was packaged with a special edition of ''
The Crow
''The Crow'' is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fianc� ...
''
graphic novel
A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
.
''The Crow'' was adapted into a successful
film of the same name in 1994, which was marred by the tragic death of its star,
Brandon Lee
Brandon Bruce Lee (February 1, 1965 – March 31, 1993) was an American actor. Establishing himself as a rising action star in the early 1990s, he landed what was to be his breakthrough role as Eric Draven in the supernatural superhero fi ...
, who was also engaged to be married, during filming. The film went on to spawn three sequels and a television series.
After the success of ''The Crow'' film, O'Barr began planning an apocalyptic graphic novel series entitled ''Gothik''. The series was based on ''
The Wizard of Oz
''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...
'' and featured "Jonny Z" from his short story "
Frame 137
Frame 137 is a short story that first appeared in issue #61 of Dark Horse Presents in April 1992. It was created by American graphic artist James O'Barr, who is best known as the creator of the comic book series ''The Crow''.
The comic, which is s ...
" as the main character.
In January 2013, Motionworks Entertainment released O'Barr's western comic, ''Sundown'', which served as their debut motion comic for
iPhone
The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
and
iPad
The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...
. He also announced his work on a comic about the
Korean War
The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
, centered on the efforts of three U.S. Marine guncrews to hold Fox Hill during the
Battle of Chosin Reservoir
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Battle of Lake Changjin (), was an important battle in the Korean War. The name "Chosin" is derived from the Japanese pronunciation "''Chōshin'', instead of th ...
, with a different artist drawing each gun crew.
In 2013, O'Barr was named as a consultant on a possible reboot of ''The Crow'' film franchise. Although previously opposed to the project, in an October 2014 interview, speaking of his involvement, O'Barr discussed the approach to the adaptation and efforts being made to respect the original film.
Later, in November 2014, O'Barr appeared at the Wizard World Tulsa Comic Con and stated that he was co-writing the script with screenwriter Cliff Dorfman. After a long period in
development hell
Development hell, also known as development purgatory or development limbo, is media and software industry jargon for a project, concept, or idea that remains in a stage of early development for a long time because of legal, technical, or artistic ...
, a
reboot film would be released in 2024 starring
Bill Skarsgård
Bill Istvan Günther Skarsgård (; born 9 August 1990) is a Swedish actor. He is known for portraying Pennywise in the horror films '' It'' (2017) and ''It Chapter Two'' (2019). Other horror appearances were in the series '' Hemlock Grove'' (2 ...
, though O'Barr is only credited in reference to the original comic.
Personal life
As of the mid 2000s, O'Barr resided in
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
.
Bibliography
References
External links
*
James O'Barrat ComicBookDB.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obarr, James
1960 births
Living people
American comics writers
American comics artists
United States Marines
Artists from Detroit
Artists from Texas