Brent Anderson (comics)

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Brent Anderson
A photo of Brent Anderson in 2018.
Anderson in 2018
BornBrent Eric Anderson[1]
(1955-06-15) June 15, 1955 (age 68)
San Jose, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Penciller, Artist
Notable works
X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills
Astro City
AwardsInkpot Award, 1985
Harvey Award, 1996, 1997
Eisner Award, 1996–1998
http://www.BrentAndersonArt.com

Brent Anderson (born June 15, 1955[2]) is an American comics artist known for his work on X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills and the comic book series Astro City.

Early life[edit]

In junior high school, Brent Anderson discovered the pantheon of characters in Marvel Comics. The first Marvel comic he read was Fantastic Four #69, "By Ben Betrayed" (Dec. 1967),[3] "They were a family who had super-powers and helped each other out. I wanted to be part of a family like that," he says.[4] Anderson began writing and drawing his own comics on school binder paper, creating a pantheon of his own that included "Radium the Robot" and "The Chameleon".[4] After doing fanzine illustrations, Anderson's first professional comics work appeared in the mid-1970s in independent/underground publications such as All-Slug, Tesserae, and Venture.[5]

Career[edit]

Anderson was one of several artists to draw the comics adaptation of Xanadu in Marvel Super Special #17 (Summer 1980).[6] In 1981, Ka-Zar The Savage, written by Bruce Jones, became Anderson's first regular series.[7] The X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills graphic novel followed,[8] as well as artwork on a number of Marvel Comics series, including the heroic space-opera Strikeforce: Morituri. During this period, Anderson was active doing artwork for independent publishers Pacific Comics and Eclipse Comics,[7] including the innovative cinematic comic Somerset Holmes.[9]

In 1995, Anderson co-created with writer Kurt Busiek and cover artist Alex Ross, the award-winning Astro City. Other work included J. Michael Straczynski's Rising Stars: Untouchable spin-off series written by Fiona Avery covering the life story of special assassin Laurel Darkhaven.[7] Work continues on a 200-plus page graphic novel, Jar of Ashes, written by Shirley Johnston. Anderson worked with writer Marv Wolfman on a one-shot featuring Green Lantern and Plastic Man entitled Green Lantern/Plastic Man: Weapons of Mass Deception, released in December 2010.[10] A Phantom Stranger ongoing series written by Dan DiDio and drawn by Anderson began in September 2012.[11] In June 2013, Busiek and Anderson relaunched their Astro City series as part of DC's Vertigo line.[12][13] The ongoing Astro City series concluded as of issue #52 in 2018.[14]

In April 2022, Anderson was reported among the more than three dozen comics creators who contributed to Operation USA's benefit anthology book, Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds, a project spearheaded by IDW Publishing Special Projects Editor Scott Dunbier, whose profits would be donated to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees resulting from the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[15][16] Anderson and Kurt Busiek teamed up to contribute a new Astro City story to the anthology, which will harbor themes relevant to the events in Ukraine.[17]

Art style[edit]

Anderson's work fits into the category of "realism" defined by Neal Adams, one of Anderson's many artistic influences.[3] Anderson's work is known for its focus on character. "My greatest joy in drawing comics comes when I've added nuance to a character with just the right expression and illustrated a scene that captures the perfect moment of mood. When the characters come to life I feel alive. That's why I've dedicated my professional life to creating comics."[4]

Awards[edit]

  • Inkpot Award, 1985[5]
  • Eisner Award[5]
    • Best New Series, 1996
    • Best Single Issue, 1996, 1997, 1998
    • Best Continuing Series, 1997, 1998
    • Best Serial Story, 1998
  • Harvey Award[5]
    • Best New Series, 1996
    • Best Single Issue or Story, 1996
    • Best Graphic Album, previously released work, 1997
  • Don Thompson Award[5]
    • Best Achievement by Penciler, 1996
    • Favorite Single Creative Team (with Kurt Busiek), 1998

Bibliography[edit]

DC Comics[edit]

Vertigo[edit]

  • Astro City vol. 3 #1–11, 13–16, 18–21, 23–24, 26, 29–30, 32–34, 37–38, 41, 43, 45–46, 49–52 (2013–2018)

Wildstorm[edit]

  • Astro City vol. 2 #16–22 (1999–2000)
  • Astro City: A Visitor’s Guide #1 (2004)
  • Astro City: Local Heroes #1–5 (2003–2004)
  • Astro City: The Dark Age Book One #1–4 (2005)
  • Astro City: The Dark Age Book Two #1–4 (2007)
  • Astro City: The Dark Age Book Three #1–4 (2009)
  • Astro City: The Dark Age Book Four #1–4 (2010)
  • Astro City: Supersonic
  • Astro City: Samaritan (2006)
  • Astro City: Beautie #1 (2008)
  • Astro City: Astra #1–2 (2009)
  • Astro City: Silver Agent #1–2 (2010)
  • Astro City/Arrowsmith #1 (2004)
  • Astro City Special #1 (2004)

Eclipse Comics[edit]

Image Comics[edit]

  • Kurt Busiek's Astro City #1–6 (1995–1996)
  • Kurt Busiek's Astro City vol. 2 #1/2, #1–15 (1996–1998)

Marvel Comics[edit]

Now Comics[edit]

Pacific Comics[edit]

Slave Labor Graphics[edit]

  • Spin World #1–4 (1997–1998)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Per the cover of Marvel Graphic Novel #5: X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills (1982)
  2. ^ Miller, John Jackson (June 10, 2005). "Comics Industry Birthdays". Comics Buyer's Guide. Iola, Wisconsin. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Guerrero, Tony (July 1, 2008). "Comic Vine Interview with Brent Anderson". Comic Vine. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c Anderson, Brent (n.d.). "Bio". Brentandersonart.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d e Bails, Jerry (2006). "Anderson, Brent". Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  6. ^ Friedt, Stephan (July 2016). "Marvel at the Movies - The House of Ideas' Hollywood Adaptations of the 1970s and 1980s". Back Issue! (89). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 64. The interior [art] was a group effort with over a dozen people credited with different aspects of the artwork (including layouts by Rich Buckler and Jimmy Janes, and finished pencils by Michael Nasser [Netzer], Brent Anderson, Joe Brozowski, Al Milgrom, and Bill Sienkiewicz).
  7. ^ a b c Brent Anderson at the Grand Comics Database
  8. ^ "Brent Anderson". Lambiek Comiclopedia. August 14, 2009. Archived from the original on May 26, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  9. ^ Schweier, Philip (August 2016). "Somerset Holmes". Back Issue! (90). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 48–55.
  10. ^ Segura, Alex (September 16, 2010). "First Look: Green Lantern/Plastic Man: Weapons of Mass Deception". DC Comics. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013.
  11. ^ Rogers, Vaneta (June 8, 2012). "DC Adds Four to New 52, Including DiDio's Phantom Stranger". Newsarama. Archived from the original on June 11, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2012. Written by [Dan] DiDio with art by Brent Anderson, The Phantom Stranger will spin out of the character's recent appearances in Justice League and DC's Free Comic Book Day story.
  12. ^ Ching, Albert (April 1, 2013). "Astro City Moves to Vertigo with New Series in June". Newsarama. Archived from the original on June 26, 2013.
  13. ^ Truitt, Brian (June 3, 2013). "Busiek takes fans on another trip through Astro City". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  14. ^ Arrant, Chris (January 22, 2018). "Astro City Ongoing Ends in April, With Plans for OGN Future". Newsarama. Archived from the original on August 11, 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  15. ^ Kaplan, Rebecca O. (April 18, 2022). "ZOOP launches benefit anthology COMICS FOR UKRAINE: SUNFLOWER SEEDS". The Beat. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  16. ^ Brooke, David (April 18, 2022). "'Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds' to benefit Ukrainian refugees". AIPT. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  17. ^ Kit, Borys (April 20, 2022). "Comic Book Creators Team for Ukraine Relief Effort Anthology 'Sunflower Seed'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.

External links[edit]

Preceded by
n/a
 Ka-Zar the Savage artist
1981–1982 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
n/a
 Strikeforce: Morituri artist
1986–1988 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
n/a
 Phantom Stranger vol. 4 artist
2012–2013 		Succeeded by
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