Bernie Mireault

Bernard Edward Mireault (June 27, 1961 – September 2024) was a Canadian comic book artist and writer.

Biography

Mireault was born in Marville, France, where his parents were stationed while working for the Canadian Forces. In 1963, the Mireault family moved back to Canada. Raised as an Anglophone in Rawdon, Quebec, he was an active participant in the Montreal underground comix scene, participating in the comix jams since their inception and contributing to local zines and underground publications. At the same time he worked in the mainstream comics industry as an artist and colourist, as well as an animator and illustrator.

Among his comics works are ''Dr. Robot'', ''Mackenzie Queen'', ''Bug-eyed Monster'', ''The Blair Witch Chronicles'', ''Left Alone: The Rustin Parr Killings'', ''Two Fisted Science: Safecracker'', ''When is a Door?'' ''The Tragic Though Amusing History of Clay Face II'', and the creator-owned comic ''The Jam'', first published as a backup feature in Northguard from Matrix Graphic Series, and then published in its own title in 1985 by various publishers starting with Matrix Graphic Series and then Comico, Slave Labor Graphics, Tundra Publishing, Dark Horse Comics, and Caliber Press.

Mireault illustrated the seminal Riddler story "When Is a Door," written by Neil Gaiman and published in Secret Origins Special #1 (Oct. 1989), in which the Riddler makes a meta-commentary about the dark turn of modern comics compared to those of the Silver Age. As Brian Cronin of '' CBR'' wrote, "It'll likely be the comic book story that Mireault will be most remembered for among more casual comic book fans, and if you're going to be remembered for a single story, then this is the one to be remembered for, as it is a brilliant examination of the early days of the 'grim and gritty' superhero era."

Mireault served as the artist on the story arc "The Devil Within" for Matt Wagner's ''Grendel'' comics in the late 1980s – notably coloured by Joe Matt. Mireault coloured several ''Grendel'' story arcs: "Warchild," "Devil's Hammer," "Devil in Our Midst," "Devil Tracks," "Devil Eyes," "Devil by the Deed," and "The Devil's Apprentice." As a colourist he had a long-standing collaborative relationship with Salgood Sam a.k.a. Max Douglas, a fellow Canadian artist. Together they worked on ''Realworlds: Wonder Woman'', '' Muties'' #6: ''The Patriot Game'', and ''Revolution on the Planet of the Apes''.

Another long-standing collaborative relationship was with Mike Allred, with whom he produced ''Madman Jam: The Fall of the House of Escher'', ''Creatures of the Id'', and ''The Everyman''. Mireault's character Dr. Robot first appeared as a back-up in Mike Allred's ''Madman''.

Mireault had a part-time band called Bug-Eyed Monster, for which he wrote songs. Fellow cartoonist Howard Chackowicz was also a member of Bug-Eyed Monster.

Mireault committed suicide in September 2024, at the age of 63. He was survived by two sons and three sisters.

Reception

Comics critic Timothy Callahan has argued that Mireault is one of the unheralded creators who helped bring in the Modern Age of Comic Books:

Awards

Mireault was inducted into the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame as part of the Joe Shuster Awards in 2020.

Bibliography

* ''Mackenzie Queen''
* ''The Jam''
* ''Dr. Robot''

Notes

References

Citations

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*
Bernie Mireault
at the Lambiek Comiclopedia

Sources

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External links

Official website
archived at the Wayback Machine

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mireault, Bernie
1961 births
2024 deaths
2024 suicides
20th-century Canadian illustrators
21st-century Canadian illustrators
Canadian comics artists
Canadian comics writers
Canadian animators
Comics colorists
Canadian singer-songwriters
French emigrants to Canada
People from Lanaudière
Artists who died by suicide