James Tynion IV (born December 14, 1987) is an American

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

writer. He is best known for his work on the Batman franchise 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 ...

, his DC Black Label series ''The Nice House on the Lake'' and his independent series '' Department of Truth'' and '' Something Is Killing the Children''. In 2022, he won three

Eisner Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

for his work. He is also a nine-time nominee for the

GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book The GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book is an annual award that honors comic books for excellence in the depiction of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) characters and themes. It is one of several categories of the annual ...

, the most nominations of any writer, winning once in 2016.

Early life

James Tynion IV was born December 14, 1987, and grew up in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, where he attended

Marquette University High School Marquette University High School (MUHS) is a private, all-male, Jesuit, Roman Catholic school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is accredited by the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA CASI), an ac ...

. While studying creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College, Tynion met and began studying under

Scott Snyder Scott Snyder is an American author. He is known for his 2006 short story collection ''Voodoo Heart'', and his comic book writing, including '' American Vampire'', '' Detective Comics'', '' Batman'', '' Wytches'', '' Swamp Thing,'' and ''Justice ...

, in the nascent years of his comic book writing career. Following school, he became an intern for the

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

imprint of DC Comics, working under Editor

Shelly Bond Shelly Bond ( born Roeberg) is an American comic book editor, known for her two decades at DC Comics' Vertigo (DC Comics) imprint, for which she was executive editor from 2013 to 2016. Career Bond began working in the comics industry as an edito ...

, among others.

Career

After a brief stint in advertising, Scott Snyder asked Tynion to co-write the back-up features for the

New 52 The New 52 is the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire line of ongoing monthly superhero comic books. Following the conclusion of the " Flashpoint" crossover storyline, DC canceled all its existing titles and debuted 52 new series ...

relaunch of Batman, beginning with the acclaimed "''

Night of the Owls "Batman: Night of the Owls" is a comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics in mid-2012, and featuring the Batman family of characters. Primarily written by Scott Snyder, the arc is the first major crossover storyline of The New 52. Th ...

''" storyline. These features would lead to the launch of a spin-off comic book ''Talon'', co-plotted with Snyder and written by Tynion. In 2013, Tynion released his first original comic series, ''The Eighth Seal'', for Mark Waid's digital comic publisher Thrillbent. Tynion would go on to be one of the head writers of ''

Batman Eternal ''Batman Eternal'' is a year-long weekly limited series published by DC Comics, that began in April 2014. The series featured Batman, his allies, and Gotham City, and was written by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, Kyle Higgins, and ...

'', a weekly Batman comic series launched in 2014 that was designed to explore the full scope and cast of

Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List of Batman supporting characters#Bat-Family, allies and List of Batman fa ...

. That same year, he released the

GLAAD Media Award The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their liv ...

-nominated comic title ''

Memetic Memetics is a study of information and culture. While memetics originated as an analogy with Darwinian evolution, digital communication, media, and sociology scholars have also adopted the term "memetics" to describe an established empirical study ...

'' with artist Eryk Donovan and Award-winning '' The Woods'' with Michael Dialynas at

Boom Studios Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios) is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Origins In the early 2000s, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby had been working in Holly ...

. Adaptations of both series are currently in development. In 2016, Tynion’s partnership with Boom continued with the PRISM Award-winning comic title ''The Backstagers,'' as well as at DC via the first of three ''Batman''/''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' comic book crossovers with DC and IDW Publishing, the first ever meeting between the two franchises. That same year, Tynion was announced as the writer of the biweekly '' Detective Comics'' for DC's

Rebirth Rebirth may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Film * ''Rebirth'' (2011 film), a 2011 Japanese drama film * ''Rebirth'' (2016 film), a 2016 American thriller film * ''Rebirth'', a documentary film produced by Project Rebirth * ''The Re ...

initiative. In 2018, Tynion launched an acclaimed revival of the comic ''

Justice League Dark The Justice League Dark, or JLD, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team would make their debut appearance in ''Justice League Dark'' #1 (September 2011). The Justice League Dark team features some ...

'', which led into the ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'' crossover storyline " The Witching Hour." The following year, he launched the Eisner-winning and

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 ...

-nominated comic book mini-series '' Something is Killing the Children'', which was later upgraded to an ongoing title due to high demand. A

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

series adaptation by Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy is currently in development. In 2020, Tynion was announced as the writer of the main ''Batman'' comic title, where he would go on to co-create characters like Punchline, Ghost-Maker, Clownhunter, and Miracle Molly. That July, he premeired the self-published horror magazine ''Razorblades''. and on September 30 that year, he launched the Eisner and Harvey-nominated ''The Department of Truth'' at Image, The film and television rights to ''Department of Truth'' was purchased by Sister, the production banner co-founded by Elisabeth Murdoch, Stacey Snider and Jane Featherstone, by February 2021. In 2021, Tynion launched two Eisner Award-nominated comic titles–the first volume of the graphic novel series ''Wynd'' at Boom, along with the Eisner-winning ''The Nice House on the Lake'' at DC Black Label. 2021 also marked Tynion’s first

Eisner Award for Best Writer The Eisner Award for Best Writer is an award for "creative achievement" in American comic books. Winners and nominees See also * Eisner Award for Best Publication for Early Readers * Eisner Award for Best Academic/Scholarly Work * Eisner Awa ...

. That same year, Tynion and Boom announced a spin-off comic to ''Something is Killing the Children'' titled ''House of Slaughter'', co-written with Tate Brombal (and later with Sam Johns), which launched to record numbers. 2021 would also see Tynion leave his exclusive contract with DC and be offered a grant from

Substack Substack is an American online platform that provides publishing, payment, analytics, and design infrastructure to support subscription newsletters. It allows writers to send digital newsletters directly to subscribers. Founded in 2017, Substack ...

to launch a slate of original creator-owned comic titles directly on their platform, with the first being the ongoing comic ''Blue Book'' with artist

Michael Avon Oeming Michael Avon Oeming is an American comic book creator, both as an artist and writer. Career Oeming is a fan of ancient mythology, having written or drawn several projects centering on the Norse gods. He frequently collaborates with long-time f ...

. In August 2021, Tynion was among a group of creators with whom fellow comics writer

Nick Spencer Nick Spencer is a comic book writer and former politician best known for his Image series '' Morning Glories'', his collaborations with artist Steve Lieber on the comedic series ''Superior Foes of Spider-Man'' and '' The Fix'', a three-year run o ...

formed a deal with the subscription-based newsletter platform

to publish creator-owned comics stories, essays, and instructional guides on that platform. Tynion indicated that he would end his tenure on the ''Batman'' books in order to concentrate his timeon his Substack newsletter, which would include ''Blue Book'', a nonfiction series illustrated by

based on accounts of alien encounters and the supernatural, to premiere in February 2023. The series would be released in ten page chapters, twice a month, on Fridays. The first chaper would depict the 1961 Barney and Betty Hill incident, in which the Hills stated that they were abducted from the White Mountains in New Hampshire by aliens. In February 2022, Tynion launched on Substack the ongoing comics ''The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos'' (co-written with Tate Brombal) and ''True Weird'', along with the limited comic series ''The Closet'', which would later be re-published by Image Comics. That April, he launched ''The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country'', a spin-off to the

comic book '' The Sandman''. That November, it was reported that Tynion had partnered with

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 ...

to release print versions of Tiny Onion's Substack books, as well as original stories.

Personal life

James Tynion IV is openly bisexual.

Bibliography

Boom Studios

*''WYND Book Three: The Throne in the Sky'' graphic novel (with Michael Dialynas, 2023) *''WYND Book Two: The Secret of the Wings'' graphic novel (with Michael Dialynas, 2022) *''WYND Book One: The Flight of the Prince'' graphic novel (with Michael Dialynas, 2021) *''The House of Slaughter'' #1–present (co-written by Tate Brombal, Sam Johns, with Werther Dell'Edera, Chris Shehan, Letizia Cadonici, 2021–present) *'' Something Is Killing the Children'' #1–present (with Werther Dell'Edera, 2019–present) *''The Backstagers 2018 Halloween Intermission'' (with Rian Sygh, 2018) *''The Backstagers 2018 Valentine's Intermission'' (with Rian Sygh, 2018) *''Eugenic'' #1–3 (with Eryk Donovan, 2017) *''The Backstagers'' #1–8 (with Rian Sygh, 2016–2017) *''Cognetic'' #1–3 (with Eryk Donovan, 2015) *''UFOlogy'' #1–6 (co-written by Noah James Yuenkel, art by Matt Fox, 2015) *''The Woods'' #1–36 (with Michael Dialynas, 2014–2017) *''

'' #1–3 (with Eryk Donovan, 2014) *''Bravest Warriors: Paralyzed Horse Special'' (with Erica Henderson, 2014)

DC Comics

*'' Batman'' vol. 2 #8–16, 18–25, 28, 35–39, 49, 52, Annual #1, 3–4 (2012–2016) *''Batman'' vol. 3 #85–117, Annual 2020, 2021 (2020–2021) *'' Batman and Robin'' vol. 2 #23.2, 23.3 (2013) *'' Batman and Robin Eternal'' #1–26 (2015–2016) *''

Batman Black and White ''Batman Black and White'' refers to the comic book limited series published by DC Comics featuring 8-page black and white Batman stories. Volumes 1, 4 and 5 of the series feature all-new stories (published in 1996, 2013–14, and 2020–21, res ...

'' #1 (2020) *''

'' #1–52 (2014–2015) *''Batman: Fear State Alpha'' #1 (2021) *''Batman: Fear State Omega'' #1 (2021) *''Batman: The Joker War Zone'' #1 (2020) *'' Batman: Lost'' #1 (2018) *''Batman: Pennyworth R.I.P.'' #1 (2020) *''Batman Secret Files'' #3 (2020) *''Batman Secret Files: The Gardener'' #1 (2021) *''Batman Secret Files: Miracle Molly'' #1 (2021) *''Batman Secret Files: Peacekeeper-01'' #1 (2021) *''

Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is a six-issue intercompany crossover comic book miniseries featuring fictional heroes Batman and the IDW incarnation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Publication history The collaboration between DC ...

'' #1–6 (2016) *''Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II'' #1–6 (2018) *''Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III'' #1–6 (2019) *''The Batman Who Laughs'' #1 (2018) *''The Batman Who Laughs: The Grim Hunt'' #1 (2019) *'' Batwoman'' vol. 3 #1–6 (2017) *''Batman:

'' #1 (2017) *''

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

: The Hellblazer'' #1–13 (2015–2016) *''Cursed Comics Cavalcade'' #1 (2018) *''Dark Days: The Casting'' #1 (2017) *''Dark Days: The Forge'' #1 (2017) *''Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt'' #1 (2018) *'' Dark Nights: Death Metal Guidebook'' #1 (2020) *''Dark Nights: Death Metal - Legends of the Dark Knights'' #1 (2020) *''Dark Nights: Death Metal - Multiverse's End'' #1 (2020) *''Dark Nights: Death Metal - The Multiverse Who Laughs'' #1 (2021) *''Dark Nights: Death Metal - Rise of the New God'' #1 (2020) *''DC Nation'' vol. 2 #0 (2018) *''DC Pride 2021'' #1 (2021) *''DC Rebirth Holiday Special'' #1 (2017) *''DC vs Vampires'' #1-12 (2021-2022) *''DC's Crimes of Passion'' #1 (2020) *''DC's Year of the Villain Special'' #1 (2019) *'' Detective Comics'' #934–981, 1000, 1027, Annual #1 (2016–2020) *''Detective Comics'' vol. 2 #0, 12, 19 (2012) *''Gotham Academy'' #16 (2016) *''

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular'' #1 (2020) *''The Immortal Men'' #1–6 (2018) *''Infinite Frontier'' #0 (2021) *''

The Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book '' Batman'' on April 25, 1 ...

'' vol. 2 #1–15 (2021–2022), Annual 2021 *''

80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular'' #1 (2020) *''

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived b ...

'' vol. 4 #5, 8, 12–16, 18, 22, 25–35, Annual #1 (2018–2020) *''Justice League/Aquaman: The Drowned Earth'' #1 *''

'' vol. 2 #1–23, Annual #1 (2018–2020) *''Justice League Dark/Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour'' #1 (2018) *''Justice League: No Justice'' #1–4 (2018) *'' The Kamandi Challenge'' #4 (2017) *''Legend of the

Swamp Thing The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations in v ...

Halloween Special'' #1 (2020) *''Mysteries of Love in Space'' #1 (2019) *''Punchline'' #1 (2021) *''

Red Hood The Red Hood is an alias used by multiple characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The identity was first used in the 1951 storyline "The Man Behind the Red Hood!", which provides the earliest origin story for the Joke ...

and the Outlaws'' #19–28, Annual #1 (2013–2014) *'' Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular'' #1 (2020) *''Tales from the Dark Multiverse:

Infinite Crisis "Infinite Crisis" is a 2005–2006 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, seven-issue comic book limited series written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, George Pérez, Ivan Reis, and Jerry Ordway, ...

'' #1 (2020) *''Talon'' #0–14 (2012–2014) *''The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country'' #1–present (2022–present) *''The Nice House on the Lake'' #1–12 (2021–2022) *''

'' vol. 5 #56–57 (2018) *''Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour'' #1 (2018) *''Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen'' #1–4 (2020)

IDW Publishing

*''Love is Love'' ("Pride" short, with Molly Knox Ostertag, 2016) *''In The Dark: A Horror Anthology'' ("Why So Sad" short, with Eryk Donovan, 2014)

Image Comics

*''The Closet'' #1–3 (with Gavin Fullerton, 2022) *''The Department of Truth'' #1–present (with Martin Simmonds, 2020–present) *''The Silver Coin'' #11 (with Michael Walsh, 2022) *''Image!'' #8 ("''W0RLDTR33''" with Fernando Blanco, 2022) *''W0RLDTR33'' #1–present (with Fernando Blanco, 2023–present)

Marvel Comics

*''Death of Wolverine: Logan's Legacy'' #5 (with Andy Clarke, 2014) *''Amazing X-Men'' #13 (with Jorge Jimenez, 2014)

Thrillbent

*''The Eighth Seal'' (with Jeremy Rock, 2013–2014) *''The House In The Wall'' (co-written by Noah J. Yuenkel, art by Eryk Donovan, 2014)

Tiny Onion Studios

*''Blue Book'' #1–present (with Michael Avon Oeming, 2021–present) *''The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos'' #1–present (co-written by Tate Brombal, with Isaac Goodhart, Kurt Michael Russell, Nick Robles, 2022–present) *''Razorblades: The Horror Magazine'' #1–5 (with Ricardo Lopez Ortiz, Andy Belanger, Martin Simmonds, Fernando Blanco, Josh Hixson, Liana Kangas, 2020–2021) *''True Weird'' ("Coney Island" with Klaus Janson, 2022)

Awards and nominations

Wins

*2022 Eisner Award for Best New Series for "The Nice House on the Lake" *2022 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series for "Something is Killing the Children" *2022 Eisner Award for Best Writer for "The Department of Truth", "The Nice House on the Lake", "Something is Killing the Children", "Wynd" *2022 Ringo Award for Best Writer *2022 Ringo Award for Best Series for "Something is Killing the Children" *2022 Ringo Award for Best Single Issue or Story for "Something is Killing the Children #20" *2021

for '' Something Is Killing the Children'' ( Boom!), ''Wynd'' ( Boom!), '' Batman'' ( DC), ''The Department of Truth'' ( Image), ''Razorblades'' (Tiny Onion) *2021 Ringo Award for Best Writer *2017 Diamond Gem Award for Licensed TP/HC of the Year for "Batman/TMNT Vol. 1" *2017 PRISM Award for Best Single Issue From A Mainstream Publisher for "The Backstagers #1" *2016

for Outstanding Comic Book for "The Woods"

Nominations

*2023 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for "The Nice House on the Lake" *2023 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for "Wynd: The Throne in the Sky" *2022 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series for "The Department of Truth" *2022 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens (Age 13-17) for "Wynd" *2022 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for "Wynd" *2022 Harvey Award for Book of the Year for "The Department of Truth Vol 3: Free Country" *2022 Harvey Award for Book of the Year for "The Nice House on the Lake" *2021 Eisner Award for Best New Series for "The Department of Truth" *2021 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series for "The Department of Truth" *2021 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for "Wynd" *2021 Harvey Award for Book of the Year for "The Department of Truth" *2021 Ringo Award for Best Series for "The Department of Truth" *2020 Harvey Award for Book of the Year for "Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 1" *2020 Eisner Award for Best New Series for "Something is Killing the Children" *2020 Ringo Award for Best Series for "Something is Killing the Children" *2017 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for "The Woods" *2017 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for "The Backstagers" *2017 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for "Batwoman" *2015 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for "Memetic"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tynion, James IV 1987 births Living people Writers from Milwaukee Writers from New York City American comics writers LGBT comics creators LGBT people from New York (state) Bisexual writers Bisexual men Marquette University High School alumni Eisner Award winners for Best Writer