Mark Bagley (; born August 7, 1957) 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 comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and g ...

. He has worked for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in ...

on such titles as ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bimonthly per ...

'', ''

Thunderbolts A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hell ...

'', ''

New Warriors The New Warriors is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They traditionally consisted of teenage and young adult heroes, and were often seen to serve as a junior counterpart to Avengers (comics), ...

'', ''

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...

'' and '' Ultimate Spider-Man'' and for

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 the ...

on ''

Justice League of America 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 ...

'', ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

'' and ''

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

''.

Early life

Mark Bagley was born to a military family in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

Career

After his work in the military and at

Ringling College of Art and Design Ringling College of Art and Design (RCAD) is a private art and design school in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded by Ludd M. Spivey as an art school in 1931 as a remote branch of Southern College but separated by 1933. History The origins of ...

, Bagley continued trying to break into the comic industry. While working a construction job, he suffered a severe injury to his leg while using a handsaw that required 132 stitches. He eventually ended up working for

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

making technical drawings.

Marvel Comics

In 1983,

Editor-in-Chief

Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comi ...

created the ''

Marvel Try-out Book ''The Official Marvel Comics Try-Out Book'' is an oversize book originally published by Marvel Comics in 1983. Conceived by then-Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, the book was in the form of a contest encouraging up-and-coming comics creators to try t ...

'' to draw new talent into the comic book industry. The contest involved a deconstructed comic book which contestants could complete and submit to Marvel. The winner would be awarded a professional assignment with Marvel. At the time, Bagley was 27 years old and living in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

. He had almost given up on trying to find a job in comics and was satisfied with his position at Lockheed Martin. Bagley was reluctant to enter the contest because of the cost of the ''Try-out Book'' itself. His friend,

Cliff Biggers Cliff Biggers is a comic book writer and journalist. His first published writing appeared in fanzines in the mid-1960s. He was a founding member of the amateur press alliance (APA) Myriad and was active in the Southern Fandom Press Alliance, a so ...

, gave him the book and persuaded Bagley to enter the contest. Bagley won first place for penciling, finishing ahead of thousands of other hopefuls. Shooter, Jim " Bullpen Bulletins" Marvel Comics cover-dated February 1986 After winning the contest, he didn't hear from Marvel for several months. After approaching Shooter at a comic convention, Bagley was assigned to a series of low-profile penciling jobs. His comics work during this period included '' Visionaries'', a comic book based on a 1980s toy line, various titles in the New Universe line, backup stories in ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'', and the first series of Marvel Universe Cards. In 1989,

Tom DeFalco Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', '' Thor'', and ''Fantastic Four''. Career While in college, DeFalco "wrote f ...

and

Ron Frenz Ronald Wade Frenz (born February 1, 1960) is an American comics artist known for his work for Marvel Comics. He is well known for his 1980s work on ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and later for his work on '' Spider-Girl'' whom he co-created with writ ...

created a team of teenage superheroes called the

. The following year, Marvel launched a new series based on these heroes and assigned Bagley and writer Fabian Nicieza to the title. Bagley stayed on the title until #25, at which point he left to transition directly onto ''The Amazing Spider-Man.'' When Erik Larsen left ''

'' in 1991, Bagley was assigned to the title. He and David Michelinie introduced the Carnage character in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #361 (April 1992) and produced the '' Venom: Lethal Protector'' limited series in 1993. Although not the first artist to draw either

Eddie Brock Edward Charles Allan "Eddie" Brock is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane, making a cameo appearance in '' Web of Spider-Man'' #1 ...

, Bagley's version of both characters are widely considered to be the most popular versions of them by fans. Bagley was one of the artists on the " Maximum Carnage" and " Clone Saga" storylines which ran through the Spider-Man titles. Bagley's artwork was used extensively for licensed material, appearing on everything from plates and cups to credit cards and even video games such '' The Amazing Spider-Man: Lethal Foes'' released exclusively in Japan. In 2012,

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

ranked Bagley fourth on its list of the "50 Greatest Spider-Man Creators". In 1997, Bagley collaborated with writer

Kurt Busiek Kurt Busiek ( ) (born September 16, 1960) is an American comic book writer. His work includes the ''Marvels'' limited series, his own series titled '' Astro City'', a four-year run on '' The Avengers, Thunderbolts'' and '' Superman.'' Early life ...

on a new team of superheroes, the

, a group of super-villains disguised as super-heroes, with the final page of the first issue of the series revealing that the Thunderbolts were actually the

Masters of Evil The Masters of Evil is a supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version of the team appeared in '' The Avengers'' #6 (July 1964), with the lineup continually changing over the years. Publication ...

, a surprise twist carefully guarded by Marvel. In 2000, Marvel's then-publisher

Bill Jemas Bill Jemas is an American media entrepreneur, writer, and editor, known for his tenure as president of Fleer Entertainment Group during the 1990s, and for his work as vice president of Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2004. During his time at Marvel, Jem ...

was looking to relaunch Marvel's primary franchises in a way that would make them accessible to newer readers. '' Ultimate Spider-Man'' would be a title that began the Spider-Man mythos from the beginning set in modern times. Bagley was assigned to ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' with writer

Brian Michael Bendis Brian Michael Bendis (; born August 18, 1967) is an American comic book writer and artist. He has won five Eisner Awards for both his creator-owned work and his work on various Marvel Comics books.Bendis, Brian Michael and Oeming, Michael Avon, ...

. The Bendis/Bagley partnership of 111 consecutive issues made their partnership one of the longest in American comic book history, and the longest run by a Marvel creative team, beating out Stan Lee and Jack Kirby on ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first s ...

''. Bagley collaborated with Bendis on '' The Pulse'' and a four-issue arc on ''

Mighty Avengers ''The Mighty Avengers'' is a comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics. Originally written by Brian Michael Bendis, also the writer of '' New Avengers'', the title first featured an officially sanctioned Avengers team of registered s ...

''. Bagley's long and successful run on ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' earned him recognition in '' Wizard'' magazine's top ten artists of the 2000s in ''Wizard'' #219. Ranked #2 on the list, article writer Mark Allen Haverty noted of Bagley, "no other artist came close to the number of comics Bagley sold n the 2000s nor the number of Top 20 comics he was a part of."

DC Comics

In 2008, Bagley signed an exclusive three-year contract with

. His first assignment as a DC exclusive, the ''

'' weekly series written by

featured

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

, and

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, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as bein ...

. Bagley drew four issues of ''

'', written by Judd Winick. This was in the post-'' Battle for the Cowl'' world, with

Dick Grayson Richard John "Dick" Grayson is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman and Teen Titans. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, he first appeared in ''Detective Comics ...

having taken over as the Dark Knight. Bagley then teamed with writer James Robinson on ''

''. Bagley drew most of issues #38–53.

Return to Marvel

In 2011, Bagley left DC and returned to Marvel and ''Ultimate Spider-Man''. He reunited with writer Brian Michael Bendis and drew the "

Death of Spider-Man Featured here is a chronological list of story arcs in the comic book series ''Ultimate Spider-Man'', created by Brian Michael Bendis and Bill Jemas, and drawn by Mark Bagley until Stuart Immonen replaced him. ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a teenag ...

" arc in issues #156–160. As he started the Ultimate imprint alongside Bendis, he was also called for ''

Cataclysm Cataclysm is derived from the Greek (), 'down, against', and (), 'wash over, surge'. It may refer to: Common meanings *Generally, any large-scale disaster *Deluge (mythology) *Doomsday event, see hypothetical risks to civilization, humans, and ...

'', '' Ultimate End'' (which ended the imprint) and the last pages of ''

Spider-Men ''Spider-Men'' is a five-issue, 2012 superhero comic book miniseries published by Marvel Comics, featuring Peter Parker, the original Spider-Man, and Miles Morales, the second and current Ultimate Marvel version of Spider-Man, who appear together i ...

II'' (which set up its return). Bagley and Bendis teamed for a creator-owned series, ''

Brilliant Brilliant may refer to: Music * ''Brilliant'' (album), a 2012 album by Ultravox *Brilliant (band), a British pop/rock group active in the 1980s * "Brilliant" (song), a song by D'espairsRay *Brilliant Classics, Dutch classical music record label * ...

'', which was published through Marvel's

Icon Comics Icon Comics is an imprint of Marvel Comics for creator-owned titles, designed to keep select "A-list" creators producing for Marvel rather than seeing them take creator-owned work to other publishers. History It was launched in 2004 with Mic ...

Imprint. It has similarities to

Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer and television producer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series '' The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written e ...

's own Icon comic, '' Kick-Ass'', as it explores the idea of superheroes existing in the real world, however unlike ''Kick-Ass'', the characters have actual super-powers. Brian Michael Bendis and Bagley worked on '' Avengers Assemble'', an Avengers title produced concurrently with ''Brilliant''. To differentiate between other ''Avengers'' titles, ''Assemble'' consisted of the roster present in the '' Avengers'' film, but set in present Marvel continuity. As part of the Marvel NOW! initiative, Bagley and writer

Matt Fraction Matt Fritchman (born December 1, 1975), better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an Eisner Award-winning American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of '' The Invincible Iron Man'', '' The Immortal Iron Fist'', ''Uncanny X ...

relaunched the ''

'' series in 2012. Bagley and

Mark Waid Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', '' Fantastic Four'' and ''Da ...

collaborated on a ''

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

'' series in 2014. In late 2017, Bagley made a return to Venom with issue #155, "Lethal Protector", written by Mike Costa. This brief return lasted only four issues.

Art quirks

According to Bagley, drawing crowd scenes are his "weak point", because he becomes worn out on them, and finds them difficult to render in a timely fashion. He dislikes drawing

Personal life

Bagley and his wife Pattie have a daughter, Angie.

Bibliography

DC Comics

*''

'' #688–691 (2009) *''DCU Halloween Special '09'' #1 (2009) *''

'' vol. 2 #38–48, 50–53 (2009–2011) *'' Justice League: Cry for Justice'' #2 (

Atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, a ...

backup feature) (2009) *''Justice Society of America'' #41–42 (2010) *'' Power Company

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sa ...

'' #1 (2002) *'' Spider-Man and Batman: Disordered Minds'' #1 ( intercompany crossover) (1995) *'' Superboy'' vol. 4 #77 (2000) *'' Superman 80-Page Giant'' #3 (2000) *''

'' #1–52 (2008–2009)

Marvel Comics

*''All-New X-Men'' vol. 2 #1–19 (2015–2017) *'' Alpha Flight'' #86 (1990) *'' The Amazing Scarlet Spider'' #1–2 (1995) *''

'' #345, 351–358, 361–365, 368–375, 378–404, 407–415, 789 (1991–1996, 2017) *''The Amazing Spider-Man'' vol. 5 #45, 48–49, 53–54, 56–57, 60, 64, 66–69, 74 (2020–2021) *''The Amazing Spider-Man Annual'' #22–23 (1988–1989) *'' Avengers Annual'' #18 (1989) *'' Avengers Assemble'' #1–8 (2012) *''Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast'' #1–3 (2000) *'' Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider'' #1–5 (2017) *''

'' #1–5 (2011–2012) *''

'' #366–369, 371–383, 385, ''Annual'' #9 (1990–1991) *''Captain America/ Citizen V '98'' #1 (1999) *'' Cataclysm: The Ultimates' Last Stand'' (2013) *''

Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superhero ...

'' #283, ''Annual'' #5 (1989–1990) *''

'' #351 (1991) *''Fantastic Four'' vol. 3 #51–54 (2002) *''Fantastic Four'' vol. 4 #1–13, #5AU (2013) *'' Fear Itself: The Fearless'' #1–12 (2011–2012) *'' Hawkeye: Earth's Mightiest Marksman'' #1 (1998) *''Heroes Reborn: Young Allies'' #1 (2000) *''

'' vol. 3 #1–16, Annual #1 (2014–2015) *'' Hulk: The Official Movie Adaptation'' #1 (2003) *''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The cha ...

'' vol. 3 #21 (1999) *''Iron Man Annual'' #10 (1989) *''Marc Spector:

Moon Knight Moon Knight is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in '' Werewolf by Night'' #32 (August 1975). The son of a r ...

'' #25 (1991) *''

Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' was an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics originally from 1988 to 1995. It returned for a second volume in 2007–2008, and a third volume that started in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume ...

'' #43, 97, 124 (1990–1993) *''

The Mighty Avengers ''The Mighty Avengers'' is a comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics. Originally written by Brian Michael Bendis, also the writer of '' New Avengers'', the title first featured an officially sanctioned Avengers team of registered ...

'' #7–11 (2008) *''Moment of Silence'' #1 (2002) *''

New Mutants The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teenaged junior class at the Xavier Institute, subs ...

Annual'' #5 (1989) *'' The New Warriors'' #1–25, ''Annual'' #1 (1990–1992) *'' Night Thrasher'' #1 (1993) *'' Nightmask'' #9–10, 12 (1987) *'' Psi-Force'' #20, 24 (1988) *'' The Pulse'' #1–5 (2004) *'' Punisher Annual'' #2 (1989) *'' Quicksilver'' #3 (1998) *'' RoboCop 2'' #1 (movie adaptation) (1990) *'' Silver Surfer Annual'' #2 (1989) *''

The Spectacular Spider-Man ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics. Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', Marvel felt the character could support ...

Annual'' #8–9 (1988–1989) *''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Si ...

'' #26 (1992) *'' Spider-Man Unlimited'' #1–2 (1993) *'' Stan Lee Meets Doctor Strange'' #1 (2006) *'' Star Brand'' #10 (1987) *'' Star Trek: Mirror Mirror'' #1 (1997) *'' Strikeforce: Morituri'' #23, 26–30 (1988–1989) *''Strikeforce Morituri: Electric Undertow'' #1–5 (1989–1990) *''Tales of the Marvel Universe'' #1 (1997) *'' Thor Annual'' #14 (1989) *''

'' #1–6, 8–44, 46–48, 50–51, 59, 66, 68, 72, 74, #0, Annual 1997 and 2000 (1997–2003) *''Ultimate End'' #1–5 (2015) *''

Ultimate Iron Man ''Ultimate Iron Man'' is the name of two comic book miniseries written by Orson Scott Card and published by Marvel Comics. The stories tell the origins of the Ultimate Marvel version of Iron Man, who appears in '' The Ultimates''. Publication h ...

'' #5 (with

Andy Kubert Andrew Kubert (; born February 27, 1962) is an American comics artist, letterer and writer. He is the son of Joe Kubert and brother of Adam Kubert, both of whom are also artists, and the uncle of comics editor Katie Kubert. He is a graduate of an ...

) (2006) *'' Ultimate Spider-Man'' #1–111, 156–160, ''Super Special'' #1 (2000–2011) *'' Ultimate Comics Fallout'' #1, 6 (2011) *''

Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the X- ...

'' #488 (2007) *'' Venom: Lethal Protector'' #1–3 (1993) *'' Venom Super Special'' #1 (1995) *''

'' vol. 3 #155–158 (2017) *''

'' vol. 4 #21–25, 35 (2020–2021) *'' Visionaries'' #1–6 (1987–1988) *''

Web of Spider-Man ''Web of Spider-Man'' is the name of two different monthly comic book series starring Spider-Man that have been published by Marvel Comics since 1985, the first volume of which ran for 129 issues between 1985 and 1995, and the second of which ran ...

'' #51, 53, ''Annual'' #5 (1989) *'' West Coast Avengers Annual'' #4 (1989) *'' What If...?'' vol. 2 #4 (1989) *''

X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003) ...

'' vol. 2 #21 (2007) *''X-Factor Annual'' #4 (1989) *''X-Men Annual'' #13 (1989)

References

External links

*
Mark Bagley
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators

Mark Bagley on Marvel.com

Mark Bagley Image Gallery at Comic Art Community
*
Interview on Comic Geek Speak Podcast (October 2006)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagley, Mark 1957 births American comics artists Living people Marvel Comics people United States Army soldiers Ringling College of Art and Design alumni