Alex Saviuk (; born August 17, 1952) 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 ...

primarily known for his work on the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

character

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

Early life

Alex Saviuk grew up on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, New York, graduating from Floral Park Memorial High School in 1970. He attended the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

, where he studied with (among others)

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...

, graduating in 1974 with a degree in Illustration. Saviuk also studied biology at

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

and York College.

Career

Saviuk's professional career began in 1977 at

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, where he illustrated such titles as ''

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, ...

'', ''

The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...

'', and ''

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

''. Saviuk's first work for DC was a one-page story titled "The Victim!" in ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror comics, horror, fantasy comics, fantasy, and mystery fiction, mystery comics anthology, comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets (DC Comi ...

'' #255 (Nov.-Dec. 1977). His first full work for the company, ''Green Lantern'' #100 (Jan. 1978), introduced an updated version of the Air Wave character. Saviuk drew ''The Flash'' #275 (July 1979) wherein the title character's wife, Iris West Allen was killed. In the early 1980s, Saviuk was the regular backup feature artist on ''

Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...

'', where he drew the exploits of Air Wave,

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

, and the

Atom Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...

in collaboration with writer

Bob Rozakis Robert "Bob" Rozakis (; born April 4, 1951) is an American comic book writer and editor known mainly for his work in the 1970s and 1980s at DC Comics, as the writer of '' 'Mazing Man'' and in his capacity as DC's "Answer Man". Career Bob Rozakis ...

. Rozakis stated in a 2014 interview that "I don't recall how we ended up with the three of them. It may have simply been that all three had names that began with 'A' and it was a backup in ''Action Comics''". Saviuk frequently drew the "Whatever Happened to...?" backup feature in ''

DC Comics Presents ''DC Comics Presents'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 which ran for 97 issues and four ''Annual''s. It featured team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters in the DC Universe. A recurring bac ...

''. He and writer E. Nelson Bridwell introduced the

Global Guardians The Global Guardians is a team of DC Comics superheroes whose members hail from countries around the world. The concept originated in the ''Super Friends'' Saturday morning cartoon, which aired after the comics stories in ''Super Friends'' #7-9, ...

in ''DC Comics Presents'' #46 (June 1982). In 1986, Saviuk moved to

, where he eventually established himself as a key

artist with a seven-year run on ''

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 ...

'' (issues #35–116). It was the longest run of a single artist on that series. In 1989, he drew ''The Amazing Spider-Man: Parallel Lives'' graphic novel. From 1994 to 1997, Saviuk worked on the series ''Spider-Man Adventures'' (later retitled ''The Adventures of Spider-Man''). Beginning in 1997, Saviuk drew ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...

'' Sunday newspaper comic strip, written by

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

and inked by Joe Sinnott. Starting in 2003, he inked the daily Spider-Man strip, pencilled by Lee's brother

Larry Lieber Lawrence D. Lieber (; born October 26, 1931) (Scroll down) is an American comic book writer and artist best known as co-creator of the Marvel Comics superheroes Iron Man, Thor, and Ant-Man. He is also known for his long stint both writing and d ...

. After Lieber retired from the daily strip in September 2018, Saviuk took over as penciller as well and stayed on until the cancellation of the strip in March 2019. He created variant covers for ''Symbiote Spider-Man'' #1–5 (2019). In 1997–1998, he spent a one-year stint at Topps Comics drawing ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'' until the end of its run. For writer and filmmaker Robert Tinnell, Saviuk (alternating with Ed Piskor) did the artwork for the comic strip ''Feast of the Seven Fishes'', first published online and, in 2005, as a collected print edition which has been nominated for an

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

as "Best Graphic Album - Reprint" in 2006. In 2018, Tinnell adapted it for an eponymous movie. In 2004, Alex Saviuk returned to

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The char ...

, a character he had already drawn in ''

Defenders of the Earth ''Defenders of the Earth'' is an American animated television series produced in 1986, featuring characters from three comic strips distributed by King Features Syndicate—Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, and Mandrake's assistan ...

'' in 1987, this time for European publisher Egmont. He has drawn numerous ''Fantomen'' (''

'') comics since then. From 2018 to 2019, he pencilled and inked the first and fourth issue of the new anthology series ''The Phantom Strikes''. Some of the characters Saviuk has co-created include Arkiss Chummuck and Malet Dasim of the

Green Lantern Corps The Green Lantern Corps is a intergalactic Peacekeeping, peace keeping agency appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residing on the plan ...

(with Bob Toomey),

Sunburst A sunburst is a design or figure commonly used in architectural ornaments and design patterns and possibly pattern books. It consists of rays or "beams" radiating out from a central disk in the manner of sunbeams. Sometimes part of a sunbur ...

(with Paul Kupperberg), Olympian (with E. Nelson Bridwell),

Tombstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

(with

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...

), Nightwatch and the New Enforcers (both with

Terry Kavanagh Terrence "Terry" Kavanagh ( ) is an American comic book editor and writer. Career Kavanagh was a Marvel Comics editor from 1985 to 1997. Titles he edited during that time included ''Marvel Comics Presents'' and ''Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L ...

). In addition to comics, Saviuk does storyboards for advertising agencies and, occasionally, film and animation studios. Among the films he storyboarded are '' Hoot'' and ''

Never Back Down ''Never Back Down'' is a 2008 American drama film directed by Jeff Wadlow and starring Sean Faris and Cam Gigandet. It tells the story of a frustrated and conflicted teenager who arrives at a new high school and discovers an underground fight ...

''. Saviuk lives in Florida with his wife."Bullpen Bulletins," Marvel Comics cover-dated December 1988. They have two children.

Bibliography

DC Comics

* ''

'' #487–489, 511, 515–516, 521–540, 548–549, 559–560, 563–564, 567, 571, 573, 582 (1978–1986) * '' Batman and the Outsiders Annual'' #1 (1984) * ''

Cancelled Comic Cavalcade The "DC Explosion" and "DC Implosion" were two events in 1978 – the first an official marketing campaign, the second a sardonic reference to it – in which American comics company DC Comics expanded their roster of publications, then abruptly cu ...

'' #2 (1978) * ''

'' #29–33, 37–40, 46, 51, 55, 57, 63–64, 70, 72, 74, 89, 93 (1981–1986) * '' DC Special Series'' #11 (1978) * ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...

'' #489–491 (1980) * ''

'' #265–267, 273–279, 325 (1978–1983) * ''

'' #100–105, 107, 111–116, 118–119, 130–132 (1978–1980) * ''

'' #255, 279, 287 (1977–1980) * '' New Adventures of Superboy'' #28, 45–47 (1982–1983) * ''Secret Origin of

Hawkman Hawkman is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1, published by All-American ...

'' (minicomic) (1980) * ''

'' #360–361, 364, 368, 398, 403, 405–406 (1981–1985) * ''Superman Annual'' #12 (1986) * '' The Superman Family'' #195, 199–205 (1979–1981) * '' Unknown Soldier'' #216 (1978) * ''

Vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...

'' #16 (1985) * ''Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' #1–2, 4, 8, 18, 20 (1985–1986) * ''

World's Finest Comics ''World's Finest Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...

'' #261, 267–270, 272–275, 277, 279–281 (1980–1982)

Marvel Comics

* '' Adventures of Spider-Man'' #1–4, 7–12 (1996–1997) * ''

'' #292, 296–297 (1987–1988) * ''The Amazing Spider-Man and the New Mutants'' oneshot (promo) (1990) * ''The Amazing Spider-Man Exclusive Collectors' Edition'' #1 (promo) (1980) * ''The Amazing Spider-Man NACME Series'' #1–2 (promo) (1990–1991) * ''The Amazing Spider-Man: Parallel Lives'' graphic novel (1989) * ''The Amazing Spider-Man: Skating on Thin Ice'' #1 (promo) (1990) * '' Billy the Marlin'' #1 (promo) (1999) * ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

Meets the Asthma Monster'' #1 (promo) (1988) * '' Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos'' #4 (1987) * ''

'' #1–4 (1987) * ''

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

'' #211 (1986) * '' Marvel Adventures'' #13 (1998) * ''Marvel Creators' Choice

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

'' #1 (promo) (1993) * ''

Nightmask Nightmask is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He was created by writer Archie Goodwin, and first appeared in ''Nightmask'' #1 (November 1986), a series which was published under Marvel's New Uni ...

'' #3 (1987) * ''Pro Action Magazine: The Amazing Spider-Man'' #1 (promo) (1994) * ''

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe The ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' is an encyclopedic Guide book, guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications. The original 15-volume series was published in comic book format in 1982, followed b ...

Deluxe Edition'' #10 (1986) * ''

Sledge Hammer! ''Sledge Hammer!'' is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from September 23, 1986, to February 12, 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Insp ...

'' #1–2 (1988) * '' Spider-Man Adventures'' #1–6, 8–15 (1994–1995) * ''Spider-Man Interactive Comic Book'' oneshot (promo) (1996) * ''Spider-Man: The Scorpion Sanction'' oneshot (promo) (1994) * ''

Star Brand The Star Brand is the name of a number of similar objects of power in the world of the Marvel Comics. The name "Star Brand" is also often adopted by the wielders of these objects. Three of these Star Brands have been prominently featured in serie ...

'' #3 (1986) * ''

'' #35–36, 38–45, 47–48, 50, 54–70, 73–80, 84–116, ''Annual'' #4, 10 (1988–1994) * ''

What The--?! ''What The--?!'' is a Marvel Comics comic book series self-parodying the Marvel Universe as well as characters from the DC Comics Universe. Similar in vein to the 1960s series '' Not Brand Echh'', it was billed as "The Marvel mag of mirth and mayh ...

'' #3 (1988)

Other publishers

* '' The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist'' #6 (inker) (2005) * '' Fantomen'' (Egmont) #19/2004, #11/2005, #21/2006, #2–3/2013, #10–11/2013, #22–23/2013, #6–7/2014, #21/2014, #8/2015, #16/2015, #17/2015, #1/2016, #21/2016, #4/2017, #16/2017, #9/2018, #24/2018 * ''Feast of the Seven Fishes: The Collected Comic Strip'' (2005) * ''

: Generations'' #9 (2010) * ''

Strikes'' #1, 4 (2018–2019) * '' Stan Lee's Mighty 7'' #1–3 (2012) * '' The Wicked West: Abomination and Other Tales'' (2004) * ''

'' #30–41 (1997–1998)

Newspaper comic strips