Ande Parks (born October 1, 1964) is an American professional comic book artist, known for his work as an

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. After the penciller creates a drawing with pencil, the inker interprets this drawing by outlining and embellishing ...

and writer in the industry. His best known work has come from his stint with fellow artist Phil Hester on

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 ...

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' No. 73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), th ...

series from 2001 to 2004, and a story writer to the movie, ''

Extraction Extraction may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * Comedo extraction, a method of acne treatment * Dental extraction, the surgical removal of a tooth from the mouth Computing and information science * Data extraction, the ...

'' (based on his graphic novel, ''Ciudad''). In addition to ''Ciudad'', Ande has written the graphic novels ''Union Station'' and ''Capote in Kansas'' by

Oni Press Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon, best known for publishing such series as '' Scott Pilgrim'' and ''Rick and Morty''. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's ...

. He grew up in the suburbs of

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

and lives in

Baldwin City, Kansas Baldwin City is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States, about south of Lawrence. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,826. The city is home to Baker University, the state's oldest four-year university. Histor ...

with his wife and two children.

Career

Parks began his professional career as an

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

with

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...

. He has inked the penciled artwork of such titles as ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

'', ''

Catwoman Catwoman is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, she debuted as "the Cat" in ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' #1 (spring 1940). She has become one of the superhero Batman' ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Daredevil'' and ''

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 ...

''. His artistic style has won him praise in the comic books industry, including an industry Harvey nomination as best inker. His idols and influences include

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a Creator ownership, creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and re ...

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book artist, comic book writer, and screenwriter known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'', for which he created the character Elektra, and ...

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...

, and

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Ear ...

. Parks has stated in at least one on-line interview that he inks with Hunt 102 and Brause 511 pens and a Raphael #3 brush. For characters from the comic books, Parks has acknowledged he has most enjoyed

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

and

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 ...

as his favorite characters.

Comics

Ande is probably best known for his work on the relaunched Green Arrow comic book series beginning in 2001, which he inked over his frequent collaborator Phil Hester. On Green Arrow, Hester and Parks worked with writers

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...

Brad Meltzer Brad Meltzer (born April 1, 1970) is an Americans, American novelist, non-fiction writer, TV show creator, and comic book author. His novels touch on the political thriller, legal thriller and conspiracy fiction genres, while he has also written ...

, and

Judd Winick Judd Winick (born February 12, 1970) is an American cartoonist, comic book writer and screenwriter, as well as a former reality television personality. He first gained fame for his stint on MTV's ''The Real World: San Francisco'' in 1994, before ...

over their approximate 40-issue run. The book has been collected into several volumes. The

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

called it one of the best books for young adults. Parks and Hester have also done work on DC Comics'

Nightwing Nightwing is a superhero alias used by multiple characters in American comic books published by DC Comics. The most prominent bearer is Dick Grayson, the original Robin, who adopts the Nightwing identity to assert his independence from Batman. ...

with writer

Devin Grayson Devin Kalile Grayson (born July 19, 1970) is an American writer of comic books and novels. Titles that she has written include ''Catwoman'', '' Gotham Knights'', '' The Titans'', the Vertigo series ''USER'', and ''Nightwing''. Early life Grayso ...

, allowing Parks to work within the

family of characters, and the new revamped ''

Ant-Man Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, his first appearance was in '' Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) as Dr. Henry ...

'' comic book for

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 ...

in 2006–2007. Continuing on with the

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Superhero teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardia ...

of characters, Parks co-plotted with

Ed Brubaker Ed Brubaker (; born November 17, 1966) is an American comic book writer, cartoonist and screenwriter who works primarily in the crime fiction genre. He began his career with the semi-autobiographical series '' Lowlife'' and a number of serials i ...

and wrote ''"Blood of the Tarantula"'' for a

Daredevil (Marvel Comics series) ''Daredevil'' is the name of several comic book titles featuring the superhero Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), Daredevil, the vigilante secret identity of blind attorney Matt Murdock, who gains superhuman senses as a result of an accident ...

one-shot in the spring of 2008. The book was illustrated by Chris Samnee. Also in 2008 he was teamed with writer

Jai Nitz Jai or JAI may refer to: Abbreviations and codes * Jaipur International Airport (IATA: JAI), in Jaipur, India * Java Advanced Imaging, an API for the Java platform * Jet Airways (ICAO: JAI), an Indian airline * Jewish Agency for Israel * John ...

and

penciller A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations. In the American comic book industry, the penciller is the first step ...

Phil Hester for a 6-part mini-series on the DC Comics western character

El Diablo (comics) El Diablo is a name shared by several characters appearing in media published by DC Comics: Lazarus Lane, Rafael Sandoval, and Chato Santana. Santana appears in the 2016 ''Suicide Squad'' film, set in the DC Extended Universe. Publication histo ...

. He has worked as a writer on the

Kato (The Green Hornet) Kato is a fictional character from ''The Green Hornet'' franchise. This character has appeared with the Green Hornet in radio, film, television, book and comic book versions. Kato is the Green Hornet's crime-fighting sidekick, and Britt Reid's m ...

comic book for the

Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded in 2004 by Nick Barrucci in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, known for publishing comic book adaptations of licensed feature film properties, such as ''Army of Darkness'', '' Terminator ...

publishing company based on the

Green Hornet The Green Hornet is a superhero created in 1936 by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell. Since his 1930s radio debut, the character has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of me ...

's sidekick. More recently Parks has written books for Dynamite involving the characters

Zorro Zorro ( or , Spanish for "fox") is a fictional character created in 1919 by American Pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo de Los Ángeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashin ...

and the

Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture. He first appeared in 1933 in a ...

. He also wrote the Lone Ranger comic book for Dynamite for several months.

Graphic novel writer

Although better known for his artwork, Ande is also a writer. He has contributed several articles in comic book trade magazines, such as ''Draw!'', geared towards critiques of artwork and professional tips for inkers. Parks' combined his inking style with his fondness for writing when he created the superhero spoof ''Uncle Slam & Fire Dog'' for Action Planet Comics, based to a certain extent on his love of Marvel Comics'

. Uncle Slam appeared in three issues of the Action Planet anthology book series, and in two issues of his own book in the early- to mid-1990s. The character also appeared in a completely on-line comic book for Komicwerks. A new Uncle Slam book, "''Uncle Slam Fights Back''", was released in the summer of 2008. For graphic novels, he has often turned to his neighboring region in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

as source material for his writing projects. To date Parks has steered towards writing what is best classified as

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

. He has credited

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...

's ''

From Hell ''From Hell'' is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1998. The full collection was published in 1999 by Top Shelf Productions. Set during the Whitechapel murders of ...

'' as being a large influence in his decision to pursue writing in the historical fiction genre. In 2003,

published Park's first original graphic novel, ''Union Station''. The book dealt with the events surrounding the Kansas City massacre, which took place in 1933 in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, and helped

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American attorney and law enforcement administrator who served as the fifth and final director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) and the first director of the Federal Bureau o ...

make the F.B.I. a powerful organization in law enforcement and government for decades to come.

Eduardo Barreto Luis Eduardo Barreto Ferreyra (March 1, 1954 – December 15, 2011) was a Uruguayan artist who worked in the comic book and comic strip industries including several years of prominent work for DC Comics. All of his children are artists. Two o ...

provided the artwork, done in black-&-white to give the piece more of a Depression-era period look. In 2005 Parks returned to the genre of historical fiction with ''Capote In Kansas'', drawn by

Chris Samnee Chris Samnee is an American comic book artist. He received the 2011 Harvey Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his work on the '' Thor: The Mighty Avenger'', and won a 2013 Eisner Award for Best Penciller/Inker for his work on '' The Rocketeer: ...

. The book details the time

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics ...

spent in Kansas while he worked on his literary masterpiece, ''

In Cold Blood ''In Cold Blood'' is a non-fiction novel by the American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966. It details the 1959 Clutter family murders in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote learned of the quadruple murder bef ...

''. Parks wrote the graphic novel ''Ciudad'' which was published in 2014. The film ''

'' (2020) is based on ''Ciudad''.

Graphic novels

Website

In addition to his activ
official website
where artwork is available for purchase, Ande maintains a blog a
Ande Parks: Shouting from the Basement

References

External links

Ande Parks Official WebsiteAnde Parks , Search Results , Comics Podcast NetworkBookslut , Capote in Kansas: An Interview with Ande ParksCon Men: Interview with Ande Parks (Lone Ranger Writer)Ande Parks- Shouting from the Basement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Ande 1964 births Living people American comics writers People from Baldwin City, Kansas