Brian Clevinger (born May 7, 1978) is an American writer best known as the author of the
webcomic
Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...
''
8-Bit Theater'' and the
Eisner-nominated print comic ''
Atomic Robo''. He is also the author of the self-published novel ''Nuklear Age''.
Career
Webcomics
Clevinger's webcomic, ''
8-Bit Theater'', which is hosted on his site Nuklear Power, is very loosely based on the video game ''
Final Fantasy I'' and tells the story of four would-be fantasy heroes, known as the Light Warriors, who set out to save the world from the embodiment of
Chaos
Chaos or CHAOS may refer to:
Science, technology, and astronomy
* '' Chaos: Making a New Science'', a 1987 book by James Gleick
* Chaos (company), a Bulgarian rendering and simulation software company
* ''Chaos'' (genus), a genus of amoebae
* ...
, but are conflicted over their own stupidity and malice. The comic was created using
8-bit
In computer architecture, 8-bit integers or other data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers or data bu ...
graphic sprites taken primarily from the Final Fantasy NES games, or created by either Clevinger himself or Kevin Sigmund. Spanning 1225 episodes, it ran from March 2, 2001, to June 1, 2010.
In addition to 8-Bit Theater, Clevinger is the creator of two mini-comics: ''Dynasty Memory'', created in 2002 as a parody of the ''
Dynasty Warriors
is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel of ...
'' series, and ''Field of Battle'', created in August 2005 as a general parody of
first-person shooter
A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...
games, drawing most of its influence from ''
Battlefield 2
''Battlefield 2'' is a 2005 first-person shooter game developed by Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows. It was released in June 2005 as the third game in the ''Battlefield'' franchise.
Players fight ...
''.
In 2009, Clevinger started two other webcomics on Nuklear Power. ''Warbot in Accounting'', co-written with artist Zack Finfrock, is about a war machine's struggles with human daily life in a
white collar job. ''How I Killed Your Master'', "a
kung fu movie
Kung fu film () is a subgenre of martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema set in the contemporary period and featuring realistic martial arts. It lacks the fantasy elements seen in ''wuxia'', a related martial arts genre that uses historical ...
, but a comic", is co-written with John Wood and drawn by Matt Speroni.
Print
Atomic Robo, drawn by Scott Wegener, began as a six-issue
limited series
In the field of comic books, and particularly in the United States, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined ...
published by
Red 5 Comics starting in October 2007. It was nominated in the "Best Limited Series" category of the 2008
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 ...
s,
[2008 Eisner Award Nominees Named](_blank)
(press release), Newsarama
''Newsarama'' is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website ''GamesRadar+'', also owned by Future US.
Hi ...
, April 14, 2008 won by ''
The Umbrella Academy
''The Umbrella Academy'' is an Absurdist fiction, absurdist Superhero fiction, superhero comic book series created by writer Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Bá. It follows a dysfunctional family of adopted superhero siblings with bizarre powers a ...
''.
[The 2008 Eisner Awards: 2008 Eisner Award Winners](_blank)
Comic-Con
A comic book convention or comic con is a fan convention emphasizing comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book Fan (person), fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events h ...
. Accessed September 7, 2008
Archived
September 7, 2008. Colorist
Ronda Pattison was also nominated in the "Best Coloring" category subsequently won by
Dave Stewart.
Clevinger revamped the saga of ''
The Infinity Gauntlet
''The Infinity Gauntlet'' is an American comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. In addition to an eponymous, six-issue limited series (comics), limited series written by Jim Starlin and Penciller, pencilled by George Pérez and Ron ...
'' 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 ...
' all-ages series ''
Marvel Adventures
''Marvel Adventures'', formerly ''Marvel Age'', was an imprint of Marvel Comics intended for younger audiences, including small children. Unlike the standard comics published by Marvel, which often take place in story arcs spanning several issues ...
''.
Clevinger contributed in writing of two issues of ''
World War Hulks: Wolverine vs. Captain America'', which were released in the summer of 2010.
World War Hulks
at Comic Vine
The self-published novel ''Nuklear Age'' is largely an extended parody of comic books. The book recounts the adventures of Nuklear Man and his sidekick, Atomik Lad, as they fight against rogue military weapons, highly evolved civilizations, the trials of everyday life, an angst-filled over-villain of undeniable power, the ever exotic Dr. Menace, and their own impulses. A sequel called Atomik Age was planned but never completed.
Style
Clevinger has stated that " isfavorite comics are the ones where the jokes are on the reader."
Personal life
Michael J. Novosel, Clevinger's grandfather, was a United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
helicopter pilot and recipient of the Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
.
References
;General sources
* ''Nuklear Age'' (December 1, 2004); Brian Clevinger, iUniverse
iUniverse, founded in October 1999, is an American self-publishing company based in Bloomington, Indiana.Kevin Abourezk"iUniverse to move to Indiana" incoln Journal Star, January 22, 2008 It has been owned by Author Solutions since 2008 (which ...
ComiXology podcast interview
with Clevinger and Scott Wegener
''Nerdy Show'' podcast interview
with Clevinger
External links
Brian Clevinger on Twitter
Nuklear Power website
Atomic-Robo website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clevinger, Brian
1978 births
Living people
Place of birth missing (living people)
American webcomic creators
American comics writers
American people of Croatian descent