Chris Bachalo (; born August 23, 1965) is a Canadian

comic book 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 ...

illustrator known for his quirky, cartoon-like style. He became well known for stints 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 ...

' ''

Shade, the Changing Man Shade, the Changing Man is a comic book character created by Steve Ditko for DC Comics in 1977. The character was Shade, the Changing Man (Vertigo), later adapted by Peter Milligan and Chris Bachalo in one of the first Vertigo Comics, Vertigo ...

'' and Neil Gaiman's two

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

series. Chris has also illustrated several of

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 ...

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 ...

-related series, including ''

Generation X Generation X (often shortened to Gen X) is the Demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth years and the ...

'' (which he co-created), ''

'', ''

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 List of X-Men comics, X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of super ...

,'' and ''

Ultimate X-Men ''Ultimate X-Men'' is a superhero comic book series, which was published by Marvel Comics, from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The ...

''. Beginning in April 2000 Chris illustrated his

creator-owned In the United States, creator ownership in comics is an arrangement in which the comic book creator retains full ownership of the material, regardless of whether the work is self-publishing, self-published or published by a corporate publisher. I ...

series ''

Steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and Applied arts, aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century Industrial Revolution, industrial steam engine, steam-powered machinery. Steampun ...

.''

Biography

Early life

Bachalo was born in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

but was raised in Southern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He has told interviewers that, as a child, he wanted to be a carpenter until he discovered he was allergic to dust. He attended the

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, where he majored in graphic art and illustrated a few

underground comics Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

DC

After graduation, Bachalo sought work in the mainstream comic book industry. His first published assignment was '' The Sandman'' #12 (Jan. 1990), part of the "

Doll's House A dollhouse or doll's house is a toy house made in scale model, miniature. Since the early 20th century dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children, but their collection and crafting is also a hobby for many adults. English-speakers in ...

" story arc, for DC Comics. Although before working on that issue, DC had already hired him as the regular artist for ''

,'' an older property revived as an adult-oriented series by writer

Peter Milligan Peter Milligan (born 24 June 1961) is a British comic book writer who has written extensively for both British and American comic book industries. In the UK, Milligan has contributed to numerous anthology titles including '' 2000 AD'', ''Revol ...

. Bachalo's early work shows strong influence from

Sam Kieth Sam Kieth (born January 11, 1963) is an American comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''The Maxx'' and '' Zero Girl''. Career Comics Kieth's first published work was "a story in the back of a Comico comic" when he was "about ...

Bill Sienkiewicz Boleslav William Felix Robert Sienkiewicz ( ; ; born May 3, 1958) is an American artist known for his work in comic books—particularly for Marvel Comics' ''The New Mutants (comic book), The New Mutants'', ''Moon Knight,'' and ''Elektra: Assassi ...

and Michael Golden. As his style developed, however, Bachalo's work became more idiosyncratic. His early 1990s style is

minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

with strong, thick lines, quirky characters and little concern for realism. Bachalo did not shy away from detailed landscapes but showed a rare penchant for pages with many small panels. In 1993, writer

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

selected Bachalo for the Sandman

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

'' Death: The High Cost of Living,'' starring the Sandman's older sister. At the time, ''Sandman'' was one of the most popular and acclaimed series in the industry and the miniseries helped boost Bachalo's visibility. The creative pair also reunited for '' Death: The Time of Your Life'' in 1996. After working at Marvel (below), Bachalo briefly returned to DC in 1999 for '' The Witching Hour'' miniseries with writer

Jeph Loeb Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III () is an American film and television writer, producer and comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series ''Smallville (TV series), Smallville'' and ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'', writer for the films ''C ...

for

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

Marvel Comics

While at DC Comics, Bachalo illustrated the first issue of ''

X-Men Unlimited ''X-Men Unlimited'' is the name of several comic book titles published by Marvel Comics. An anthology title, it features stories that focus less on the main continuity and more on peripheral events occurring with the X-Men characters. The first t ...

'', which Marvel published as an anthology X-Men comic book. Based on the success and fanfare from ''X-Men Unlimited'' #1, in 1994, Bachalo ended his stint on ''Shade'' and began working for Marvel Comics. He then illustrated the first three issues of ''

Ghost Rider 2099 ''Ghost Rider 2099'' is a comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics, under the Marvel 2099 imprint, from 1994 to 1996. The series is set in the year 2099, in a dystopian possible future of the Marvel Universe, and features Kenshiro "Ze ...

,'' one of in a line of series reinventing popular Marvel characters in the year 2099. However, he was soon assigned to create a new junior team of X-Men with ''Uncanny X-Men'' writer

Scott Lobdell Scott Lobdell (; born 1960) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter known for his work on numerous X-Men series for Marvel Comics in the 1990s, various work for DC Comics in the 2010s, namely '' Red Hood and the Outlaws, Teen Titans,'' ...

. The group Lobdell and Bachalo created,

, was purposely bizarre and idiosyncratic because the two wanted to avoid the recent trend in superhero teams, where each team member represented a recognizable

stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a type of character in a narrative (e.g. a novel, play, television show, or film) whom audiences recognize across many narratives or as part of a storytelling tradition or convention. Th ...

. ''Generation X'' became a hit with the series'

namesake A namesake is a person, place, or thing bearing the name of another. Most commonly, it refers to an individual who is purposely named after another (e.g. John F. Kennedy Jr would be the namesake of John F. Kennedy). In common parlance, it may ...

due to Lobdell's realistically cynical and emotionally immature teen characters and Bachalo's atypical artwork. Bachalo illustrated the series through much of its first three years, taking a break in late 1995 and early 1996 to illustrate the second Death miniseries, '' Death: The Time of Your Life.'' During his time on ''Generation X,'' Bachalo's artwork underwent a change. Heavily influenced by

Joe Madureira Joe Madureira (; born December 1974), often called Joe Mad,Smith, Andrew (May 3, 2002). "Canceled Comics Cavalcade Catch-up". ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1485. p. 38 is an American comic book artist and game developer, best known for his work on ''D ...

, Bachalo's characters became more cartoony and

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

-like, with large eyes, heads and hands. He gravitated towards extremes in

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

, drawing characters that were previously portrayed as bulky, short, or thin as even more so. In 1997, Bachalo left ''Generation X'' for ''Uncanny X-Men,'' arguably the comic book industry's most popular title, remaining until the end of 1998.

Steampunk

In 2000, Bachalo launched ''

,'' a comic book series inspired by the genre of fiction of the same name, which emulates early

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and in an

alternate Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an alternative to mainstream superh ...

version of the early 1900s. The series is written by Joe Kelly and is part of Image Comics' imprint for creator-owned series,

Cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious situation, facing a difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction or bef ...

. The series was criticized for Bachalo's overly detailed pencils, small panels and muddy dark coloring, which sometimes made it difficult to discern what was happening. Similarly, Joe Kelly's writing was not as straightforward as a mass audience typically preferred. Contrarily, the book's supporters praised it for those same reasons, as well as for the sheer imagination of the characters and story. The series, intended to be 25 issues, ended prematurely after the second story arc in issue #12. It is currently available in two reprinted trade paperbacks, ''Steampunk: Manimatron'' () and ''Steampunk: Drama Obscura'' (). When Richard Friend inks Chris Bachalo's pencils, the piece is signed "Chrisendo", a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of the names "Chris", "Friend", and "Bachalo".

Back with Marvel

In the early 2000s, Bachalo completed occasional work on various X-Men series, including ''

'', ''Ultimate War'',

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...

's '' New X-Men'' (collected in ''New X-Men'' vol. 5: ''Assault on Weapon Plus'') and the

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the ''

Age of Apocalypse "Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 comic book crossover storyline mostly published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The ''Age of Apocalypse'' briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616 and had ramifications in the main Marvel Comic ...

'' crossover. Bachalo was also the artist on ''

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 ...

'' for 6 issues (#21–26, running December 2003–May 2004

cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

s) pencilling a divisive run written by

Robert Morales Robert Morales (February 3, 1958 – April 18, 2013) was an American comic book writer, editor, and journalist known for creating '' Truth: Red, White & Black'', which featured his original character Isaiah Bradley. In addition to creating comics ...

. In an attempt to humanize Steve Rogers, the pair managed to split fans' opinions fairly resoundingly, with both creators leaving the title — Morales ten issues short of his intended contract for the series. In 2005, he drew a cover for ''

Runaways Runaway, Runaways or Run Away may refer to: Engineering * Runaway reaction, a chemical reaction releasing more heat than what can be removed and becoming uncontrollable * Thermal runaway, self-increase of the reaction rate of an exothermic proce ...

''. From 2006 to 2008, Bachalo was the artist for the ''

'' title along with new writer Mike Carey after completing his final story arc for ''

'' (#472–474). He was often filled-in for by artist

Humberto Ramos Humberto Ramos (born 27 November 1970) is a Mexican comic book penciller, best known for his work on American comic books such as ''Impulse (comics), Impulse'', ''Runaways (comics), Runaways'', ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'', ''The Amazing Spider- ...

, however. Bachalo has also pencilled (and coloured) a number of cards for the '' Vs.'' collectible card game. These have been renditions of both Marvel and DC characters. On top of his continuing work for Marvel, Bachalo finished issue #7 of

Comicraft Comicraft is a company which provides graphic design and lettering services to various (primarily comic book) companies. History The company was founded by Richard Starkings in 1992. Starkings had been working for Marvel UK for five years, but ...

's ''

Elephantmen ''Elephantmen'' is an American ongoing monthly comic book published by Image Comics and written by Richard Starkings with art by Moritat and a number of other artists. Issue #1 was released in July 2006. Overview Some 200 years from now, the ...

'', an issue 4 years in the making. The issue was done entirely in double-page spreads and marks his reunion with ''Steampunk'' writer Joe Kelly. The issue's story, "Captain Stoneheart and the Truth Fairy" also represents Bachalo's first work outside Marvel and DC since his fill-in issue of Witchblade. Bachalo has also been one of the four artists who was originally part of the Spider-Man Relaunch. ''Brand New Day'', along with Phil Jimenez, Steve McNiven and Salvador Larroca. Starting with ''New Avengers'' #51, Bachalo provided variant covers for the creative team of

Brian Michael Bendis Brian Michael Bendis (; born August 18, 1967) is an Americans, American comic book writer and artist. Starting with crime fiction, crime and hardboiled, noir comics, Bendis eventually moved to mainstream superhero fiction, superhero work. While a ...

and

Billy Tan Billy Tan Mung Khoy, commonly known as Billy Tan, is a Malaysian comic book artist. Early life Billy Tan was born in Malaysia and moved to the United States when he was 18, in 1989 to study business at the University of Kentucky. He began working ...

for the "Who will be the next Sorcerer Supreme?" storyline. From 2011 to 2012, he teamed up for multiple issues with

Jason Aaron Jason Aaron (born January 28, 1973) is an American comic book writer, known for his creator-owned series '' Scalped'' and '' Southern Bastards'', as well as his work on Marvel series '' Ghost Rider'', ''Wolverine'', '' PunisherMAX'', ''Thor'', a ...

on his Wolverine and the X-Men. From 2013 to 2015 he returned to work with Bendis on Volume 3 of

. In 2016, he teamed up again with Jason Aaron on Dr. Strange's first solo title in 10 years, ''Way of the Weird''. Antonio Fabela is a regular colorist of Bachalo's work.

Bibliography

DC Comics

*'' Batman: Gotham Knights'' #26 (

Black and White Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

backup story, 2002) *'' Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight'' #64 (1994) *''

Just Imagine Just Imagine may refer to; * Just Imagine (film), 1930 science fiction musical film * Just Imagine..., 2001–2002 comic book line {{Disambiguation ...

Stan Lee with Chris Bachalo Creating Catwoman'' #1 (2002)

Vertigo

*'' Death: The High Cost of Living'' #1-3 (1993) *'' Death: The Time of Your Life'' #1 (full pencils), #2 (along with Mark Buckingham, 1996) *'' The Sandman'' #12 (1990) *''

'' #1-9, 11–13, 15–21, 23–26, 33–39, 42–45, 47, 49-50 (1990-1994) *'' The Witching Hour'' #1-3 (2000) *'' The Children's Crusade (comics)'' #1 (1993)

WildStorm

*''

'' #1-12 (2000-2002) *''Steampunk: Catechism'' #1 (2000)

Marvel Comics

*''

A+X An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...

'' #2 (writer/artist, 2013) *''

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 ...

'' #555-557, 575–576, 630-633 (2008-2010) *''The Amazing Spider-Man'' vol. 5 #14-15, 19.HU (2019) *''The Amazing Spider-Man: Extra!'' #1-2 (2008-2009) *''The Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle'' #1 (among other artists, 2019) *''

The Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

'' vol. 4 #13, 15 (2011) *''

'' vol. 4 #21-26 (2004) *'' Daredevil'' vol. 2 #65 (among other artists, 2004) *''

Dark Avengers ''Dark Avengers'' is a 2009–2013 American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is part of a series of titles that features various iterations of the superhero team the Avengers, with this version of the team – unbeknownst to the ...

Annual'' #1 (2010) *'' Dark Reign: The Sinister Spider-Man'' #1-4 (2009) *''

Deadpool Deadpool is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (December 1990). In his comic book appearances, Deadpool is ...

'' vol. 8 #1-4 (2019) *''

Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...

'' vol. 4 #1-10, 12–16, 18-20 (2015-2017) *'' Generation Next'' #1-4 (1995) *''

'' #1-6, 17–22, 25, 27–31, -1 (1994-1997) *''

'' #1-3 (1994) *''

The Incredible 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'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...

'' vol. 2 #400 (1992) *'' The New Avengers'' #51-52 (with

, 2009) *'' New X-Men'' #142-145 (2003) *''

Peter Parker, 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 ...

'' #308-309 (2018) *''

Spider-Man/Deadpool ''Spider-Man/Deadpool'' is a 50 issue comic book series published by Marvel Comics beginning in 2016. The title characters, Spider-Man and Deadpool, shared the focus of the book. The comic was originally launched by Joe Kelly and Ed McGuinness ...

'' #23-28 (2018) *''

Ultimate War ''Ultimate War'' is a comic book limited series produced by Marvel Comics featuring the Ultimates and the Ultimate X-Men. The series contains four books, released between December 8, 2002 and February 23, 2003. It was written by Scottish comics a ...

'' #1-4 (2003) *''

'' #18-19 (2002) *''

'' #349, 353–356, 358–360, 362–365, 464–468, 472, 600 (1997-1999, 2005–2006, 2015) *''Uncanny X-Men'' vol. 3 #1-4, 8–9, 12–14, 16–17, 19–22, 25, 27, 29-32 (2013-2015) *'' Wolverine and the X-Men'' #1-3, 8–10, 12, 16 (2011-2012), #42 (among other artists, 2014) *''

'' vol. 2 #188-190, 192–193, 197–200, 205-207 (2006-2008) *''X-Men'' vol. 3 #7-10 (2011) *'' X-Men: Age of Apocalypse'' (2005) *''X-Men: Black -

Emma Frost Emma Grace Frost is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne (comics), John Byrne, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''The Uncanny ...

'' #1 (2018) *''X-Men: Curse of the Mutants -

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...

and

Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe si ...

'' #1 (2010) *''

'' #1 (1993)

Image Comics

*''

'' #7 (2007) *''

Witchblade ''Witchblade'' is an American comic book Ongoing series, series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint (trade name), imprint of Image Comics, which ran from November 1995 to October 2015. The series was created by Top Cow founder and owne ...

'' #87 (2005)

References

External links

* *
Chris Bachalo Image Gallery at Comic Art Community
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bachalo, Chris 1965 births Canadian comics artists California State University, Long Beach alumni Marvel Comics people DC Comics people Living people