Frank Brunner (born February 21, 1949) 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 ...

and

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

best known for his work at

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 the 1970s.

Early life

Brunner attended Manhattan's High School of Art and Design. He was in the same graduating class as

Larry Hama Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an People of the United States, American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s. During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles ...

and Ralph Reese. He studied at the New York University Film School.

Career

Comics

Brunner entered the comics profession as a horror writer-artist for the black-and-white comics magazines ''Web of Horror'', '' Creepy'', ''

Eerie Eerie may refer to: * Feeling of creepiness * Eerie (magazine), ''Eerie'' (magazine), an American horror comic first published in 1966 * Eerie (Avon), ''Eerie'' (Avon), a 1947 horror comic * Eerie (film), ''Eerie'' (film), a 2018 Filipino horror fi ...

'', and ''

Vampirella Vampirella () is a vampire superheroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and comic book artist Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine ''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), a sister publication of '' Creepy'' and ''E ...

''. His first work for

was inking an 11-page Watcher backup story in ''The

Silver Surfer The Silver Surfer is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character also appears in a number of movies, television, and video game adaptations. The character was created by Jack Kirby and first a ...

'' #6 (June 1969). Brunner's best-known color-comics work is his Marvel Comics collaboration with writer Steve Engelhart on the

supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

hero

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 ...

in '' Marvel Premiere'' #9–14 (July 1973 – March 1974) and in ''Doctor Strange: Master of the Mystic Arts'' #1–2 and #4–5 (June–August 1974 and Oct.–Dec. 1974). The two killed Dr. Strange's mentor, the

Ancient One The Ancient One is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by 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 Strange became the new Sorcerer Supreme. Englehart and Brunner created a multi-issue storyline in which a sorcerer named Sise-Neg ("Genesis" spelled backward) goes back through history, collecting all magical energies, until he reaches the beginning of the universe, becomes all-powerful and creates it anew, leaving Strange to wonder whether this was, paradoxically, the original creation.

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 ...

, seeing the issue after publication, ordered Englehart and Brunner to print a retraction saying this was not God but ''a'' god, so as to avoid offending religious readers. The writer and artist concocted a fake letter from a fictitious minister praising the story, and mailed it to Marvel from Texas; Marvel unwittingly printed the letter, and dropped the retraction order. In 2010,

Comics Bulletin Comics Bulletin is a daily website covering the comic-book industry. History Silver Bullet Comicbooks In January 2000, New Zealand-based publisher/editor Jason Brice founded then named Silver Bullet Comicbooks. During this period, the site ...

ranked Englehart and Brunner's run on the "Doctor Strange" feature ninth on its list of the "Top 10 1970s Marvels". Other Marvel credits include

Howard the Duck Howard the Duck is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber, based very loosely on his college friend Howard Tockman, and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck firs ...

's first two solo stories in ''Giant-Size Man-Thing'' #4 and #5 (May and Aug. 1975) and the first two issues of the ''Howard the Duck'' comic book series (Jan. and March 1976), as well as the anthologies '' Chamber of Chills'', '' Haunt of Horror'', and '' Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction''. He drew covers for the supernatural series '' The Tomb of Dracula'' and the swamp-monster series ''Man-Thing''. Also for Marvel, Brunner adapted

Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906 – June 11, 1936) was an American writer who wrote pulp magazine, pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He created the character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sor ...

's sword-and-sorcery

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

hero

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero created by American author Robert E. Howard (1906–1936) and who debuted in 1932 and went on to appear in a series of fantasy stories published in ''We ...

in the 42-page story "The Scarlet Citadel", and drew many covers for the similar series ''

Red Sonja Red Sonja is a sword-and-sorcery character created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics in 1973, partially inspired by Robert E. Howard's character Red Sonya of Rogatino. A warrior from the Hyborian Age of Ear ...

'' and '' Savage Sword of Conan''. Brunner left Marvel in 1979 and wrote an essay in ''

The Comics Journal ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing r ...

'' stating that he "felt the romance with comics was over". Brunner and novelist

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has wo ...

collaborated on a comics adaptation of Moorcock's sword-and-sorcery hero Elric in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine. It was reprinted in publisher

Mike Friedrich Mike Friedrich (; born March 27, 1949) is an American comic book writer and publisher best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics, and for publishing the anthology series '' Star*Reach'', one of the first independent comics. He is also an ar ...

's '' Star Reach Greatest Hits''. Brunner briefly returned to comics in the early-1980s as artist on the First Comics title ''

Warp! ''Warp!'', also spelled ''Warp'', was a trilogy of American science fiction plays created by the Organic Theatre Company of Chicago, Illinois, in 1971 by co-authors Stuart Gordon and Lenny Kleinfeld, the latter under the pseudonym Bury St. Edmund ...

'', based on the science fiction play that ran briefly on Broadway in the 1970s. He then wrote and drew the

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

'' The Seven Samuroid'' (1984), a science-fiction takeoff of the movie classic ''

Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai action film directed by Akira Kurosawa from a screenplay co-written with Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni. Taking place in 1586 in the Sengoku period of Japanese history, it follows the story of a villag ...

''.

Film and television

Brunner moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

and began a career in movie and television

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

, working on projects for

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

('' Jonny Quest''),

Walt Disney Imagineering Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc.—commonly referred to as Walt Disney Imagineering, Imagineering, or WDI—is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construc ...

(Euro ''

Tomorrowland Tomorrowland may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Tomorrowland (Disney Parks), a theme land at a number of Disney theme parks around the world * Tomorrowland (festival), an annual electronic dance music festival in Boom, Belgium * ''Tom ...

'' movie),

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

(preproduction ''

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 ...

'' design) and DreamWorks (''Invasion USA''). He was the head of character design for the Fox

animated series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

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 ...

''.

Bibliography

Books

*''The Brunner Mystique (Artist Index Series Volume One)'' (Hendrik Sharples and Steven R. Johnson, March 1976) *''Brunner's Beauties'' (Eros Comix, August 1993) *''Eyes Of Light: the Fantasy Art of Frank Brunner'' (Vanguard Productions, 2002) *''Mythos: The Fantasy Realms of Frank Brunner'' (Vanguard Productions, 2007)

Comics and magazines

Interior art (except where noted) includes:

First Comics

*''

'' #1–9 (1983)

Marvel Comics

*'' Chamber of Chills'' #2–4 (1973) *''

'' #1–5 (also covers) (1974) *'' Giant-Size Man-Thing'' # 4–5 (1975) (first two Howard the Duck solo appearances) *''

'' #1–2 (also covers) (1976) *'' Marvel Premiere'' (Doctor Strange feature) #4 (inker); #6, 9–14 (1972–1974) *'' Monsters Unleashed'' #2 (1973) *''Mystic Hands of Dr. Strange'' #1 (2010) *'' Savage Sword of Conan'' #30 (1978) *''

'' #6 (inker) (1969) *'' Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction'' #1 (1975)

Pacific Comics

* '' Alien Worlds'' #6 (cover and interior art) (1984)

Star Reach

*''Quack'' #1, 6 (1976–1977) *'' Star Reach'' #3 (also painted cover); #10, 12 (covers only) (1974–1977)

Warren Publishing

*'' Creepy'' #39, 45 (1971–1972) *''

'' #35 (1971) *''

'' #10 (1971)

Other publishers

*''Adventures of Chrissie Claus'' #31 (cover) *''Brunner's Carnal Delights'' #1 (cover) (Carnal) *''

Castle of Frankenstein ''Castle of Frankenstein'' is an American horror fiction, horror, science fiction and fantasy film magazine first published between 1962 and 1975 by Calvin Thomas Beck's Gothic Castle Publishing Company, distributed by Kable News. Larry Ivie—w ...

'' (Kable News) *''

Crawdaddy! ''Crawdaddy'' was an American rock music magazine launched in 1966. It was created by Paul Williams, a Swarthmore College student at the time, in response to the increasing sophistication and cultural influence of popular music. The magazine w ...

'' *''

Flare A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala, bengalo in several European countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illuminatio ...

'' #29 (cover) (Hero) *''Flare Adventures'' #13, 15–19 (covers) (Hero) *'' Monster Times'' *''

'' #2 (cover) (Dynamite Entertainment) *''Unknown Worlds of Frank Brunner'' (cover) (

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book store, comic book specialty stor ...

) *''Silver Comics'' #1, 4, 6 (covers) (Silver) *''Karmatron'' #20 (cover and interior art, 1987) (Cepsa) *''

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel was ...

'' (covers) (Best Sellers Illustrated) *''Witchgirls Inc.'' #1–3, 5 (covers) *''Wild Stars'' #1–6 (covers) (Little Rocket)

Art portfolios

*''Flesh & Fantasy'' Bran Mak Morn *'' Elric'' *''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...

'' *''

Through the Looking-Glass ''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' is a novel published in December 1871 by Lewis Carroll, the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church, Oxford, Christ Church, University of Oxford. I ...

'' (Alice II) *'' Stormbringer'' (Elric II) *''Flesh & Fantasy II'' *''Legends of Arzack''

Trading cards (Topps)

*''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...

'' *''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

Galaxy'' *''

'' *'' Mars Attacks'' *'' Satan's Six''

Film

Live-action

*'' Cellar Dweller'' *''From Time To Time'' (

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

) *'' Dr. Strange'' ( CBS) *''Dinosaur Valley Girls''

Animation

*'' The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest'' *'' Sky Commanders'' *''Dark Water'' *'' Dino-Riders'' *'' Once Upon a Forest'' (feature) *'' X-Men: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) *'' Darkstalkers'' *'' Skeleton Warriors'' *'' Extreme Ghostbusters''

Record-album covers

*''Faithful Breath'' *''Mandator'' *'' Necronomicon'' ( German heavy metal bands) *''

Veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

'' (Danish heavy metal band)

Poster prints

*''The Faerie Princess'' ( Dreamweaver Studios) *''Four Queens Of The Tarot'' (Color) *''Dreamtide'' (Dreamweaver) *''Go Ask Alice'' (Dreamweaver) *''Raiders Of The Lost Egg'' (Vanguard)

References

External links

*
Frank Brunner
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{DEFAULTSORT:Brunner, Frank 1949 births 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists American album-cover and concert-poster artists American animators American comics artists American illustrators American fantasy artists High School of Art and Design alumni Inkpot Award winners Living people Marvel Comics people Pin-up artists American role-playing game artists American science fiction artists Tisch School of the Arts alumni

Early life

Career

Comics

Film and television

Bibliography

Books

Comics and magazines

First Comics

Marvel Comics

Pacific Comics

Star Reach

Warren Publishing

Other publishers

Art portfolios

Trading cards (Topps)

Film

Live-action

Animation

Record-album covers

Poster prints

Further reading

References

External links