Gordon Purcell (born February 14, 1959) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

, perhaps best known for his ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' work, in particular his realistic renditions of the actors who play that franchise's characters, as well as those of similarly licensed books, such as ''

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 ...

'', '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. Lightly dramatic, sometimes comedic in tone, the series was inspired by the 1812 J ...

'', ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or ''kaiju'', that debuted in the eponymous 1954 film, directed and co-written by Ishirō Honda. The character has since become an international pop culture icon, appearing in various media: 33 Japanese films p ...

'', ''

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' (sometimes referred to as ''Young Indy'') is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" ...

'', ''

Barb Wire file:Barbed Wire Roll.jpg, Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire or bob wire (in the Southern United States, Southern and Southwestern United States), is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp ...

'', and ''

The Terminator ''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd and produced by Hurd. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in t ...

''.

Early life

Born in

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County, Michigan, Eaton County and nort ...

, Purcell grew up reading

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 ...

and

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 ...

, and his love of drawing was sparked by watching cartoons of

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 ...

and

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 ...

. The first comic book he read was a

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 ...

comic book. He graduated from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

with

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

s in

Studio Art An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on practice and related theory in the visual arts and design. This includes fine art – especially illustration, painting, contemporary art, sculpture, and graphic design. T ...

s and Theater Arts.

Career

Among Purcell's first work for

was a Doctor Light story published as a Bonus Book in ''

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 ...

'' #12 (May 1988). He has worked on numerous comic books, including ''

'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', '' Star Trek: Voyager'', ''Soulsearchers and Company'', ''

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 ...

'', ''The Flash'', ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Wonder Man Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The character, wh ...

'', ''

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 (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

vs.

Nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...

'', ''

Moon Knight Moon Knight is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in ''Werewolf by Night'' #32 (August 1975). The son of a rabbi, Marc S ...

'', '' What If…?'', ''Race Warriors'', '' Kolchak: The Night Stalker'', ''

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

'', ''

Ben 10 ''Ben 10'' is an American media franchise conceived by Man of Action and owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. The franchise, mainly consisting of animated series produced by Cartoon Network Studios, revolves around a young boy named Ben Tennys ...

'', and ''

Elvira Elvira is a female given name. It is believed to have first been recorded in medieval Spain, while other sources claim that it is likely of Germanic ( Gothic) origin. In the Balkans, Elvira is popular among Bosniaks, Croats, and Slovenes in the ...

''. He drew ''Star Trek: Year Four'' for IDW, written by ''Trek'' story editor D. C. Fontana, and ''Star Trek: The Last Generation'', written by Andrew Steven Harris. He has worked on ''

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 ...

'' for Moonstone and ''Beyond the Wall'' (Roman soldiers vs. monsters and barbarians) for IDW. Purcell drew the ''

DC Retroactive ''DC Retroactive'' is a line of one-shot comic book issues published by DC Comics. It revisited periods (grouped by decades) of the company's main characters: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Justice League, and the Flash. Thes ...

: Justice League - The '70s'' one-shot in 2011. Purcell claims not to have a favorite company to work for but is attracted to projects based on the editor and other creators involved with them. He calls his work on ''

Silver Sable Silver Sable (Silvija Sablinova) is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, Silver Sable first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #265 (June 1985). She is usually depicte ...

'' as a project he particularly enjoyed, saying he feels that the book was "really going somewhere" by the end of his run. Purcell cites his work on ''

Gammarauders ''Gammarauders'' is a post-apocalyptic board wargame published by TSR, Inc., in which players act as the human handlers of giant mutant creatures called ''bioborgs''. A 10-issue comic book series associated with the game was published by DC Comics. ...

'', stating that having to ink his own pencils taught him a lot about what information he needed to give to his future inkers. In addition, Purcell cites his ''Star Trek'' work because he was allowed to visit the sets of those shows, which were among his favorites.

In other media

Purcell appeared on the October 19, 2005 episode of the

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (WWTBAM) is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and licensed by Sony Pictures Televis ...

'' Having had only two hours of sleep, he won $50,000.00, deciding to quit when he could not answer the question of which

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

signed a 1790 treaty under the threat of being declared a foreign nation. The answer was "Rhode Island". He lost on ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...

'' on May 24, 2010. On January 21, 2014, Purcell won a trip to Florida in the daily trivia contest that is part of TV's ''

Live With Kelly and Michael ''Live with Kelly and Mark'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts si ...

''. On January 25, 2019, Purcell again won a trip, this time to Antigua, in the daily trivia contest that is part of TV's ''

Live With Kelly and Ryan ''Live with Kelly and Mark'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts sinc ...

''. On March 18, 2025, Purcell again won a trip, again to Antigua, in the daily trivia contest that is part of TV's ''

Live With Kelly and Mark ''Live with Kelly and Mark'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts si ...

''.

Personal life

Purcell resides in

Plymouth, Minnesota Plymouth is a city in Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. A suburb in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the city is about west of downtown Minneapolis. The population was 81,026 at the 2020 census, making it Minnes ...

. He is not related to fellow comics-creators

Steve Purcell Steven Ross Purcell (born July 30, 1961) is an American cartoonist, animator, game designer, and voice actor. He is the creator of the media franchise ''Sam & Max'' and received an Eisner Award in 2007 for working on the show. The series has e ...

or the late

Howard Purcell Howard Purcell (November 10, 1918 – April 24, 1981)Howard Purcell
at the Social S ...

Bibliography

DC Comics

* ''

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 ...

'' vol. 4 #70 (2000) * ''

The Batman Chronicles ''The Batman Chronicles'' is a series of comics published by DC Comics from 1995 to 2001, which lasted 23 quarterly issues. Publication history With a larger page count than typical comics of the time, most issues contained three separate storie ...

'' #22 (2000) * ''Cartoon Network Action Pack'' #26 (2008) * ''

Chuck Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...

'' #4 (2008) * ''Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for

Blüdhaven This page lists the locations in the DC Universe, the shared universe setting of DC Comics. Sites Arrowcave The Arrowcave is the former base of operations of the Green Arrow and Speedy. Avernus Cemetery Avernus Cemetery is a hidden burial gro ...

'' #5 (2006) * ''

: JLA – The '70s'' #1 (2011) * ''DCU Holiday Bash'' #3 (1999) * ''

'' vol. 2 #12 ( Doctor Light Bonus Book insert); #23 (1988–1989) * ''

'' #4, 7–8, 10 (1989) * '' JLA Showcase 80-Page Giant'' #1 (2000) * '' JSA: Classified'' #27 (2007) * ''

Justice League Unlimited ''Justice League Unlimited'' (''JLU'') is an American superhero animated series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation with DC Comics in season 3 and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Universe, and ...

'' #19, 34, 39 (2006–2008) * '' The New Teen Titans Annual'' vol. 2 #4 (1988) * ''

Robin Robin most commonly refers to several species of passerine birds. Robin may also refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), inclu ...

'' #70, 72 (1999–2000) * '' Snakes on a Plane'' #1 (2006) * '' Spectre Annual'' #1 (1988) * ''

'' #53–54 (1988) * ''Star Trek'' vol. 2 #12–16, 19–26, 30–33, 37–38, 40, 42–44, ''Annual'' #4 (1990–1993) * ''

Star Trek Generations ''Star Trek Generations'' is a 1994 American science fiction film and the seventh film in the Star Trek (film series), ''Star Trek'' film series. Malcolm McDowell joins cast members from the 1960s television show ''Star Trek: The Original Ser ...

'' #1 (1995) * ''Star Trek Special'' #1 (2001) * '' Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' #1 (1992) * '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' vol. 2 #7–8, 71–75, 77–80, ''Annual'' #1, ''Special'' #2 (1990–1996) * ''Star Trek: The Next Generation/Star Trek: Deep Space Nine '' #1–2 (1994–1995) * '' Superman 80-Page Giant'' #2 (1999) * ''

Team Titans ''Team Titans'' is a comic book published by DC Comics that spun out of DC's '' New Titans'' series. It began in September 1992 and ended in September 1994. The Team Titans were first introduced as a shadowy group stalking the Titans. Their backs ...

'' #11 (1993) * '' War of the Gods'' #4 (1991)

Paradox Press

* '' The Big Book of Bad'' (1998) * ''The Big Book of Hoaxes'' (1996) * ''The Big Book of Losers'' (1997) * ''The Big Book of Martyrs'' (1997) * ''The Big Book of the Unexplained'' (1997) * ''The Big Book of the Weird Wild West'' (1998) * ''The Big Book of Thugs'' (1996) * ''The Big Book of Urban Legends'' (1994) * ''The Big Book of Vice'' (1999)

First Comics

* ''

Grimjack Grimjack is the main character of a comic book originally published by the American company First Comics, and later by IDW Publishing. John Ostrander and Timothy Truman are credited as co-creators of the character, although Ostrander had been dev ...

'' #39 (1987)

Heroic Publishing

* ''

'' #7 (1991) * ''Flare'' vol. 2 #1–2, 28–29 (2004–2005) * ''League of Champions'' #7 (1992) * ''Witchgirls Inc.'' #5 (2007)

IDW Publishing

* ''

'' #2 (2013) * ''Star Trek Year Four: Enterprise Experiment'' #1, 3 (2008) * ''Star Trek: The Next Generation / Doctor Who: Assimilation²'' #5–8 (2012) * ''Star Trek: Year Four'' #3 (2007)

Image Comics

* ''Action Planet Comics'' #3 (1997) * ''Protectors, Inc.'' #1, 5–6 (2013–2014)

Malibu Comics

* ''

Prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

'' #0 (1994) * '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' #1–2, 4–5, 8–9 (1993–1994) * ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine/Star Trek: The Next Generation'' #1–2 (1994)

Marvel Comics

* ''

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 ...

'' #362 (1993) * ''

Cage A cage is an enclosure often made of mesh, bars, or wires, used to confine, contain or protect something or someone. A cage can serve many purposes, including keeping an animal or person in captivity, capturing an animal or person, and displayi ...

'' #11 (1993) * '' Mad-Dog'' #1–6 (1993) * ''

and the Wild Pack'' #24, 27–29, 31, 33–35 (1994–1995) * '' What If...?'' vol. 2 #58 (1994) * ''

'' #12, ''Annual'' #2 (1992–1993)

Moonstone Books

* '' Kolchak: The Night Stalker'' #1 (2002)

Topps Comics

* ''

'' #17, 20–21, 24–29 (1996–1997) * ''The X-Files: Ground Zero'' #1–4 (1997–1998)

References

External links

Official Site
*
Gordon Purcell
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics {{DEFAULTSORT:Purcell, Gordon 1959 births 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists American comics artists Artists from Lansing, Michigan Artists from Minnesota DC Comics people Game show contestants Living people Marvel Comics people University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni