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Mike Grell (born September 13, 1947) is an American
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 ...
writer and artist, known for his work on books such as '' Green Lantern/Green Arrow'', '' The Warlord'', and '' Jon Sable Freelance''.


Early life

Grell studied at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, the Chicago Academy of Fine Art, and took the Famous Artists School correspondence course in cartooning. To avoid getting drafted into Army service during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, he enlisted for four years in the U.S. Air Force, including a stint as illustrator in Saigon. After the Air Force, Grell enrolled in the Chicago Academy of Fine Art, and also worked as a freelance graphics artist.


Career

Grell entered the comics industry as an assistant to Dale Messick on the '' Brenda Starr''
comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
in 1972.


DC Comics

In 1973 Grell moved to New York City, and began his long relationship with
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 ...
. At DC, Grell worked on characters such as
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 ...
,
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 ...
, Green Arrow, and the Phantom Stranger in arcs or single-issue stories. He and Elliot S. Maggin launched the '' Batman Family'' title in 1975 and Grell would work with Dennis O'Neil on the revival of the '' Green Lantern/ Green Arrow'' series the following year. For a time between 1976 and 1978, Grell was writing and penciling one series,
Warlord Warlords are individuals who exercise military, Economy, economic, and Politics, political control over a region, often one State collapse, without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over Militia, local ...
, and providing pencil art on two others, Green Lantern and Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes.


''Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes''

His regular first assignment at DC was on '' Superboy and the
Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...
'', a high-profile assignment for an artist with no prior experience illustrating a monthly comic book. Grell says he got that job because he was walking in the editor's door to ask for work, literally, as the previous artist, Dave Cockrum, was walking out the door, having just quit. Grell inked a Cockrum penciled story ("Lost: A Million Miles from Home!") in issue #202 and became the penciler of the book with issue No. 203 (August 1974) which featured the death of
Invisible Kid Invisible Kid is the name of two superheroes in the DC Comics universe, both of whom are members of the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 30th and 31st centuries. Publication history The first Invisible Kid debuted alongside Chameleon Boy and Colos ...
. These stories were written by Cary Bates with later issues by Jim Shooter. Grell drew '' All-New Collectors' Edition'' #C-55 (1978), a treasury-sized special written by Paul Levitz in which longtime Legion members Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad were married.


''The Warlord''

A writer as well as artist, Grell cemented his status as a fan-favorite with his best-known creation, '' The Warlord''. The character first appeared in '' 1st Issue Special'' No. 8 (Nov. 1975) and was soon given his own ongoing title (''The Warlord'' #1, Jan/Feb 1976). In this series, Air Force pilot Travis Morgan crash-lands in the prehistoric "hidden world" of Skartaris (a setting highly influenced by
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
's '' A Journey to the Center of the Earth'' and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Pellucidar). For years thereafter, Morgan engages in adventures dressed only in a winged helmet, wristbands, boots, and breechclout, and armed with a sword and a .44 Auto Mag. Grell wrote himself and editor Jack C. Harris into the metafictional conclusion of the story in ''The Warlord'' #35 (July 1980). Other artists took over pencil duties, while Sharon Grell, as revealed in the letter column of a later issue, took over writing.


''Tarzan''

Grell wrote and drew the ''Tarzan'' comic strip from July 19, 1981, to February 27, 1983 (except for one strip, February 13, 1983, by Thomas Yeates). These strips were rerun in newspapers in 2004 – 2005.


First Comics: ''Jon Sable Freelance'' and ''Starslayer''

Through the 1980s Grell developed creator-owned titles such '' Jon Sable Freelance'' and '' Starslayer''. ''Jon Sable Freelance'' was published by the now-defunct First Comics. ''Starslayer'', a space-born science fiction series, started at Pacific Comics, but shifted to First after Pacific went out of business. The titular character of ''Jon Sable Freelance'' was a former Olympic athlete, later an African big-game hunter, who became a mercenary. First appearing with a cover date of June 1983, ''Jon Sable'' was a precursor to what would eventually be called, by some, "the Dark Age of Comics", when even long-established super-heroes would become increasingly grim and violent. The character was heavily influenced by Ian Fleming's
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
novels as well as drawing on pulp fiction crime stories. Many of the stories of Sable's hunting exploits in Africa were influenced by Peter Hathaway Capstick's novels. At a convention in the late 1980s, Grell stated that his idea for Sable was "something like a cross between James Bond and Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer". Sable was adapted into a short-lived
television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
and the character's origin tale, "A Storm Over Eden", from the comic book, was expanded and novelized by Grell under the title ''Sable'', which was published in 2000 by
Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...
.


Back at DC: Green Arrow

In 1987, Mike Grell wrote and drew the three-issue prestige format limited series '' Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters''. He redesigned the character's costume, away from the costume
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 ...
had designed in 1969, and recast Green Arrow as an "urban hunter" going up against non-super-powered, real world villains such as serial killers, terrorists, street gangs, American mobsters and Japanese Yakuza. He did away with Green Arrow's arsenal of "trick arrows" and instead rearmed him with penetrating broadheads with which he actually killed his opponents. ''The Longbow Hunters'' showed the first instance in which Green Arrow ever deliberately killed someone. The popularity of ''Longbow Hunters'' led to an assignment writing – and occasionally drawing – an ongoing '' Green Arrow'' series for 80 issues from 1988 to 1993. During this run, Grell avoided references to the fantastical elements of the DC Universe (e.g., in a guest appearance by Green Lantern the character is out of costume and does not use his powers). Notably, believing "Green Arrow" was "a stupid name", in no Mike Grell Green Arrow story (with the exception of ''Longbow Hunters'' #1) is the character ever referred to as Green Arrow anywhere other than on the cover. Grell would write a retelling of Green Arrow's origin and first case in '' Secret Origins'' vol. 2 #38 (March 1989). He was the co-writer/cover artist for ''Green Arrow Annual'' (1991), drew the cover art for ''Annual'' #5 (1992), and wrote ''Annual'' #6 (1993). Grell wrote and illustrated the official Post-Crisis origin of Green Arrow in ''Green Arrow: The Wonder Year'' miniseries in 1993. In 1988, Grell had a run writing Blackhawk in the short-lived anthology series ''
Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...
Weekly'', writing the Blackhawk serial from issues #601–608.


James Bond

In 1988, Grell wrote and illustrated the graphic novel adaptation of the Timothy Dalton
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
film ''
Licence to Kill ''Licence to Kill'' is a 1989 spy film, the sixteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the second and final film to star Timothy Dalton as the MI6 agent James Bond (literary character), J ...
'', and in 1989 wrote and drew an original Bond story, the three-issue mini-series ''Permission to Die'', both co-published by Acme Press and Eclipse Comics.


''Shaman's Tears'' and ''Bar Sinister''

'' Shaman's Tears'' was a more ecologically themed outing for Grell. Main character Joshua Brand, the son of a half-Sioux father and an Irish mother, as an adult returns to the reservation he ran away from as a child. Discovering he mystically possesses the powers of all animals and the Earth itself, he becomes the protector of the planet. Jon Sable guest starred in issues #5–9 of this 12 issue series (May 1993 – Aug 1995). There was a number 0 issue published in November 1995. Grell wrote and drew the covers, but did none of the interior artwork, for issues #1–4 of the ''Shaman's Tears'' spinoff series ''Bar Sinister'' (June – September 1995) from Windjammer, the creator-owned imprint of
Valiant Comics Valiant Comics is an American comic books, comic book publisher, the first incarnation of which was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was ...
. This series followed the adventures of a group of escaped government experimental subjects, animals genetically engineered to human intelligence and, basically, human form, as potential bio-weapons. During this time period, Grell began work writing and penciling the unfinished and unpublished ''Shaman's Tears''/'' Turok Dinosaur Hunter'' cross-over limited series for
Valiant Comics Valiant Comics is an American comic books, comic book publisher, the first incarnation of which was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was ...
. He did co-write the two issue Turok limited series entitled ''Turok The Hunted'', as well as several fill-in issues of the ongoing ''Turok'' series.


2000s

From 2002 to 2003, Grell worked on ''Iron Man''. It was during a Grell written story from this period that Tony Stark revealed his secret identity to the world, a development met with mixed fan reaction. After his work on ''Iron Man'', Grell came back to comics in 2008, providing a variant incentive cover for ''
Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...
'' #861, part four of the ''
Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes 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 ...
'' story. DC sought variant drawings for this story from artists who had worked on the Legion in the past, such as Steve Lightle, Keith Giffen, and Grell. Other work includes a new ongoing series of ''The Warlord'' launched to coincide with the 35th anniversary. Grell brought the lead character's story to an end and drew some issues. Grell worked for Marvel drawing some stories of '' X-Men Forever''. His last collaboration with DC to date has been the Green Lantern story for the '' DC Retroactive'' series, in 2011, where he provided the art. Grell is rewriting the ''Jon Sable'' screenplay, working on an adaptation of ''Shaman's Tears'', and writing two stories for ComicMix.com, a new Jon Sable story and ''The Pilgrim'' with Mark Ryan. In December 2010 he was announced as editor-in-chief of Ardden Entertainment. In 2012, Grell provided the cover art for the 10-page preview comic produced by DC Comics for the 2012
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
to promote the TV series '' Arrow''. Grell did interior art for issues #6 and #11 of the digital comic based on the TV series.


Personal life

In the 1980s, Grell was married to Sharon Wright. She ghost-wrote the last two years of ''The Warlord'', while Grell concentrated his efforts on ''Starslayer''; ''Jon Sable, Freelance''; and the weekly ''Tarzan'' Sunday comic strip.


Awards

Mike Grell received an Inkpot Award in 1982.


Bibliography


DC Comics

*''
Action Comics ''Action Comics'' is an American comic book/Comic anthology, magazine series that introduced Superman, one of the first major superhero characters. The publisher was originally known as Detective Comics Inc., which later merged into National ...
'' (
Atom Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...
) #442; ( Green Arrow) #440, 441, 444–446, 450–452, 456–458 (1974–76), #601–608 (writer, Blackhawk serial) (1988) *''
Adventure Comics ''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure 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 ...
) #435–437; ( Crimson Avenger) #440 (1974–75) *''Arrow'' (digital comic based on the TV series) #6, 11, 16 (2012–13) *'' All–New Collector's Edition'' (
Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...
) #C–55 (1978) *'' The Amazing World of DC Comics'' #12 (previously unpublished story) (1976) *''
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 ...
'' #287–290 (1977) *'' Batman Family'' ( Robin and Batgirl) #1 (1975) *'' DC Super Stars'' (Green Arrow) #17 (1977) *'' DC Retroactive: Green Lantern – The '70s'' #1 (one-shot, 2011) *''
Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman Detective Comics'') is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is ...
'' (Robin) #445; (
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 ...
) #455; (Atom) #463; (
Black Canary Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As one of the earliest female superheroes in the DC Comics universe, the character has made numerous appearances in prominent team-up titles, ...
) #464 (1975–76) *'' 1st Issue Special'' (
Warlord Warlords are individuals who exercise military, Economy, economic, and Politics, political control over a region, often one State collapse, without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over Militia, local ...
) #8 (1975) *'' The Flash'' ( Green Lantern backup stories) #237–238, 240–243 (1975–76) *'' Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters'' miniseries #1–3 (1987) *''Green Arrow'', vol. 2, #1–80, ''Annual'' #4, 6 (1988–94) *''Green Arrow: The Wonder Year'', miniseries, #1–4 (1993) *'' Green Lantern'', vol. 2, (Green Lantern/Green Arrow) #90–100, 106, 108–110 (1976–78) *''
Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...
'', vol. 3, #45 (four pages only) (1988) *'' Ms. Tree Quarterly'' (Batman text story) #1 (1990) *'' Phantom Stranger'', vol. 2, #33 (1974) *'' Secret Origins'', vol. 2, #38 (writer for Green Arrow story only) (March 1989) *'' Shado: Song of the Dragon'', miniseries, #1–4 (1992) *'' Superboy starring the Legion of Super-Heroes'' #203–224, 235 (1974–78) *''
Warlord Warlords are individuals who exercise military, Economy, economic, and Politics, political control over a region, often one State collapse, without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over Militia, local ...
'' #1–52, 59, ''Annual'' #1 (1976–82) (note: #51 is a reprint of #1) *''Warlord'', vol. 3, #7–12, 15–16 (2009–10) *'' Weird War Tales'' #67 (1978)


Image Comics

*''Maggie the Cat'' #1–2 (1996) *'' Shaman's Tears'' #1–12, No. 0 (1993–95) *'' Spawn: The Impaler'' miniseries #1–3 (1996)


Marvel Comics

*''
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
'' vol. 3 #50–69 (2002–03) *'' X-Men Forever Giant-Size'' No. 1 (2010) *''X-Men Forever'' vol. 2, #9–10 (2010)


Other publishers

* '' Jon Sable Freelance'' #1–43 (First) (1983–86) * '' Starslayer'' #1–6 (Pacific) (1982–83) * ''ShadowStar'' #2 (cover art only) (Savage Graphics) (1985) * ''Licence to Kill'' (Acme Press, Eclipse Comics) (1989)


Collected editions

*'' Legion of Super-Heroes Archives'' **''Volume 10'' includes ''Superboy'' # 202; 232 pages, October 2000, **''Volume 11'' collects ''Superboy'' #203–212; 224 pages, August 2001, **''Volume 12'' collects ''Superboy'' #212–223; 240 pages, May 2003, **''Volume 13'' includes ''Superboy'' #224; 240 pages, May 2012,


References


External links

* * *
Mike Grell
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{DEFAULTSORT:Grell, Mike 1947 births American comics artists American comics writers American comic book editors Inkpot Award winners Living people School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni University of Wisconsin–Green Bay alumni