Philip Craig Russell (born October 30, 1951) 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 ...

, writer, 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 ...

. His work has won multiple Harvey and

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. Russell was the fourth mainstream comic book creator to

come out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

as openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

, following Andy Mangels in 1988, Craig Hamilton in 1989, and

Eric Shanower Eric James Shanower (born October 23, 1963) is an American cartoonist, best known for his ''List of Oz books, Oz'' novels and comics, and for the ongoing retelling of the Trojan War as ''Age of Bronze (comics), Age of Bronze''. Early life Eric S ...

in 1990.

Biography

Early life and career

Philip Craig Russell was born October 30, 1951 in

Wellsville, Ohio Wellsville is a village in Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,113 at the 2020 census. In its heyday, notable industries in Wellsville included shipping via the Ohio River and Pennsylvania Railroad, as well as pottery an ...

. He entered the comics industry in 1972 as an assistant to Dan Adkins. Russell first became well known with his 11–issue ''

Amazing Adventures ''Amazing Adventures'' is the name of several anthology comic book series, all but one published by Marvel Comics. The earliest Marvel series of that name introduced the company's first superhero of the late-1950s to early-1960s period fans and h ...

'' run and subsequent

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 ...

featuring Killraven, hero of a future version of

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

' ''

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 ...

'', collaborating with writer

Don McGregor Donald Francis McGregor (born June 15, 1945) is an American comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics; he is the author of one of the first graphic novels. Early life Don McGregor was born in Providence, Rhode Island, where he ...

. Comics historian

Peter Sanderson Peter Sanderson Jr. (born April 25, 1952) In print issue #1650 (February 2009), p. 107 is an American comic book critic and Comics historian, historian. He is best known for his work as a researcher at the two main American comics companies, DC ...

wrote that, "McGregor's finest artistic collaborator on the series was P. Craig Russell, whose sensitive, elaborate artwork, evocative of ''

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

'' illustration, gave the landscape of Killraven's America a nostalgic, pastoral feel, and the Martian architecture the look of futuristic castles." At

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 ...

, Russell inked

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 ...

stories in ''

Batman Family ''Batman Family'' is an American comic book anthology series published by DC Comics which ran from 1975 to 1978, primarily featuring stories starring supporting characters to the superhero Batman. An eight-issue miniseries called ''Batman: Famil ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'' over the pencils of Michael Golden and

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, an ...

respectively. Withdrawing for a while from mainstream comics, Russell produced a number of experimental strips, many of which were later published in his ''Night Music'' series and in ''

Epic Illustrated ''Epic Illustrated'' was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. Similar to the US-licensed comic book magazine ''Heavy Metal (magazine), Heavy Metal'', it allowed explicit content to be featured, un ...

''.

''Elric'' (1982–1997)

Russell's first '' Elric'' story, the

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

scripted "The Dreaming City", was published by Marvel Comics in 1982 as '' Marvel Graphic Novel'' #2, following initial publication of the first half of the graphic novel in ''Epic Illustrated''. For the next series, "Elric of Melnibone", also written by Roy Thomas, Russell shared art duties with Michael T. Gilbert. This story was published by

Pacific Comics Pacific Comics was a comic book Distribution (marketing), distributor and Comic book publisher, publisher active from 1971 to 1984. The company began as a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill Schanes, Bill and Steve Schan ...

as ''Elric'' issues #1–6 in 1983–1984. Russell did not return to Elric until 1997 when he collaborated directly with

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 ...

on ''Elric: Stormbringer'', co-published by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...

and Topps Comics.

''Night Music'' (1984–1990)

In 1984, Russell began '' Night Music'', an ongoing anthology series for

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 ...

featuring some of his most heralded literary and operatic adaptations. Russell has previously used the same title for a black and white collection of the earliest of these works, published by

. Included in this series was "The King's Ankus", adapted from

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

's ''Jungle Book''. Russell had previously inked a number of ''Jungle Book'' adaptations drawn by

Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz , ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day vers ...

, published in ''

Marvel Fanfare ''Marvel Fanfare'' was an anthology comic book series published by American company Marvel Comics. It was a showcase title featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe. Volume one ''Marvel Fanfare'' featured characters and setting ...

'' #8–11 (May–Nov. 1983). The series included "Pelleas & Melisande", adapted from

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count/Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in ...

's play of the same name which had been turned into an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

, and "Salome" adapted from

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's play of the same name which was the basis for

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

. Opera would continue to resurface in Russell's work, including a four-part adaptation of ''The Magic Flute'', taken from

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Other works

Russell inked

Mike Mignola Michael Mignola (; born September 16, 1960) is an American comic book writer best known for creating ''Hellboy'' for Dark Horse Comics, part of a Hellboy Universe, shared universe of titles including ''B.P.R.D.'', ''Abe Sapien'', ''Lobster Johns ...

's pencils on the ''

Phantom Stranger The Phantom Stranger is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, of unspecified paranormal origins, who battles mysterious and occult forces, sometimes under their Vertigo (DC Comics), Vertigo imprint. The character ...

'' limited series in 1987. Russell illustrated issue #50 of 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 ...

's comic book series '' The Sandman''. The story was titled "Ramadan" and was later included in the collection '' The Sandman: Fables and Reflections''. Russell drew the first story in Gaiman's later Sandman

, '' Endless Nights'', and adapted both Gaiman's short story " Murder Mysteries" and his

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

Coraline ''Coraline'' () is a 2002 British dark fantasy horror children's novella by author Neil Gaiman. Gaiman started writing ''Coraline'' in 1990, and it was published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and HarperCollins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for ...

'' into comics form. He has adapted another Gaiman Sandman work, '' Sandman: The Dream Hunters'', and a

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 ...

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 ...

story, "The Jewels of Gwahlur". Russell got involved with a collaborative art project with the Web-based artist group Kaleidospace in 1994. In 1991,

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

student Michael Mould began translating

Ruggero Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo (23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Throughout his career, Leoncavallo produced numerous operas and songs but it is his 1892 opera ''Pagliacci'' that remained his lasting co ...

's opera ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

'' into English for a comics adaptation, but died on USAir Flight 405 before he could complete it. Marc Andreyko finished Mould's translation as ''The Clowns'', a one-shot written by Russell and illustrated by Galen Showman. Published in 1998 by

, ''The Clowns'' is dedicated in memory of Mould. Beginning in 2000, Dark Horse Comics published Russell's adaptation of Richard Wagner's operatic cycle, ''

The Ring of the Nibelung (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the . The compos ...

'' as 14 comic books; in 2001, the series won two

s: for Best Finite Series/Limited Series, and for Best Artist/Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team. The series since been published as a single-volume hardcover book. He has adapted the

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...

s of

into comic-book albums from NBM Publishing. In December 2007, Desperado published ''The Art of P. Craig Russell'', a 256-page retrospective of Russell's career. It was nominated for the 2008

for Best Comics-Related Book. A documentary feature about the artist, ''Night Music: The Art of P. Craig Russell'', premiered at the 2008 Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus, Ohio. In November 2015, Wayne Alan Harold Productions published the ''P. Craig Russell Sketchbook Archives'', a 250-page hardcover art book featuring the best of Russell's personal sketchbooks. The same publisher is currently creating an Artist's Edition-type line of 12" x 17" hardcovers that reproduce Russell's original art at full-size,."

Awards and nominations

* 1985: Best Finite Series

Kirby Award The Jack Kirby Comics Industry Awards were a set of awards for achievement in comic books, presented from 1985 to 1987. Voted on by comic-book professionals, the Kirby awards were the first such awards since the Shazam Awards ceased in 1975. Spo ...

for ''Night Music'' (Nominated) * 1986: Best Finite Series Kirby Award for ''Night Music'' #4–5, "Pelleas and Melisande" (Nominated) * 1986: Best Artist Kirby Award for ''Night Music'' #4–5, "Pelleas and Melisande" (Nominated) * 1987: Best Single Issue Kirby Award for ''Night Music'' #6, "Salome" (Nominated) * 1993: Best Penciller/Inker, Color Publication

for ''Fairy Tales of

''; '' Robin 3000''; '' Legends of the Dark Knight: Hothouse'' (Winner) * 1993:

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at Comic-Con Internati ...

* 1994: Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team Eisner Award for '' The Sandman'' #50 (Winner) * 1995: Best Graphic Album-New Eisner Award for ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde'' Vol. 2 (Winner) * 1998: Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team Eisner Award for '' Elric: Stormbringer''; '' Dr. Strange: What Is It That Disturbs You, Stephen?'' (Winner) * 1999: Best Single Issue Eisner Award for ''The Clowns'' (Nominated) * 2001: Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team Eisner Award for ''Ring of the Nibelung'' (Winner) * 2001: Best Finite Series/Limited Series Eisner Award for ''Ring of the Nibelung'' (Winner) * 2004: Best Short Story Eisner Award for "Death and Venice" in '' The Sandman: Endless Nights'' (Winner) * 2009: Best Publication for Teens/Tweens Eisner Award for ''

:The Graphic Novel'' (Winner) * 2019: Master Cartoonist Award, Cartoon Crossroads Columbus

Bibliography

From early in his career, Russell has numbered his works in the order in which they were drawn, similar to the treatment of works by classical musical composers. The works are usually labeled somewhere within the art with the word "Opus" (or an abbreviation thereof) and its corresponding number. # ''The Chimera'' (1973) # '' Killraven'' (1974–1976) # '' Doctor Strange Annual'' #1 (1976) # ''Dance on a Razor's Edge'' (1977) # ''Parsifal'' (1976–77) # ''The Avatar and the Chimera'' (1978) # ''Siegfried and the Dragon'' (1978) # ''La Somnanbula'' (1979) # ''Breakdown on the Starship Remembrance'' (1979) # ''Elric: The Dreaming City'' (1979–80) # ''Isolation and Illusion'' (1981) # ''Elric: While the Gods Laugh'' (1981) # '' Killraven: Last Dreams Broken'' (1982) # ''King of the Castle'' (1982–83) # ''Elric: Elric of Melniboné'' (1982–84) # ''The Drinking Song of Earth's Sorrow'' (1984) # ''The Insomniac'' (1971–84) # ''Unto this World'' (1984) # ''Jungle Book: The King's Ankus'' (1984–85) # ''Ein Heldentraum'' (1985) # ''Pelléas & Mélisande'' (1985) # ''Elric: The Dreaming City ''(2nd version, 1986) # ''Salomé'' (1986) # ''Batman: Robin 3000'' (1986–92) # ''Jungle Book: Red Dog'' (1987) # ''Ariane and Bluebeard'' (1988) # ''Batman: Gotham by Gaslight'' (1989, inks over Mike Mignola pencilwork) # ''Human Remains'' (1989) # ''The Magic Flute'' (1989–90) # ''From Beyond'' (1994) # ''The Golden Apples of the Sun'' (1992) # ''The Gift of the Magi'' (1990) # ''A Voyage to the Moon'' (1991) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Selfish Giant'' (1992) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Star Child'' (1992) # '' Batman: Hothouse'' (1992) # '' The Sandman: Ramadan'' (1992) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Young King'' (1993) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Remarkable Rocket'' (1993) # ''X: Devils'' (1994) # ''Jungle Book: Spring Running'' (1996) # ''Elric: Stormbringer'' (1993–95) # ''Elric: One Life, Furnished in Early Moorcock'' (1996) # ''Dr. Strange: What is it that disturbs you, Stephen?'' (1996) (updated version of Doctor Strange Annual #1) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Birthday of the Infanta'' (1997) # ''The Clowns'' (1998) # '' Star Wars: Episode 1 – Queen Amidala'' (1999) # ''The Ring of the Nibelung'' (2000–2001) # '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales of the Slayers – Presumption'' (2002) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Devoted Friend'' (2004) # ''In Flanders Field'' (2002) # ''Murder Mysteries'' (2002) # ''Between Two Worlds'' (2002) # '' The Sandman: Death and Venice'' (2003) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: Nightingale and the Rose'' (2004) # ''Gone'' (2003) # '' Fables: The Last Castle'' (2003) # '' Hellboy: Weird Tales: Command Performance'' (2003) # ''The Godfather's Code'' (2004) # ''Lucifer'' #50 (2004) # '' Daredevil'', vol. 2, #65 (2004) # '' Conan: The Jewels of Gwahlur'' (2005) # ''

'' (2008) # '' Hellboy: The Vampire of Prague'' (2007) # '' Sandman: The Dream Hunters'' (2008) # '' The Spirit: Art Walk'' (2011) # ''Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: The Happy Prince'' (2012) # ''Fables: A Delicate Balance'' (2012) # ''From Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire: Beheading'' (2013) # ''Little Nemo in Final Slumberland'' (2013) # ''Day and Night (Two Songs)'' (2014) (as yet unpublished) # ''Two Songs by Hugo Wolf (Spring, Autumn)'' (2014) (as yet unpublished) # '' All-New Invaders'' #12 (layouts and inking) (2014) # ''The Graveyard Book'' (2014) # ''The Spectre of the Rose (Two Songs: Serenade, Departure)'' (2015) (as yet unpublished) # ''Pendant to the Rose (A Symbolist Fantasy)'' (2016) (as yet unpublished) # ''The Giver'' (2019) # ''

American Gods ''American Gods'' (2001) is a fantasy novel by British author Neil Gaiman. The novel is a blend of Americana (culture), Americana, fantasy, and various strands of ancient and modern mythology, all centering on the mysterious and taciturn Shad ...

'' (2017-2019) # ''The Problem of Susan'' (2019) # ''Locks'' (2019) # ''

Norse Mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...

'' (2020) # ''The Norse Saga in 24 Panels'' (2024)

References

External links

P. Craig Russell
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, P. Craig 1951 births 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists American comics artists American comics writers American illustrators Comics inkers DC Comics people Eisner Award winners for Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team American gay artists Harvey Award winners for Best Artist or Penciller Inkpot Award winners Kent State University faculty LGBTQ comics creators LGBTQ people from Ohio American LGBTQ writers Living people Marvel Comics people People from Kent, Ohio People from Wellsville, Ohio