Ralph Reese (born May 19, 1949) is an American artist who has illustrated for books, magazines, trading cards,

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 ...

s and

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 ...

s, including a year drawing the ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' ...

'' strip for King Features. Prolific from the 1960s to the 1990s, he is best known for his collaboration with Byron Preiss on the continuing feature "One Year Affair", serialized in the satiric magazine '' National Lampoon'' from 1973 to 1975 and then collected into a 1976 book. Reese early in his career worked in the studio of

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

, assisting on both mainstream and alternative-press comics and on trading cards. He went on to do mainly

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

and horror illustrations for

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, sp ...

magazines and black-and-white horror-comics magazines. He drew many fantasy, horror and science-fiction stories for

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 ...

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

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 ...

Early life

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Reese attended New York's

High School of Art and Design The High School of Art and Design is a career and technical education high school in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1936 as the School of Industrial Art, the school moved to 1075 Second Avenue in 1960 and more recently, its Midtown Manha ...

. 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

Frank Brunner Frank Brunner (born February 21, 1949) is an American comics artist and illustrator best known for his work at Marvel Comics in the 1970s. Early life Brunner attended Manhattan's High School of Art and Design. He was in the same graduating class ...

Career

Early career

While still an art student in 1966, Reese began his career at age 16 as an assistant to artist

,Ralph Reese
at the

Lambiek Comiclopedia Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ). His son Boris Kousemaker has been the owner since 2007. From 1968 to 2015, it was located in the Ke ...

who became a dominant influence on Reese's art.

Wally Wood studio

Reese contributed to various Wood projects, including

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...

trading cards A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other t ...

stories and Wood's independent comics. His first confirmed comics work is an illustration for a one-page text story, "...And Thereby Hangs A Tale...", in ''

witzend ''witzend'', published on an irregular schedule spanning decades, is an underground comix, underground comic showcasing contributions by comic book professionals, leading illustrators and new artists. ''witzend'' was launched in 1966 by the wri ...

'' #1 (Summer 1966). His first comics story was co- penciling and co- inking with Wood a 10-page

in '' Heroes, Inc. Presents Cannon'' (1969).Ralph Reese
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information use ...

In 2001, Reese recalled his duties at the Wood's studio: With the Wood Studio as a launching pad, Reese became a prolific freelancer. In 1969, he did a cover and numerous interior illustrations for ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Edi ...

''. For Robert Sproul's Major Publications, he was a regular 1969-70 contributor to ''Web of Horror'', edited by Terry Bisson. His first confirmed solo comics story credit is as penciler-inker of Bisson's four-page story "The Skin-Eaters' in Major Publications' ''Web of Horror'' #1 (Dec. 1969). He illustrated two

Otto Binder Otto Oscar Binder (; August 26, 1911 – October 13, 1974) was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books. He is best known as the co-creator of Supergirl and for his many scripts for '' Captain Ma ...

stories in ''Web of Horror'' #2 (Feb. & April 1970).

Comics and commercial illustration

During the 1970s, Reese's artwork surfaced in a wide variety of publications, from

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, ...

to slick

magazines A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

, including '' National Lampoon''Mark's Very Large ''National Lampoon'' Site
(fan site): November 1973, Vol. 1, No. 44: "Character Building Comics" by

Gerald Sussman Gerald Jay Sussman (born February 8, 1947) is the Panasonic Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has been involved in artificial intelligence (AI) research at MIT since 1964. His research ha ...

and Henry Beard; illustrated by Fran Hollidge and Ralph Reese; "Eddie Bean Down-filled Catalog, 1973-74" by Gerald Sussman; illustrated by D. Brauti and Ralph Reese; "Funny Pages", including "One Year Affair" (three episodes) by Ralph Reese and Byron Preiss and ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

''. He sometimes collaborated with

. In ''Comics Interview'' #37 (1986), Hama recalled working with Reese and Wood: Reese worked from 1972 to 1977 at

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 ...

' Continuity Associates studio at 9 East 48th Street in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. There he became acquainted with a group of freelance artists that included Jack Abel,

Sergio Aragones Sergio may refer to: * Sergio (name), for people with the given name Sergio * Sergio (carbonado), the largest rough diamond ever found * Sergio, the mascot for the Old Orchard Beach Surge Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungar ...

Dick Giordano Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics. Ear ...

, Russ Heath, Bob McLeod, Marshall Rogers,

Joe Rubinstein Josef "Joe" Rubinstein (born 4 June 1958) is a comic book artist and inker, most associated with inking Marvel Comics' ''The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' and the 1982 four-issue ''Wolverine'' miniseries by Chris Claremont and Frank ...

and Lynn Varley. At Continuity, Reese and Hama sometimes worked as a team, and they created illustrations for a variety of clients, including the

Children's Television Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization and television company that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—includin ...

. Reese's comic book credits include pages for Acclaim, Byron Preiss,

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 ...

, Skywald Publications and

Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren (publisher), James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include ''After Hours (magazin ...

. While working in the mainstream, he also contributed to underground titles, including ''Conspiracy Capers'', ''Drool'', and editor

Jay Lynch Jay Patrick Lynch (January 7, 1945 – March 5, 2017) was an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his '' Bijou Funnies'' and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip ''Nard n' Pat'' and the r ...

Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hardcov ...

comic '' Bijou Funnies''. His work for DC Comics included stories for ''

House of Mystery ''The House of Mystery'' is the name of several horror comics, horror, fantasy comics, fantasy, and mystery fiction, mystery comics anthology, comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, ''The House of Secrets (DC Comi ...

'', '' House of Secrets'', '' The Witching Hour'' and ''The Unexpected''. In 1973, Reese illustrated

Thomas Disch Thomas Michael Disch (February 2, 1940 – July 4, 2008) was an American science fiction writer and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book—previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book"—in 1999. He had two other Hugo nominations and n ...

's "The Roaches" for the black-and-white horror-comics magazine '' Monsters Unleashed'', published by Marvel's

Curtis Magazines Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from the Old French ''curteis'' (Modern French">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of Fren ...

imprint, and the following year, he continued in a similar vein with art for

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...

's story, "The Rats" in '' Haunt of Horror''. With these two stories, featuring extreme close-up drawings of roaches and rats, Reese depicted horror lurking in real-life vermin, and both stories had several reprints. After he collaborated with Byron Preiss on the feature "One Year Affair" in the '' National Lampoon'', the two did installments of a follow-up, "Two Year Affair". For

Atlas/Seaboard Comics Atlas/Seaboard Comics is a line of comic books published by the American company Seaboard Periodicals in the 1970s. Though the line was published under the brand Atlas Comics, comic book historians and collectors refer to it as Atlas/Seaboard Com ...

he drew "Midnight Muse" in ''Devilina'' #1 (January 1975). In 1982, Reese teamed with

Al Williamson Alfonso Williamson (March 21, 1931 – June 12, 2010) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western, science fiction and fantasy. Born in New York City, he spent much of his early childhood in ...

, Dan Green and Carlos Garzon on a comics adaptation of the

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Di ...

''. In 1985, Reese horror stories were reprinted in the two issues of ''Reese's Pieces'' (Eclipse). Also during the 1980s, Reese illustrated more than a dozen titles in

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin Jr., Sidney B. K ...

' ''

Choose Your Own Adventure ''Choose Your Own Adventure'' is a series of children's gamebooks where each story is written from a second-person point of view, with the reader assuming the role of the protagonist and making choices that determine the main character's actio ...

'' series. In 1989 and 1990, he drew both the daily and

Sunday strip The Sunday comics or Sunday strip is the comic strip section carried in some Western newspapers. Compared to weekday comics, Sunday comics tend to be full pages and are in color. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, t ...

s of King Features' ''

'', scripted by Bruce Jones. From 1992 to 1997, he did much work for the comic book '' Magnus Robot Fighter'' and other

series, including ''Raj'' and '' X-O Manowar''."Valiant-Related Works by Ralph Reese", Valiantfans.com, n.d.
/ref> Also in the 1990s, he contributed to several

Paradox Press Paradox Press was a division of DC Comics formed in 1993 after editor Mark Nevelow departed from Piranha Press. Under the initial editorship of Andy Helfer, Andrew Helfer and Bronwyn Carlton, the imprint was renamed. Paradox was best known for pu ...

titles: ''The Big Book of Hoaxes'', ''The Big Book of Freaks'', ''The Big Book of Losers'' and ''The Big Book of Little Criminals''. In 2009, Reese returned to DC with "The Thirteenth Hour" in issue #13 (July 2009) of editor Angela Rufino's ''

'' revival 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 ...

. In 2010, an interview with Reese was reprinted in Pure Imagination's ''Wild Wood''.

Awards

* Shazam Award for Best Inker (Humor Division) in 1973 and 1974.

Bibliography

*''One Year Affair'' (Workman, 1976) *''Nightshade Book One: Terror, Inc.'' (Pyramid, 1976) *''The Ray Bradbury Chronicles'', Volume two (NBM, 1992) *''The Secret Life of Cats'' (Collier Macmillan, 1982) *''Trouilles Noires'' (Triton, 1979) *''The Wally Wood Treasury'' (Pure Imagination, 1980) *''Wild Wood'' (Pure Imagination, 2010)

References

External links

Comic Book Awards AlmanacComic Book Database: Ralph Reese credits and cover galleryPenci/Ink: Ralph Reese - no entries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reese, Ralph 1949 births American comic strip cartoonists American magazine illustrators Living people High School of Art and Design alumni Marvel Comics people