Richard Howell (born November 16, 1955) 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 ...

best known as the co-founder and editor of Claypool Comics.

Career

Richard Howell entered the comics industry in 1977 with his self-published series '' Portia Prinz of the Glamazons''. Beginning in 1980, he and his partner

Carol Kalish Carol Kalish (February 14, 1955Kraft, David Anthony. 1984, "Sales Director Carol Kalish: Marvel's Direct Sales Manager Tells Her Side," ''Comics Interview'', vol. 1, no. 18, pp. 57-71. – September 5, 1991) was an American writer, editor, comic b ...

co-edited the New Media/Irjax line of magazines. They also ran the New Media/Irjax-owned Boston-area

distributor A distributor is an electric and mechanical device used in the ignition system of older spark-ignition engines. The distributor's main function is to route electricity from the ignition coil to each spark plug at the correct time. Design ...

Solar Spice and Liquors, named after a fictional corporation created by

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, space ...

writer

Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson ( ; November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until his death in 2001. Anderson also wrote historical novels. He won the Hugo Award seven times an ...

. Howell replaced Peter B. Gillis as editorial director of New Media/Irjax in June 1981. Howell began working 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 ...

in 1982 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 ...

in 1983. Writer

Tony Isabella Jenny Blake Isabella (born December 22, 1951), who writes under the names Tony Isabella and Jenny Blake, is an Americans, American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic. She is the creator of Marvel Comics superhero Bill Foster (com ...

and Howell produced ''The Shadow War of

Hawkman Hawkman is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Dennis Neville, the original Hawkman first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1, published by All-American ...

limited series In the field of comic books, and particularly in the United States, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined ...

in 1985 and an ongoing ''Hawkman'' series the following year. Howell and writer

Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early li ...

crafted a twelve-issue ''

The Vision and the Scarlet Witch ''The Vision and the Scarlet Witch'' is a series of comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic features the Vision and Scarlet Witch, a couple and longtime members of the Avengers. Publication history Volume 1 Their first key series toget ...

'' limited series in 1985-1986, wherein the

Scarlet Witch The Scarlet Witch is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The X-Men #4 in March 1964, in the Silver Age of Comic Boo ...

became pregnant. With co-editor Jesse Reyes, he relaunched the

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 ...

character at Harris Comics and co-founded Claypool Comics with Ed Via in 1993. Howell served as editor of Claypool's line throughout its existence. Claypool announced in July 2006 that the print end of its published line would cease, as

Diamond Comic Distributors Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. It transports comic books and graphic novels, as well as other popu ...

, the industry's major distribution arm, would no longer carry it. ''Deadbeats'' continues as a webcomic at the Claypool Comics website.

Personal life

Howell and Kalish were longtime residents of

Leonia, New Jersey Leonia is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,304, an increase of 367 (+4.1%) from the 2010 United Sta ...

Bibliography

Claypool Comics

* ''Deadbeats'' #1–82 (1993–2007) * '' Elvira, Mistress of the Dark'' #1–166 (1993–2007) * ''Phantom of Fear City'' #1–12 (1993–1995) * ''Soulsearchers and Company'' #1–82 (1993–2007)

Comico

* '' Jonny Quest Special'' #1–2 (1988)

DC Comics

* '' Action Comics Weekly'' #615–620 (1988) * ''

All-Star Squadron The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in ''Justice League, Justice League of America'' #193 (August 1981) and was created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway. Although the team was introduced in the 1980s, its s ...

'' #27–28, 30, 36–37, 40, 57, ''Annual'' #3 (1983–1986) * '' Blackhawk'' #268, 273 (1984) * ''

DC Comics Presents ''DC Comics Presents'' is a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1978 to 1986 which ran for 97 issues and four ''Annual''s. It featured team-ups between Superman and a wide variety of other characters in the DC Universe. A recurring bac ...

'' #95 (1986) * '' Firestorm the Nuclear Man'' #68 (1988) * ''

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

'' vol. 2 #162 (1983) * ''

'' vol. 2 #1–16, ''Special'' #1 (1986–1987) * ''The Shadow War of Hawkman'' #1–4 (1985) * ''

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 ...

'' #661 (2007) * ''Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes'' #3–5 (1988) * '' Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' #5, 10, 14, 23 (1985–1987) * ''Who's Who: Update '87 '' #2–3, 5 (1987)

Desperado-Eastern Press

* ''Portia Prinz of the Glamazons'' #1–5 (1977–1978)

Dynamite Entertainment

* ''

Masters Series'' #5 (2011)

Eclipse Comics

* '' Alien Encounters'' #7 (1986) * ''

The DNAgents ''The DNAgents'' is a comic-book series created by writer Mark Evanier and artist Will Meugniot and published by Eclipse Comics from 1983. The series centers on a team of superheroes created through genetic engineering by the Matrix Corporation ...

'' #15, 17–19, 22 (1984–1985) * '' The Liberty Project'' #6 (1987) * ''Merchants of Death'' #3–4 (1988) * ''New DNAgents'' #11 (1986) * ''Portia Prinz of the Glamazons'' #1–6 (1986–1987) * ''Surge'' #2 (1984) * ''Three Dimensional DNAgents'' #1 (1986)

Harris Comics

* ''

Creepy Creepiness is the state of being creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or unease to someone and/or something. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others; interest in horror or the macabre might come across as 'c ...

1993 Fearbook'' (1993) * ''Vampirella's Summer Nights'' (1992) * ''Vampirella: Morning in America'' #3 (1991)

Marvel Comics

* '' Avengers 2000'' (2000) * ''Avengers Annual'' #19 (1990) * ''

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 ...

'' #145 (1983) * '' The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones'' #3 (1983) * ''Hero: Warrior of the Mystic Realms'' #5–6 (1990) * ''

Inhumans The Inhumans are a superhuman race of super beings appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many people associat ...

Special'' #1 (1990) * '' Iron Man Annual'' #11 (1990) * ''

Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' is an American comic book anthology title that was published in three series by Marvel Comics: from 1988 to 1995; 2007 to 2008; and in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume was released on a bi-weekly basis and lasted for ...

'' #18, 52, 60–63 (1989–1990) * ''

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 ...

'' #54-55, 59 (1990–1991) * ''

Marvel Super Special ''Marvel Comics Super Special'' was a 41-issue series of one-shot (comics), one-shot comic-magazines published by American company Marvel Comics from 1977 to 1986. They were cover-priced $1.50 to $2.50, while regular color comics were priced 30 cen ...

'' #24 (''

The Dark Crystal ''The Dark Crystal'' is a 1982 dark fantasy, dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell (actress), Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. The film was prod ...

'') (1982) * ''

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 ...

'' #34 (1983) * ''

Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe The ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' is an encyclopedic Guide book, guide which details the fictional universe featured in Marvel Comics publications. The original 15-volume series was published in comic book format in 1982, followed b ...

'' #5 (1983) * ''Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition'' #6 (1986) * ''Open Space'' #4 (1990) * ''

Power Man and Iron Fist ''Power Man and Iron Fist'' (originally ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' then ''Luke Cage, Power Man'') was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the superheroes Power Man and Iron Fist. Publication history ''Hero ...

'' #102, 105 (1984) * ''

'' vol. 2 #1–12 (1985–1986) * ''

Web of Spider-Man ''Web of Spider-Man'' is the name of two different monthly comic book series starring Spider-Man that have been published by Marvel Comics since 1985, the first volume of which ran for 129 issues between 1985 and 1995, and the second of which ran ...

'' #46 (1989) * '' What If...?'' vol. 2 #17 (1990) * ''

What The--?! ''What The--?!'' is a Marvel Comics comic book series self-parodying the Marvel Universe as well as characters from the DC Comics Universe. Similar in vein to the 1960s series '' Not Brand Echh'', it was billed as "The Marvel mag of mirth and mayh ...

'' #3, 6–7, 17 (1988–1992) * '' Wolverine: Global Jeopardy'' #1 (1993)

Welsh Publishing

* ''The Adventures of Jell-O Man and Wobbly'' #1 (1991)

References

External links

*
Richard Howell
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Richard 1955 births 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists American comics artists American comics writers DC Comics people Living people Marvel Comics people Artists from Leonia, New Jersey