Seth Fisher
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Seth Fisher (July 22, 1972 – January 30, 2006) was 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 ...
artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...
.


Biography

Seth Fisher was born in Seattle in 1972, and lived in
Coronado Coronado may refer to: People * Coronado (surname) Coronado is a Spanish surname derived from the village of Cornado, near A Coruña, Galicia. People with the name * Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish explorer often referred t ...
with his mother from age 5 to 10, until his mother remarried and the family moved to the East Coast with the Navy. In junior high school Fisher went to live with his father in Custer, South Dakota; his mother and stepfather soon moved back to Coronado, and he came every summer to visit. Fisher decided he wanted to be a comic book artist after attending his first
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 ...
when he was a freshman in college, circa 1991. After that, he started attending every year, bringing a portfolio of his work and standing in line for an editor at DC or
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 ...
to look through the work and offer a real life critique. By the time he was 23, Fisher's work had improved enough to receive some real attention from professionals, though so far nothing that turned into a paycheck. After graduating from
Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...
in 1994 (with a degree in mathematics), Fisher went to Japan with the JET Programme, to teach English in a rural Japanese high school on the small
Oki Islands The is an archipelago in the Sea of Japan, the islands of which are administratively part of Oki District, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. The islands have a total area of . Only four of the around 180 islands are permanently inhabited. Much of the ...
. His initial attraction to Japan was its comic book culture. Fisher studied the intricacies of
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
, and wanted to go to a country where an adult could read a comic book in public without feeling the need to hide it behind a copy of Newsweek. Fisher spent four years in Japan, and during that time started looking for a writer to do a comic with.


Career

Fisher first gained mainstream recognition for his and Andrew Dabb's
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 ...
series '' Happydale: Devils in the Desert''. Fisher met Dabb online in 1996, and they did an 8-page mini-comic that gave a feel for the story to pitch to a publisher. None of the contacted publishers accepted the story as, at the time, Fisher's style was considered too risky to publish. Eventually, ''Happydale'' was picked up by
Jim Valentino Jim Valentino (born October 28, 1952) is an American writer, penciler, editor and publisher of comic books, best known for his 1990–1992 work on '' Guardians of the Galaxy'' for Marvel Comics, and for co-founding Image Comics, a company publ ...
for his Non-Line imprint, which folded when the book was half-done. After that, Fisher decided to finish the story to have it ready to be published, and took six months off work. In the meantime, he was contacted by '' Heavy Metal'' and ''
Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
'' magazines and did a few short stories for the first and illustrated a few prose stories for the latter. Upon completing the project, Fisher took it to SDCC '98, where he was immediately recognized by Andy Helfer. Helfer liked the presented work, agreed to pass it to
Karen Berger Karen Berger (; born February 26, 1958) is an American comic book editor. She is best known for her role in helping create DC Comics' Vertigo imprint in 1993 and serving as the line's Executive Editor until 2013. She currently oversees Berger ...
, then-
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 ...
editor, and in the meantime assigned Fisher to do some work for his
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 ...
imprint. In 1999, Fisher was hired by Presto Studios as one of the designers for '' Myst III: Exile'', and took a year off of comics to work on it. After the game was completed, Fisher came back to DC with art samples and a story idea he pitched to editor Joey Cavalieri. However, after a brainstorming session, the idea was shelved and it was decided to have the presented art style as a starting point for a
Hal Jordan Harold "Hal" Jordan, one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created in 1959 by writer John Broome (writer), John Broome and artist Gil Kane, and f ...
story. Cavalieri assigned J. M. DeMatteis, then-writer of Jordan (in the
Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writt ...
incarnation) to script the project. At SDCC '00, Shelly Bond, Fisher's editor at Vertigo, introduced him to writer Jonathan Vankin and asked them to come up with a story set in Japan as she knew both of them had experience living there. After completing '' Green Lantern: Willworld'', Fisher was eager to do more, so he was given a year-old
Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Barry Allen ** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...
script by John Rozum. The Flash story had no deadline, so Fisher was able to work on both that and what would eventually become '' Vertigo Pop! Tokyo'' as well as a
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 ...
story with Dan Curtis Johnson and J. H. Williams III (that wouldn't be released until three years later as "Snow" arc of '' Legends of the Dark Knight'' series). After finishing those projects, he contributed two fill-in issues to his then-favorite ongoing,
John Arcudi John Arcudi is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on '' The Mask'' and '' B.P.R.D.'' and his series '' Major Bummer''. Early life Arcudi grew up in Buffalo, New York. He attended Columbia University as an English major and ...
and Tan Eng Huat's ''
Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appear ...
''. In 2003, Fisher was nominated for an
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 ...
in "Best Penciller/Inker" category for ''Flash: Time Flies'' and ''Vertigo Pop! Tokyo''. After the expiration of his exclusive contract with DC (signed in 2001, renewed in 2002), Fisher took another break from comics to focus on his marriage and, later, the birth of son. In the meantime, he produced album covers in
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
and his adopted home of
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, as well as some work for '' QuickJapan'' magazine and
Dentsu , simply known as , stylized as dentsu, is a Japanese international advertising and public relations joint stock company headquartered in Tokyo. Dentsu is the largest advertising agency in Japan and the fifth largest advertising agency network in ...
ad agency. Fisher returned to comics once again in 2005, wanting to do a
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 ...
or
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 ...
project. Zeb Wells, writer of the eventual mini-series, recalled in an October 2005 interview, In a 1999 interview, Andrew Dabb stated he and Fisher had a sequel for ''Happydale'' planned sometime in the future; Zeb Wells planned to reunite with Fisher on an Ant-Man story; unfortunately, neither of these nor any other possible future Fisher projects ever came to be.


Death

J. H. Williams III first broke the news of Fisher's passing in a post at '' Barbelith Underground'': The news was confirmed later that day by most major comics websites. Seth Fisher died in late January 2006 as a result of injuries suffered in a fall from a seventh story roof of an
Osaka, Japan is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third-most populous city in Japan, following the special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a populatio ...
club where he went to celebrate the completion of the last issue of ''Big in Japan''. Three works have been released
posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...
: a project titled ''Build Your Own Backpack Alarm'', written by Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone – a do-it-yourself guide to building a personal backpack security system – for Scholastic, a short story titled " Freddy Wertham Goes to Hell" written by Joe Hill and finished by Fisher's friend Langdon Foss, and ''Bob's Amazing Life'', a children's book written and illustrated by Fisher for his son.


Personal life

In 1998, Fisher married his college girlfriend, April Brody, and they moved from
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
to
Florence, Italy Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence was a centre of medieval European t ...
for a year so that April could study Italian. When Fisher was hired by Presto, he and April moved back to the United States to
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
. Some years later, they divorced, and in 2002 Fisher moved back to Japan for six weeks of photographic research for '' Vertigo Pop! Tokyo''. Acquiring an artist's visa to remain in Japan, Fisher reconnected with an old friend named Hisako Sugiyama, who would become his second wife. On May 5, 2004, the couple's son Toufuu Fisher was born.


Bibliography


Interior work

*''
The Big Book of ''The Big Book Of'' is a series of graphic novel comics anthology, anthologies published by American company DC Comics imprint (trade name), imprint Paradox Press. Publication history The ''Big Books'' were published between 1994 and 2000. Just o ...
...'' (
anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...
,
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 ...
): ** "Warning! Cigarette Companies May be Hazardous to Your Health!" (with Steve Vance, in ''The Big Book of Vice'', 1998) ** "The Devil's Smelly Brother" (with Jonathan Vankin, in ''The Big Book of Grimm'', 1999) ** "The Short, Happy Life of Disco" (with Jonathan Vankin, in ''The Big Book of the 70s'', 2000) *'' Frank Frazetta Fantasy Illustrated'' #8: "The Seed" (script and art, anthology, Quantum Cat, 1999) *'' Happydale: Devils in the Desert'' #1–2 (with Andrew Dabb,
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 ...
, 1999) *'' Heavy Metal'' (anthology, Metal Mammoth Inc.): ** "Sacrifice" (script and art, in vol. 24 #4, 2000) ** "Lift" (script and art, with
Kaare Andrews Kaare Kyle Andrews (born 1975) is a comic book writer, comics artist, artist and filmmaker from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His work includes ''Spider-Man'', ''Iron Fist (character), Iron Fist'', ''Renato Jones'', and ''The Incredible Hulk (comic bo ...
, in vol. 24 #6, 2001) ** "Lifeblood: Human Contact" (with Michael O'Connell, in ''Erotic Special'' #2, 2002) *'' Green Lantern: Willworld'' (with J. M. DeMatteis,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, 2001) *'' The Flash: Time Flies'' (with John Rozum, one-shot, DC Comics, 2002) *'' Vertigo Pop! Tokyo'' #1–4 (with Jonathan Vankin, Vertigo, 2002) *''
Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appear ...
'' vol. 3 #13–14: "Do Over" (with
John Arcudi John Arcudi is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on '' The Mask'' and '' B.P.R.D.'' and his series '' Major Bummer''. Early life Arcudi grew up in Buffalo, New York. He attended Columbia University as an English major and ...
, DC Comics, 2002–2003) *'' Spider-Man Unlimited'' vol. 3 #8: "Fanboyz" (with Joe Hill, anthology,
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
, 2005) *'' Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight'' #192–196: "Snow" (with Dan Curtis Johnson and J. H. Williams III, DC Comics, 2005) *''
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 ...
/
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 ...
'' #1–4: "Big in Japan" (with Zeb Wells, Marvel, 2005–2006) *'' Grave Tales'' #6: "Freddy Wertham Goes to Hell" (with Joe Hill, anthology, Cemetery Dance, 2009) ** Fisher finished only a couple of pages, and the rest was penciled and inked by Langdon Foss from his layouts. ** A colorized version of the story was printed in '' Locke & Key: Welcome to Lovecraft Special Edition'' (
IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic ...
).


Covers only

*'' Busted!'' vol. 2 #7 ( CBLDF, 2000) *'' Zendra'' #5 (Penny-Farthing Press, 2001) *'' Transformers: Dark Star'' hc (
Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of the British entertainment company Titan Entertainment, which was established as Titan Books in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cine ...
, 2005)


Other work

*'' Myst III: Exile'' (design for the "hub", ''J'Nanin'' and ''Narayan'' ages, developed by Presto Studios for
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
, 2001) *'' The Authority: Absolute Edition Volume 2'' (
The Doctor The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...
pin-up, published by DC Comics'
Wildstorm Wildstorm Productions (stylized as WildStorm) is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi to publish through Image Comics, Wildstorm became a publishing imprint of DC C ...
imprint, 2003) *
Flowering Nose in Slugland
' (
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
-based game written and designed by Fisher in collaboration with Omar Waly at Radical Play, 2004) * Bank$ – '' Tomorrow'' (CD cover, Genius at Work, 2004) * Squaremeat – '' Astronomical Coffee Break'' (CD cover, Exogenic Records, 2005) *'' Build Your Own Backpack Alarm'' (illustrations, written by Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone, Scholastic, 2006)


References


External links

* * * * Lisa Ellis
"Seth Fisher '94,"
''
Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...
Bulletin'' (Apr. 2004) * Jared Lewis and Sean Witzke
Don’t Believe Here the Evidence 02 – SETH FISHER
''supervillain.'' (Feb. 2011) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Seth 1972 births 2006 deaths Accidental deaths from falls American comics artists Accidental deaths in Japan Writers Guild of America Award winners