Shawn C. Martinbrough is an American

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...

artist. The long-time artist for

Robert Kirkman Robert Kirkman (; born November 30, 1978)Löchel, Ingo"The Walking Dead: Die Comic-Serie – Robert Kirkman" Zauberspiegel. Retrieved February 17, 2013. is an American comic book writer, screenwriter and television producer. He is best known ...

's ''

Thief of Thieves ''Thief of Thieves'' is a monthly comic book series published by Image Comics' Skybound imprint which premiered in 2012. Created by Robert Kirkman, the comic centers on Conrad Paulson, a highly successful thief who quits the business and begins a ...

'', Martinbrough is known for his

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

-influenced drawing style.Younger, Briana. "Washington, DC: Shawn Martinbrough," ''Visual Arts Journal: School of Visual Arts Magazine'' (Fall 2017), p. 34.

Biography

Growing up in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

, Martinbrough's early influences included

Alex Toth Alexander Toth (June 25, 1928 – May 27, 2006) was an American cartoonist active from the 1940s through the 1980s. Toth's work began in the American comic book industry, but he is also known for his animation designs for Hanna-Barbera throughout ...

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...

, and

David Mazzucchelli David John Mazzucchelli (; born September 21, 1960) is an American comics artist and writer, known for his work on seminal superhero comic book storylines '' Daredevil: Born Again'' and '' Batman: Year One'', as well as for graphic novels in othe ...

. Martinbrough graduated from

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, often referred to simply as LaGuardia, is a public high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Square n ...

in 1989. He then attended the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

. Martinbrough got his first professional work — a painted illustration for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 19 ...

— while still a student at SVA. Early in his career, Martinbrough worked for minority-led publishing imprint

Milestone Media Milestone Media is a company best known for creating Milestone Comics, which were published and distributed by DC Comics and the '' Static Shock'' animated series. It was founded in 1993 by a coalition of African-American artists and writers, ...

, primarily as an

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a penc ...

. In 1993, he inked over

John Paul Leon John Paul Leon (April 26, 1972 – May 2, 2021) was an American comic book artist, known for his work on the Milestone Comics series ''Static'', and the Marvel Comics limited series ''Earth X''. Leon also provided artwork for a number of style g ...

on early issues of the Milestone property ''

Static Static may refer to: Places *Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica United States * Static, Kentucky and Tennessee *Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming ** Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak Science and technology Physics *Static e ...

''. He followed that by inking virtually the entire run of DC/Milestone's '' Shadow Cabinet'', again over Leon's pencils. Martinbrough and Leon teamed up again for DC's 1997 reboot of ''

Challengers of the Unknown The Challengers of the Unknown is a fictional group of adventurers appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The quartet of adventurers explored paranormal occurrences while facing several fantastic menaces. The characters' provenance is ...

'', with Martinbrough inking issues 1-9 (and inking covers through issue #17). Martinbrough was given his first ongoing

penciling A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...

duties starting with the DC Comics series '' The Creeper'', in 1997–1998. In 2000–2001, Martinbrough and writer

Greg Rucka Gregory Rucka (born November 29, 1969) is an American writer known for the series of novels starring his character Atticus Kodiak, the creator-owned comic book series '' Whiteout'', '' Queen & Country'', ''Stumptown'' and '' Lazarus'', as well as ...

were the creative team of ''

Detective Comics ''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 best known for introducing the superhero Batman ...

'' (starting with issue #742

arch 2000 An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vault ...

. During their run, they created the

Sasha Bordeaux Sasha Bordeaux is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was at first primarily associated with superhero Batman, and she has subsequently evolved an association with Checkmate in two of its ...

character in issue #751 (Dec. 2000), as well as the villains Kyle Abbot and

Able Crown The Batman family enemies are a collection of supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters are depicted as adversaries of the superhero Batman and his allies. Since Batman first appeared in ''Detect ...

. Rucka and Martinbrough's run was collected in ''Batman: New Gotham'', Volumes 1 and 2. Following his stint on ''Detective Comics'', in 2002 Martinbrough signed on with

to illustrate writer

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Superman, has drawn critical acclaim. He se ...

' four-issues

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered * Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number ...

Morlocks Morlocks are a fictional species created by H. G. Wells for his 1895 novel,''The Time Machine'', and are the main antagonists. Since their creation by H. G. Wells, the Morlocks have appeared in many other works such as sequels, films, televis ...

''. In 2005, Martinbrough and writer Gary Phillips produced '' Angeltown'', a five-issue

published by

Vertigo Comics Vertigo Comics, also known as DC Vertigo or simply Vertigo, was an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics started by editor Karen Berger in 1993. Vertigo's purpose was to publish comics with adult content, such as nudity, drug u ...

. The story is told in the

blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president ...

idiom, with nods to the detective stories of

Chester Himes Chester Bomar Himes (July 29, 1909 – November 12, 1984) was an American writer. His works, some of which have been filmed, include '' If He Hollers Let Him Go'', published in 1945, and the Harlem Detective series of novels for which he is be ...

and

Walter Mosley Walter Ellis Mosley (born January 12, 1952) is an American novelist, most widely recognized for his crime fiction. He has written a series of best-selling historical mysteries featuring the hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins, a black private i ...

. In 2011, the series was reprinted by

Moonstone Books Moonstone Books is an American comic book, graphic novel, and prose fiction publisher based in Chicago focused on pulp fiction comic books and prose anthologies as well as horror and western tales. The company began publishing creator-owned com ...

as ''Angeltown: The Nate Hollis Investigations''. In 2007,

Watson-Guptill Publications Watson-Guptill is an American publisher of instructional books in the arts. The company was founded in 1937 by Ernest Watson, Ralph Reinhold, and Arthur L. Guptill. They also published the magazine ''American Artist''. Their headquarters are at 17 ...

and

The Nielsen Company Nielsen Holdings plc is an American information, data and market measurement firm. Nielsen operates in over 100 countries and employs approximately 44,000 people worldwide. The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and used ...

published Martinbrough's ''How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling''. In 2009, Martinbrough teamed with writers Mike Benson and Adam Glass on the four-issue limited series ''

Luke Cage Noir ''Marvel Noir'' is a 2009 in comics, 2009/2010 Marvel Comics metaseries, alternative continuity combining elements of film noir and pulp magazine, pulp fiction with the Marvel Universe. The central premise of the mini-series replaces super powers ...

''. Since 2012, Martinbrough has been the artist of the monthly series ''

'', co-written by

and published by

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-o ...

Skybound Entertainment Skybound Entertainment is an American multiplatform entertainment company founded by Robert Kirkman and David Alpert. History Skybound Entertainment is the company behind the long-running comic, '' The Walking Dead'', created by Robert Kirkman ...

. Kirkman chose Martinbrough because of his "cinematic flair" and ability to "portray characters realistically." In 2018, New York's

Society of Illustrators The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition. History Founding The Society of Illustrators was founded on ...

held the exhibition ''"Shawn Martinbrough: Storyteller"''.

Personal life

Martinbrough and his wife Ayanna Ross were married in April 2017.Strauss, Alix
"VOWS: Still in Love With Comic Books, and Now With Her, Too,"
''New York Times'' (April 21, 2017). They live in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

Awards

2010

Glyph Comics Awards The Glyph Comics Awards is for the best comics made by people of color from the last calendar year. The goal is to award the People of Color for their awesome work in the comics industry and also to inspire young writers from diverse backgrounds ...

Fan Award for Best Comic for ''

Bibliography

Comics

''As artist unless otherwise noted.'' * (inker) ''

'' #4, 8, 10–12 ( DC/

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the rou ...

, 1993) * (inker) '' Shadow Cabinet'' #1–11, 14–17 (DC/Milestone, 1994–1995) * ''Man Against Time'' #3 (

, 1996) * (inker) ''

'' #1–9 (DC, 1997) * '' The Creeper'' #1–11, #1000000 (DC, 1997–1998) * ''

'' #742–764 (DC, 2000–2001) * ''

'' #1–4 (

, 2002) * ''Vertigo Pop! Bangkok'' #1-4 (Vertigo/DC Comics, 2003) * (with Jock) '' Losers'' #1–12 ( Vertigo X, 2004) * '' Angeltown'' #1–5 (Vertigo, January – May 2005) * '' World War Hulk: Front Line'' #2–5 (Marvel, 2007) * ''

Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie ...

Noir'' #1-4 (

Marvel Noir ''Marvel Noir'' is a 2009/2010 Marvel Comics alternative continuity combining elements of film noir and pulp fiction with the Marvel Universe. The central premise of the mini-series replaces super powers with driven, noir-flavored characterizat ...

, 2009) * '' Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive'' #525, 526, 529 (Marvel, 2012) * ''

'' #1-present (Image Comics/

Skybound Skybound Entertainment is an American multiplatform entertainment company founded by Robert Kirkman and David Alpert. History Skybound Entertainment is the company behind the long-running comic, '' The Walking Dead'', created by Robert Kirkman. ...

, 2012–present) * ''

Hellboy Hellboy is a fictional superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a t ...

and the B.P.R.D.'' #16 (

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

, 2017)

Books

* ''How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling'' (

, 2007)

References

Notes

Sources consulted

* Dougall, Alastair, and Matt Forbeck, editors. (2014). ''Batman: A Visual History''. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN *

External links

* *
"How one 'Black Panther' comic artist is changing perceptions Shawn Martinbrough,"
TEDxMidAtlantic (March 1, 2018) {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinbrough, Shawn Living people Artists from the Bronx Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni School of Visual Arts alumni African-American comics creators People from the Bronx Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people