Stephen R. Bissette (; born March 14, 1955) is an American comic book artist and publisher with a focus on the

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

genre. He worked with writer

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...

and inker

John Totleben John Thomas Totleben (born February 16, 1958) is an American illustrator working mostly in comic books. Biography After studying art at Tech Memorial in Erie, Totleben attended The Kubert School for one year. He then spent several years working ...

on the

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 ...

series ''

Swamp Thing Swamp Thing is a superhero and antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several different incarnations throughout his publication. The ch ...

'' in the 1980s.

Biography

Early work and education

Bissette was born and raised in Vermont, where he still lives, and was raised

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Shortly after the publication of his first work, ''Abyss'' (1976), Bissette enrolled in the first class of

The Kubert School The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, commonly known as The Kubert School or Joe Kubert School, is a private for-profit art school focused on cartooning and graphic art located in Madison, New Jersey. It teaches the principles of se ...

. Before his first year was completed, his work was being published professionally in the pages of ''Sojourn'', ''

Sgt. Rock Sergeant Franklin John Rock, also known as simply Sgt. Rock, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Sgt. Rock first appeared in '' Our Army at War'' #83 (June 1959), and was created by Robert Kanigher ...

'', and '' Heavy Metal''. In 1978, Bissette was among the Kubert School's first graduating class, along with classmates

Rick Veitch Richard Veitch (; born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground comics, underground, and alternative comics. Biography Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One ...

Tom Yeates Thomas Yeates (born January 19, 1955) is an American comic strip and comic book artist best known for illustrating the comic strips ''Prince Valiant'' and ''Zorro'' and for working on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Career Thomas Yea ...

, and others. While still enrolled at The Kubert School, Bissette executed the logo for early New Jersey synth-pop band WKGB and drew the cover for the band's 1979 single "Non-Stop/Ultramarine" on

Fetish Records Fetish Records was a British independent record label. Its artist roster consisted of largely early industrial, experimental, and post-punk groups. It was also a home to the early works of graphic designer Neville Brody, who created artwork for ...

(UK Fetish 002). His early work appeared in the pages of ''Heavy Metal'', ''

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 ...

'', ''Bizarre Adventures'',

Scholastic Corporation Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, children, and other educational institutions. P ...

's ''Weird Worlds'' and ''Bananas'' illustrating stories written by ''Goosebumps'' founder and author

R. L. Stine Robert Lawrence Stine (; born October 8, 1943) is an American novelist. He is the writer of '' Goosebumps,'' a horror fiction novel series which has sold over 400 million copies globally in 35 languages, becoming the second- best-selling book ...

, and he worked with Rick Veitch on the graphic novelization of Steven Spielberg's motion picture ''

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

''.

Horror master

Bissette is best known for his multiple award-winning collaboration with writer

and inker

' '' Saga of the Swamp Thing'' (1983–1987). Under the company name of Spiderbaby Grafix, he later published the

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 ...

Taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

'', the original home of Moore and

Eddie Campbell Eddie Campbell (born 10 August 1955) is a British comics artist and cartoonist. He was the illustrator and publisher of '' From Hell'' (written by Alan Moore), and the creator of the semi-autobiographical ''Alec'' stories collected in ''Alec: ...

's ''

From Hell ''From Hell'' is a graphic novel by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published in serial form from 1989 to 1998. The full collection was published in 1999 by Top Shelf Productions. Set during the Whitechapel murders of ...

'', and

Tim Lucas Timothy Ray Lucas (born May 30, 1956) is an American film critic, biographer, novelist, screenwriter and blogger, best known for publishing and editing the video review magazine ''Video Watchdog''. Biography and early career Lucas, born in Cinc ...

' ''

Throat Sprockets ''Throat Sprockets'' is an erotic horror novel by Tim Lucas, published in 1994. Plot It concerns an unnamed protagonist's obsessive quest to learn all he can about a mysterious film called ''Throat Sprockets''. As fixation on the film consumes ...

'', illustrated by Mike Hoffman and David Lloyd. He created ''

Tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...

'', a comic book biography of a ''

Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It live ...

'', which lasted four issues. During this period, he edited the horror anthology ''

Gore Shriek Gore may refer to: Places Australia * Gore, Queensland * Gore Creek (New South Wales) * Gore Island (Queensland) Canada * Gore, Nova Scotia, a rural community * Gore, Quebec, a township municipality * Gore Bay, Ontario, a township on Manitou ...

'', published by

FantaCo Enterprises FantaCo Enterprises is an American comic book store and publishing company founded and created by Thomas Skulan and based in Albany, New York. As a publisher, FantaCo was known for its idiosyncratic line-up of mostly black-and-white titles, incl ...

. Since 1991, Bissette has presented a lecture series on horror comics called "Journeys into Fear". Having since grown in scope into a five-part series, "Journeys into Fear" identifies 12th century Japanese ghost scrolls and the 16th century

Mixtec codices The Mixtec Group is the designation given by scholars to a number of mostly pre-Columbian documents from the Mixtec people of the state of Oaxaca in the southern part of the Republic of Mexico. They are distinguished by their principally historical ...

as early ancestors, and traces the genre from its roots in

Winsor McCay Zenas Winsor McCay ( – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip ''Little Nemo'' (1905–1914; 1924–1927) and the animated film ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' (1914). For contractual reasons, he w ...

's work such as ''

Dream of the Rarebit Fiend ''Dream of the Rarebit Fiend'' is a newspaper comic strip by American cartoonist Winsor McCay, begun September 10, 1904. It was McCay's second successful strip, after '' Little Sammy Sneeze'' secured him a position on the cartoon staff of the '' ...

''. In 1996–1997, Bissette contributed five covers for a comic book series about another

swamp monster A swamp monster (also variously called a swamp creature, swamp man, or muck monster) is a fictional or mythological creature imagined to lurk in a swamp. Some swamp monsters resemble aquatic creatures, others aquatic plants and moss. They are gene ...

Hall of Heroes ''Hall of Heroes'' was an American independent comic book company that existed in the mid-to-late 1990s. Based in Elkhart, Indiana, Hall of Heroes operated from 1993 to 1999. The company's longest-running titles were two volumes of the antholog ...

' ''

Bog Swamp Demon A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muske ...

''.

Other work

Bissette subsequently worked with Moore, Totleben, and Rick Veitch on the

Image Comics Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...

' limited series ''

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

'', their final creative collaborative effort. From ''1963'', Bissette owns the characters Hypernaut, N-Man, and the Fury.

Scott McCloud Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. His non-fiction books about comics, ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and '' Making Comics'' (2006), are made in comic ...

24-hour comic A 24-hour comic is a 24-page comic book written, drawn, and completed in 24 hours. Cartoonist Scott McCloud came up with the challenge in 1990 as a creative exercise for himself and fellow comics artist Stephen R. Bissette. Beginning in 2004, wri ...

project began as a dare to Bissette in 1990. Each created a 24-page comic in 24 hours. The 24-hour comics project evolved into a challenge taken up by numerous hopeful contributors, with several published collections, and inspired other time-limited creative projects. Bissette published the story ''A Life in black and white'' in his own comic book anthology ''SpiderBaby Comix'' #2 (SpiderBaby Graphix, 1997). In 1993, Bissette and Stanley Wiater co-edited ''Comic Book Rebels: Conversations with the Creators of the New Comics'' (Dutton, ), which featured interviews with such notable comics creators as Scott McCloud,

Harvey Pekar Harvey Lawrence Pekar (; October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010) was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical ''American Splendor'' comic series. In 2003, the series inspired ...

Dave Sim Dave Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, known for his comic book ''Cerebus the Aardvark, Cerebus'', his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of self-publishing and creators' rights, and his controversial political an ...

Howard Cruse Howard Cruse (May 2, 1944 – November 26, 2019) was an American alternative cartoonist known for the exploration of gay themes in his comics. First coming to attention in the 1970s, during the underground comix movement with ''Barefootz'', he ...

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner ( ; March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series '' The Spirit'' (1940–1952) wa ...

Peter Laird Peter Alan Laird (born January 27, 1954) is an American comic book writer and artist. He is best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with writer and artist Kevin Eastman. Early life and career Laird was born on January 27, 1 ...

Kevin Eastman Kevin Brooks Eastman (born May 30, 1962) is an American comic book writer and artist best known for co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Peter Laird. Eastman was also formerly the editor and publisher of the magazine ''Heavy Metal ...

, and

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American artist who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American c ...

Retirement and teaching

Bissette retired from the comics industry in 1999, alluding to what he termed a "generational shift." He teaches courses in Comic Art History, Drawing, and Film at the

Center for Cartoon Studies The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) is a two-year institution focusing on sequential art, specifically comics and graphic novels.White River Junction, Vermont White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,528 at the 2020 census, up from 2,286 in 2010, making it the largest co ...

Since 2005, Bissette has also edited and published ''Green Mountain Cinema'', a trade paperback journal devoted to the independent cinema scene in his home state of Vermont, as well as five volumes of ''Blur'', collecting his film reviews and criticism. The Stephen R. Bissette Collection at

Henderson State University Henderson State University (HSU) is a public university in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, United States. Founded in 1890 as Arkadelphia Methodist College, Henderson has an undergraduate enrollment of around 2,500 students. The campus is located on . H ...

Arkadelphia, Arkansas Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,380. The city is the county seat of Clark County. It is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Hender ...

, houses Bissette's works and memorabilia.

Awards

Bissette's work with

and

earned the 1985 "Best Single Issue"

Jack 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 '' Swamp Thing Annual'' #2, and the 1985, 1986, and 1987 Jack Kirby Awards for "Best Continuing Series" for ''Swamp Thing''. His work with John Totleben earned them the 1985 "Best Art Team" Jack Kirby Award for ''Swamp Thing''. ''Taboo'' won the "Best Anthology"

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 1993. His work with Alan Moore and John Totleben earned a nomination for the 1985 "Best Single Issue" Jack Kirby Award for ''Swamp Thing'' #34. Bissette and Totleben earned nominations for the 1986 and 1987 Jack Kirby Awards for "Best Art Team" for their work on ''Swamp Thing''. Bissette and Moore were nominated for the 1986 Jack Kirby Award for "Best Writer/Artist (Single or Team)". Bissette was nominated for the " Best Editor" Eisner Award in 1993 for ''Taboo'' and received an

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 ...

in 1997.

Bibliography

Aardvark-Vanaheim

* '' Cerebus'' #116 (text article), 139, 159, 184–185 (1988–1994)

Archie Comics

* ''

Mighty Crusaders The Mighty Crusaders is a fictional superhero team published by Archie Comics. The team originally appeared in ''Fly-Man'' No. 31, #32 and No. 33 before being launched in its own title, ''The Mighty Crusaders''. Written by Superman co-creator Je ...

'' #10 (1984)

Atomeka Press

* ''A1 Bojeffries Terror Tome'' #1 (letterer) (2005)

Comico Comics

* '' Elementals'' #9 (1986)

Dark Horse Comics

* '' Aliens: Havoc'' #2 (1997) * ''

Dark Horse Presents ''Dark Horse Presents'' was a comic book published by Dark Horse Comics from 1986 in comics, 1986. Their first published series, it was their flagship title until its September 2000 in comics, 2000 cancellation. The second incarnation was publishe ...

'' #37, 143 (1990–1999) * '' Godzilla, King of the Monsters Special'' #1 (1987)

DC Comics

* ''

G.I. Combat ''G.I. Combat'' is an American comics anthology featuring war comics, war stories. It was published from 1952 until 1956 by Quality Comics, followed by DC Comics until its final issue in 1987. In 2012 it was briefly revived. Publication histor ...

'' #218 (1980) * ''

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 ...

'' #299, 310 (1981–1982) * ''

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 Midnight Days'' TPB (2000) * '' Saga of the Swamp Thing'' #16–17, 19, 21–27, 29–30, 34–36 (1983–1985) * ''

Secrets of Haunted House ''Secrets of Haunted House'' was a horror-suspense comics anthology series published by American company DC Comics from 1975 to 1978 and 1979 to 1982. Publication history The series began in April–May 1975. Like its predecessor ''Secrets of S ...

'' #46 (1982) * ''

'' #311 ("A Song for Saigon Sally"), #321 ("Live by the Sword... Die by the Sword!", script; art by

Thomas Yeates Thomas Yeates (born January 19, 1955) is an American comic strip and comic book artist best known for illustrating the comic strips ''Prince Valiant'' and ''Zorro'' and for working on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Career Thomas Yea ...

), #323 ("Dead Shot", script by

Robert Kanigher Robert Kanigher (; June 18, 1915 – May 7, 2002)Social Security Death Index, social security #116-07-5117. was an American comic book writer and editor whose career spanned five decades. He was involved with the Wonder Woman franchise for over ...

), #335, 343, 345–346 (1977–1980) * ''Swamp Thing'' #39–42, 44, 46, 50, 59, 64, 78, ''Annual'' #2, 4 (1985–1988) * '' The Unexpected'' #191, 214 (1979–1981)

Eclipse Comics

* ''Bedlam'' #1–2 (1985) * ''Fearbook'' #1 (1986) * '' Real War Stories'' #1 (1987)

FantaCo Enterprises

* '' Alien Encounters'' #1 (1981) * ''Gore Shriek'' #1, 4–6 (1986–1990) * ''Gore Shriek Delectus'' #1 (1989)

HM Communications

* '' Heavy Metal'' #v2 #5–7, #v3 #6, 9–10, #v4 #2, #v5 #5, #v7 #3 (1978–1983)

Image Comics

* ''

'' #2–4 (1993)

Kitchen Sink Press

* ''Taboo'' #8–9 (1995)

Mad Love Publishing

* '' AARGH (Artists Against Rampant Government Homophobia)'' #1 (1988)

Marvel Comics

* ''

Amazing High Adventure ''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 ...

'' #4 (1986) * ''

Bizarre Adventures ''Marvel Preview'' is a black-and-white comics magazine published by Magazine Management for fourteen issues and the affiliated Marvel Comics Group for ten issues. The final issue additionally carried the imprint Marvel Magazines Group. Public ...

'' #31, 33 (1982) * ''

'' #2, 6 (1980–1981) * ''

Marvel Preview ''Marvel Preview'' is a black-and-white comics magazine published by Magazine Management for fourteen issues and the affiliated Marvel Comics Group for ten issues. The final issue additionally carried the imprint Marvel Magazines Group. Publica ...

'' #18, 23 (1979–1980) * ''

Timespirits ''Timespirits'' was an eight-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics as part of its Epic Comics imprint in 1984. It was created by writer Stephen Perry and Tom Yeates. Varnae's appearance in #4 indicates that ''Timespirits'' i ...

'' #4 (1985)

Spiderbaby Grafix

* ''SpiderBaby Comix'' #1-2 (1996–1997) * ''

'' #1–7 (1988–1992) * ''Taboo Especial'' #1 (1991) * ''

'' #1–4 (1994–1996)

References

External links

*
Bissette's previous blog
*
Stephen R. Bissette
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum Art Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bissette, Stephen R. 1955 births American comics artists American comics writers American art educators Artists from Vermont American comic book editors Comic book publishers (people) Inkpot Award winners Living people American role-playing game artists The Kubert School alumni Writers from Vermont Comics critics