Trevor Von Eeden (born July 24, 1959)
is a Guyanese-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 ...
, actor and writer known for his work on such titles as ''
Black Lightning
Black Lightning (Jefferson Michael "Jeff" Pierce) is a superhero who appears in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Jenny Blake Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', ''
Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' No. 73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), th ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', and the biographical series ''The Original Johnson''.
Early life
Von Eeden was born in
Guyana
Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
and moved to
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 ...
when he was 11 years old.
According to Von Eeden, he remembers drawing in his early teens in order to alleviate the boredom of junior high school, beginning with anatomical studies of faces and hands, which he says are the most difficult things to draw accurately. He was introduced to comics through the vast comic collection and encouragement of his best friend Al Simonson, who suggested he submit sample artwork to
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 ...
.
Von Eeden's influences included
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 ...
, Jack Kirby,
, and
Curt Swan
Douglas Curtis Swan (February 17, 1920 – June 17, 1996) was an American comics artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans call the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 195 ...
.
[ Archived at the Grand Comics Database] He was also studying medicine at
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
.
Career
Trevor Von Eeden was the first black artist that DC Comics had ever hired, one of the youngest they'd ever hired, and co-creator of their first original black superhero, Black Lightning (the black Green Lantern John Stewart had debuted a year earlier.) His comic book career began at age 16, when DC Comics editor
Jack C. Harris hired him to illustrate prototype assignments with the "
Legion of Super-Heroes
The Legion of Super-Heroes is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino, the Legion is a group of superpowered beings living in the 30th and 31st centuries of t ...
" and ''
Weird War Tales''.
Soon after, Von Eeden was officially hired to design and draw the company's first
African-American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
to have his own title,
Black Lightning
Black Lightning (Jefferson Michael "Jeff" Pierce) is a superhero who appears in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Jenny Blake Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' ...
.
About three years later, Von Eeden began to suspect he had gotten that job because of his skin color, which displeased him and resulted in his writing what he called a five-page mission statement that said "in detail exactly what I wanted to create — the kind of style I thought would express myself most effectively, while also telling a story in the most dramatic way possible. I wrote everything down that I could think of — the details, form, and purpose of the style of art that I'd wanted to create."
[
]
In 1977, he began drawing the "Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' No. 73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), th ...
" backup feature in ''World's Finest Comics
''World's Finest Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...
'' and co-created the Count Vertigo
Count Vertigo (Werner Zytle) is a supervillain created by Gerry Conway, Trevor Von Eeden and Vince Colletta as an enemy of Black Canary, Batman and later Green Arrow in the DC Comics Universe. Count Vertigo is the last descendant of the royal f ...
character with 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 ...
in ''World's Finest Comics'' #251 (July 1978). Von Eeden recalled in a 2011 interview that he "worked for Neal dams
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...
concurrent with my DC tenure—starting in 1978, until somewhere in the late '90s". He moved to 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 1979 and 1980 and pencilled ''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 ...
'' and ''Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman is the code name of several fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first major version is Jessica Drew (and later impersonated by Veranke), the second major version is Julia Carpenter, and the third m ...
''. His stint at Marvel Comics was cut short because, in his words, he was "fired by Jim Shooter
James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor, and publisher in the comics industry. Beginning his career writing for DC Comics at the age of 14, he had a successful but controversial run as editor-in-chief at Marvel Comic ...
, who’d told me specifically, when I’d first started there, to try and draw like Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
—and apparently wasn’t happy that I didn’t." He then returned to DC and once again drew the "Green Arrow" feature in ''World's Finest Comics'' and later in ''Detective Comics
''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman 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 ...
'' as well. In collaboration with writer Mike W. Barr, he crafted '' Batman Annual'' #8 (1982) and a ''Green Arrow'' miniseries. Von Eeden has noted that the ''Batman Annual'' is "the book I’m most proud of, in my 25 year career at DC Comics. I was able to ink it myself, and also got my girlfriend at the time, Lynn Varley, to colour it – her first job in comics." He and writer Jack C. Harris proposed to DC an all-female superteam named the Power Squad, but were turned down. In 1983, Von Eeden and writer Robert Loren Fleming created the DC series '' Thriller'', an action-adventure story that allowed him room to experiment. Von Eeden left the series as of its eighth issue due to difficulties with DC Comics' management. He stated in a 2017 interview that he was "thrilled beyond measure" that ''Thriller'' is "the one job of my entire 41-year career that the fans have fondly and consistently remembered since it first appeared."
He was asked by Frank Miller
Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book artist, comic book writer, and screenwriter known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'', for which he created the character Elektra, and ...
to draw the " Batman: Year One" storyline but did not accept the offer.
"Venom", the fourth story arc in the '' Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight'' series, was drawn by Von Eeden, Russell Braun, and José Luis García-López
José Luis García-López (born March 26, 1948) is a Spanish people, Spanish-Argentines, Argentine comics artist who works in the United States, particularly in a long-running relationship with DC Comics. In addition to his storytelling art, he pr ...
. Von Eeden drew a ''Black Canary
Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As one of the earliest female superheroes in the DC Comics universe, the character has made numerous appearances in prominent team-up titles, ...
'' limited series (Nov. 1991-Feb. 1992) as well as an ongoing series featuring the character in 1992–1993. In a 2009 interview he stated that 'Black Canary'', on the other hand, was done in one state of mind, from beginning to end, one of semi-interest, to tell you the truth. I didn't, and still don't, find her to be a particularly interesting character."
In 2001 Von Eeden returned to Batman, penciling the five-issue storyline "Grimm" in ''Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight'' #149–153. He also illustrated a series of short stories, " Joe In The Future", published in '' Heavy Metal'' #v25 #6 (Jan. 2002) and #v27 #5 (Nov. 2003)
In 2007 Von Eeden began writing and drawing ''The Original Johnson'', a biography of the boxer Jack Johnson. The 242-page graphic novel was serialized in weekly online installments at ComicMix, and was completed in 2008.[ Print rights to the book were acquired by ]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 ...
, who issued the series as a two-volume set in 2009 and 2011. He has called this project "The other 'most satisfying' book of my career (aside from the ''Batman Annual'' #8) is ''The Original Johnson'' – the first book I’ve ever written and drawn."
He provided illustrations for the text story "The Holo-Marketeer" for ''Heavy Metal'' #v34 #9 (Jan. 2011) and designed and illustrated superhero comics produced for the National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
by Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
. He later drew four issues of Gateway Comics' ''Stalker''.
Awards and recognition
* 2010 Inkwell Awards Ambassador
* 2012 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 ...
Bibliography
Archie Comics
* '' Blue Ribbon Comics'' #2, 4 (1983–1984)
* '' The Fly'' #1 (1983)
Continuity Comics
* ''Armor'' #6 (1989)
* ''Megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...
'' #4–5 (1990–1991)
* ''Toyboy'' #2–6 (1987–1988)
* '' Urth 4'' #1–3 (1989–1990)
DC Comics
* ''Adventure Comics
''Adventure Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1938 to 1983 and revived from 2009 to 2011. In its first era, the series ran for 503 issues (472 of those after the title changed from ''New Adventure Comics''), ...
'' #486, 488–489 (Dial H for Hero
''Dial H for Hero'' is a comic book feature published by DC Comics about a magical dial that enables an ordinary person to become a superhero for a short time, such as an hour, by selecting the letters H-E-R-O in order. Each time it is used, the ...
) (1981–1982)
* '' Adventures of the Outsiders'' #37–38 (1986)
* '' Arak, Son of Thunder'' #15 (1982)
* ''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 ...
'' #341–343, 345–349 (Robin and Catwoman backups), 401, (1981-1986)
* ''Batman Annual'' #8 (1982)
* ''Batman and the Outsiders
The Outsiders are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As their name suggests, the team consists of superheroes who do not fit the norms of the "mainstream" superhero community, i.e. the Justice League.
The ...
'' #15, 21 (1984–1985)
* ''Batman: Joker's Apprentice'' #1 (1999)
* '' Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight'' #16–20 (layouts), 105–106, 149–153 (1991–2002)
* '' Batman: Shadow of the Bat Annual'' #1 (1993)
* ''Black Canary
Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As one of the earliest female superheroes in the DC Comics universe, the character has made numerous appearances in prominent team-up titles, ...
'' #1–4 (1991–1992)
* ''Black Canary'' vol. 2 #1–7, 9–11 (1993)
* ''Black Lightning
Black Lightning (Jefferson Michael "Jeff" Pierce) is a superhero who appears in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Jenny Blake Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' ...
'' #1–11 (1977–1978)
* '' Blood Syndicate'' #1 (1993)
* ''Con Edison
Consolidated Edison, Inc., commonly known as Con Edison (stylized as conEdison) or ConEd, is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues as of 2017, and over $62 ...
Presents JLA Starring Batman'' #3 (2002)
* ''Detective Comics
''Detective Comics'' (later retitled as ''Batman 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 ...
'' #507 (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 ...
backup); #518–519 (Batgirl
Batgirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. The character Bette Kane, Betty Kane was introduced into publica ...
); #521–522, 558 (Green Arrow) (1981–1986)
* ''Elseworlds 80-Page Giant
''Elseworlds 80-Page Giant'' is an 80-page collection of ''Elseworlds'' stories published by DC Comics. The collection was withdrawn and pulped after DC became concerned about a scene in one of the stories.
Publication history
This comic included ...
'' #1 (1999)
* ''Green Arrow
Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' No. 73 on September 19, 1941 (cover dated November 1941), th ...
'' #1–4 (1983)
* ''Green Arrow'' vol. 2 #25, ''Annual'' #5 (1989–1992)
* ''Green Lantern Corps
The Green Lantern Corps is a intergalactic Peacekeeping, peace keeping agency appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residing on the plan ...
Annual'' #2 (1986)
* ''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 ...
'' #295, 301, 305, 316 (1981–1983)
* '' Justice League America'' #52 (1991)
* '' Legends of the DC Universe'' #26–27 (2000)
* ''Mystery in Space
''Mystery in Space'' is the name of two science fiction American comic book series published by DC Comics, and of a standalone Vertigo anthology released in 2012. The first series ran for 110 issues from 1951 to 1966, with a further seven issues ...
'' #112–114, 116 (1980–1981)
* ''Outsiders'' #5, 11, 24 (1986–1987)
* ''Secret Origins
''Secret Origins'' is the title of several comic book series published by DC Comics which featured the origin stories of the publisher's various characters.
Publication history
''Secret Origins'' was first published as a one-shot in 1961 and c ...
'' #41, 43, 48, ''Annual'' #3 (1989–1990)
* '' Secrets of Haunted House'' #25, 37, 42 (1980–1981)
* '' Thriller'' #1–8 (1983–1984)
* '' Time Warp'' #5 (1980)
* '' The Unexpected'' #210–213, 219 (1981–1982)
* ''Vigilante
Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating, and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority.
A vigilante is a person who practices or partakes in vigilantism, or undertakes public safety and retributive justice ...
'' #14 (1985)
* '' Weird War Tales'' #100, 102, 107 (1981–1982)
* '' Who's Who in the DC Universe Update 1993'' #2 (1993)
* ''Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe'' #5, 11, 15, 22–24 (1985–1987)
* ''World's Finest Comics
''World's Finest Comics'' is an American comic book series published by DC Comics from 1941 to 1986. The series was initially titled ''World's Best Comics'' for its first issue; issue #2 (Summer 1941) switched to the more familiar name. Michael ...
'' #248–249, 252–253, 274–275 (Green Arrow and Black Canary
Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. As one of the earliest female superheroes in the DC Comics universe, the character has made numerous appearances in prominent team-up titles, ...
team-up backup stories); #251, 254, 267 (Black Canary solo backup stories); #254–255, 263–266, 268–270, 272–273, 276–281 (Green Arrow solo backup stories); #287, 305, 307 (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 ...
and 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 ...
team-up stories) (1977–1984)
DC Comics/United States Postal Service
* '' Celebrate the Century'' Super Heroes Stamp Album #5–9 (1999–2000)
Impact Comics
* ''Black Hood
The Black Hood is the name of several fictional characters (Matthew/Mateo Burland, Thomas "Kip" Burland, and Gregory Hettinger) created by Archie Comics, MLJ Comics (later known as Archie Comics) during the period known as the "Golden Age of Comi ...
Annual'' #1 (1992)
* '' Comet Annual'' #1 (1992)
* '' The Fly Annual'' #1 (1992)
* '' Legend of the Shield Annual'' #1 (1992)
Paradox Press
* '' The Big Book of Bad'' #1 (1998)
* ''The Big Book of Little Criminals'' #1 (1996)
* ''The Big Book of the Weird Wild West'' #1 (1998)
Eureka Productions
* ''Graphic Classics African-American Classics'' #22 (2011)
Gateway Comics
* ''Stalker'' #1–4 (2012–2013)
IDW Publishing
* ''The Original Johnson'' #1–2 (2009–2011)
Marvel Comics
* ''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 ...
'' #2 (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 ...
); #3 ( Hawkeye) (1982)
* ''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 ...
'' #56–59 (1979)
* ''Spider-Woman
Spider-Woman is the code name of several fictional characters in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first major version is Jessica Drew (and later impersonated by Veranke), the second major version is Julia Carpenter, and the third m ...
'' #23–24 (1980)
* '' X-Men Unlimited'' #34 (2002)
Metal Mammoth Inc.
* '' Heavy Metal'' #v25 #6, #v27 #5, #v34 #9 (2002–2011)
Pacific Comics
* ''Bold Adventure'' #1–2 (1983–1984)
Filmography
References
External links
*
Trevor Von Eeden
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
{{DEFAULTSORT:Von Eeden, Trevor
1959 births
20th-century American artists
21st-century American artists
Guyanese people of African descent
American comics artists
American comics writers
DC Comics people
Guyanese emigrants to the United States
Inkpot Award winners
Living people
Marvel Comics people
People from Georgetown, Guyana