Tom Mandrake

Tom Mandrake
Born May 26, 1956
Nationality American
Area(s) Writer, Penciller, Inker
Notable works
 Grimjack
The Spectre
Martian Manhunter
Awards Don Thompson Award, 1992, 1993[1]

http://www.TomMandrake.com'''

Tom Mandrake (born May 26,[2] 1956)[3] is an American comic book artist, perhaps best known for his collaborations with writer John Ostrander on several series, including Grimjack (from First Comics) and Firestorm, The Spectre, and Martian Manhunter from DC Comics.[4]

Early life

Mandrake grew up as a fan of Marvel Comics of the 1960s, as well as painters of the Brandywine School, particularly Maxfield Parrish and Howard Pyle.[5] Together with his friend L.B.Kellogg, he created a fanzine titled First Flight while in high school.[6] Mandrake spent two years at Cleveland's Cooper School of Art,[5] and then two more years at The Kubert School, where he earned his degree.[3][6]

Career

Mandrake began working for DC Comics where he drew backup stories for the Sgt. Rock title. In a 2001 interview, he recalled "finally landing my first real work, that was a two part story in DC's New Talent Showcase. Once again with my old buddy L.B. at the writers helm on our pirate epic 'Skydogs'."[6] For Marvel Comics, Mandrake provided finished art over layouts by Sal Buscema on the New Mutants title. Back at DC, he and writer Doug Moench created the Black Mask character in Batman #386 (August 1985).[7] In 1992, Mandrake and writer John Ostrander launched The Spectre series at DC Comics.[8] In issue #54 (June 1997), the creative team introduced the character Michael Holt as a new version of Mister Terrific.[9] Following the end of The Spectre series, they moved onto a Martian Manhunter series.[10] In 2001, he worked with writer Dan Mishkin on the short lived series Creeps and in 2006 on the children's book The Forest King: Woodlark's Shadow.[11] In 2007, a story-arc titled "Grotesk" reuniting Ostrander and Mandrake appeared in Batman issues 659-662.[4] An X-Files/30 Days of Night crossover in 2010 was drawn by Mandrake and co-written by 30 Days creator Steve Niles and Adam Jones, the guitarist for the band Tool.[12] Mandrake drew a revival of Marv Wolfman's Night Force series in 2012.[13] He collaborated with J. Michael Straczynski on the Sidekick series in 2013-2014.[14]

Personal life

Mandrake is married to fellow comic book artist Jan Duursema whom he met while both were students at the Kubert School.[6] They have a son, Jack Moses (born October 4, 1995), and a daughter, Sian.

Bibliography

Mandrake's cover art for Firestorm, the Nuclear Man vol. 2, #97 (May 1990).

DC Comics

Eclipse Comics

First Comics

Image Comics

Marvel Comics

References

  1. ↑ "Compuserve Comics and Animation Forum's Don Thompson Awards: Summary of Winners," Comic Book Awards Almanac (Hahn Library).
  2. ↑ Mandrake bio at Comic Book Database. Accessed Mar. 29, 2009.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Tom Mandrake". Lambiek Comiclopedia. 2012. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake collaborations at the Grand Comics Database
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Mandrake entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928-1999.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Contino, Jennifer (2001). "Creepy Concepts". Sequential Tart. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  7. ↑ Wallace, Dan (2008). "Black Mask". In Dougall, Alastair. The DC Comics Encyclopedia. Dorling Kindersley. p. 52. ISBN 0-7566-4119-5.
  8. ↑ Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1990s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 255. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. The crime fighter from beyond the grave, the Spectre, was back in a new series by writer John Ostrander and artist Tom Mandrake.
  9. ↑ Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 279: The Spectre ongoing series was nearing its end, but that didn't stop writer John Ostrander and artist Tom Mandrake from pooling their creative forces to create one of the DCU's newest shining stars...An inspired and reborn [Michael] Holt then picked up the mantle of Mr. Terrific."
  10. ↑ Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 285: "The fan-favorite team of writer John Ostrander and artist Tom Mandrake, fresh off their lengthy run on The Spectre, were ready to take on another caped powerhouse with Martian Manhunter.
  11. ↑ Mishkin, Dan; Mandrake, Tom (2006). The Forest King: Woodlark's Shadow. Actionopolis/Komikwerks. p. 101. ISBN 0-9742803-5-6.
  12. ↑ Hudson, Laura (April 19, 2010). "'X-Files/30 Days of Night' Comic Book Crossover". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  13. ↑ Campbell, Josie (March 6, 2012). "Wolfman Revisits Baron Winters & "Night Force"". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on March 10, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  14. ↑ Dietsch, TJ (June 10, 2013). "Exclusive: JMS Explores Dark Side of Teenage Superheroing in Sidekick". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013.
  15. ↑ Sullivan, Michael Patrick (March 10, 2008). "Riches, Grant and Mandrake Go To 'The Safest Place'". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2012.

External links

Preceded by
Bob McLeod		 New Mutants inker
1983–1984 		Succeeded by
Bill Sienkiewicz
Preceded by
Rick Hoberg		 Batman artist
1985–1986 		Succeeded by
various
Preceded by
Timothy Truman		 Grimjack artist
1987–1989 		Succeeded by
Flint Henry
Preceded by
n/a		 Martian Manhunter artist
1998–2001 		Succeeded by
Eduardo Barreto