P. Craig Russell

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P. Craig Russell
Birth name	Philip Craig Russell
Born	October 30, 1951 Wellsville, Ohio
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Writer, Penciller

Philip Craig Russell (b. October 30, 1951 in Wellsville, Ohio^[1]), also known as P. Craig Russell, is an American comic book writer, artist, and illustrator. His work has won multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards. Russell is particularly respected by his peers because he was the first well-known, successful mainstream comic book creator to come out as openly gay.^[2]

Russell broke into comics in 1972, and first became well known with his 11-issue Amazing Adventures run and subsequent graphic novel featuring Killraven, hero of a future version of H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, collaborating with writer Don McGregor. Withdrawing for a while from mainstream comics, he produced a number of experimental strips, many of which were later published in his Night Music series and in Epic Magazine. This brought him to the attention of writer Roy Thomas, who was planning a comic adaptation of Michael Moorcock's Elric stories.

Contents 1 Elric (1982-1997) 2 Night Music (1984-1990) 3 Other works 4 Works 5 Awards 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Elric (1982-1997)

Russell's first Elric story, the Roy Thomas scripted "The Dreaming City", was published by Marvel Comics in 1982 as Marvel Graphic Novel #2, following initial publication of the first half of the graphic novel in Epic Magazine. For the next series, "Elric of Melnibone", (also written by Roy Thomas) Russell shared art duties with Michael T. Gilbert. This story was published by Pacific Comics as Elric issues 1-6 in 1983-1984. Russell didn't return to Elric until 1997 when he collaborated directly with Michael Moorcock on Elric: Stormbringer co-published by Dark Horse and Topps.

[edit] Night Music (1984-1990)

In 1984, Russell began Night Music, an ongoing anthology series for Eclipse Comics featuring some of his most heralded literary and operatic adaptations (Russell has previously used the same title for a black and white collection of the earliest of these works, published by Star*Reach). Included in this series was "The King's Ankus", adapted from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book (Russell had previously inked a number of Jungle Book adaptations drawn by Gil Kane, published in Marvel Fanfare). The series also included "Pelleas & Melisande", adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's opera of the same name, and "Salome" adapted from Oscar Wilde's play of the same name. Opera would continue to resurface in Russell's work, including a four part adaptation of The Magic Flute, taken from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera.

[edit] Other works

Of particular note is Russell's adaptation of Wagner's operatic cycle, The Ring of the Nibelung, described on Russell's web site as his 'magnum opus'; Russell's Ring adaptation has been published by Dark Horse Comics in two volumes. He has also adapted several fairy tales by Oscar Wilde into comic book albums from NBM Publishing.

Other notable works of Russell's are his collaborations with writer Neil Gaiman. Russell illustrated one of the most highly regarded issues of Gaiman's comic series Sandman, titled "Ramadan" (originally published as issue #50; eventually included in the collection Fables and Reflections). Russell also illustrated the first story in Gaiman's later Sandman collection, Endless Nights. Russell also adapted Gaiman's short story "Murder Mysteries" into comics form. He is currently working on a comic version of Gaiman's children's book Coraline.

In December 2007, Desperado published The Art of P. Craig Russell, a 256-page, large-sized retrospective of Russell's career. Filled to the brim with comic book pages at various stages, sketches and illustrations, it also contains commentaries by the artist and a long interview. It has been nominated for the 2008 Eisner Awards.

In April 2008, WayneAlanHarold.com debuted "PCR," a web series about the artist. Early episodes show the artist at work on his adaptation of Neil Gaiman's SANDMAN: THE DREAM HUNTERS.

[edit] Works

Throughout his career, Russell has numbered his works in the order in which they were drawn, similar to the treatment of works by classical musical composers. The works are usually labeled somewhere within the art with the word or an appreviation of "Opus" and its corresponding number.

[edit] Awards

1985 Jack Kirby Awards

• Best Finite Series: Night Music (Nominated)

1986 Jack Kirby Awards

• Best Finite Series: Night Music #4-5, "Pelleas and Melisande" (Nominated)
• Best Artist: Night Music #4-5, "Pelleas and Melisanda" (Nominated)

1987 Jack Kirby Awards

• Best Single Issue: Night Music #6, "Salome" (Nominated)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• PCR Web Series at Wayne Alan Harold Presents
• Extensive fan-site