| Chris Bachalo |
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| 1965 births | |
| american comics artists | |
| california state university, long beach alumni | |
| living people | |
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BIOGRAPHY Early life Bachalo was born in Canada but was raised in Southern California . He has told interviewers that, as a child, he wanted to be a carpenter until he discovered he was allergic to dust. He attended the California State University at Long Beach , where he majored in graphic art and illustrated a few Underground Comics . DC After graduation, Bachalo sought work in the mainstream comic book industry. His first published assignment was '' The Sandman '' #12 ( 1989 ) for DC Comics. DC soon after hired as the regular artist for '' Shade, The Changing Man ,'' an older property revived as an adult-oriented series by writer Peter Milligan . Mr. Bachalo’s early work shows strong influence from Sam Kieth , Bill Sienkiewicz and Michael Golden . As his style developed, however, Bachalo’s work became more idiosyncratic. His early 1990s style is Minimalist with strong, thick lines, quirky characters and little concern for realism. Bachalo did not shy away from detailed landscapes but showed a rare penchant for pages with many small panels. In '' in 1996 . Some consider Bachalo's mid-90's work on '' Shade, The Changing Man '' and the two death mini-series to be the pinnacle of his accomplishments. After working at Marvel (below), Bachalo briefly returned to DC in 1999 for '' The Witching Hour '' mini-series with writer Jeph Loeb for Vertigo. Marvel Comics While at DC Comics, Bachalo illustrated the first issue of " X-Men Unlimited ", which Marvel published as an anthalogy X-Men comic book. Based on the success and fanfare from " X-Men Unlimited " #1, in 1994 , Bachalo ended his stint on ''Shade'' and began working for Marvel Comics. He then illustrated the first three issues of '' Ghost Rider 2099 ,'' one of in a line of series reinventing popular Marvel characters in the year 2099 . However, he was soon assigned to create a new junior team of X-Men with ''Uncanny X-Men'' writer Scott Lobdell . The group Lobdell and Bachalo created, Generation X , was purposely bizarre and idiosyncratic because the two wanted to avoid the recent trend in superhero teams, where each team member represented a recognizable Stock Character . ''Generation X'' became a hit with the series’ .'' During his time on ''Generation X,'' Bachalo’s artwork underwent a change. Heavily influenced by the popularity of Joe Madureira , Bachalo's characters became more cartoony and Manga -like, with unseemly large eyes, heads and hands. He gravitated towards extremes in Anatomy , drawing characters that were previously portrayed as bulky, short, or thin as even more so. In 1997, Bachalo left ''Generation X'' for ''Uncanny X-Men,'' arguably the comic book industry’s most popular title, remaining until the end of 1998 . Steampunk In 2000, Bachalo launched '' Steampunk ,'' a comic book series inspired by the Genre Of Fiction Of The Same Name , which emulates early Science Fiction and in an Alternate version of the early 1900s . The series is written by Joe Kelly and is part of DC Comics’ imprint for creator-owned series, Cliffhanger . The series was criticized for Bachalo's incredibly detailed pencils, small panels and muddy dark coloring, which sometimes made it difficult to discern what was happening. Similarly, Joe Kelly's writing was not as straightforward as a mass audience typically preferred. Contrarily, the book's supporters praised it for those same reasons, as well as for the sheer imagination of the characters and story. The series, intended to be 25 issues, ended prematurely after the second story arc in issue #12. It is currently available in two reprinted Trade Paperback s, ''Steampunk: Manimatron'' (ISBN 1-56389-762-8) and ''Steampunk: Drama Obscura'' (ISBN 1-4012-0047-8). When Richard Friend inks Chris Bachalo's pencils, the piece is signed “Chrisendo”, a Portmanteau of the names “Chris”, “Friend”, and “Bachalo”. Back with Marvel In the early 2000s, Bachalo completed occasional work on various X-Men series, including '' to the '' Age Of Apocalypse '' crossover. Chris was also the artist on '' Captain America '' for 6 issues (21–26, running December 2003–May 2004 cover dates) pencilling a divisive run written by Robert Morales . In an attempt to humanize Steve Rogers, the pair managed to split his fanbase fairly resoundingly resulting in the departure of both from the title (Morales 2 issues after Bachalo). Bachalo is currently the artist for the “Adjectiveless” '' X-Men '' title along with new writer Mike Carey after recently completing his final story arc for '' Uncanny X-Men '' (Issue #'s 472–474). He is often filled-in for by artist Humberto Ramos , however. Chris has also pencilled (and coloured) a number of cards for the Vs. collectible card game. These have been renditions of both Marvel and DC characters. On top of his continuing work for Marvel, Bachalo finished issue #7 of Comicraft 's '' Elephantmen '', an issue 4 years in the making. The issue was done entirely in double-page spreads and marks his reunion with ''Steampunk'' scribe Joe Kelly. The issue's story, “Captain Stoneheart And The Truth Fairy” also represents Chris' first work outside Marvel and DC since his fill-in issue of Witchblade. Bachalo has been announced as one of the four artists who will work on the Spider-Man event "Brand New Day," along with Phil Jimenez, Steve McNiven, and Salvador Larroca. EXTERNAL LINKS
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