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Information About

Mike Mignola




  Caption Mike Mignola
  Location Berkeley, California
  Nationality American
  Area Penciller, Inker, Writer
  Notable Works Hellboy


Mike Mignola (born in '' and the adaptation of his One Shot Comic Book , '' The Amazing Screw-On Head ''.


CAREER BEFORE ''HELLBOY''

Mike Mignola began his career in 1983 by illustrating issues of comic books such as '' Daredevil '' and ''Power Man & Iron Fist'' for Marvel Comics , and later worked on titles such as '' Alpha Flight '' and the '' Rocket Raccoon '' mini-series.

After some initial work for '', in which a Victorian version of Batman faces Jack The Ripper . The success of that 52-page one-shot inspired DC to launch the " Elseworlds " concept.

Through the early 1990s, Mignola worked on covers and backup features for various DC and Marvel comics. Mignola did the art on '''' for DC. He also illustrated the comics adaptation for '' Bram Stoker's Dracula '' for Topps Comics, having assisted with design and Storyboard ing for the Francis Ford Coppola film.


''HELLBOY''

Previously, Mignola had always worked on characters and properties owned by others. He deviated from that practice in 1994, when Mignola's first '' Hellboy '' story, ''The Seed of Destruction'', was published by Dark Horse Comics . ''Hellboy'' draws heavily on Mignola's own interests — Folklore , B-movies , Ghost Stories , monsters and Pulp stories — and the series about a paranormal investigator from Hell, the eponymous Hellboy, soon proved to be a popular and critical success with its abstract artwork and H.P. Lovecraft -style horror. It has since been the endeavour Mignola has been most closely connected with, and he has kept up a steady stream of ''Hellboy'' stories and merchandise.

Prior to ''Hellboy'', Mignola was not experienced in writing his own stories, and thus, at Mignola's request, the first series was scripted by John Byrne . However, the next ''Hellboy'' story, ''Wolves of St. August'', was scripted by Mignola, who also wrote the majority of the subsequent ''Hellboy'' tales, though other writers and artists have also worked on the character since. All major story arcs were drawn by Mike Mignola himself, but in 2007 artist Duncan Fegredo took over drawing duties with Mignola remaining on as the writer and cover artist. He also writes the popular spin-off BPRD with John Arcudi ; it is drawn by Guy Davis with Mignola as the cover artist.

According to Mignola, much of Hellboy's personality was based on his father.


STYLE


Mignola is particularly noted for his highly distinctive style, which was once called "German expressionism meets Jack Kirby " by Alan Moore , in an introduction to a collection of Mignola's Hellboy works.

While Mignola has heavily influenced a new generation of comics artists since he began working on Hellboy, he was something of an odd man out in the superhero comics industry in the beginning of his career. Mignola's imagery stood in stark contrast to the style of his contemporaries. Where others would draw muscular men and slim, well-endowed women, Mignola's characters were usually bulky and rough-looking, and more often than not defined by large shadowed areas rather than fine details. Mignola often takes the same approach to architecture, particularly in ''Hellboy'', where he often sets the scenes in slowly dilapidating Victorian and Gothic surroundings. He also commonly draws machines that feature Steampunk imagery.


WORK IN FILM AND TELEVISION

''Hellboy'' was made into a feature film in '' in 2007 .

Prior to that, Mignola worked as an illustrator for '' in 2001, and was a concept artist for 2002 's '' Blade II '', also directed by del Toro.

Mignola's '' The Amazing Screw-On Head '' debuted in 2006 on the Sci-Fi Channel , starring the voices of Paul Giamatti and David Hyde Pierce .


TRIVIA


  • Mignola designed the'' '' version of Mr Freeze at Bruce Timm's request. He also produced several character and location designs used in ''Batman Beyond''.


  • Mignola and the creator of the '' Yu-Gi-Oh! '' Manga , Kazuki Takahashi , once participated in an art exchange. Takahashi, who is a fan of American comics, drew a picture of Hellboy with Yugi Mutou 's hairdo, a Millennium Puzzle , and a duel disk. Mignola drew a picture of Hellboy wearing a Millennium Puzzle and a T-Shirt with Yugi's face, and the two exchanged their artwork. These pictures can be seen in an American issue of Shonen Jump .


  • Early on Guillermo Del Toro and Mignola both agreed that Ron Perlman , an actor long revered for his ability to express emotion through heavy layers of prosthetic make up, was the only actor who could portray Mignola's Hellboy character in a live action film. The studios were against it and wanted a more recognizable "name" actor in the title role, but Del Toro fought for Perlman and eventually won.



BIBLIOGRAPHY



Comics


Comics work includes:





  • '' Hellboy '':

  • ---'''' ( Tpb collects "Seed of Destruction" #1-4, 1994, Titan , 2002 ISBN 1-84023-537-3, Dark Horse , 2004, ISBN 1-59307-094-2)

  • ---''Wake the Devil'' ( Tpb collects "Wake the Devil" #1-5, 1996, Titan , 2002, ISBN 1-84023-540-3, Dark Horse , 1997 ISBN 1-56971-226-3, 2004 ISBN 1-59307-095-0)

  • ---''The Chained Coffin and Others'' ( Tpb collects "The Wolves of St. August", 1995, "The Corpse and the Iron Shoes", 1996, "Almost Colossus", '' Dark Horse Presents '' 100 #2, and "Christmas Special", Titan , 2002, ISBN 1-84023-538-1, Dark Horse , 1998 ISBN 1-56971-349-9, 2004, ISBN 1-59307-091-8)

  • ---''The Right Hand of Doom'' (, 2002, ISBN 1-84023-539-X, Dark Horse , 2004, ISBN 1-59307-093-4)

  • ---'' Conqueror Worm '' ( Tpb collects "Conqueror Worm" #1-4, 2002, Titan , ISBN 1-84023-541-1, Dark Horse , ISBN 1-56971-699-4)

  • ---''Weird Tales Vol. 1'' ( Tpb collects "Weird Tales" #1-4, Titan , 2004, ISBN 1-84023-783-X, Dark Horse , 2003, ISBN 1-56971-622-6)

  • ---''Weird Tales Vol. 2'' ( Tpb collects "Weird Tales" #5-8, 2004, Titan , ISBN 1-84023-997-2, Dark Horse , ISBN 1-56971-953-5)

  • ---''Strange Places'' (tpb collects "The Third Wish" #1-2, 2002 and "The Island" #1-2, 2005, Dark Horse, April 2006, ISBN 1-59307-475-1)http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=13-394

  • ---''The Troll Witch and Others'' (tpb collects stories from '' The Dark Horse Book Of ''... ''The Dead'', ''Witchcraft'', ''Hauntings'', and ''Monsters'' as well as ''Hellboy: Makoma'', 144 pages, Dark Horse, October 2007, ISBN 1-59307-860-9) ''The Troll Witch and Others''


  • '', 3-issue mini-series, 1997, Dark Horse Comics , tpb, 80 pages, 1998, ISBN 1-56971-334-0, 2005, ISBN 1-59307-407-7) ''Champion of the Worms'' [http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=10-925 ''Champion of the Worms'' second edition


  • '' and John Francis Moore , and artist P. Craig Russell , 104 pages, 2000, Titan Books, ISBN 1563890658, DC Comics, ISBN 1563890658) http://www.dccomics.com/graphic_novels/?gn=1372 http://lastshortbox.blogspot.com/2006/04/empire-galaktika.html


  • '' B.P.R.D. '':

  • ---''Hollow Earth and Other Stories'' ( ISBN 1-84023-582-9, Dark Horse ISBN 1-56971-862-8)

  • ---''The Soul of Venice and Other Stories'' ( Tpb collects "The Soul of Venice", "Dark Waters", "Night Train" and "There's Something Under My Bed", 2004, Titan ISBN 1-84023-931-X, Dark Horse ISBN 1-59307-132-9)

  • ---''A Plague of Frogs'' ( Tpb collects "A Plague of Frogs" #1-5, 2005, Titan ISBN 1-84023-931-X, Dark Horse ISBN 1-59307-288-0)

  • ---''The Dead'' ( Tpb collects "The Dead" #1-5, 2005, Dark Horse ISBN 1-59307-380-1)

  • ---''The Black Flame'' ( Tpb collects "The Black Flame" #1-6, July 2006, Dark Horse ISBN 1-59307-550-2)

  • ---''The Universal Machine'' ( Tpb collects "The Universal Machine" #1-5, January 2007, Dark Horse ISBN 1-59307-710-6)




Covers






SEE ALSO



REFERENCES




Footnotes



EXTERNAL LINKS