536 RUSSELL, P. CRAIG
his work by Opus number, much like a classical composer). During this time, Russell
also taught at Kent State University for two years and received a fellowship for comic
creation from the Ohio State Arts Council.
His early Marvel work garnered signifi cant attention in the mid- to late 1970s, when
he became especially well known for his signature War of the Worlds ( Killraven ) series in
Amazing Adventures. His compositions are posed and statuesque, reminiscent of Cara-
vaggio in dramatic intent. Russell’s quiet, delicate line and fl uid composition, comparable
to contemporaries Barry Smith and Mike Kaluta, helped defi ne the quasi-Renaissance
style that marked much of Marvel’s most visually-signifi cant 1970s work.
Following this, his work adapting Michael Moorcock’s Elric achieved substantial fan
and critical attention. A Dark Horse reprint of the run incorporated an adaptation of
the Neil Gaiman short story One Life Furnished in Early Moorcock , also published later
as a stand-alone comic. Russell inked the fi rst of DC’s Elseworlds stories, the 1989
Gotham by Gaslight , a Victorian Batman story that was penciled by then relative new-
comer Mike Mignola. Russell has successfully illustrated Batman before and since, but
critics and fans consider this book a landmark.
Russell has distinguished himself in his creation of a body of comic book and graphic
novel work based on operas, especially Mozart’s Th e Magic Flute and Wagner’s Ring
cycle. He has also adapted Kipling’s Red Dog , Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde , and I Pagliacci.
His Salome uses Art Noveau elements to advance the narrative.
Russell was among the fi rst mainstream comic artists to come out as gay. While he
has been supportive of the gay community and defi nes himself as “just your average gay
Libertarian comic book artist” ( Famous Comic Book Creators ), little of his work has dealt
overtly with his sexuality. Working with co-creator David Singleton, Russell created a
wordless story that occupies half of Gay Comics #23.
Th e work Russell has done illustrating Gaiman’s writing may be his best known
recent output. His work on Sandman #50, a 32-page story titled Ramadan , won an
Eisner Award as best story of 1994. Additionally, Russell adapted the Sandman charac-
ter Death in the story Death and Venice , in the anthology Th e Sandman: Endless Nights.
More recently, Russell has written and illustrated a graphic novel based on Gaiman’s
story Murder Mysteries , and completed a graphic novel version of Gaiman’s Coraline in
- Russell is completing a comic book adaptation of Gaiman’s Th e Dream Hunters ,
originally illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano.
Russell has won Eisner, Inkpot, Harvey , Shazam and Parents’ Choice awards. He
remains prolifi c in the fi eld.
Selected Bibliography: Famous Comic Book Creators Trading Cards #109: Craig
Russell , Eclipse Enterprises, 1982; Raphael, Jordan, and Tom Spurgeon. “Interview:
P. Craig Russell.” Th e Comics Journal 111 (May 1991); “Brief Biographies: P. Craig
Russell,” (2005). Biography.jrank.org, http://biography.jrank.org/pages/1756/
Russell-P-hilip-Craig-1951.html.
Diana Green
