Arvell Jones
Encyclopedia
Arvell Jones (born September 5) is an American comic book illustrator
best known for his work for Marvel Comics
, and for DC Comics
and its imprint
Milestone Media
.
, and were an active in early comic book fandom. Along with fellow Detroiters and future comics professionals Rich Buckler
, Tom Orzechowski
, Keith Pollard
, Jim Starlin
, Al Milgrom
, Michael Netzer, and others, Jones worked on the on the Detroit Triple Fan Fair, one of the earliest comic book convention
s, and published the fanzine
Fan Informer from 5729 Cadillac Street in Detroit; it lasted through at least issue #30 (1971). Jones in 2006 recalled how he and his compatriots "would take a 13-hour drive and spend the night with Al Milgrom and his roommate, hang at Rich [Buckler]'s, then go see [art director] John Romita
at Marvel[Comics]
, get our butts spanked, and go back to Detroit to work on our samples again."
He broke into the comics industry as art assistant for Buckler, the first of the Detroit group to enter the field professionally. After helping him on Marvel features starring the superhero the Black Panther
and the the Buckler-created cyborg
antihero Deathlok
, Jones received his first published credit, for pencil-art assistance, alongside Pollard, on the Buckler-drawn Thor
#228 (cover-dated Oct. 1974). He then did pencil "breakdowns" — layouts that break down the plot elements — for all but page one of the 18-page team-up story "The Return of the Living Eraser", starring the Thing
and Morbius, the Living Vampire
, with veteran artist Dick Giordano
providing finished art. This did not see publication for a year, however, eventually running in Marvel Two-In-One
#15 (May 1976). Following an illustration for the text story "The Atomic Monster" in the Marvel black-and-white horror-comics magazine Monsters Unleashed
#9 (Dec. 1974), Jones made his full comics-art debut as penciler of an 18-page story starring the martial-artist superhero Iron Fist in Marvel Premiere
#20 (Jan. 1975). He went on to do the next two Iron Fist stories in that bimonthly series.
Jones worked on the DC Comics
series All-Star Squadron
in the mid-1980s, penciling the majority of the issues released between 1985 and 1987. After leaving the comics field for several years to work in television, he returned in 1994 to provide pencils on DC Comics
/Milestone Media
's series Kobalt
and Hardware
.
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
best known for his work for Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, and for DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
and its imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
Milestone Media
Milestone Media
Milestone Media is a company best known for creating Milestone Comics and securing an unheard of publishing and distribution deal with DC Comics and the Static Shock cartoon series. It was founded in 1993 by a coalition of African-American artists and writers Milestone Media is a company best known...
.
Biography
Arvell Jones and his brother Desmond Jones were raised in Detroit, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, and were an active in early comic book fandom. Along with fellow Detroiters and future comics professionals Rich Buckler
Rich Buckler
Rich Buckler is an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four in the mid-1970s and, with writer Doug Moench, co-creating the character Deathlok in Astonishing Tales #25...
, Tom Orzechowski
Tom Orzechowski
Tom Orzechowski is an award-winning comic book letterer, primarily known for his work on Uncanny X-Men. Over the course of Orzechowski's career, he has lettered something on the order of 6,000 pages of Chris Claremont's scripts.-Early career:In 1968, when Orzechowski was 15, he met a group of...
, Keith Pollard
Keith Pollard
Keith Pollard is an American comic book artist. Originally from the Detroit area, Pollard is best known for his simultaneous work on the Marvel Comics titles Fantastic Four, Thor, and The Amazing Spider-Man in the late 1970s-early 1980s.Pollard made his professional comics debut in 1974 with...
, Jim Starlin
Jim Starlin
James P. "Jim" Starlin is an American comic book writer and artist. With a career dating back to the early 1970s, he is best known for "cosmic" tales and space opera; for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock; and for creating or co-creating the Marvel characters...
, Al Milgrom
Al Milgrom
Allen "Al" Milgrom is an American comic book writer, penciller, inker and editor, primarily for Marvel Comics. He is known for his 10-year run as editor of Marvel Fanfare; his long involvement as writer, penciler, and inker on Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man; his four-year tenure as West...
, Michael Netzer, and others, Jones worked on the on the Detroit Triple Fan Fair, one of the earliest comic book convention
Fan convention
A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...
s, and published the fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
Fan Informer from 5729 Cadillac Street in Detroit; it lasted through at least issue #30 (1971). Jones in 2006 recalled how he and his compatriots "would take a 13-hour drive and spend the night with Al Milgrom and his roommate, hang at Rich [Buckler]'s, then go see [art director] John Romita
John Romita
John Romita may refer to:*John Romita, Sr., comic book artist best known for his art on The Amazing Spider-Man for Marvel Comics in the 1960s...
at Marvel
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, get our butts spanked, and go back to Detroit to work on our samples again."
He broke into the comics industry as art assistant for Buckler, the first of the Detroit group to enter the field professionally. After helping him on Marvel features starring the superhero the Black Panther
Black Panther (comics)
The Black Panther is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller-co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52...
and the the Buckler-created cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
antihero Deathlok
Deathlok
Deathlok is a fictional cyborg published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in Astonishing Tales #25 , and was created by Rich Buckler and Doug Moench...
, Jones received his first published credit, for pencil-art assistance, alongside Pollard, on the Buckler-drawn Thor
Thor (Marvel Comics)
Thor is a fictional superhero who appears in publications published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby....
#228 (cover-dated Oct. 1974). He then did pencil "breakdowns" — layouts that break down the plot elements — for all but page one of the 18-page team-up story "The Return of the Living Eraser", starring the Thing
Thing (comics)
The Thing is a fictional character, a founding member of the superhero team known as the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee in The Fantastic Four #1...
and Morbius, the Living Vampire
Morbius, the Living Vampire
Morbius, the Living Vampire, is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and penciler Gil Kane, the character, a living human suffering from vampiric abilities resulting from scientific rather than supernatural means, first appeared as...
, with veteran artist Dick Giordano
Dick Giordano
Richard Joseph "Dick" Giordano was an American comic book artist and editor best known for introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes, and serving as executive editor of then–industry leader DC Comics...
providing finished art. This did not see publication for a year, however, eventually running in Marvel Two-In-One
Marvel Two-in-One
Marvel Two-In-One was an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics that featured the Fantastic Four member, the Thing, in a different team-up each issue with a different character. The series continued from the team-up stories starring the Thing in the final two issues of Marvel...
#15 (May 1976). Following an illustration for the text story "The Atomic Monster" in the Marvel black-and-white horror-comics magazine Monsters Unleashed
Monsters Unleashed
Monsters Unleashed was a black-and-white magazine published by Curtis Magazines from 1973-1975. The focus of Monsters Unleashed was on Marvel's own monsters: Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night, and Frankenstein's monster...
#9 (Dec. 1974), Jones made his full comics-art debut as penciler of an 18-page story starring the martial-artist superhero Iron Fist in Marvel Premiere
Marvel Premiere
Marvel Premiere is an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics. It ran for 61 issues from April 1972 to August 1981....
#20 (Jan. 1975). He went on to do the next two Iron Fist stories in that bimonthly series.
Jones worked on the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
series All-Star Squadron
All-Star Squadron
The All-Star Squadron is a DC Comics superhero team that debuted in a special insert in Justice League of America #193 . Created by Roy Thomas, Rich Buckler and Jerry Ordway.-The concept:...
in the mid-1980s, penciling the majority of the issues released between 1985 and 1987. After leaving the comics field for several years to work in television, he returned in 1994 to provide pencils on DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
/Milestone Media
Milestone Media
Milestone Media is a company best known for creating Milestone Comics and securing an unheard of publishing and distribution deal with DC Comics and the Static Shock cartoon series. It was founded in 1993 by a coalition of African-American artists and writers Milestone Media is a company best known...
's series Kobalt
Kobalt
Kobalt is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. He first appears in Kobalt #1 , and was created by John Rozum and Arvell Jones.-Publication history:...
and Hardware
Hardware (comics)
Hardware is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. An original character from DC's Milestone Comics imprint, he first appeared in Hardware #1 , and was created by Dwayne McDuffie and Denys Cowan...
.
External links
- Arvell Jones at the Lambiek Comiclopedia
Audio/video
- "Kids Read Comics Interview - Arvell Jones Bonus Story", TGTWebcomics, YouTube.com, June 23, 2010
- "Arvell Jones Interview!", The Comic Book Syndicate, YouTube.com, April 30, 2011