Michael Zulli is an
AmericanThe people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
artist known for his work as an animal and wildlife illustrator and as a comic book illustrator. He's gotten great acclaim for his work on
The Sandman with writer
Neil GaimanNeil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
and has been a longtime collaborator with the author. Zulli's work is characterized by detailed realism, a delicate, painterly touch, and a hint of the Pre-Raphaelites.
The Early Years
Michael Zulli is an artist best known for his comic book and graphic novel illustrations. However, he has also enjoyed a career that spans well beyond the comic industry. He began his love of art at an early age claiming to have started “about the time I could hold a crayon or pencil, say four or five years old I started making pictures with purpose. I was born this way; I can't help it.” He later started creating art as both a desire and career at the age of fifteen. He is also completely self-taught with no formal fine arts training except a few community college courses in the 1970s.
Zulli's influences include: the painters of old Roman Catholic holy cards,
Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
,
Gustave DoréPaul Gustave Doré was a French artist, engraver, illustrator and sculptor. Doré worked primarily with wood engraving and steel engraving.-Biography:...
,
William BlakeWilliam Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
,
Dante Gabriel RossettiDante Gabriel Rossetti was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais, and was later to be the main inspiration for a second generation of artists and writers influenced by the movement,...
,
James McNeill WhistlerJames Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
,
Jack KirbyJack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
, Sean Cheetham and Jason Shawn Alexander. Movements and styles like the Pre-Raphaelites, the
tonalismTonalism was an artistic style that emerged in the 1880s when American artists began to paint landscape forms with an overall tone of colored atmosphere or mist. Between 1880 and 1915, dark, neutral hues such as gray, brown or blue, often dominated compositions by artists associated with the style...
of Whistler and his contemporaries and the more modern urban realism in comics storytelling have also captured his attention. He's worked with a wide array of media in creating his works including: graphite, ink, pastel, watercolor, acrylics, oils, or as he puts it, “just about anything that can make a mark really.” His first professional sale of artwork was a small landscape painting he sold to a grocery store in Vermont.
The Comics Industry
Zulli made the decision to enter the comics world after seeing the publication
The Adventures of Luther ArkwrightThe Adventures of Luther Arkwright was a limited series comic book written and drawn by Bryan Talbot.-Publishing history:Luther Arkwright made his first appearance in the mid 1970s in "The Papist Affair", a short strip for Brainstorm Comix where Arkwright teamed up with a group of cigar-chewing...
and
Barry Windsor-SmithBarry Windsor-Smith, born Barry Smith is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States....
's
The Beguiling. His comic book career began in earnest in October 1986 with the comic book
The Puma BluesThe Puma Blues was a comic book written by Stephen Murphy and drawn by Michael Zulli. It ran from October 1986 to somewhere in the beginning of 1989, stretching over 23 regular issues and a single "half-issue" minicomic....
collaborating with writer Steven Murphy. The monthly title was published by
Dave SimDavid Victor Sim is an award-winning Canadian comic book writer and artist.A pioneer of self-published comics and creators' rights, Sim is best known as the creator of Cerebus the Aardvark, a comic book published from 1977 to 2004, which chronicles its main character in a 6,000-page self-contained...
's Aardvark One International and later by
Mirage StudiosMirage Studios is an independent American comic book company founded in 1983 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, based in Northampton, Massachusetts and best known for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series.-History:...
. Zulli's illustrations of the characters, wildlife and natural landscapes in the polluted post-industrial environment of the story's not-too-distant future offered eye-opening line art that displayed a level of representational detail well beyond what had usually come out of comics. The ecological warnings of the series put forward an argument for natural conservation and against the abuse and pollution of the natural environment. The series went on for 23 issues and a mini-comic half issue, ending in 1989.
Later Zulli went on to illustrate stories for the
Mirage StudiosMirage Studios is an independent American comic book company founded in 1983 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, based in Northampton, Massachusetts and best known for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series.-History:...
characters the
Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesThe Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
and some stories in artist
Stephen R. BissetteStephen R. Bissette is an American comics artist, editor, and publisher with a focus on the horror genre. He is best known for working with writer Alan Moore and inker John Totleben on the DC comic Swamp Thing in the 1980s....
's anthology publication
TabooA taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
put out by Bissette's publishing company Spiderbaby Grafix. He drew a somewhat infamous, never-published issue of DC Comic's
Saga of the Swamp Thing in which the title character meets Jesus Christ. According to Zulli "the Swamp Thing issue was basically pulled due to the current climate of unrest surrounding the satanic verses by Rushdie." A few years later in the 1990s another unfinished and unpublished story,
Sweeney ToddSweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
, written by
Neil GaimanNeil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
and illustrated by Zulli for
BissetteStephen R. Bissette is an American comics artist, editor, and publisher with a focus on the horror genre. He is best known for working with writer Alan Moore and inker John Totleben on the DC comic Swamp Thing in the 1980s....
's
TabooA taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
anthology was stopped when the anthology itself was discontinued. By this time Zulli had gotten the attention of many writers, editors and artists in the comics industry. In 1990 he guest pencilled issue 13 of DC Comic's nascent Vertigo series
The Sandman written by
Neil GaimanNeil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
. Zulli would go on to illustrate seven Sandman issues including the final Sandman story arc “The Wake” as well as several other projects written by
GaimanNeil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
. He's credited with co-creating the character of
Hob GadlingHob Gadling is a fictional character from the Sandman comic book series by Neil Gaiman. Gadling first appears in the story "Men of Good Fortune" in The Sandman #13 as a soldier of the Hundred Years' War, arguing with friends in an inn somewhere inside the modern borders of London.-Background:We...
from the
Sandman series with Gaiman. He illustrated part of the final Sandman storyline called
The WakeThe Wake is the tenth and final collection of issues in the comic book series The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Michael Zulli, Jon J...
. After
The SandmanThe Sandman is a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. Beginning with issue #47, it was placed under the imprint Vertigo. It chronicles the adventures of Dream , who rules over the world of dreams. It ran for 75 issues from January 1989 until March 1996...
series ended, he had a gallery show called "Visions of the Wake" in New York City. He also began illustrating for several newer Vertigo imprint titles including
Winter's Edge,
Witchcraft: La Terreur and
Sandman Presents: Love Street.
From the time he began in 1986, Zulli has illustrated for
DC ComicsDC 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...
,
Marvel ComicsMarvel 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...
,
Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
,
Image ComicsImage Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
and several other smaller, independent companies. He's maintained his detailed rendering style throughout his career in comics despite the publisher he's worked for or the characters he's illustrated. He has carved out a reputation as a highly-detailed illustrator who takes an exceeding pride in what he does. He's stated his personal philosophy as “Truth. Honest labor. Personal integrity. Having as much fun as possible. Work hard. Never stop.”
Breaking out of the Comics Industry
In the summer of 2004 he made the decision to start leaving the mainstream comics industry. Between 2004 and 2007 his worked on projects with his close friend and colleague
Neil GaimanNeil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
for Dark Horse Books. From 2006 through 2009 he worked on his first attempt at self-publishing, the graphic novel
The Fracture of the Universal Boy due out in June 2011. During the time he'd been separating himself from the industry, he was illustrating commissioned art work on eBay and at comic conventions to support himself. This new project is very personal. It was largely funded through the website
Kickstarter.com, which let his fans and admirers pledge money for his graphical novel as an independent artistic project. Zulli was able to get enough money directly from his fans to print the 200 page graphic novel and distribute it. When asked what it was like having successfully funded his first self-publishing work he stated it was “very weird, very wonderful and not a little humbling.”
In March 2011 he and several artists presented artwork for a gallery showing of fine art at the
Nucleus Gallery in Los Angeles. The show was titled "Lined in Lead: Works in Graphite" and as the title implies all of the works were pure graphite illustrations. In the future Zulli hopes to have the ability to both publish comic book and graphic novel stories as well as work on fine art gallery shows. When asked which he prefers he stated, “Why should I have to choose? It's all art to me. I love to tell stories and the single standalone image is just as powerful as it always has been. I need them both to be really happy.”
Comic Book and Graphic Novel Bibliography
- 1986-1988: The Puma Blues
The Puma Blues was a comic book written by Stephen Murphy and drawn by Michael Zulli. It ran from October 1986 to somewhere in the beginning of 1989, stretching over 23 regular issues and a single "half-issue" minicomic....
1-19 – penciller/inker (Aardvark One International)
- 1988-1989: The Puma Blues
The Puma Blues was a comic book written by Stephen Murphy and drawn by Michael Zulli. It ran from October 1986 to somewhere in the beginning of 1989, stretching over 23 regular issues and a single "half-issue" minicomic....
20-23, mini-comic - penciller/inker (Mirage StudiosMirage Studios is an independent American comic book company founded in 1983 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, based in Northampton, Massachusetts and best known for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series.-History:...
)
- 1988: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
31, 35-36 - writer/penciller/inker (Mirage StudiosMirage Studios is an independent American comic book company founded in 1983 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, based in Northampton, Massachusetts and best known for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series.-History:...
)
- 1989: Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
2 – writer/penciller/inker (Spiderbaby Grafix)
- 1990: The Sandman 13 – penciller (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...
)
- 1990: Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
4 – penciller/inker (Spiderbaby Grafix)
- 1991: Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
5 – writer/penciller (Spiderbaby Grafix)
- 1991: Tundra Sketchbook Series 3 – penciller (Tundra Publishing, Ltd.)
- 1992: Legends of Arzach 2 – penciller (Tundra Publishing, Ltd.)
- 1992: Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
6 – penciller (Spiderbaby Grafix)
- 1992: Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
7 – penciller/inker (Spiderbaby Grafix)
- 1993: Angels and Visitations
Angels and Visitations is a collection of short fiction and nonfiction by Neil Gaiman. It was first published in the US in 1993 by DreamHaven Books.It is illustrated by Steve Bissette, Randy Broecker, Dave McKean, P...
– penciller/inker (Vertigo Comics)
- 1993: Guest of Honor – penciller (no publisher)
- 1994: A Death Gallery 1 – penciller/inker (Vertigo Comics)
- 1994: The Sandman 50 – penciller/inker (Vertigo Comics)
- 1994: Roarin' Rick's Rarebit Friends 8-9 – penciller/inker (King Hell)
- 1994: Starman
Starman is a name used by several different fictional DC Comics superheroes, most prominently Ted Knight and his sons David and Jack.Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Jack Burnley, the original Starman, Ted Knight, first appeared in Adventure Comics #61...
3 – penciller/inker (DC ComicsDC 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...
)
- 1994: Alice Cooper: The Last Temptation 1-3 – penciller/inker (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...
/Marvel MusicMarvel Music has been an imprint of Marvel Comics, former music publishing subsidiaries, Mighty Marvel Music Inc. and Marvel Music Group and the current Marvel Music, Inc., appearent holder of copyrights to Marvel Studio's movie music....
)
- 1994: The Staros Report 2 – penciller (Star House
Star House is a commercial building facing Victoria Harbour in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The building is located on Salisbury Road and Canton Road....
)
- 1994: Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
4 – penciller/inker (Vertigo Comics)
- 1994: Turtle Soup
Turtle Soup is the last original studio album by The Turtles. It was released in 1969 on the White Whale Records label. The album was produced by Ray Davies of The Kinks – the first time he produced another artist's record. A 1993 Repertoire Records CD-issue included 8 bonus tracks.Turtle Soup...
4 – penciller/inker (Mirage StudiosMirage Studios is an independent American comic book company founded in 1983 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, based in Northampton, Massachusetts and best known for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series.-History:...
)
- 1995: The Sandman 53 – penciller (Vertigo Comics)
- 1995: Witchblade
Witchblade is an American comic book series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint of Image Comics, from 1995 until present. The series was created by Top Cow editors Marc Silvestri and David Wohl, writers Brian Haberlin and Christina Z, and artist Michael Turner.The series follows Sara...
47 - penciller/inker (Top Cow ProductionsTop Cow Productions is an American comics publisher, a partner studio of Image Comics founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992.-History:...
/Image ComicsImage Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
)
- 1996: The Dreaming
The Dreaming is a fictional place, a comic book location published by DC Comics. The Dreaming first appeared in the Sandman vol. 2 #1, , and was created by Neil Gaiman and Sam Kieth. The Dreaming is the domain of Dream of the Endless....
8 – penciller/inker (Vertigo Comics)
- 1996: The Sandman 70-72 – penciller (issues weren't inked) (Vertigo Comics)
- 1996: Seekers into the Mystery 6-9 – penciller/inker (Vertigo Comics)
- 1997: Destiny: A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold
Destiny: A Chronicle of Deaths Foretold is a 1996 comic book mini-series published by Vertigo, written by Alisa Kwitney and with art by Kent Williams, Michael Zulli, Scott Hampton and Rebecca Guay...
1 – penciller/inker (Vertigo Comics)
- 1997: The Shade 4 – penciller/inker (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...
)
- 1998: Vertigo: Winter's Edge 3 – penciller/inker (Vertigo Comics)
- 1998: Witchcraft: La Terreur 1-3 – penciller/inker (Vertigo Comics)
- 1998: Longshot: Fools – penciller (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...
)
- 1999: Batman: No Man's Land
"No Man’s Land" is an American comic book crossover storyline that ran for the whole of 1999 through the Batman comic book titles published by DC Comics....
1 – penciller (DC ComicsDC 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...
)
- 1999: Star Wars Tales
Star Wars Tales was a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics, beginning on September 29, 1999 and completing its run on July 13, 2005. Each issue featured several unrelated stories from various eras of the Star Wars timeline. All stories from Issue #20 and before have been retroactively...
13 – penciller/inker (Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
)
- 1999: Webspinners: Tales of the Spider-man 1-3 – penciller/inker (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...
)
- 2000: The Quotable Sandman – penciller (Vertigo Comics)
- 2000: The Sandman Presents: Love Street 1-3 – penciller (Vertigo Comics)
- 2000: Vertigo Secret Files and Origins: Swamp Thing – penciller/inker (Vertigo Comics)
- 2000-2001: Legends of the DC Universe 33-36 – penciller (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...
)
- 2001: Delicate Creatures – penciller/inker (Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
/Top Cow ProductionsTop Cow Productions is an American comics publisher, a partner studio of Image Comics founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992.-History:...
)
- 2002: 9-11 2 – penciller/inker (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...
)
- 2002: Grendel: Red, White and Black 4 - penciller (Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
)
- 2004: Creatures of the Night
Creatures of the Night is a graphic novel by Neil Gaiman which reprints two short stories from his collection Smoke and Mirrors with elaborate illustrations by artist Michael Zulli.-Stories:...
– penciller/inker/painter (Dark Horse Books)
- 2007: The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch – penciller/inker/painter (Dark Horse Books)
- 2011: The Fracture of the Universal Boy – writer/penciller/inker (Eidelon Fine Arts)
Awards
- 1996: Nominated for the "Best Penciller/Inker" Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
, for "The Wake" in The Sandman #70-72
External links