Richard Howell (comics)

This article is about the comic book creator. For other people with this name, see Richard Howell (disambiguation).
Richard Howell
Richard Howell (left) with Gary Groth (middle) and Steve Schanes (right) at the 1982 San Diego Comic-Con
Born (1955-11-16) November 16, 1955 (age 69)
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Writer, Penciller, Inker, Editor, Letterer, Colourist
Notable works
Claypool Comics
Hawkman
The Vision and the Scarlet Witch

Richard Howell (born November 16,[1] 1955[2]) is an American comics artist best known as the co-founder and editor of Claypool Comics.

Career

Richard Howell entered the comics industry in 1977 with his self-published series Portia Prinz of the Glamazons.[3]

Beginning in 1980, he and his partner Carol Kalish co-edited the New Media/Irjax line of magazines.[4] They also ran the New Media/Irjax-owned Boston-area distributor Solar Spice and Liquors,[5] named after a fictional corporation created by science fiction writer Poul Anderson. Howell replaced Peter B. Gillis as editorial director of New Media/Irjax in June 1981.[6]

Howell began working for Marvel Comics in 1982[2] and DC Comics in 1983.[7] Writer Tony Isabella and Howell produced The Shadow War of Hawkman limited series in 1985[8] and an ongoing Hawkman series the following year.[9] Howell and writer Steve Englehart crafted a twelve-issue The Vision and the Scarlet Witch limited series in 1985-1986, wherein the Scarlet Witch became pregnant.[10]

With co-editor Jesse Reyes, he relaunched the Vampirella character at Harris Comics and co-founded Claypool Comics with Ed Via in 1993. Howell served as editor of Claypool's line throughout its existence.[4]

Claypool announced in July 2006 that the print end of its published line would cease, as Diamond Comic Distributors, the industry's major distribution arm, would no longer carry it. Deadbeats continues as a webcomic at the Claypool Comics website.[11]

Personal life

Howell and Kalish were longtime residents of Leonia, New Jersey.[12]

Bibliography

Claypool Comics

  • Deadbeats #1–82 (1993–2007)
  • Elvira, Mistress of the Dark #1–166 (1993–2007)
  • Phantom of Fear City #1–12 (1993–1995)
  • Soulsearchers and Company #1–82 (1993–2007)

Comico

DC Comics

Desperado-Eastern Press

  • Portia Prinz of the Glamazons #1–5 (1977–1978)

Dynamite Entertainment

Eclipse Comics

  • Alien Encounters #7 (1986)
  • The DNAgents #15, 17–19, 22 (1984–1985)
  • The Liberty Project #6 (1987)
  • Merchants of Death #3–4 (1988)
  • New DNAgents #11 (1986)
  • Portia Prinz of the Glamazons #1–6 (1986–1987)
  • Surge #2 (1984)
  • Three Dimensional DNAgents #1 (1986)

Harris Comics

  • Creepy 1993 Fearbook (1993)
  • Vampirella's Summer Nights (1992)
  • Vampirella: Morning in America #3 (1991)

Marvel Comics

Welsh Publishing

  • The Adventures of Jell-O Man and Wobbly #1 (1991)

References

  1. ^ Miller, John Jackson (June 10, 2005). "Comics Industry Birthdays". Comics Buyer's Guide. Iola, Wisconsin. Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Bails, Jerry (2006). "Howell, Richard". Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
  3. ^ Markstein, Don (2010). "Portia Prinz of the Glamazons". Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on May 27, 2024. When Portia first came out (1977), she was distributed privately.
  4. ^ a b "Our Talented Creators". Claypool Comics. n.d. Archived from the original on October 6, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  5. ^ David, Peter (December 11, 2002). "Carol". PeterDavid.net. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022.
  6. ^ "NMP Editorial Shake-Up". Comics Feature (12/13). New Media Publishing: 18. September–October 1981.
  7. ^ Richard Howell at the Grand Comics Database
  8. ^ Manning, Matthew K. (2010). "1980s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 215. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. May [1985] saw the return of the Winged Wonder in a four-issue miniseries entitled The Shadow War of Hawkman by writer Tony Isabella and penciller Richard Howell.
  9. ^ Zawisza, Doug (July 2017). "Hawkman in the Bronze Age". Back Issue! (97). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 15–20.
  10. ^ Englehart, Steve (n.d.). "The Vision and the Scarlet Witch". SteveEnglehart.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2010. Retrieved January 5, 2013. Once Wanda gets pregnant in issue 3, the following nine issues take place in real time - the first time that had ever been done.
  11. ^ David, Peter (July 31, 2006). "Searching No More". PeterDavid.net. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  12. ^ Dean Aranda, Melinda; Karels, Carol (July 11, 2014). "Richard Howell: Comic Book Artist". Leonia Lives. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Why did you move to Leonia?
    Carol was brilliant at what she did, and had been hired by Marvel to do direct sales distribution for them, so we had to be within commuting distance of Marvel. After a few months living above a (frequently-robbed) convenience store in Edgewater, we bought a cheap fixer-upper house at the northern edge of Leonia. Carol commuted to the Marvel offices in the city, and I worked out of our house, drawing full-time. Carol and I were together for fourteen years, before her untimely passing.