27 Facts About Bernie Wrightson

Bernard Albert Wrightson was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his adaptation of the novel Frankenstein illustration work, and for his other horror comics and illustrations, which feature his trademark intricate pen and brushwork.

Bernie Wrightson began his career as an illustrator for The Baltimore Sun newspaper in 1966.

The character soon received its own monthly series, which Bernie Wrightson drew the first ten issues for.

Bernie Wrightson drew comic book adaptations of Stephen King's screenplay for Creepshow in 1982, which led to several more collaborations with King.

Bernie Wrightson spent several years creating an illustrated edition of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, which was released in 1983.

Later in his career, Bernie Wrightson provided concept art for various films and television series.

Bernie Wrightson received training in art from watching Jon Gnagy on television, reading comics, particularly those of EC, as well as through a correspondence course from the Famous Artists School.

In 1966, Bernie Wrightson began working for The Baltimore Sun newspaper as an illustrator.

Bernie Wrightson continued to work on a variety of mystery and anthology titles for both DC and, a few years later, its principal rival, Marvel Comics.

At one point Bernie Wrightson lived in the same Queens apartment building as artists Allen Milgrom, Howard Chaykin and Walter Simonson.

Bernie Wrightson had originally been asked by DC to handle the art for its revival of The Shadow, but he left the project early on when he realized he could not produce the necessary minimum number of pages on time, along with his work on Swamp Thing.

In January 1974, Bernie Wrightson left DC to work at Warren Publishing, for whose black-and-white horror-comics magazines he produced a series of original work as well as short story adaptations.

In 1975, Bernie Wrightson joined with fellow artists Jeff Jones, Michael Kaluta, and Barry Windsor-Smith to form The Studio, a shared loft in Manhattan where the group would pursue creative products outside the constraints of comic book commercialism.

Bernie Wrightson drew sporadic comics stories and single illustrations for National Lampoon magazine from 1973 to 1983.

Bernie Wrightson spent seven years drawing approximately 50 detailed pen-and-ink illustrations to accompany an edition of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein.

Frankenstein was an unpaid project, Bernie Wrightson describing it as a "labor of love" he worked on over seven years.

The Freakshow graphic novel, written by Bruce Jones and illustrated by Bernie Wrightson, was published in Spain in 1982 and serialized in Heavy Metal magazine in the early 1980s.

In 1982 Bernie Wrightson illustrated the comic book adaptation of the Stephen King-penned horror film Creepshow.

Jim Starlin and Bernie Wrightson produced Heroes for Hope, a 1985 one-shot designed to raise money for African famine relief and recovery.

Bernie Wrightson brought back his Captain Sternn character in 1993 for the Captain Sternn: Running Out of Time miniseries, published by Kitchen Sink Press.

Bernie Wrightson again worked with Punisher for the Punisher: Purgatory limited series from 1998 to 1999.

Bernie Wrightson illustrated and contributed album covers for a number of bands and musical artists, including Meat Loaf.

Bernie Wrightson did concept art for film and television, working on productions including The Faculty, Galaxy Quest, Spider-Man, The Mist, Land of the Dead, and Serenity.

Bernie Wrightson lived with his second wife Liz Bernie Wrightson and his stepson Thomas Adamson in Austin, Texas.

Bernie Wrightson died on March 18,2017, at the age of 68.

The next day, Liz Bernie Wrightson confirmed that his death followed a long diagnosis with brain cancer.

Bernie Wrightson's death met with a series of testimonials and tributes by colleagues and professional admirers that included Joss Whedon, Neil Gaiman, Guillermo del Toro, Walter Simonson, and Mike Mignola.