Bernie Wrightson

Bernie Wrightson was one of the best artists of horror comics, with a career spanning from the mid-1960s through the mid-2010s. Nicknamed the "Master of the Macabre", he was at his best when drawing grotesque monsters, vampires, werewolves, cyclopses, mummy's and other eerie creatures. He is praised for his visual storytelling, absurd humor and for his complex and detailed drawing technique, which makes use of a lot of shadow work and shading. Where his artwork is clearly inspired by other horror staples like Frank Frazetta and Graham Ingels, his moody pages also breathe the atmosphere of writers like Charles Baudelaire and Edgar Allan Poe. He has worked extensively for the horror and mystery titles of DC Comics, for which he created 'The Swamp Thing' (1971) with writer Len Wein. He is also known for his comic adaptations of classic horror stories and his collaborations with Stephen King. Later in his career, he has done design work for the movie industry.

Early years
He was born in 1948 as Bernard Albert Wrightson in Dundalk, Maryland. His first name was shortened to Bernie, which he initially wrote as Berni to avoid confusion with the Olympic diver Bernie Wrightson (1944). He got interested in art at the age of 12, but has claimed that he wasn't an avid comic book reader as a child. It won't surprise anybody that the comic books he did enjoy were those filled with horror and sci-fi stories by EC Comics. At age 15 he discovered the work of Frank Frazetta, who remained a major influence throughout his career. Other artists he admired were Graham Ingels, Al Williamson, Al Dorne, Franklin Booth, Jeff Jones and Jack Davis.

Wrightson got his artistic education from a correspondence course of the Famous Artists School. He began his career as a staff illustrator with the Baltimore Sun in 1966. He started attending comics conventions and was introduced to the world of fanzines. By 1968 he was contributing artwork to the EC fan publications Spa-Fon (edited by Rich Hauser) and Squa-Tront (edited by Jerry Weist). He eventually settled in New York City, where he was introduced to the editors of DC Comics by Frank Frazetta, whom he had met at one of the conventions. His first professional work for DC Comics was creating the sword and sorcery hero 'Nightmaster' with writer Denny O'Neil for the DC Showcase series in 1969. His initial effort didn't work out, and Jerry Grandenetti was brought in to draw the first issue. Wrightson came back for issues #2 and #3 however, but didn't feel at ease with the character, and got a helping hand from artists like Jeff Jones, Mike Kaluta and Steve Harper.

In the meantime, Wrightson had contributed his first stories to DC's horror anthology titles 'House of Mystery' and 'The Witching Hour'. He also drew stories for the three issues of 'Web of Horror', which he edited with Bruce Jones for Major Publications in 1969 and 1970, and two stories of 'Limpstrel' for the underground comic book Witzend. Wrightson, Jeff Jones, Bruce Jones and Kaluta then embarked upon the ambitious project of a creator-owned magazine called Abyss, but only one issue was published in November 1970.

It was in Stan Lee's 'Chamber of Darkness' and 'Tower of Shadows' at Marvel Comics that Wrightson's pen-and-ink work made place for more heavy brushwork, and his trademark drawing style first came to bloom. He continued to do interior and cover artwork for Marvel Comics, including some 'King Kull' stories for 'Creatures on the Loose' (1971) and 'Savage Tales' (1973). He was however deeply disappointed with the way his stories were printed. The fact that Lee refused his graphic solutions was another blow. Wrightson remained with DC Comics instead, where he especially did story and cover art for the horror titles 'House of Mystery' and 'House of Secrets' for most of the early 1970s.

In 1971 Wrightson got the assignment to draw one of Len Wein's stories about a Victorian-era scientist turning into a muck creature for the July issue of 'House of Secrets'. It was the first appearance of 'The Swamp Thing', which became the character Wrightson is most associated with. The humanoid mass of vegetable matter returned in its own title in October 1972, although now in a contemporary setting. Wrightston drew the first ten issues from stories by Len Wein, after which Nestor Redondo took over in 1974. 'Swamp Thing' was later adapted into a 1982 film by Wes Craven, which received moderate reviews at the time but gained a cult following since. It also spawned a 1990-1991 animated TV series and a 1990-1992 live-action TV series. In addition, Wrightson and writer Marv Wolfman co-created the character of 'Destiny' for the first issue of 'Weird Mystery Tales' in July 1972.

In later years, Wrightson was plagued by health problems. After suffering from a couple of small strokes in July 2014, he underwent several treatments for a brain tumor in the years that followed. In January 2017, he died.