Beau Smith
Encyclopedia
Beau Smith is an
American
comic book
writer
and columnist
, best known for his
work for DC Comics
, Image Comics
, IDW Publishing
and as vice president of marketing for Eclipse Comics
.
in journalism. Smith got his start in the comics field as a letterhack
, having written over 400 letters
to various comics, and actually was solicited to send letters based on early preview copies. Smith's first professional comics writing job was with Pacific Comics
, but the company went out of business prior to publishing the story.
in 1985, a series of one- to two-page backup features in the Scout comic (created by fellow West Virginia native Timothy Truman
). This was followed by a collaboration titled "The Dogs of Danger" with Flint Henry in the title The Swords of Texas. The next feature for Eclipse was a character called Beau LaDuke, the character bearing a striking resemblance to Beau Smith himself. The Beau LaDuke character had a backup feature in Scout: War Shaman #13-#16. Smith's next work was a collaboration with Chuck Dixon
on a revival of The Black Terror in a crime noir tale. This is the first of many collaborations with Chuck Dixon, who would partner with Smith to write stories for DC Comics in the future.
" storyline that had removed Hal Jordan
from the role of Green Lantern
. Smith had the challenge of developing a new direction for Guy Gardner
that did not include the use of a power ring that had been part of his mythos from the creation of the character:
Smith was editorially mandated to give morphing powers to Guy Gardner
. The writer had very specific limits for the powers in mind, in the writer's own words "Saddled with this morphin’ stuff I made it that Guy could only morph the weapons of the greatest warriors of the universe. I figured that would narrow it down to spears, knives, swords, guns... and soon." These limits were
not universally adopted. "I open up these other books and these jokers have Guy morphin’ chain saws, egg beaters and everything short of a dildo."
, a modern day descendant of Wyatt Earp
, and Frank Cobb
, a former Secret Service agent with a lack of direction and a strong drive to protect innocents. IDW published the complete Wynonna Earp
trade, collecting all previous appearances in a single volume. In 2006 Cobb: Off the Leash
was awarded the #3 position on Scoop's top ten comics of 2006. Cobb: Off the Leash
was also reprinted in a magazine format collected edition in 2007. In February 2008, IDW will be releasing the Smith penned original story set in the 24
mythology entitled 24: Cold Warriors.
titled "Busted Knuckles", containing opinions of current events in the comic book industry, reviews, recommendations, the "Busted Knuckles Babe of the Week" and the "Manly Comic Cover" of the week, the later of which is the subject of a good-natured rivalry for the manliest cover with Chuck Dixon
's website www.Dixonverse.net Smith has also maintained a long term How-To column about the comic business in Sketch Magazine, entitled "From the Ranch". Those columns were collected in 2007 for a book entitled Beau Smith's No Guts, No Glory:How To Market Yourself In Comics. Smith has also written business columns for Westfield Comics, Entertainment Retailer, Wizard Magazine, Comic Book Business, Comics & Games Retailer, and The Comics Buyer's Guide. Smith ventured into writing video games for such titles as Maximo: Beauty Is Only Sword Deep from Dreamwave Studios, and Maximo vs. Army of Zin
from Capcom Video Games.
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
, best known for his
work 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...
, Image Comics
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...
, IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
and as vice president of marketing for Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
.
Early career
A lifelong resident of West Virginia, Smith is a graduate of Marshall UniversityMarshall University
Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....
in journalism. Smith got his start in the comics field as a letterhack
Letterhack
Letterhack describes a fan who is regularly published in comic book letter columns.Many letterhacks became well-known throughout the industry by virtue of their letters...
, having written over 400 letters
Comic book letter column
A comic book letter column is a section of a comic book where readers' letters to the publisher appear. Comic book letter columns are also commonly referred to as letter columns , letter pages, letters of comment , or simply letters to the editor...
to various comics, and actually was solicited to send letters based on early preview copies. Smith's first professional comics writing job was with Pacific Comics
Pacific Comics
Pacific Comics was an independent comic book publisher that flourished from 1981-1984. It was also a chain of comics shops and a distributor. It began out of a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes...
, but the company went out of business prior to publishing the story.
Eclipse Comics
Beau Smith's first published work was for Eclipse ComicsEclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
in 1985, a series of one- to two-page backup features in the Scout comic (created by fellow West Virginia native Timothy Truman
Timothy Truman
Timothy Truman is an American writer, artist and musician. He is best known for his stories and Wild West-style comic book art, and in particular, for his work on Grimjack , Scout, and the reinvention of Jonah Hex, with Joe R. Lansdale...
). This was followed by a collaboration titled "The Dogs of Danger" with Flint Henry in the title The Swords of Texas. The next feature for Eclipse was a character called Beau LaDuke, the character bearing a striking resemblance to Beau Smith himself. The Beau LaDuke character had a backup feature in Scout: War Shaman #13-#16. Smith's next work was a collaboration with Chuck Dixon
Chuck Dixon
Charles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, best known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.-Biography:Dixon grew up in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area, reading comics of all genres...
on a revival of The Black Terror in a crime noir tale. This is the first of many collaborations with Chuck Dixon, who would partner with Smith to write stories for DC Comics in the future.
DC Comics
Smith's first published work for DC was in Green Lantern Quarterly #8. Smith's first full length story for DC was Guy Gardner: Warrior #20, which was the conclusion of the "Emerald Fallout" story, which was a follow-up to the "Emerald TwilightEmerald Twilight
"Emerald Twilight" is a 1994 comic book story told in Green Lantern #48-50, written by Ron Marz, and published by DC Comics. The story introduced a new Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner, who gained a significant fan following....
" storyline that had removed Hal Jordan
Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan is a DC Comics superhero known as Green Lantern, the first human shown to join the Green Lantern Corps and a founding member of the Justice League of America. Jordan is the second DC Comics character to adopt the Green Lantern moniker...
from the role of Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
. Smith had the challenge of developing a new direction for Guy Gardner
Guy Gardner (comics)
Guy Gardner is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. He is a core member of the Green Lantern family of characters, and for a time was also a significant member of the Justice League family of characters.He was created by John Broome and Gil Kane in Green Lantern...
that did not include the use of a power ring that had been part of his mythos from the creation of the character:
Smith was editorially mandated to give morphing powers to Guy Gardner
Guy Gardner (comics)
Guy Gardner is a fictional character, a comic book superhero published by DC Comics. He is a core member of the Green Lantern family of characters, and for a time was also a significant member of the Justice League family of characters.He was created by John Broome and Gil Kane in Green Lantern...
. The writer had very specific limits for the powers in mind, in the writer's own words "Saddled with this morphin’ stuff I made it that Guy could only morph the weapons of the greatest warriors of the universe. I figured that would narrow it down to spears, knives, swords, guns... and soon." These limits were
not universally adopted. "I open up these other books and these jokers have Guy morphin’ chain saws, egg beaters and everything short of a dildo."
IDW
Beau Smith served as IDW's vice president of sales and marketing until February 1 of 2005, but has continued to write comics for the publisher. His original creations include Wynonna EarpWynonna Earp
Wynonna Earp is a fictional character and the eponymous lead of several comic book limited series. The character is a creator-owned property and was created by Beau Smith...
, a modern day descendant of Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
, and Frank Cobb
Frank Cobb
Frank Cobb is the title character of a three issue comic book limited series titled Cobb: Off the Leash, published by IDW Publishing. This character was created by Beau Smith and Eduardo Barreto, with colors by Josh Burcham...
, a former Secret Service agent with a lack of direction and a strong drive to protect innocents. IDW published the complete Wynonna Earp
Wynonna Earp
Wynonna Earp is a fictional character and the eponymous lead of several comic book limited series. The character is a creator-owned property and was created by Beau Smith...
trade, collecting all previous appearances in a single volume. In 2006 Cobb: Off the Leash
Cobb: Off the Leash
Cobb: Off The Leash is a comic book mini-series created by Beau Smith and Eduardo Barreto, published by IDW Publishing in 2006. The eponymous protagonist, Frank Cobb, is an original creation for this mini-series.-Plot summary:...
was awarded the #3 position on Scoop's top ten comics of 2006. Cobb: Off the Leash
Cobb: Off the Leash
Cobb: Off The Leash is a comic book mini-series created by Beau Smith and Eduardo Barreto, published by IDW Publishing in 2006. The eponymous protagonist, Frank Cobb, is an original creation for this mini-series.-Plot summary:...
was also reprinted in a magazine format collected edition in 2007. In February 2008, IDW will be releasing the Smith penned original story set in the 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
mythology entitled 24: Cold Warriors.
Other work
In addition to his work writing and marketing comic books Smith has also maintained a regular opinion column at Comics BulletinComics Bulletin
Comics Bulletin is a website with an emphasis on the American comic book industry, updated daily with news, reviews, interviews, and editorial content. Coverage ranges from mainstream to independent/small press comic book and graphic novel publishers.-History:...
titled "Busted Knuckles", containing opinions of current events in the comic book industry, reviews, recommendations, the "Busted Knuckles Babe of the Week" and the "Manly Comic Cover" of the week, the later of which is the subject of a good-natured rivalry for the manliest cover with Chuck Dixon
Chuck Dixon
Charles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, best known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.-Biography:Dixon grew up in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area, reading comics of all genres...
's website www.Dixonverse.net Smith has also maintained a long term How-To column about the comic business in Sketch Magazine, entitled "From the Ranch". Those columns were collected in 2007 for a book entitled Beau Smith's No Guts, No Glory:How To Market Yourself In Comics. Smith has also written business columns for Westfield Comics, Entertainment Retailer, Wizard Magazine, Comic Book Business, Comics & Games Retailer, and The Comics Buyer's Guide. Smith ventured into writing video games for such titles as Maximo: Beauty Is Only Sword Deep from Dreamwave Studios, and Maximo vs. Army of Zin
Maximo vs. Army of Zin
is an action-adventure game developed and published by Capcom in 2003 for the PlayStation 2 video game console. This title is a sequel to Maximo: Ghosts to Glory. It is part of the Ghosts'n Goblins franchise.-Plot:...
from Capcom Video Games.
DC
- Green Lantern Corp Quarterly #8
- Guy Gardner: Warrior #20-#44, Annual #1-#2
- Showcase '95 #6
- Showcase '96 #1,#11
- Wildcat vs. Batman #1-#4 (w/ Chuck Dixon)
- Wildcat vs. Catwoman #1-#4 (w/ Chuck Dixon)
- Green Lantern 80-Page Giant #1
- 9-11: The World's Finest Comic Book Writers & Artists Tell Stories to Remember #[2] "Soldiers"
Eclipse
- The Black Terror 1-4 (co-written w/Chuck Dixon)
- Tales Of Terror
- Alien Worlds
- Parts Unknown
- Wynona Earp
- Scout 14,16,18,22 (backup story)
- Scout: War Shaman 13-16 (backup story)
- The Swords of Texas 1-4 (backup story)
IDW
- Wynonna Earp: Home On The Strange
- Cobb: Off the LeashCobb: Off the LeashCobb: Off The Leash is a comic book mini-series created by Beau Smith and Eduardo Barreto, published by IDW Publishing in 2006. The eponymous protagonist, Frank Cobb, is an original creation for this mini-series.-Plot summary:...
#1-3 - 24: Cold Warriors #1
Image
- Wynonna Earp
- Parts Unknown
- Spawn
- Spawn The Undead
- Viking Spawn: Special Fan Edition
- ShadowHawk
- The Berzerkers
- Primate: The Sword Of Darwin
- The Tenth
- Boof
- Boof and The Bruise Crew
- Total Eclipse
- Angela Special
- Angela Trade Paperback
Other publishers
- AC ComicsAC ComicsAC Comics is a comic book publishing company started by Bill Black.AC Comics specializes in reprints of Golden Age comics from now-defunct companies whose properties lapsed into public domain and were not reprinted elsewhere...
- Good Girl Art Quarterly #12 - Dark HorseDark 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...
- Dark Horse PresentsDark Horse PresentsDark Horse Presents was the first comic book published by Dark Horse Comics in 1986 and was their flagship title until its September 2000 cancellation. The second incarnation was published on MySpace, running from July 2007 until August 2010...
#136 - Chaos! ComicsChaos! ComicsChaos! Comics was a comic book publisher that operated from 1994 until 2002.-Overview:Their titles included Lady Death, Purgatori, Evil Ernie, Chastity, Jade, Omen, Bad Kitty, Cremator, Lady Demon, and Smiley The Psychotic Button.They also published licensed comics for the World Wrestling...
/Wizard - Undertaker #0, 9 - Crusade/Marvel - ShiShi (comics)Shi is a fictional comic book character created by writer/illustrator William Tucci. She first appeared in Razor Annual #1 , and has since appeared in books by a variety of publishers, most notably, Tucci's company, Crusade Comics...
: Dark Night of Judgement (w/ Billy Tucci) - Marvel/Crusade - Wolverine: Judgement Night (w/ Billy Tucci)
- Dark Horse - Star Wars TalesStar Wars TalesStar 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...
#7 - Axis Comics - Deathgrip