Marc Hempel
Encyclopedia
Marc Hempel is an American
cartoonist
/comics
artist
best known for his work on The Sandman with Neil Gaiman
.
and now lives in Baltimore, Maryland, where he enjoys relative fame as "America's Most Beloved Semi-Obscure Cartoonist." In addition to his collaboration with Gaiman on the climactic story arc "The Kindly Ones
" in The Sandman, he is also known for his critically acclaimed work with Mark Wheatley
in the titles Breathtaker and Mars
(original art from The Sandman and Breathtaker
are included in an exhibition entitled "LitGraphic: The World of the Graphic Novel," currently on view at the James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania). Breck Eisner
is currently set to direct the upcoming Hollywood film adaptation of Blood of the Innocent
, a comic book series Hempel co-created with Rickey Shanklin and Wheatley. Inferno Entertainment has acquired underlying rights to the series and is funding development and production of the feature, which is being co-produced with Circle of Confusion.
Hempel's own creations Gregory and Tug & Buster have been nominated for several industry awards, and his humor anthology Naked Brain was named Best Comic Book in the Baltimore City Paper
s Best of Baltimore 2003 issue. Hempel's art has also appeared in Marvel Fanfare
, Epic Illustrated
, Heavy Metal
, Jonny Quest
, Tarzan the Warrior, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser, Flinch
, My Faith in Frankie, The Dreaming
, Lucifer
, and Disney Adventures.
He has created advertising art for print and television, and character design for HBO Animation. More recently, Hempel has produced CD art for the Nashville band Swamp Rat, drawn an episode of the online strip Munden's Bar for ComicMix.com, illustrated a 21-page Escapist
story for Dark Horse Comics, and has contributed to both MAD Magazine
and Nickelodeon Magazine.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
/comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
best known for his work on The Sandman with Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil 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...
.
Biography
Marc Hempel grew up in the northwest suburbs of ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and now lives in Baltimore, Maryland, where he enjoys relative fame as "America's Most Beloved Semi-Obscure Cartoonist." In addition to his collaboration with Gaiman on the climactic story arc "The Kindly Ones
The Sandman: The Kindly Ones
The Kindly Ones is the ninth collection of issues in the DC Comics series, The Sandman. Written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Marc Hempel, Richard Case, D'Israeli, Teddy Kristiansen, Glyn Dillon, Charles Vess, Dean Ormston and Kevin Nowlan, coloured by Danny Vozzo, and lettered by Todd Klein.The...
" in The Sandman, he is also known for his critically acclaimed work with Mark Wheatley
Mark Wheatley (comics)
Mark Wheatley is an American illustrator, writer, editor, and publisher in the comic book field. Wheatley's comic book and pulp creations include Breathtaker, Mars, and Blood of the Innocent, all illustrated by his frequent collaborator Marc Hempel...
in the titles Breathtaker and Mars
Mars (comics)
Mars is a 1984 American comic book series published by First Comics that ran for 12 issues. Inspired by the pulp science fiction stories of the 1930s and 1940s, creators Mark Wheatley and Marc Hempel collaborated on the story featuring a group of explorers and engineers sent to Mars with the goal...
(original art from The Sandman and Breathtaker
Breathtaker
Breathtaker is a comic book four-part limited series published by DC Comics, with a collected edition published in 1994 under the Vertigo imprint. It was written by Mark Wheatley and drawn by Marc Hempel.-Plot:...
are included in an exhibition entitled "LitGraphic: The World of the Graphic Novel," currently on view at the James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania). Breck Eisner
Breck Eisner
Michael "Breck" Eisner is an American television and film director.-Early life:Eisner was born Michael Eisner in California, the son of Jane Breckenridge, a business advisor and computer programmer, and Michael Eisner, the former Walt Disney Company chief executive...
is currently set to direct the upcoming Hollywood film adaptation of Blood of the Innocent
Blood of the Innocent
Blood of the Innocent is the name of a comic book created by Rickey Shanklin, Marc Hempel and Mark Wheatley which was published by WaRP Graphics in 1985.-About the series:...
, a comic book series Hempel co-created with Rickey Shanklin and Wheatley. Inferno Entertainment has acquired underlying rights to the series and is funding development and production of the feature, which is being co-produced with Circle of Confusion.
Hempel's own creations Gregory and Tug & Buster have been nominated for several industry awards, and his humor anthology Naked Brain was named Best Comic Book in the Baltimore City Paper
Baltimore City Paper
Baltimore City Paper is a free alternative weekly newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland, founded in 1977 by Russ Smith and Alan Hirsch. Current owner Times-Shamrock Communications purchased the paper in 1987...
s Best of Baltimore 2003 issue. Hempel's art has also appeared in Marvel Fanfare
Marvel Fanfare
Marvel Fanfare is the title of two comic book series published by Marvel Comics. Both versions of Marvel Fanfare were anthology, showcase titles featuring a variety of characters from the Marvel universe.-Volume One:...
, Epic Illustrated
Epic Illustrated
Epic Illustrated was a comics anthology in magazine format published in the United States by Marvel Comics. The series lasted for 34 issues, from Spring 1980 to February 1986....
, Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal (magazine)
Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
, Jonny Quest
Jonny Quest
Jonny Quest is a media franchise that revolves around a boy named Jonny Quest who accompanies his father on extraordinary adventures. The franchise started with a 1964-65 television series and has come to include two subsequent television series, two television films, and a video game.-1964–1965...
, Tarzan the Warrior, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser, Flinch
Flinch (DC Comics)
Flinch was a Vertigo Comics horror anthology.It ran 16 issues from June 1999 until January 2001 and featured the talents of Jim Lee, Bill Willingham, Frank Quitely and many others. Rumors of being canceled seemed to plague the book throughout its printing...
, My Faith in Frankie, The Dreaming
The Dreaming (comics)
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....
, Lucifer
Lucifer (DC Comics)
Lucifer is a DC Comics character that starred in an eponymous comic book published under the Vertigo imprint, whose entire run was written by Mike Carey...
, and Disney Adventures.
He has created advertising art for print and television, and character design for HBO Animation. More recently, Hempel has produced CD art for the Nashville band Swamp Rat, drawn an episode of the online strip Munden's Bar for ComicMix.com, illustrated a 21-page Escapist
The Escapist (character)
The Escapist is a metafictional character, a comic book hero in the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, written by Michael Chabon, created as an homage to the heroes of the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books...
story for Dark Horse Comics, and has contributed to both MAD Magazine
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
and Nickelodeon Magazine.