Nelson DeCastro
Encyclopedia
Nelson Faro DeCastro, known professionally as Nelson (born February 17, 1969), is an American comic book artist
known for his airbrushed cover art, and his interior penciling, inking and coloring work. He is also a writer and teacher. Nelson's career began in the early 1990s, doing cover work and publishing his creator-owned work for Dark Horse Comics
, before becoming a frequent artist for Marvel Comics
and DC Comics
.
book featuring the Gibbon, illustrated by John Romita
, whom he cites as his primary artistic influence. Other influences he names include Caravaggio
, Joe Jusko
, Frank Frazetta
, and Simon Bisley
.
Nelson studied art at the School of Visual Arts
in Manhattan
.
, with whom he was friends. He provided the interior art for their 1987 album Can't You Take a Joke?, and the cover art for their 1989 album, A Boy In A Man's World
.
Nelson broke into the American comic book industry in 1992 doing airbrushed cover work for Dark Horse Comics
series, such as Insider Vol. 2 #6 and the four-issue miniseries RoboCop
: Prime Suspect. In 1993 he wrote and illustrated his own creator-owned horror
character, Eudaemon, in the anthology
Dark Horse Presents
#72-74, for which he provided the first issue's cover. He would later publish through Dark Horse a three-issue Eudaemon series, which he wrote, pencilled, and inked, and for which he provided airbrush-painted covers.
His first comic work for the Big Two publishers was a 6-page comic book story he penciled and inked for Marvel Comics
's Custom Comic division. He would also provide the publisher with a painted cover for Marvel Comics
' Ghost Rider
#18 in 1993. His first work for DC Comics
doing interior illustration for Team Superman
Secret Files and Origins #1, which was published in 1998. Other DC work during the 1990s includes Birds of Prey: The Ravens #1.
In 1999, Nelson worked for Marvel Comics, beginning with a painted cover and the interior art for X-Men: The Magneto
War #1. His other Marvel work that year included issues of Generation X
, Black Panther
and X-Force
.
, Ant-Man
's Big Christmas, Generation X, Marvel Knights
, Elektra
, and Inhumans
.
He also provided work for DC Comics
, on Birds of Prey and 2004's The DC Comics Encyclopedia. His other mid-2000s work for DC included doing inks for Superman: The Journey and inking over John Byrne's pencils and providing his first interior color work on Action Comics
#831.
Nelson branched out into educational comics with 2005's The Home Depot: Safety Heroes, a giveaway from the Home Depot featuring several Marvel Comics characters, as well as into Marvel's mature readers imprint, MAX
, with Doctor Spectrum, two issues of which he inked, and Marvel's Ultimate line, providing interior inks for three issues of the miniseries Ultimate Nightmare and Ultimate Galactus Trilogy
.
Although he mostly worked for Marvel Comics in the late 2000s, in 2008 Nelson provided the interior pencils and inks for DC's Green Lantern Corps
#21-22.
2009 marked Nelson's first foray into writing for The Big Two publishers, with the story "The Strange Bonds of Strange People", which appeared in Astonishing Tales: The Thing #1 by Marvel Digital Comics. He also provided inks for War of Kings
: Savage World of Skaar
, for which he was credited on the cover as "DeCastro", and not "Nelson", as he is typically credited. That year he also inked issues of Incredible Hercules, and penciled and inked Iron Man: Iron Protocols.
's School of Visual Arts
, where he himself once studied.
DeCastro has illustrated cards for the Magic: The Gathering
collectible card game.
player, and expressed a desire to try sculpture
, though he laments that he has trouble finding the time.
Comic Book Artist
Comic Book Artist was an American magazine founded by Jon B. Cooke devoted to anecdotal histories of American comic books, with emphasis on comics published since the 1960s...
known for his airbrushed cover art, and his interior penciling, inking and coloring work. He is also a writer and teacher. Nelson's career began in the early 1990s, doing cover work and publishing his creator-owned work for Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark 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...
, before becoming a frequent artist for Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
and 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...
.
Early life
Nelson Faro DeCastro was born February 17, 1969. His earliest memory of reading comics is of a Spider-ManSpider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
book featuring the Gibbon, illustrated by John Romita
John Romita
John Romita may refer to:*John Romita, Sr., comic book artist best known for his art on The Amazing Spider-Man for Marvel Comics in the 1960s...
, whom he cites as his primary artistic influence. Other influences he names include Caravaggio
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on the Baroque...
, Joe Jusko
Joe Jusko
Joe Jusko is an American artist known for his realistic, highly detailed painted fantasy, pin-up, and cover illustrations, mainly in the comic book industry...
, Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for work in comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers and other media...
, and Simon Bisley
Simon Bisley
Simon Bisley is a British comics artist best known for his 1990s work on ABC Warriors, Lobo and Sláine. His style, reliant on paints, acrylics, inks and multiple-mediums, is strongly influenced by Frank Frazetta, Bill Sienkiewicz, Gustav Klimt, Salvador Dalí, Egon Schiele, and Richard Corben...
.
Nelson studied art at the School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
1990s
Before his comic book career began, DeCastro created artwork for the band Mucky PupMucky Pup
Mucky Pup began as an American hardcore and crossover thrash band formed in Bergenfield, New Jersey in 1985, when brothers John and Chris Milnes joined up with Dan Nastasi and former Hades member, Scott LePage . The band went through various incarnations and several musical style changes while...
, with whom he was friends. He provided the interior art for their 1987 album Can't You Take a Joke?, and the cover art for their 1989 album, A Boy In A Man's World
A Boy in a Man's World
A Boy in a Man's World is the second studio album by Mucky Pup. The album was recorded at Nevessa Productions and released in 1988 through Torrid Records and Roadrunner Records. The album features a re-recorded version of "U-Stink-But-I-♥-U," which the band had previously won a Bloom County...
.
Nelson broke into the American comic book industry in 1992 doing airbrushed cover work for Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark 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...
series, such as Insider Vol. 2 #6 and the four-issue miniseries RoboCop
RoboCop
RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
: Prime Suspect. In 1993 he wrote and illustrated his own creator-owned horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
character, Eudaemon, in the anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
Dark Horse Presents
Dark Horse Presents
Dark 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...
#72-74, for which he provided the first issue's cover. He would later publish through Dark Horse a three-issue Eudaemon series, which he wrote, pencilled, and inked, and for which he provided airbrush-painted covers.
His first comic work for the Big Two publishers was a 6-page comic book story he penciled and inked for Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
's Custom Comic division. He would also provide the publisher with a painted cover for Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider (comics)
Ghost Rider is the name of several fictional supernatural antiheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Night Rider and subsequently to Phantom Rider.The first supernatural Ghost Rider is...
#18 in 1993. His first 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...
doing interior illustration for Team Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
Secret Files and Origins #1, which was published in 1998. Other DC work during the 1990s includes Birds of Prey: The Ravens #1.
In 1999, Nelson worked for Marvel Comics, beginning with a painted cover and the interior art for X-Men: The Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
War #1. His other Marvel work that year included issues of Generation X
Generation X (comics)
Generation X is a fictional comic book superhero team, a spin-off of the X-Men franchise published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo, the team formed during the 1994 "Phalanx Covenant" storyline, and appeared in their own monthly series in September 1994...
, Black Panther
Black Panther (comics)
The Black Panther is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller-co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52...
and X-Force
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
.
2000s
Nelson continued to work for Marvel Comics in the early 2000s, on such titles as Iron ManIron Man
Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
, Ant-Man
Ant-Man
Ant-Man is the name of several fictional characters appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Ant-Man was originally the superhero persona of Hank Pym, a brilliant scientist who invented a substance that allowed him to change his size...
's Big Christmas, Generation X, Marvel Knights
Marvel Knights
Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Worldwide, Inc. that contains material taking place within the mainstream Marvel Universe .-Production:...
, Elektra
Elektra (comics)
Elektra Natchios, usually referred to only by her first name Elektra, is a fictional character in publications from Marvel Comics.Elektra is a kunoichi – female ninja assassin – of Greek descent. She wields a pair of bladed sai as her trademark weapon. She is a love interest of the superhero...
, and Inhumans
Inhumans
The Inhumans are a fictional race of superhumans, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. This race appears in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics and exists in that company's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe....
.
He also provided 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...
, on Birds of Prey and 2004's The DC Comics Encyclopedia. His other mid-2000s work for DC included doing inks for Superman: The Journey and inking over John Byrne's pencils and providing his first interior color work on Action Comics
Action Comics
Action Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
#831.
Nelson branched out into educational comics with 2005's The Home Depot: Safety Heroes, a giveaway from the Home Depot featuring several Marvel Comics characters, as well as into Marvel's mature readers imprint, MAX
MAX (comics)
MAX is an imprint of Marvel Comics aimed at a niche 'adults only' audience, launched in 2001 after Marvel broke with the Comics Code Authority and established its own rating system...
, with Doctor Spectrum, two issues of which he inked, and Marvel's Ultimate line, providing interior inks for three issues of the miniseries Ultimate Nightmare and Ultimate Galactus Trilogy
Ultimate Galactus trilogy
The Ultimate Galactus Trilogy is a collection of three comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics. All three series are set in the Ultimate Marvel universe and are written by Warren Ellis...
.
Although he mostly worked for Marvel Comics in the late 2000s, in 2008 Nelson provided the interior pencils and inks for DC's Green Lantern Corps
Green Lantern Corps
The Green Lantern Corps is the name of a fictional intergalactic military/police force appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residing on the planet Oa...
#21-22.
2009 marked Nelson's first foray into writing for The Big Two publishers, with the story "The Strange Bonds of Strange People", which appeared in Astonishing Tales: The Thing #1 by Marvel Digital Comics. He also provided inks for War of Kings
War of Kings
"War of Kings" is a comic book crossover storyline written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, published by Marvel Comics, and set in Marvel's main shared universe. The six issue limited series was published between March and August, 2009....
: Savage World of Skaar
Skaar
Skaar is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character to Hulk. He is the son of the Hulk and the extraterrestrial Caiera, who conceived him during the "Planet Hulk" storyline...
, for which he was credited on the cover as "DeCastro", and not "Nelson", as he is typically credited. That year he also inked issues of Incredible Hercules, and penciled and inked Iron Man: Iron Protocols.
Other work
As of 2010, Nelson teaches a Drawing for Cartoonists course at ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
, where he himself once studied.
DeCastro has illustrated cards for the Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
collectible card game.
Personal life
DeCastro is an avid guitarGuitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
player, and expressed a desire to try sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, though he laments that he has trouble finding the time.
Writer
- Astonishing Tales: The Thing (2009)
- Eudaemon #1-3 (1993)
Penciller
- Astonishing Tales: The Thing
- Birds of Prey: The Ravens
- The DC Comics Encyclopedia (2004)
- Generation XGeneration X (comics)Generation X is a fictional comic book superhero team, a spin-off of the X-Men franchise published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo, the team formed during the 1994 "Phalanx Covenant" storyline, and appeared in their own monthly series in September 1994...
- Iron ManIron ManIron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
: Iron Protocols (2009) - Team Superman Secret Files and Origins #1 (1998)
- X-ForceX-ForceX-Force is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero team, one of several spin-offs of the popular X-Men franchise. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team was formed in New Mutants, vol. 1 #100 and soon afterwards was featured in its own series.The group was a new incarnation of the 1980s...
#95 - Eudaemon #1-3 (1993)
Inker
- War of KingsWar of Kings"War of Kings" is a comic book crossover storyline written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, published by Marvel Comics, and set in Marvel's main shared universe. The six issue limited series was published between March and August, 2009....
: Savage World of Skaar (2009) - Ultimate Galactus TrilogyUltimate Galactus trilogyThe Ultimate Galactus Trilogy is a collection of three comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics. All three series are set in the Ultimate Marvel universe and are written by Warren Ellis...
(2007) - Ant-ManAnt-ManAnt-Man is the name of several fictional characters appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Ant-Man was originally the superhero persona of Hank Pym, a brilliant scientist who invented a substance that allowed him to change his size...
's Big Christmas #1 - Astonishing Tales: The Thing #1
- Birds of Prey #44 & #46
- Black PantherBlack Panther (comics)The Black Panther is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller-co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four #52...
#11 & #12 - Captain AmericaCaptain AmericaCaptain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
& the FalconFalcon (comics)The Falcon is a fictional comic book superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics.Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan, and introduced in Captain America #117 , the character is mainstream comics' first African-American superhero... - Doctor SpectrumDoctor SpectrumDoctor Spectrum is the name of several fictional characters that appear in publications published by Marvel Comics. There have been five versions of the character to date - three supervillains from the mainstream Marvel Universe belonging to the team Squadron Sinister and two heroes from different...
- ElektraElektra (comics)Elektra Natchios, usually referred to only by her first name Elektra, is a fictional character in publications from Marvel Comics.Elektra is a kunoichi – female ninja assassin – of Greek descent. She wields a pair of bladed sai as her trademark weapon. She is a love interest of the superhero...
- Generation XGeneration X (comics)Generation X is a fictional comic book superhero team, a spin-off of the X-Men franchise published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo, the team formed during the 1994 "Phalanx Covenant" storyline, and appeared in their own monthly series in September 1994...
#51 - The Home DepotThe Home DepotThe Home Depot is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services.The Home Depot operates 2,248 big-box format stores across the United States , Canada , Mexico and China, with a 12-store chain...
: Safety Heroes #1 - Incredible Hercules #132, 134 & 136
- InhumansInhumansThe Inhumans are a fictional race of superhumans, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. This race appears in various comic book series published by Marvel Comics and exists in that company's shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe....
#3, 4, 7 & 9 - Iron ManIron ManIron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...
#1/2 - Iron Man: Iron Protocols
- Marvel KnightsMarvel KnightsMarvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Worldwide, Inc. that contains material taking place within the mainstream Marvel Universe .-Production:...
#7 - 9 - SupermanSupermanSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
: The Journey - Team Superman Secret Files and Origins (1998)
- The Tomb of Dracula #3
- Ultimate Nightmare #2 - 5 (2004)
- WolverineWolverine (comic book)Wolverine is a number of Marvel Comics comic book series starring the X-Men member Wolverine.-Publication history:The first Wolverine was a limited series written by Chris Claremont with pencils by Frank Miller, inks by Joe Rubinstein, letters by Tom Orzechowski, and colored by Glynis Wein...
#17 - Eudaemon #1-3 (1993)
Cover artist
- Astonishing Tales: The Thing (2009)
- X-Men: The Magneto War (1999)
- Eudaemon #1-3 (1993)
- RoboCopRoboCopRoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
: Prime Suspect #1-4 (1992–93) - The Punisher: G-Force (1992)
- Insider Vol. 2 (1991)