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Bruce Jones (comics)

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Bruce Jones
Born1944
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Writer, artist
Pseudonym(s)Philip Roland, Bruce Elliot
Notable works
Alien Worlds, Conan the Barbarian, The Incredible Hulk, Ka-Zar the Savage, Twisted Tales

Bruce Jones (born 1944), whose pen names include Philip Roland and Bruce Elliot, is an American comic book writer, novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter whose work included writing Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk from 2001 to 2005.

Biography

Early career

Jones broke into comics in the early 1970s when he moved to New York City from his native Kansas City, Missouri, looking for work as a comics artist. He made his professional debut with Major Publications' black-and-white horror-comics magazine Web of Horror #3 (April 1970), writing and drawing the six-page story "Point of View".[1] Jones went on to write for Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror-comics Creepy and Eerie, and, under the pseudonym Philip Roland, for rival Skywald's line. During this time he wrote his first novel, The Contestants.

Jones later freelanced for Marvel Comics, writing stories for Ka-Zar and Conan the Barbarian,[1] as well as writing and drawing anthological science fiction and other stories for Marvel's black-and-white magazine line. In 1979, Jones met April Campbell and formed a writing partnership. From 1982–1984, Jones and Campbell, who formed the company Bruce Jones Associates, packaged, edited, and chiefly wrote the Pacific Comics titles Twisted Tales and Alien Worlds, as well as Somerset Holmes,[2] Silverheels, and Pathways to Fantasy. During this time, Jones published the short story collection The Twisted Tales of Bruce Jones, with a cover and occasional illustrations by Richard Corben. When Pacific went bankrupt, subsequent issues were published by Eclipse Comics.

Later career

Jones wrote artist Richard Corben's Rip in Time five-issue miniseries (1986–1987), published by Fantagor Press. By the early 1990s, Jones had shifted to screenwriting, working on HBO's The Hitchhiker TV series and several television movies with writing partner and now-wife April Campbell Jones.[3] He also wrote a series of thriller novels including Sprinter, Maximum Velocity, and Game Running. From 1990 to 1992, Jones took over as writer of the newspaper comic strip Flash Gordon, then drawn by Ralph Reese, occasionally assisted by Gray Morrow.[4] He returned to Kansas City with his wife and children in 2000 and wrote two more novels, Still Life and Death Rites, under the pseudonym Bruce Elliot.

In 2001, he was contacted by Marvel editor Axel Alonso, with whom Jones had worked when Alonso was at rival company DC Comics. Alonso offered him a job scripting the then-floundering comic The Incredible Hulk.[5][6] Sales of the title rose significantly,[5] and in 2003, Jones noted that he planned to stay on as Hulk writer "until they [Marvel] throw me off".[5] However, the following year he signed a two-year contract with rival company DC Comics. In the interim, he scripted the five-issue series Call of Duty: The Precinct #1–5, a naturalistic drama about the New York City Police Department.

Other work includes a seven-issue stint on Nightwing,[7] a Deadman series for Vertigo, and various limited series for DC comics, including Man-Bat, OMAC, and Vigilante.

In 2005, Jones' 10-page story "Jenifer" from Creepy #63 (July 1974), drawn by Bernie Wrightson, became the basis for filmmaker Dario Argento's segment of Masters of Horror, a Showtime television series.[8]

Bibliography

DC Comics

Eclipse Comics

Marvel Comics

Pacific Comics

  • Alien Worlds #1–7 (1983–1984)
  • Silverheels #1–3 (1983–1984)
  • Somerset Holmes #1-4 (1983-1984)
  • Three Dimensional Alien Worlds #1 (1984)
  • Twisted Tales #1–8 (1982–1984)

References

  1. ^ a b Bruce Jones at the Grand Comics Database
  2. ^ Schweier, Philip (August 2016). "Somerset Holmes". Back Issue! (90). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 48–55.
  3. ^ Arndt, Richard (2008). "The Warren Magazines: A 2008 Interview with Bruce Jones!". Enjolrasworld.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. April and I were married in 1984. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Holloway, Clark J. "Pulp Heroes: Flash Gordon". The Holloway Pages. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b c Aaron, Jason (July 2003). "Twisted tales and a green giant". KC Active. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Manning, Matthew K.; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "2000s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 310. ISBN 978-0756641238. Creating a lengthy run to rival J. Michael Straczynski over on The Amazing Spider-Man and Brian Michael Bendis on Daredevil, writer Bruce Jones reinvented the green goliath with a modern, cinematic approach. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Tramountanas, George (January 19, 2006). "Bruce Jones Talks Nightwing and Warlord". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on April 13, 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Episode Detail: Jenifer – Masters of Horror". TV Guide. n.d. Retrieved September 29, 2013. Directed by Dario Argento ("Suspiria") from a script by Weber, who adapted the classic Bruce Jones comic book. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

Further reading

  • Bruce Jones interview, Comic Book Artist #4, Spring 1999
Preceded by The Incredible Hulk writer
2002–2004 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Nightwing writer
2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Checkmate writer
2008 		Succeeded by
n/a
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