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Gordon Purcell

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Gordon Purcell
BornGordon Purcell
(1959-02-14) February 14, 1959 (age 65)
Lansing, Michigan
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Penciler
Notable works
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Cover to Star Trek (vol. 2) #30 (April 1992), by Gordon Purcell.

Gordon Purcell (born February 14, 1959)[1] is an American comic book artist, perhaps best known for his Star Trek work,[2] in particular his realistic renditions of the actors who play that franchise’s characters, as well as those of similarly licensed books, such as The X-Files, Xena: Warrior Princess, Lost in Space, Godzilla, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Barb Wire, and The Terminator.

Early life

Born in Lansing, Michigan, Purcell grew up reading Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and his love of drawing was sparked by watching cartoons of Spider-Man and Batman. The first comic book he read was a Disney comic book. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with Bachelor's degrees in Studio Arts and Theater Arts.

Career

Among Purcell's first work for DC Comics was a Doctor Light story published as a Bonus Book in The Flash #12 (May 1988).[3][4] He has worked on numerous comic books, including Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Soulsearchers and Company, Flare, The Flash, Fantastic Four, Superman, Wonder Man, Hulk vs. Nova, Moon Knight, What If…?, Race Warriors, Kolchak: the Night Stalker, Justice League, Ben 10, and Elvira.[2][3] His most recent work is Star Trek: Year Four for IDW, written by Trek story editor D. C. Fontana and Star Trek: The Last Generation, written by Andrew Steven Harris. He has also worked on The Phantom for Moonstone and Beyond the Wall (Roman soldiers vs. monsters and barbarians) for IDW.

Purcell claims not to have a favorite company to work for, but is attracted to projects based on the editor and other creators involved with them. He cites his work on Silver Sable as a project he particularly enjoyed, saying he feels that the book was “really going somewhere” by the end of his run. Purcell also cites his work on Gammarauders, stating that having to ink his own pencils taught him a lot about what information he needed to give to his future inkers. Purcell also cites his Star Trek work because he was allowed to visit the sets of those shows, which were among his favorites. Among his favorite characters today include the Thing, Robin, the Teen Titans, the Metal Men, JLA, The Avengers and Metamorpho.

In other media

Purcell appeared on the October 19, 2005 episode of the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Having had only two hours of sleep, he won $50,000.00, deciding to quit when he could not answer the question of which U.S. state signed a 1790 treaty under the threat of being declared a foreign nation. The answer was "Rhode Island". He lost on Jeopardy! on May 24, 2010.

Personal life

Purcell resides in Plymouth, Minnesota.[5]

On January 21, 2014, Purcell won a trip to Florida in the daily trivia contest that is part of TV's "Live With Kelly and Michael."

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ Miller, John Jackson (June 10, 2005). "Comics Industry Birthdays". Comics Buyer's Guide. Iola, Wisconsin. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b "Gordon Purcell". Lambiek Comiclopedia. March 17, 2015. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b Gordon Purcell at the Grand Comics Database
  4. ^ Aamodt, Britt (2010). Superheroes, Strip Artists, & Talking Animals: Minnesota's Contemporary Cartoonists. Saint Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 88. ISBN 978-0873517775. DC also gave the young cartoonist a one-off assignment. They asked him to work on a bonus book (a free comic stuffed inside another comic) that would be paired with the next issue of Flash.
  5. ^ Aamodt, Britt (June 11, 2008). "From Sandman to Star Trek to Sammy the Mouse". MNartists.org. Archived from the original on April 3, 2016. Purcell, who works from his home in Plymouth... {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
Preceded by
James W. Fry
Star Trek penciller
1990–1993
Succeeded by
Robert Davis
Preceded by
Deryl Skelton
Star Trek: The Next Generation penciller
1995–1996
Succeeded by
n/a