Bernard Albert "Bernie" Wrightson (October 27, 1948 – March 18, 2017), sometimes credited as Berni Wrightson, was an American artist, known for co-creating the Swamp Thing, his adaptation of the novel Frankenstein illustration work, and for his other horror comics (House of Secrets, Weird Mystery Tales, Creepshow) and illustrations, which feature his trademark intricate pen and brushwork. Wrightson did the illustrations for the revised edition of The Stand, Cycle of the Werewolf and Wolves of the Calla. Wrightson passed away on March 18, 2017 from Brain Cancer. He was 68 years old at the time of his death. He was married twice and had two sons from his first marriage. "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life", the April 2, 2017 season 7 finale of the TV series The Walking Dead, was dedicated to Wrightson's memory.
Early life[]
Wrightson was born October 27, 1948, in Dundalk, Maryland. He received training in art from watching Jon Gnagy on television, reading comics, particularly those of EC, as well as through a correspondence course from the Famous Artists School. His artistic influences were Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, Al Dorne, Graham Ingels, Jack Davis and Howard Pyle.
Career[]
In 1966, Wrightson began working for The Baltimore Sun newspaper as an illustrator. The following year, after meeting artist Frank Frazetta at a comic-book convention in New York City, he was inspired to produce his own stories. In 1968, he showed copies of his sequential art to DC Comics editor Dick Giordano and was given a freelance assignment. Wrightson began spelling his name "Berni" in his professional work to distinguish himself from an Olympic diver named Bernie Wrightson, but later restored the final "e" to his name.
In 1968, he drew his first professional comic book story, "The Man Who Murdered Himself", which appeared in House of Mystery No. 179 (March–April 1969). He continued to work on a variety of mystery and anthology titles for both DC and, a few years later, its principal rival, Marvel Comics. It was for Marvel's Chamber of Darkness and Tower of Shadows titles where he was first encouraged to slightly simplify his intricate pen-and-ink drawing, and where his lush brushwork, a hallmark of his comics inking in the 1970s, was first evidenced.
Like many artists in the 1970s and 1980s, Wrightson moved to New York in hopes of finding work with comics publishers such as DC Comics or Marvel Comics. At one point Wrightson lived in the same Queens apartment building as artists Allen Milgrom, Howard Chaykin and Walter Simonson. Simonson recalls, "We'd get together at 3 a.m. They'd come up and we'd have popcorn and sit around and talk about whatever a 26, 27 and 20-year-old guys talk about. Our art, TV, you name it. I pretty much knew at the time, 'These are the good ole days.'"
TV Guide May 1997
In 1983 Wrightson illustrated the comic book adaptation of the Stephen King penned horror film Creepshow. This led to several other collaborations with King, including illustrations for the novella Cycle of the Werewolf, the restored edition of King's apocalyptic horror epic, The Stand, and Wolves of the Calla, the fifth installment of King's Dark Tower series. He would later illustrate the cover for TV Guide magazine's April 26 – May 2, 1997 issue, illustrating the TV miniseries of King's The Shining (miniseries).
Personal life[]
Wrightson's first wife Michele Wrightson was involved in underground comix, contributing stories to such publications as It Ain't Me, Babe, Wimmen's Comix, and Arcade. She died in 2015. Wrightson and Michelle had two sons together, John and Jeffrey.
Wrightson lived with his second wife Liz Wrightson and his stepson Thomas Adamson in Austin, Texas.
Wrightson announced in January 2017 that he was retiring because of his battle with cancer. He died on March 18, 2017, at the age of 68. The next day, Liz Wrightson confirmed that his death followed a long battle with brain cancer. "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life", the April 2, 2017 season 7 finale of the TV series The Walking Dead, was dedicated to Wrightson's memory.
