Bill Sienkiewicz

Boleslav (William) Felix Robert Sienkiewicz, usually referred to simply as Bill Sienkiewicz, was born May 3, 1958 in Blakely, Pennsylvania, United States. He is a visual artist probably best known for his unique and recognizable work on various comic books, notably Marvel Comics' Elektra: Assassin. He attended the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts in Newark, New Jersey.

Sienkiewicz' work in comics

Sienkiewicz often utilizes oil painting, collage, mimeograph and other forms generally uncommon in comic books. Some critics have suggested the influence of abstract and expressionist art on Sienkiewicz's work. He has had a major influence on the style of comic illustration from 1980 onwards. His use of unconventional media and heightening of the comic cover as a stand alone artwork have been an influence on Dave McKean, Ashley Wood, Kent Williams and others.

Related Topics:
Oil painting - Collage - Mimeograph - Abstract - Expressionist - 1980 - Dave McKean - Ashley Wood - Kent Williams

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His first credited work for Marvel Comics was on an issue of Fantastic Four. This led to him securing a regular role as penciller for Moon Knight; his unconventional graphic style and use of collage on the series won him a cult status in the industry, even though the title suffered from poor sales. When Moon Knight was moved to direct sales in 1981, Sienkiewicz was given greater creative freedom, culminating in the story "Beat It" that marked a creative breakthrough.

Related Topics:
Marvel Comics - Fantastic Four - Moon Knight

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In 1983 he started working on New Mutants with Chris Claremont, where his distinctive cover paintings and character design gained much attention for the series. Also written by Claremont was a series based around the character Galactus that appeared in Epic magazine. Sienkiewicz produced one-off covers for a range of Marvel titles, including Rom, Dazzler, The Mighty Thor, Return of the Jedi and The Transformers, and drew the comic adaptation of Dune.

Related Topics:
1983 - New Mutants - Chris Claremont - Galactus - Epic - Rom - Dazzler - The Mighty Thor - Return of the Jedi - The Transformers - Dune

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He illustrated the 1986 eight-part miniseries ' written by Frank Miller, for which he won the Kirby Award for Best Artist and the prestigious Yellow Kid Award for "bridging the gap between American and European artistic sensibilities". That same year he contributed to the Brought to Light graphic novel with Alan Moore and wrote and illustrated the critically acclaimed miniseries, Stray Toasters, an idiosyncratic work about a criminal psychologist investigating a series of murders. In 1988 Sienkiewicz and Alan Moore published the first two issues of Big Numbers, an ambitious project that was never completed.

Related Topics:
1986 - Miniseries - Frank Miller - Kirby Award - Brought to Light - Graphic novel - Alan Moore - Stray Toasters - 1988 - Big Numbers

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In 1990 Bill Sienkiewicz also published the graphic novel Classics Illustrated Moby Dick.

Related Topics:
1990 - Moby Dick

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