Tom Sutton
Tom Sutton | |
---|---|
Born | Thomas F. Sutton April 15, 1937 North Adams, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Died | May 1, 2002 Amesbury, Massachusetts, U.S. | (aged 65)
Nationality | American |
Area(s) | Artist |
Pseudonym(s) | Sean Todd, Dementia, TFS |
Thomas F. Sutton (April 15, 1937 – May 1, 2002)
Biography
Early life and career
Tom Sutton was born and raised in North Adams, Massachusetts, where father Harry was a plumbing, heating and air conditioning shopkeeper, and a machinist and gunsmith for General Electric and others.[2] He had a half-sister "seven or eight years older than I am" from his widower father's first marriage.[3]
He enlisted in the
At the Tokyo office of Stars and Stripes, he drew the comic strip Johnny Craig, a character name inspired by the EC artist Johnny Craig. Sutton recalled that he worked on this strip "for two years and some odd months. I did it seven days a week, I think. It was all stupid. It was a kind of cheap version of [Frank Robbins'] Johnny Hazard, I think it was".[5]
On his return to civilian life in 1959, Sutton lived and worked in San Francisco, where, he said, "There were some publications ... that I sold or gave artwork to."
He married his first wife, Beverly, in the early 1960s and his two sons were born soon thereafter; the marriage lasted approximately five years.
Warren and Marvel
Sutton's first two comic-book stories appeared the same month. His first sale, "The Monster from One Billion B.C.", was published in
As Sutton recalled his breaking into Marvel, editor-in-chief Stan Lee
...looked at the stuff that I had brought in, [which was] stuff that I had done in the service for Stars and Stripes in Tokyo. I think he was rather impressed by the fact that I had actually done a daily comic strip for two years. He didn't get many people who had done that. ... He just reached over and he pulled off this huge pile of blank paper. And he said, 'OK, do me a couple of Westerns and I'll see you next week. Have fun.' I remember that very well. 'Have fun.'[3]
Sutton soon developed a trademark frantic, cartoony style that, when juxtaposed on dramatic narratives, gave his work a vibrant, quirky dynamism. That distinctive style helped establish the popular supernatural character Vampirella from her first story, "Vampirella of Draculona", written by Forrest J Ackerman, with costume design by artist Trina Robbins,[9] in Vampirella #1 (Sept. 1969).[10] Later, with writer Archie Goodwin, Sutton helped transition Vampi from cheeky horror hostess to serious dramatic character in the 21-page story "Who Serves the Cause of Chaos?" in issue #8 (Nov. 1970, reprinted in color in Harris Comics' 1995 Vampirella Classics series).[3][10]
Though well-suited to horror stories, Sutton was also admired for his work on such science fiction series as Marvel's
A series in the 1970s black-and-white comics magazine Planet of the Apes, a licensed spin-off of the
Together, they created the 'Future Chronicles' stories for Marvel's Planet of the Apes magazine. [For this] enormously elaborate and cleverly designed fantasy saga set on the world featured in the movies, Sutton worked with oversized originals to better show off his mixed-media work and allow for meticulous detail. The result was a lush, moody, and striking fantasy story to stand with any in mainstream comics history. ' He really made the work a joy, and pure fun,' Moench told [The Comics] Journal. ' This guy was so into the "Future Chronicles", he wanted to put so much detail into it, he worked on these gigantic boards. It was [a] black-and-white [magazine], so it was already bigger than regular comics pages. Then he did that series twice up, these enormous things that would cover my desk. Right there it made it something special, the sheer physical size of it. The enthusiasm you could see in every brushstroke just made it so exciting'.[2]
For the horror-oriented Warren, Sutton drew dozens of stories early in his career. He moonlighted for Warren competitor
For Skywald's short-lived line of color comics, Sutton wrote and drew stories for the Western title Butch Cassidy and the horror title The Heap (no relation to the 1940s–50s Hillman Periodicals character later revived by Eclipse Comics). He drew Marvel's similar muck-monster Man-Thing as eight-page installments in the omnibus series Marvel Comics Presents during the late 1980s.[10]
Later life and career
Living in Mystic, Connecticut, at some point,[15] Sutton in the mid-1970s to early 1980s wrote and drew horror stories for the Derby, Connecticut-based Charlton Comics, including for such titles as Ghost Manor, Midnight Tales, Monster Hunters and The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves, also painting covers for some of these titles. He drew Marvel Premiere #50 (Oct. 1979) which featured rock musician Alice Cooper as a comics character.[16] In the mid-1980s, Sutton drew suspense stories for DC Comics' House of Secrets and House of Mystery which included the "I…Vampire" feature with writer J. M. DeMatteis.[17] DeMatteis stated in a 2017 interview that he "thought [Sutton] was perfect for the series. His work dripped with mood and mystery. And he was a rock–solid storyteller."[18] Sutton was one of the artists on Batman #400 (Oct. 1986)[19] and he penciled virtually all 56 issues of DC's licensed series Star Trek (1984–1988),[10] a period in which, he said, "I know I was becoming an alcoholic."[20] The desire to continue drawing, he said, overcame the urge to drink:
[Y]ou can be drunk as a fucking skunk and there's a little voice that goes off in your head that says, "Would you like to draw pictures, or would you like to be drunk face down in the gutter? Choose one." Those are the only two chances you've got. I had my own little miracle. I thank God for it to this day. I'm not making a big thing out of it. The only reason I even talk about it is the fact that I think there are other people out there who need to know this. That you can save yourself. You go to AA, and eh. I couldn't stick with AA. Other people, that's a great place for them.[20] ... I ran out of bars. One by one, and there must have been a dozen in Newberryport, I was a persona non grata at ever single one of them [and] ... I would never sit home and drink. I had to have an audience.[21]
Late in life, Sutton did commercial art for New England
Police found Sutton dead of an apparent heart attack in his Amesbury apartment on May 3, 2002;
Bibliography
Atlas/Seaboard Comics
- Tales of Evil #2 (1975)
Charlton Comics
- Attack #9–10, 13, 35 (1972–1982)
- Battlefield Action #72, 78 (1981–1982)
- Beyond the Grave #9, 14 (1983–1984)
- Billy the Kid #111, 130 (1975–1979)
- Charlton Classics #8 (1981)
- Creepy Things #1–6 (1975–1976)
- E-Man #1 (1973)
- Fightin' Army #108, 111, 113–114, 117, 126, 128, 137–138, 140, 161 (1973–1982)
- Fightin' Marines #107, 116–117, 119, 134, 141–142, 160, 166 (1972–1982)
- For Lovers Only #83 (1976)
- Ghost Manor #8–9, 17–19, 23, 25, 27–28, 31, 40, 42–43, 45, 47, 50, 61, 67, 71, 76 (1972–1984)
- Ghostly Haunts #33, 37–41, 49, 55, 57 (1973–1978)
- Ghostly Tales #100, 105–108, 110–115, 123–124, 127, 130, 135, 138–140, 148, 150, 152, 162–163, 166, 169 (1972–1984)
- Haunted #10, 15, 17, 20–27, 29, 31, 35–39, 42, 44–45, 52, 54–58, 61–62, 64, 66–68, 70, 73 (1973–1984)
- Haunted Love #1, 3, 5–6, 9–11 (1973–1975)
- I Love You #116, 118 (1976)
- Love Diary #97, 99 (1976)
- The Many Ghosts of Dr. Graves#35, 39, 42, 44–45, 47–50, 52, 54–56, 60–61, 65, 70 (1972–1982)
- Midnight Tales #2–10, 15 (1973–1975)
- Monster Hunters #2–8, 16–18, 20 (1975–1979)
- Scary Tales #2–4, 9, 13, 29, 33, 35–36, 43, 46 (1975–1984)
- Secret Romance #37 (1976)
- Secrets of Young Brides #4, 6 (1976)
- Space War #30, 33 (1978–1979)
- Space: 1999 #1 (1975)
- Teen Confessions #94–95 (1976)
- Time for Love #46 (1976)
- War #3, 5, 14, 16 (1975–1979)
DC Comics
- Animal Man #60, 71, Annual #1 (1993–1994)
- Batman #400 (1986)
- DC Special Series #12 (1978)
- Doctor Fate Annual #1 (1989)
- Doom Patrol vol. 2 #70–72, 74 (1993–1994)
- The Hacker Files #1–12 (1992–1993)
- Hellblazer #44–45 (1991)
- House of Mystery #189, 271, 298, 303; "I…Vampire": #290–291, 293, 295, 297, 299, 302, 306–319 (1970-1983)
- House of Secrets #154 (1978)
- Mystery in Space #112 (1980)
- Our Fighting Forces #144 (1973)
- Secrets of Haunted House #45 (1982)
- Star Hunters #6–7 (1978)
- Star Spangled War Stories #168 (1973)
- Star Trek #1–6, 8–18, 20–27, 29, 31–34, 39–52, 55 (1984–1988)
- Star Trek Movie Special #1–2 (adaptations of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) (1984–1987)
- Swamp Thing vol. 2 #98 (1990)
- Time Warp #1–3 (1979–1980)
- Weird War Tales #66, 87, 91–92, 103 (1978–1981)
- Who's Who in Star Trek #1–2 (1987)
- Who's Who in the DC Universe #2 (1990)
- Who's Who in the DC Universe Update 1993 #1 (1992)
- Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #11 (1986)
Paradox Press
- The Big Book of Bad (1998)
- The Big Book of Freaks (1996)
- The Big Book of Grimm (1999)
- The Big Book of Hoaxes (1996)
- The Big Book of Little Criminals (1996)
- The Big Book of Losers (1997)
- The Big Book of Martyrs (1997)
- The Big Book of the '70s (2000)
- The Big Book of the Unexplained (1997)
- The Big Book of the Weird Wild West (1998)
- The Big Book of Thugs (1996)
- The Big Book of Vice (1999)
- The Big Book of Weirdos (1995)
First Comics
- Grimjack #20–23, 25–28 (1986)
- Mars #2–3, 5–7 (1984)
- Squalor #1–4 (1989–1990)
- Starslayer #20–22, 24–27, 29–33 (1984–1985)
Marvel Comics
- Beast) (1972)
- Arrgh! #1–3 (1974–1975)
- Astonishing Tales #8, 15 (1971–1972)
- The Avengers #99 (1972)
- Captain America #244 (1980)
- Captain Marvel #15 (1969)
- Chamber of Darkness #1, 4, 7 (1969–1970)
- Conan the Barbarian #8 (1971)
- Daredevil Annual #6 (1990)
- Doctor Strange vol. 2 #27–31, 33–35 (1978–1979)
- Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #6–8 (1989)
- Dracula Lives#12 (1975)
- Fantastic Four Annual #15 (1980)
- Ghost Rider vol. 2 #1, 44, 64–66 (1973–1982)
- Giant-Size Conan #1–3 (1974–1975)
- Giant-Size Man-Thing #5 (1975)
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters #4–5 (1977)
- John Carter, Warlord of Mars #7 (1977)
- Kid Colt, Outlaw #136–137 (1967)
- Logan's Run #6–7 (1977)
- Man from Atlantis #1 (1978)
- Man-Thing #13 (1975)
- Marvel Comics Presents #1–12, 17, 101–105 (1988–1992)
- Marvel Fanfare #36 (1988)
- Marvel Premiere #41 (Seeker 3000); #43 (Paladin); #50 (Alice Cooper); #61 (Star-Lord) (1978–1981)
- Marvel Spotlight #9–11 (Ghost Rider) (1973)
- Marvel Spotlight vol. 2 #6–7 (Star-Lord) (1980)
- Master of Kung Fu #42 (1976)
- Not Brand Echh #3–9, 11–13 (1967–1969)
- Planet of the Apes #12, 15, 17, 19–20, 23–24, 29 (1975–1977)
- Rawhide Kid #61 (1967)
- Supernatural Thrillers #15 (N'Kantu, the Living Mummy) (1975)
- Tales of the Zombie #10 (1975)
- Tower of Shadows #4, 6 (1970)
- Vampire Tales #4, 7 (1974)
- Warlock #1–8 (1972–1973)
- Werewolf by Night #9–11 (1973)
- Western Gunfighters vol. 2 #1–2, 4–5 (1970–1971)
- What If...? #2, 18, 28 (1977–1981)
- Worlds Unknown #2 (1973)
- X-Men #106 (1977)
Skywald Publications
- Butch Cassidy #1 (1971)
- The Heap #1 (1971)
- Nightmare #3–5, 21 (1971–1974)
- The 1974 Nightmare Yearbook #1 (1974)
- Psycho #2–6, 22 (1971–1974)
- The 1974 Psycho Yearbook #1 (1974)
Warren Publishing
- Creepy #17, 22–24, 26–28, 30–33, 35–37, 40, 44–47, 53–54, 59, 61, 64, 144, Annual #1971, #1972 (1967–1983)
- Eerie #11–12, 17–29, 31–32, 34–36, 38–39, 41, 43–47, 53, 57, Annual #1972, Yearbook #1970 (1967–1974)
- Famous Monsters of Filmland #48 (1968)
- Vampirella #1–5, 7–12, 14, Annual #1 (1969–1972)
- Warren Presents #3 (1979)
- Warren Presents: Future World Comix (1978)
References
- ^ a b Thomas F. Sutton at the Social Security Death Index. Retrieved on September 20, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Spurgeon, Tom (June 30, 2002). "Obituary: Tom Sutton 1937–2002". ComicsReporter.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Additional, February 7, 2011. - ^ Fantagraphics Books. Archivedfrom the original on December 4, 2012.
- ^ a b "Tom Sutton". Lambiek Comiclopedia. May 6, 2014. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
- ^ "Trimmings: Tom Sutton". Online additions to interview published in The Comics Journal #230, above. Archived from the original on April 29, 2008.
- ^ a b c d Sutton interview, The Comics Journal, p. 3 of online version.
- ^ a b Sutton interview, The Comics Journal, p. 4 of online version.
- ^ Sutton interview, The Comics Journal, p. 8 of online version.
- ^ Arndt, Richard J. (September 22, 2008). "The Warren Magazines". EnjolrasWorld.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Tom Sutton at the Grand Comics Database
- ISBN 978-0756641238.)
Marvel launched a new black-and-white magazine based on Twentieth Century Fox's Planet of the Apes movies in August [1974]. Doug Moench was the principal writer, and artists included Mike Ploog, Tom Sutton, Alfredo Alcala, and George Tuska.
{{cite book}}
:|first2=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Sutton interview, The Comics Journal, p. 7 of online version.
- ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 154: "In Amazing Adventures #11, by scripter Gerry Conway and artist Tom Sutton, Hank McCoy, the Beast's alter ego,...mutated, growing grey fur all over this body."
- ^ Arndt, Richard J. The Complete Skywald Checklist (2007). Archived from the original on April 11, 2016.
- Connecticut Historical Society. Archived from the originalon September 27, 2007.
- ^ Sanderson "1970s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 190: "Writers Jim Salicrup, Roger Stern, and Ed Hannigan and artists Tom Sutton and Terry Austin collaborated with musician Alice Cooper on Marvel Premiere #50."
- ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.)
Writer J. M. DeMatteis unveiled vampire/vampire hunter Andrew Bennett with the help of artist Tom Sutton in The House of Mystery #290.
{{cite book}}
:|first2=
has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Vaughan, Don (April 2017). "A Different Kind of Bat Man: DC's I…Vampire!". Back Issue! (95). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 45.
- ^ Trumbull, John (December 2013). "A New Beginning...And a Probable End Batman #300 and #400". Back Issue! (69). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 51.
- ^ a b Sutton interview, The Comics Journal, p. 9 of online version.
- ^ Sutton interview, The Comics Journal, p. 10 of online version.
- ^ Gage, Chris (2002). "Graphic Classics: H. P. Lovecraft". (review) FeoAmante.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2002. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
External links
- Tom Sutton at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Tom Sutton at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
- "SF/F & Publishing News", Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, n.d. Original page "Tom Sutton (1937–2002)" at the Wayback Machine(archived September 30, 2007).
- Schenk, Ramon, ed. Charlton Comics checklist: Tom Sutton Archived May 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- "Tom Sutton (1937–2002), Wacky Packages Artist", Lost Wackys at the Wayback Machine (archived September 3, 2006)
Further reading
- "Tom Sutton (1937–2002)", Alter Ego vol. 3, #16, July 2002
- Comic Book Artist #12 (March 2001): Tom Sutton interview, pp. 62–69
- Amash, Jim. "Tom Sutton Tribute", Charlton Spotlight #3