Mark Bagley (; born August 7, 1957)
Early life
Mark Bagley was born to a military family in
Frankfurt,
West Germany.
[ "Mark Bagley". Comic Vine.]
Career
After his work in the military and at Ringling College of Art and Design, Bagley continued trying to break into the comic industry. While working a construction job, he suffered a severe injury to his leg while using a handsaw that required 132 stitches. He eventually ended up working for
Lockheed Martin making technical drawings.
Marvel Comics
In 1983,
Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief
Jim Shooter created the
Marvel Try-out Book to draw new talent into the comic book industry. The contest involved a deconstructed comic book, which contestants could complete and submit to Marvel. The winner would be awarded a professional assignment with Marvel. At the time, Bagley was 27 years old and living in Marietta, Georgia.
He had almost given up on trying to find a job in comics and was satisfied with his position at Lockheed Martin. Bagley was reluctant to enter the contest because of the cost of the
Try-out Book itself. His friend,
Cliff Biggers, gave him the book and persuaded Bagley to enter the contest.
Bagley won first place for penciling, finishing ahead of thousands of other hopefuls.
[Jim Shooter "Bullpen Bulletins" Marvel Comics cover-dated February 1986] After winning the contest, he did not hear from Marvel for several months. After approaching Shooter at a comic convention, Bagley was assigned to a series of low-profile penciling jobs. His comics work during this period included
, a comic book based on a 1980s toy line, various titles in the
New Universe line, backup stories in
Captain America,
and the first series of Marvel Universe Cards.
In 1989, Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz created a team of teenage superheroes called the New Warriors.[Manning, Matthew K. "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 249: "In this ongoing series, writer Fabian Nicieza with...Mark Bagley chronicled the tales of a team that not only thrived in this brave new decade of, but continued to make an impact in the Marvel Universe over the years."] Bagley stayed on the title until #25, at which point he left to transition directly onto The Amazing Spider-Man.
When Erik Larsen left The Amazing Spider-Man in 1991, Bagley was assigned to the title. He and David Michelinie introduced the Carnage character in The Amazing Spider-Man #361 (April 1992)[Cowsill "1990s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 202: "In February 1993, Venom gined his own title at last! Written by David Michelinie and illustrated by Mark Bagley... Venom: Lethal Protector was set after the events of The Amazing Spider-Man #375."] Bagley was one of the artists on the "Maximum Carnage"[Manning "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 263: "Artists Mark Bagley, Sal Buscema, Ron Lim, Tom Lyle, and Alex Saviuk all brought their talents to this key story line."] and "Clone Saga"[Manning "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 274: "Continuing the epic 'Clone Saga', the team of artists Tom Lyle, Robert Brown, Roy Burdine, and Mark Bagley revealed the supposed final fate of the genius Jackal."] storylines which ran through the Spider-Man titles. Bagley's artwork was used extensively for licensed material, appearing on everything from plates and cups to credit cards and even video games such released exclusively in Japan. In 2012, Comic Book Resources ranked Bagley fourth on its list of the "50 Greatest Spider-Man Creators".
In 1997, Bagley collaborated with writer Kurt Busiek on a new team of superheroes, the Thunderbolts, a group of super-villains disguised as super-heroes, with the final page of the first issue of the series revealing that the Thunderbolts were actually the Masters of Evil, a surprise twist carefully guarded by Marvel.[Manning "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 283: "Busiek and company ignored the pleas from Marvel's marketing division who thought that sales would be affected by not revealing the comic's twist. They managed to conceal their comic's confidential ending until the release of the first issue, and indeed shocked their entire fanbase with their dramatic reveal."]
In 2000, Marvel's then-publisher Bill Jemas was looking to relaunch Marvel's primary franchises in a way that would make them accessible to newer readers. Ultimate Spider-Man would be a title that began the Spider-Man mythos from the beginning set in modern times. Bagley was assigned to Ultimate Spider-Man with writer Brian Michael Bendis.[Cowsill "2000s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 259: "Written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Mark Bagley, the series built on the original Spidey stories but soon spun off into bold new directions."] The Bendis/Bagley partnership of 111 consecutive issues made their partnership one of the longest in American comic book history, and the longest run by a Marvel creative team, beating out Stan Lee and Jack Kirby on Fantastic Four.
Bagley's long and successful run on Ultimate Spider-Man earned him recognition in Wizard magazine's top ten artists of the 2000s in Wizard #219. Ranked #2 on the list, article writer Mark Allen Haverty noted of Bagley, "no other artist came close to the number of comics Bagley sold in, nor the number of Top 20 comics he was a part of."[ Wizard #219 (January 2010)]
DC Comics
In 2008, Bagley signed an exclusive three-year contract with
DC Comics.
His first assignment as a DC exclusive, the
Trinity weekly series written by
Kurt Busiek featured
Superman,
Batman, and
Wonder Woman.
Bagley drew four issues of Batman, written by Judd Winick. This was in the post- world, with Dick Grayson having taken over as the Dark Knight.
Return to Marvel
In 2011, Bagley left DC and returned to Marvel and
Ultimate Spider-Man. He reunited with writer Brian Michael Bendis and drew the "Death of Spider-Man" arc in issues #156–160.
[Cowsill "2010s" in Gilbert (2012), p. 338: "It made the news across the world - Marvel was going to kill Spider-Man. His death came in this issue Ultimate written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Mark Bagley."] As he started the Ultimate imprint alongside Bendis, he was also called for Cataclysm
, Ultimate End (which ended the imprint) and the last pages of Spider-Men II
(which set up its return). Bagley and Bendis teamed for a creator-owned series, Brilliant
, which was published through Marvel's Icon Comics Imprint. It has similarities to Mark Millar's own Icon comic, Kick-Ass
, as it explores the idea of superheroes existing in the real world, however unlike Kick-Ass'', the characters have actual super-powers.
Brian Michael Bendis and Bagley worked on Avengers Assemble, an Avengers title produced concurrently with Brilliant. To differentiate between other Avengers titles, Assemble consisted of the roster present in the Avengers film, but set in present Marvel continuity.
As part of the Marvel NOW! initiative, Bagley and writer Matt Fraction relaunched the Fantastic Four series in 2012.
In late 2017, Bagley made a return to Venom with issue #155, "Lethal Protector", written by Mike Costa. This brief return lasted only four issues.
Art quirks
According to Bagley, drawing crowd scenes are his "weak point", because he becomes worn out on them, and finds them difficult to render in a timely fashion. He dislikes drawing
Captain America.
Personal life
Bagley and his wife Pattie have a daughter, Angie.
Bibliography
DC Comics
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Batman #688–691 (2009)
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DCU Halloween Special '09 #1 (2009)
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Justice League of America vol. 2 #38–48, 50–53 (2009–2011)
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#2 (Atom backup feature) (2009)
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Justice Society of America #41–42 (2010)
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Power Company: Sapphire #1 (2002)
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Superboy vol. 4 #77 (2000)
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Superman 80-Page Giant #3 (2000)
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Trinity #1–52 (2008–2009)
Marvel Comics
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All-New X-Men vol. 2 #1–19 (2015–2017)
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Alpha Flight #86 (1990)
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Armor Wars #1/2 (2015)
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The Amazing Scarlet Spider #1–2 (1995)
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The Amazing Spider-Man #345, 351–358, 361–365, 368–375, 378–404, 407–415, 789 (1991–1996, 2017)
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The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 5 #45, 48–49, 53–54, 56–57, 60, 64, 66–69, 74, 89-90, 92.BEY, 93 (2020–2022)
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The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 6 #31 (2023)
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The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22–23 (1988–1989)
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The Amazing Spider-Man: Full Circle (2019)
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The Amazing Spider-Man: Going Big (2019)
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Avengers Annual #18 (1989)
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Avengers Assemble #1–8 (2012)
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Avengers: Standoff - Welcome to Pleasant Hill (2016)
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Avengers Two: Wonder Man & Beast #1–3 (2000)
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Avengers #5.1 (2017)
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Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider #1–5 (2017)
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Brilliant #1–5 (2011–2012)
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Captain America #366–369, 371–383, 385, Annual #9 (1990–1991)
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Captain America/Citizen V '98 #1 (1999)
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(2013)
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Daredevil #283, Annual #5 (1989–1990)
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Elektra: Black, White & Blood (2022)
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The Fallen (2016)
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Fantastic Four #351 (1991)
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Fantastic Four vol. 3 #51–54 (2002)
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#1–12 (2011–2012)
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Guardians of the Galaxy #19 (2017)
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Hawkeye: Earth's Mightiest Marksman #1 (1998)
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Heroes Reborn: Young Allies #1 (2000)
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Hulk vol. 3 #1–16, Annual #1 (2014–2015)
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#1 (2003)
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Iron Man vol. 3 #21 (1999)
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The Invincible Iron Man #600 (2018)
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Iron Man Annual #10 (1989)
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Marc Spector: Moon Knight #25 (1991)
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Marvel Comics Presents #43, 97, 124 (1990–1993)
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Marvel Legacy Primer Pages: All-New Wolverine, The Amazing Spider-Man, Cable, The Despicable Deadpool, Falcon, Iron Fist, Jean Grey, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Spider-Gwen, The Unbelievable Gwenpool, Venom, X-Men: Blue & X-Men: Gold (one page stories) (2017)
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The Mighty Avengers #7–11 (2008)
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Moment of Silence #1 (2002)
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New Mutants Annual #5 (1989)
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The New Warriors #1–25, Annual #1 (1990–1992)
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Night Thrasher #1 (1993)
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Nightmask #9–10, 12 (1987)
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Original Sin #3.1, 3.3 (2014)
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Original Sins #3 (2014)
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Psi-Force #20, 24 (1988)
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The Pulse #1–5 (2004)
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Punisher Annual #2 (1989)
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Quicksilver #3 (1998)
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RoboCop 2 #1 (movie adaptation) (1990)
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Silver Surfer Annual #2 (1989)
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The Spectacular Spider-Man Annual #8–9 (1988–1989)
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#26 (1992)
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Spider-Man 3: The Black (2007)
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Spider-Man #1–10 (2022–2023)
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Spider-Man: Life Story #1–6, Annual #1 (2019–2021)
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Superior Spider-Man #1–8 (2023–2024)
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Spider-Man Unlimited #1–2 (1993)
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Stan Lee Meets Doctor Strange #1 (2006)
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Star Brand #10 (1987)
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#1 (1997)
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#23, 26–30 (1988–1989)
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Strikeforce Morituri: Electric Undertow #1–5 (1989–1990)
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Tales of the Marvel Universe #1 (1997)
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Thor Annual #14 (1989)
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Thunderbolts #1–6, 8–44, 46–48, 50–51, 59, 66, 68, 72, 74, #0, Annual 1997, Annual 2000 (1997–2003)
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Ultimate End #1–5 (2015)
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Ultimate Iron Man #5 (with Andy Kubert) (2006)
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Ultimate Spider-Man #1–111, 156–160, Super Special #1 (2000–2007, 2011)
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Ultimate Fallout #1, 6 (2011)
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Ultimatum: Spider-Man Requiem #1–2 (2009)
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Uncanny X-Men #488 (second story) (2007)
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Uncanny X-Men vol. 5 #1 (back-up stories) (2019)
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#1–3 (1993)
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Venom Super Special #1 (1995)
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Venom vol. 3 #155–158 (2017)
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Venom vol. 4 #21–25, 35 (2020–2021)
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#1–6 (1987–1988)
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Web of Spider-Man #51, 53, Annual #5 (1989)
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West Coast Avengers Annual #4 (1989)
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What If...? vol. 2 #4 (1989)
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X-Factor vol. 2 #21 (2007)
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X-Factor Annual #4 (1989)
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X-Men Annual #13 (1989)
External links
