Jonathan Vankin | |
---|---|
Nationality | America |
Area(s) | Writer, editor |
Notable works | The 80 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time |
http://www.jonathanvankin.net |
Jonathan Vankin is an American author, journalist and comic book writer/editor.
Vankin is best known for his books Conspiracies, Cover-Ups and Crimes and, with co-writer John Whalen, the Greatest Conspiracies series, beginning in 1995 with The 50 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time . The latter has now been through four updated editions in addition to the original, the latest being The World's Greatest Conspiracies in 2010. In 2005 Vankin and Whalen co-authored a second book, Based on a True Story (But With More Car Crashes) , a comparison of 100 films that purported to be "based on a true story," with the actual events that inspired the fictionalized screenplays.
Most recently, Vankin wrote the book Close To Zero: How Donald Trump fulfilled his apocalyptic vision and paid his debt to Putin with a devastating biological warfare attack on America, an account of Donald Trump's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Daily Kos said of the book "If that makes it seem as if this book is going to pull no punches, that's right. And it shouldn't. Because, as the contents make clear, Trump didn't just fail to provide for the nation in the face of a deadly pandemic, he deliberately failed. Making this the greatest crime in modern American history." [1]
Vankin co-wrote the book for the Off Broadway musical Forever Dusty , based on the life of British pop star Dusty Springfield. His co-writer in this case was Kirsten Holly Smith who also performed the lead role of Dusty Springfield in the Off Broadway production.
Vankin has also written comic books. His graphic novel, Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights was published in January, 2009. Also in 2009, he collaborated with co-writer and illustrator Arnold Pander on the graphic novel Tasty Bullet , published by Image Comics. [2]
He wrote the Vertigo Comics series The Witching in 2004-2005 and the DC Comics series Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search For Swamp Thing in 2011. The latter series is notable for featuring the first appearance by Vertigo Comics character John Constantine outside of a Vertigo-branded comic since the early 1990s. [3]
Again collaborating with Whalen, Vankin has written for the 1999 TV series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven .
Vankin was senior editor at Vertigo Comics, concentrating on original graphic novels from 2004 - 2011. He was responsible for the graphic novel The Quitter which brought Harvey Pekar to Vertigo Comics. He later edited two new volumes of Pekar's American Splendor series. He also acquired and shepherded the critically acclaimed graphic novel Incognegro written by Mat Johnson as well as The Green Woman written by renowned horror author Peter Straub and actor/writer Michael Easton. [4]
Vankin, formerly a news editor of San Jose, California's Metro newspaper, is a graduate of Brandeis University.
Preludes & Nocturnes is the first trade paperback collection of the comic book series The Sandman, published by the DC Comics imprint Vertigo. It collects issues #1–8. It is written by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg and Malcolm Jones III, colored by Robbie Busch and lettered by Todd Klein.
Vertigo Comics is an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics started by editor Karen Berger in 1993. Vertigo's purpose was to publish comics with adult content, such as nudity, drug use, profanity, and graphic violence, that did not fit the restrictions of DC's main line, thus allowing more creative freedom. Its titles consisted of company-owned comics set in the DC Universe, such as The Sandman and Hellblazer, and creator-owned works, such as Preacher, Y: The Last Man and Fables.
John Constantine, Hellblazer is an American contemporary horror comic-book series published by DC Comics since January 1988, and subsequently by its Vertigo imprint since March 1993, when the imprint was introduced. Its central character is the streetwise English sorcerer and con man John Constantine, who was created by Alan Moore and Stephen R. Bissette, and first appeared as a supporting character in Swamp Thing #37, during that creative team's run on that title. Hellblazer had been published continuously since January 1988, and was Vertigo's longest-running title, the only remaining publication from the imprint's launch. In 2013, the series concluded with issue 300, and was replaced by Constantine, which returned the character to the mainstream DC Universe. The original series was revived in November 2019 for twelve issues as part of The Sandman Universe line of comics, under the DC Black Label brand. Well known for its extremely pessimistic tone and social/political commentary, the series has spawned a film adaptation, television show, novels, and multiple spin-offs and crossovers.
Bryan Talbot is a British comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of The Adventures of Luther Arkwright and its sequel Heart of Empire, as well as the Grandville series of books. He collaborated with his wife, Mary M. Talbot to produce Dotter of Her Father's Eyes, which won the 2012 Costa biography award.
Harvey Lawrence Pekar was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical American Splendor comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a well-received film adaptation of the same name.
Paradox Press was a division of DC Comics formed in 1993 after editor Mark Nevelow departed from Piranha Press. Under the initial editorship of Andrew Helfer and Bronwyn Carlton, the imprint was renamed. Paradox was best known for publishing the graphic novels A History of Violence and Road to Perdition, both of which were later adapted into feature films. Jim Higgins edited the line after Helfer's departure, and Heidi MacDonald briefly took the helm in 2000 at the time of the line's final three Big Books, none of which ever saw publication.
Warren Pleece is a British comics artist. He is best known for his work at the DC Comics imprint Vertigo and the 2012–16 Irish novel series Zom-B.
Alisa Kwitney is an American writer of comedic romance novels and graphic novels.
Phil Winslade is a British comic book artist.
Seth Fisher was an American comic book artist.
Scott Hampton is an American comic book artist known for his painted artwork. He is the brother of fellow comics-creator Bo Hampton.
Dean Edmund Haspiel is an American comic book artist, writer, and playwright. He is known for creating Billy Dogma, The Red Hook, and for his collaborations with writer Harvey Pekar on his American Splendor series as well as the graphic novel The Quitter, and for his collaborations with Jonathan Ames on The Alcoholic and HBO's Bored to Death. He has been nominated for numerous Eisner Awards, and won a 2010 Emmy Award for TV design work.
Steve Lieber is an American comic book illustrator known for his work on books such as Detective Comics and Hawkman, and the critically acclaimed miniseries Whiteout, which was adapted into a 2009 feature film starring Kate Beckinsale. His other works include the Eisner Award-winning sequel Whiteout: Melt, and the thrillers Shooters and Underground. With writer Nat Gertler, he co-authored The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel.
Cliff Chiang is an American comic book artist. Formerly an assistant editor at DC Comics, he is now an illustrator, known for his work on Human Target, Beware the Creeper and Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre, Green Arrow/Black Canary, Wonder Woman and Paper Girls.
The Witching is a comic book series written by Jonathan Vankin and Leigh Gallagher, with Tara McPherson creating the cover art. This comic was published in the United States by the DC Comics imprint Vertigo. A total of 10 monthly issues were released in 2004 and 2005. Issue #5 featured a guest artist, Mark Buckingham, best known as the regular artist on the Vertigo series, Fables.
The Big Book Of is a series of graphic novel anthologies published by American company DC Comics imprint Paradox Press.
Human Target is an espionage-related comic series written by Peter Milligan and published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics. The series was based on the Human Target character created in 1972 by Len Wein and Carmine Infantino. The original Vertigo miniseries yielded an original graphic novel and later, an ongoing series.
David Tischman is an American comic book writer who has been active since 2000, writing for such series as American Century, Cable, Bite Club, and Star Trek, as well as the web comic Heroine Chic.
Duncan Eagleson is an American self-trained painter and former graffiti artist. In the 1980s, his tags, "Daemon" and "Prof-23" appeared on walls and subway cars in New York City.
Jacob Pander and Arnold Pander, known commercially as The Pander Brothers, are American comic book creators, artists, and filmmakers. They are best known for their work on the comics titles Grendel: Devil's Legacy, Batman: City of Light, The Batman Chronicles, and Girlfiend.