Mark Evanier

Mark Stephen Evanier
Evanier at Anthrocon 2007
Born	March 2, 1952 (1952-03-02) (age 59)
Occupation	Author, Screenwriter, Biographer, Historian
Nationality	American
Genres	comic books, cartoons, biography
Notable work(s)	Kirby: King of Comics Garfield and Friends Scooby Doo Plastic Man Richie Rich Crossfire Blackhawk DNAgents
povonline.com

Mark Stephen Evanier (born March 2, 1952)^[1] is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his humor work. He is also known for his columns and blogs, and for his work as a historian and biographer of the comics industry, in particular his award-winning Jack Kirby biography, Kirby: King of Comics.^[2]

Early life

Evanier is of ethnic Jewish heritage.^[3] He chose to be a writer after witnessing the misery his father felt from working for the Internal Revenue Service and contrasting that with the portrayal of a writer's life on The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Career

Evanier made his first professional sale in 1969 and almost immediately was taken on as a production assistant to Jack Kirby. Several years later Evanier began writing foreign comic books for the Walt Disney Studio Program, then from 1972 to 1976 wrote scripts for Gold Key Comics, along with comics for the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate.

In 1974 he teamed with writer Dennis Palumbo and wrote for a number of television series, including The Nancy Walker Show, The McLean Stevenson Show and Welcome Back, Kotter.

Evanier speaking on a panel about Jack Kirby with (from left to right) Roy Thomas, Joe Sinnott and Stan Goldberg, at the Big Apple Con in Manhattan, November 15, 2008.

After the cancellation of Kotter, on which he was one of the story editors, Evanier and Palumbo amicably ended their partnership. Evanier subsequently wrote for the Hanna-Barbera comic book division and a number of variety shows and specials, and he began writing for animated cartoon shows, including Scooby Doo, Plastic Man, Thundarr the Barbarian, The ABC Weekend Special, Richie Rich, The Wuzzles, and Dungeons & Dragons. But he is most noted in animation for his work on Garfield and Friends, a seven-season series for which Evanier wrote or co-wrote nearly every episode and acted as voice recording director.^[4] For the past couple of years, Evanier has also been the co-writer and voice director of The Garfield Show.

Evanier credits himself with convincing Jack Kirby to stop using Vince Colletta as an inker, and considers himself one of the "main vilifiers" of Colletta.^[5]

He also wrote a script and provided "'technical advice' about comic books" for Bob, Bob Newhart's unsuccessful third sitcom for CBS.^[6]

He has produced a number of comic books, including Blackhawk, Crossfire and Hollywood Superstars (with Dan Spiegle), Groo the Wanderer (with Sergio Aragonés), and The DNAgents (with Will Meugniot). For the Spiegle comics, Evanier contributed lengthy essays on the entertainment industry. He also wrote the New Gods series of 1989-1991.

For many years, Evanier wrote a regular column, "Point of View", for Comics Buyer's Guide.

Evanier's illustrated Jack Kirby biography, Kirby: King of Comics, was published February 2008 by Abrams Books.^[7] It won the 2009 Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Book.^[2]

Personal life

On May 26, 2006, Evanier checked into Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and underwent gastric bypass surgery. Having peaked at around 344 pounds (156 kg) by then, he has since lost nearly 130 pounds (45 kg) by June 2007 and is grateful for the overall health benefits, though he had to learn to adjust his eating habits.^[8]

Mark Evanier at the 2005 Reuben Awards.

Bibliography

Comics

• Sergio Aragonés Destroys DC (with Sergio Aragonés, one-shot, DC Comics, June 1996)
• Sergio Aragonés Massacres Marvel (with Sergio Aragonés, one-shot, Marvel Comics, June 1996)
• Superman & Bugs Bunny (DC Comics, July–October 2000)

Books

• Evanier, Mark (2008) (hardback). Kirby: King of Comics. Abrams. pp. 228 pages. ISBN 081099447X. 

Awards

• 1992: Won "Best Humor Publication" Eisner Award for Groo the Wanderer^[9]
• 1997: Won "Best Humor Publication" Eisner Award for Sergio Aragonés Destroys DC and Sergio Aragonés Massacres Marvel^[10]
• 1999: Won "Best Humor Publication" Eisner Award for Sergio Aragonés Groo^[11]
• 2001: Won "Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award"
• 2009: Kirby: King of Comics won "Best Comics-Related Book" Eisner Award

References

1. ^ "View Profile: Mark Evanier". Home Theater Forum. http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/member.php?u=40482. Retrieved 2007-06-12. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Wondercon Special Guests"; Comic-Con magazine; Winter 2010; Page 19
3. ^ "'Evanier' (pronounced ev-uh-near) is not French; it was probably made up by some Immigration Officer at Ellis Island one day who said, 'Hey, here come some more Jews! Let's give them real stupid last names!'" Evanier, Mark. "About ME". Archived from the original on 2008-07-17. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.povonline.com%2FAbout%2520ME.htm&date=2008-07-17. 
4. ^ Evanier, Mark. "Garfield and Friends Episode Guide". povonline.com. http://www.povonline.com/Garf%20Episodes.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-24. 
5. ^ Evanier, Mark (2007-05-07). "About Vinnie". news from me. Mark Evanier. Archived from the original on 2009-01-19. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsfromme.com%2Farchives%2F2007_05_07.html%23013417&date=2009-01-19. Retrieved 2009-01-19. 
6. ^ Evanier, Mark. "Briefly Noted...". news from me. http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2007_12_01.html#014406. Retrieved 2007-12-01. 
7. ^ Evanier, Mark. "Where I'll Be". news from me. http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2007_09_15.html#014033. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
8. ^ Evanier, Mark. "Less of Me". POVOnline. http://www.povonline.com/gastric/weightloss01.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-12. 
9. ^ "1992 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees and Winners". Hahnlibrary.net. http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/eisner92.php. Retrieved 2010-07-11. 
10. ^ "1997 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees and Winners". Hahnlibrary.net. http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/eisner97.php. Retrieved 2010-07-11. 
11. ^ "1999 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees and Winners". Hahnlibrary.net. http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/eisner99.php. Retrieved 2010-07-11. 

External links

• Evanier's official website
• news from me is Evanier's blog
• Comic Geek Speak Podcast Interview (October 2005)
• Mark Evanier at the Internet Movie Database
• Mark Evanier at the Comic Book DB

Persondata
Name	Evanier, Mark Stephen
Alternative names
Short description	writer
Date of birth	1952-03-02
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death