Brian Azzarello Explained

Birth Date:11 August 1962
Birth Place:Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Write:y
Notable Works:100 Bullets
Before Watchmen

Comedian / Rorschach
Hellblazer
Joker

Loveless
Wonder Woman

Awards:Eisner Award (2001)

Brian Azzarello (born August 11, 1962) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter who first came to prominence with the hardboiled crime series 100 Bullets, published by DC Comics' mature-audience imprint Vertigo. Azzarello is best known for his numerous collaborations with artists Eduardo Risso (100 Bullets, , Spaceman, Moonshine) and Lee Bermejo (Batman/Deathblow, Luthor, Joker, ), his contributions to the Watchmen prequel project Before Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns sequel series DK III: The Master Race, as well as for his stints on the long-running Vertigo series Hellblazer and The New 52 relaunch of the Wonder Woman title.

Early life

Azzarello grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where his mother managed a restaurant and his father was a salesman. As a child, he read monster and war comic books, but avoided the superhero genre. He attended the Cleveland Institute of Art, studying painting and printmaking. In 1989, after several years of working various blue-collar jobs, Azzarello moved to Chicago, where he became interested in the work of Black Lizard Press, a small publishing house which reprinted hardboiled detective and noir fiction. He also met his future wife Jill Thompson, a comic book artist who was working for DC Comics's imprint Vertigo.[1]

Career

Azzarello began working in comics in 1992, joining Comico as the production coordinator. He was soon promoted to managing editor, before becoming Editor-in-Chief—or, as he was often credited, "line editor"—the position he held from 1993 until the company's demise in 1997.[2] During this period, Azzarello's wife Jill Thompson introduced him to Lou Stathis, an editor at DC Comics' Vertigo who wanted to move away from the light fantasy stories the imprint was known for at the time, and Azzarello was eventually hired as a writer. He contributed short stories to a number of Vertigo's anthology titles and penned Jonny Double, a 4-issue limited series which marked his first collaboration with Argentine artist Eduardo Risso.[3] In August 1999, Azzarello and Risso launched 100 Bullets, a hardboiled noir series for Vertigo.[4] [5] The series ran for one hundred issues, from 1999 to 2009, and was noted for Azzarello's use of regional and local accents, as well as the frequent use of slang and oblique, metaphorical language in his characters' dialogue. Azzarello's other work for Vertigo includes a run on Hellblazer, the 2005 western series Loveless with artist Marcelo Frusin[6] and an original graphic novel Filthy Rich, one of the two titles that launched the Vertigo Crime line in 2009.[7]

In 2003, Azzarello was assigned to write arcs for DC Comics' Batman and Superman, commenting to Chicago Tribune, "DC is giving me the keys to both cars in the garage, the Maserati and the Ferrari... Somebody told me, 'Don't drive drunk.'" The results were the 6-issue [8] and the 12-issue "Superman: For Tomorrow", which was supposed to be the centerpiece of a larger storyline consisting of several interconnected mini-series, including one written by Azzarello, .[9] [10] [11] The initiative, unofficially dubbed "Superstorm" due to the fact that the mini-series were edited by the team of DC's Wildstorm imprint, experienced production problems and delays, causing Luthor to become a standalone work only loosely connected to "For Tomorrow".[12] In the following years, Azzarello continued to write more Batman-related stories such as the 2008 graphic novel Joker, a serial for Wednesday Comics in 2009[13] [14] and Flashpoint: Batman — Knight of Vengeance.[15] In April 2015, Azzarello was announced as the co-writer of an eight-issue sequel to The Dark Knight Returns, titled , with Frank Miller and artist Andy Kubert.[16] The series, released bi-monthly, was launched in late 2015.[17] Azzarello's most recent Batman work was the three-issue series for the DC Black Label imprint with artist Lee Bermejo.[18]

Azzarello was one of the architects of First Wave, a new publishing line for pulp characters then-recently acquired by DC Comics, set outside the main DC continuity. He wrote the opening one-shot for the line, Batman/Doc Savage,[19] continuing with the First Wave limited series.[20] In 2011, Azzarello spearheaded The New 52 relaunch of the Wonder Woman series with artist Cliff Chiang.[21] The pair stayed on the title until issue #35 (Dec. 2014). In 2012, Azzarello wrote two limited series for the Before Watchmen project, focusing on Comedian and Rorschach.[22] [23] In 2014, Azzarello became the co-writer of the weekly series along with Jeff Lemire, Keith Giffen and Dan Jurgens.[24]

In 2016, Azzarello launched the 12-issue maxi-series Moonshine with frequent collaborator Eduardo Risso at Image.[25] In 2019, the series resumed publication with issue #13 as an ongoing title.[26] The series lasted for 28 issues, ending in 2021.

Awards

Azzarello and Risso won the 2001 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story in 100 Bullets #15–18: "Hang Up on the Hang Low".[27]

Influences

Azzarello cites Jim Thompson and David Goodis among his influences.[28] [29]

Personal life

Azzarello was married to fellow comic book creator Jill Thompson.[30] The couple resided in Chicago. In a 2021 interview with Word Balloon Podcast Network, Azzarello mentioned that he was no longer married to Thompson.[31]

The character "666" from Mark Waid and Alex Ross' 1996 mini-series Kingdom Come is physically modeled after Azzarello.[32]

Bibliography

Early work

DC Comics

Vertigo

Filthy Rich (with Victor Santos, graphic novel, hc, 200 pages, 2009, ; sc, 2010,)

DC Universe

"Two Fell into the Hornet's Nest" (with Lee Bermejo, anthology one-shot, 2020)

"Global City" (with Lee Bermejo, anthology graphic novel, 184 pages, 2021,)

Green Lantern: "Penny for Your Thoughts, Dollar for Your Destiny!" (with Norm Breyfogle, co-feature in one-shot, 2004)

"Hollow" (with Greg Capullo, co-feature in one-shot, 2018)

Other imprints

"Apple Read" (with Brian Stelfreeze, anthology one-shot, 2001)

Other publishers

"The Bad Night" (with Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon, anthology graphic novel, sc, 104 pages, Dark Horse, 2009, ; hc, 2020,)

"Fright of the Morning Dread" (with Cliff Chiang, anthology graphic novel, hc, 304 pages, ComicMix, 2018, ; sc, 2018,)

"A.D.I. / Horror of It All" (with Dave Johnson, anthology graphic novel, 120 pages, Z2 Comics, 2021,)

Filmography

Notes and References

  1. News: Borrelli. Christopher. Brian Azzarello: Shake-up artist. Chicago Tribune. August 8, 2012. August 11, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170812013209/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-08-08/entertainment/ct-ent-0809-brian-azzarello-20120808_1_wonder-woman-dc-comics-brian-azzarello. August 12, 2017. live. mdy-all.
  2. Web site: Brian Azzarello. 2013. Wizard World. https://web.archive.org/web/20130909151231/http://www.wizardworld.com/brianazzarello.html. September 9, 2013. dead. mdy-all. October 4, 2014.
  3. Irvine "Jonny Double" in Dougall (2008), p. 112
  4. Web site: Beau . Yarbrough . 'DOUBLE' TEAM RELOADS WITH '100 BULLETS' . Comic Book Resources . April 5, 1999 . https://web.archive.org/web/19991110075040/http://comicbookresources.com/comicwire/0499/cw_040599.shtml . November 10, 1999 . dead .
  5. Web site: Beau . Yarbrough . AZZARELLO FIRES '100 BULLETS' IN JUNE . Comic Book Resources . April 8, 1999 . https://web.archive.org/web/19991009143813/http://comicbookresources.com/comicwire/0499/cw_040899.shtml . October 9, 1999 . dead .
  6. Book: Irvine, Alex. Alexander C. Irvine. Loveless. Dougall. Alastair. The Vertigo Encyclopedia. 116–117. Dorling Kindersley. 2008. 978-0756641221. 213309015.
  7. Web site: Karen Berger on the Vertigo Crime Line . Chris . Arrant . August 15, 2008 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20130901053111/http://www.newsarama.com/796-karen-berger-on-the-vertigo-crime-line.html . September 1, 2013 . live . mdy-all .
  8. Book: Manning. Matthew K.. Dougall. Alastair, ed.. 2000s. Batman: A Visual History. Dorling Kindersley. 2014. 269. 978-1465424563. Editor Bob Schreck gave two more big name creators a shot at the Batman when he hired writer Brian Azzarello and artist Eduardo Risso for a six-issue noir thriller..
  9. Web site: Nick . Newman . Superman Panel at Wizard World Chicago . Superman Homepage . August 10, 2003 . https://web.archive.org/web/20040630055643/http://www.supermanhomepage.com/news/2003-news/2003-comic-news.php?topic=2003-comic-news/0810 . June 30, 2004 . dead .
  10. Web site: Jonah . Weiland . SUPER-STARS (PART 8): AZZARELLO SEEKS TO BRING INSPIRATION BACK TO "SUPERMAN" . Comic Book Resources . April 9, 2004 . https://web.archive.org/web/20040725090729/http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=3506 . July 25, 2004 . dead .
  11. Web site: Arune . Singh . SUPER-STARS (PART 11): JIM LEE TALKS "SUPERMAN" & LIFE ADVICE . Comic Book Resources . April 22, 2004 . https://web.archive.org/web/20040517144901/http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=3572 . May 17, 2004 . dead .
  12. Web site: Brian . Cronin . Comic Book Legends Revealed #394 . Comic Book Resources . November 23, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121129040029/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2012/11/23/comic-book-legends-revealed-394/ . November 29, 2012 . dead .
  13. Book: Cowsill. Alan. Dolan. Hannah, ed.. 2000s. DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. 2010. 978-0-7566-6742-9 . 338. [''Wednesday Comics''] contained fifteen continuous stories including...'Batman' with a story by Brian Azzarello and art by Eduardo Risso..
  14. Web site: Wednesday Comics Thursday: Brian Azzarello On Batman . Jamie . Trecker . September 3, 2009 . Newsarama . https://web.archive.org/web/20150201231213/http://www.newsarama.com/3774-wednesday-comics-thursday-brian-azzarello-on-batman.html . February 1, 2015 . live . September 1, 2013 . mdy-all .
  15. Manning "2010s" in Dougall (2014), p. 318: "In this powerful reimagining of the Batman legend, writer Brian Azzarello and artist Eduardo Risso joined forces for a three-issue examination of Flashpoint's Batman."
  16. Web site: Andy Kubert and Klaus Janson Join The Master Race (The Comic) . Andrew . Wheeler . July 9, 2015 . ComicsAlliance . https://web.archive.org/web/20150814061150/http://comicsalliance.com/andy-kubert-klaus-janson-dark-knight-master-race/ . August 14, 2015 . dead. mdy-all.
  17. Web site: Superstar Writer/Artist Frank Miller Return to Batman!. April 24, 2015. DC Comics. https://web.archive.org/web/20150726135653/http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2015/04/24/superstar-writerartist-frank-miller-returns-to-batman. July 26, 2015. live. mdy-all.
  18. Web site: The Team Behind Batman: Damned Say They're Going to Fuck With the Dark Knight's Head. Evan. Narcisse. August 16, 2018. io9. https://web.archive.org/web/20180817012642/https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-team-behind-batman-damned-say-theyre-going-to-fuck-1828263584. August 17, 2018. live. mdy-all. DC Comics will launch its new prestige imprint DC Black Label. The publisher is going to be kicking it off in grand fashion with Batman: Damned, which reunites the iconoclastic team of writer Brian Azzarello and artist Lee Bermejo, the same creatives behind 2009's arresting Joker graphic novel..
  19. Web site: Jeffrey. Renaud. Azzarello Reimagines Doc Savage. . August 11, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20130414162823/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=22498. April 14, 2013. live. mdy-all. October 6, 2009.
  20. Web site: Jeffrey. Renaud. Azzarello Pulps Up DCU With First Wave. Comic Book Resources. October 12, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20130414162027/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=23294. April 14, 2013. live. mdy-all. November 22, 2009.
  21. Web site: Relaunched Wonder Woman is 'a horror book,' Brian Azzarello says . Kevin . Melrose . August 22, 2011 . Comic Book Resources . https://web.archive.org/web/20120831152743/http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2011/08/relaunched-wonder-woman-is-a-horror-book-brian-azzarello-says/ . August 31, 2012 . live . May 23, 2012 . mdy-all .
  22. Web site: Brian Azzarello Talks Before Watchmen, After the Controversy . Vaneta . Rogers . April 16, 2012 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20130901051556/http://www.newsarama.com/9398-brian-azzarello-talks-before-watchmen-after-the-controversy.html . September 1, 2013 . live . September 1, 2013 . mdy-all .
  23. Web site: Wonder Woman and Before Watchmen writer Brian Azzarello Interview outtakes . Web . Behrens . November 16, 2012 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20130119130112/http://timeoutchicago.com/things-to-do/chicago-blog/15863746/wonder-woman-and-before-watchmen-writer-brian-azzarello-interview . January 19, 2013 . live . September 1, 2013 . mdy-all .
  24. News: DC Readies Weekly Weekly Series, Futures End for Spring . Moore . Matt . Associated Press . December 11, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140407234024/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/dc-readies-weekly-series-futures-end-spring . April 7, 2014. dead. December 11, 2013. mdy-all.
  25. Web site: IMAGE EXPO EXCLUSIVE: Azzarello & Risso Make "Moonshine" . Gilly . Casey . April 6, 2016 . CBR.com. April 6, 2016.
  26. Web site: Zack . Quaintance . Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso bringing back MOONSHINE . . October 21, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191022185232/https://www.comicsbeat.com/moonshine-returns/ . October 22, 2019 . live .
  27. Irvine "100 Bullets" in Dougall (2008), pp. 11–17
  28. Web site: Rapid Fire With Brian Azzarello . Tom . Waters . December 1, 2006 . Acid Logic . https://web.archive.org/web/20130622025555/http://www.forbisthemighty.com/acidlogic/brian_azzerello.htm . June 22, 2013 . live . August 14, 2013 . mdy-all .
  29. Web site: The Joker's Wild Ride . Dan . Phillips . October 23, 2008 . IGN . https://web.archive.org/web/20140530091107/http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/10/23/the-jokers-wild-ride?page=3 . May 30, 2014 . live . August 25, 2013 . mdy-all .
  30. Rockford Register Star staff. (November 7, 2005). "Meet a couple of comic book creators". The Rockford Register Star. Pg. 1E
  31. John Siuntres. Word Balloon Comics Podcast: Brian Azzarello Checks In. Spreaker. 53:25. 2021-02-22. 2023-02-21.
  32. Web site: Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #151. Brian. Cronin. April 17, 2008. Comic Book Resources. https://web.archive.org/web/20130731191508/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/04/17/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-151/. July 31, 2013. live. mdy-all. August 31, 2013. In Kingdom Come, Alex Ross DID specifically use [Jill] Thompson as the model for Joker's Daughter (and her husband, Brian Azzarello, as the basis for another character, the villain 666)..
  33. Web site: Rich . Johnston . The Batman By Chiang And Azzarello That Vertigo Never Published . Bleeding Cool . April 15, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140416213700/http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/04/15/the-bat-man-by-chiang-and-azzarello-that-vertigo-never-published/ . April 16, 2014 . live .
  34. Web site: Rich . Johnston . Watchmen Killed This Brian Azzarello Batman-With-Guns Graphic Novel . Bleeding Cool . September 16, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190920090917/https://www.bleedingcool.com/2019/09/16/watchmen-brian-azzarello-batman-with-guns-graphic-novel/ . September 20, 2019 . live .
  35. Web site: Jonah . Weiland . JIM LEE SPEARHEADS "BATMAN: EUROPA" COLLABORATION . Comic Book Resources . October 20, 2004 . https://web.archive.org/web/20041208021919/http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=4327 . December 8, 2004 . dead .
  36. Web site: Kiel . Phegley . Azzarello Travels To "Batman: Europa" . Comic Book Resources . October 27, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101028231211/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=29109 . October 28, 2010 . dead .
  37. Web site: Jonah . Weiland . CANCELED 'AUTHORITY' PLANS REVEALED . CBR.com . October 9, 2001 . https://web.archive.org/web/20011114133108/http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=517 . November 14, 2001 . dead .
  38. Web site: Julian . Darius . Mark Millar The Authority Era (2000-2002) . The Continuity Pages . https://web.archive.org/web/20021107152938/http://continuitypages.com/authorityMILLAR.htm . November 7, 2002 . dead .
  39. Web site: Michael . Doran . Wildstorm Mature Readers Titles - Other Wildstorm News . Newsarama . July 19, 2001 . https://web.archive.org/web/20010806070939/http://www.comicon.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000167.html . August 6, 2001 . dead .
  40. Web site: Graeme . McMillan . DC Unveils New 'Birds of Prey' Comic for October . The Hollywood Reporter . July 17, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210821183510/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/dc-unveils-new-birds-prey-comic-october-1224765/ . August 21, 2021 . live .
  41. Web site: Stephen . Gerding . DC Solicitations for October 2019 Are Huge for Gotham City Fans . CBR.com . July 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190723141521/https://www.cbr.com/dc-comics-solicitations-october-2019/ . July 23, 2019 . live .
  42. Web site: Stephen . Gerding . DC Solicitations for November 2019 Introduce a New Green Lantern to the DCU . CBR.com . August 16, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190817050222/https://www.cbr.com/dc-comics-solicitations-november-2019/ . August 17, 2019 . live .
  43. Web site: Sam . Stone . DC's Birds of Prey Canceled, Resolicited as Mature Readers Black Label Title . CBR.com . September 19, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191002051217/https://www.cbr.com/dcs-birds-of-prey-canceled-resolicited-black-label-title/ . October 2, 2019 . live .
  44. Web site: Rich . Johnston . Brian Azzarello And Simon Bisley's Three Floyds Hits In November From Heavy Metal . Bleeding Cool . August 20, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150822223929/http://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/08/20/brian-azzarello-and-simon-bisleys-three-floyds-hits-in-november . August 22, 2015 . live .
  45. Web site: Rich . Johnston . Interceptor From Donny Cates, Dylan Burnett, And Other Comics From Heavy Metal Magazine In December . Bleeding Cool . September 20, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150922100312/http://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/09/18/interceptor-from-donny-cates-dylan-burnett-and-heavy-metal-magazine-in-december . September 22, 2015 . live .