| Bernie Mireault | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bernard Edward Mireault (1961-06-27)June 27, 1961 Marville, France |
| Died | September 2024 (aged 63) |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Area | Writer,Penciller,Inker,Colourist |
Notable works | The Jam |
| Collaborators | Max Douglas Mike Allred |
| Awards | Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame (2020) |
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Bernard Edward Mireault (June 27, 1961[1] – September 2024) was a Canadian comic book artist and writer.
Mireault was born inMarville,France, where his parents were stationed while working for theCanadian Forces. In 1963, the Mireault family moved back to Canada. Raised as anAnglophone inRawdon, Quebec, he was an active participant in theMontrealunderground comix scene, participating in thecomix jams since their inception and contributing to local zines and underground publications. At the same time he worked in the mainstream comics industry as an artist and colourist, as well as an animator and illustrator.
Among his comics works areDr. Robot,Mackenzie Queen,Bug-eyed Monster,The Blair Witch Chronicles,Left Alone: The Rustin Parr Killings,Two Fisted Science: Safecracker,When is a Door?The Tragic Though Amusing History of Clay Face II, and the creator-owned comicThe Jam, first published as a backup feature inNorthguard from Matrix Graphic Series, and then published in its own title in 1985 by various publishers starting with Matrix Graphic Series and thenComico,Slave Labor Graphics,Tundra Publishing,Dark Horse Comics, andCaliber Press.
Mireault illustrated the seminalRiddler story "When Is a Door," written byNeil Gaiman and published inSecret Origins Special #1 (Oct. 1989), in which the Riddler makes a meta-commentary about the dark turn of modern comics compared to those of theSilver Age.[2] As Brian Cronin ofCBR wrote, "It'll likely be the comic book story that Mireault will be most remembered for among more casual comic book fans, and if you're going to be remembered for a single story, then this is the one to be remembered for, as it is a brilliant examination of the early days of the 'grim and gritty' superhero era."[3]
Mireault served as the artist on the story arc "The Devil Within" forMatt Wagner'sGrendel comics in the late 1980s – notably coloured byJoe Matt. Mireault coloured severalGrendel story arcs: "Warchild," "Devil's Hammer," "Devil in Our Midst," "Devil Tracks," "Devil Eyes," "Devil by the Deed," and "The Devil's Apprentice." As a colourist he had a long-standing collaborative relationship with Salgood Sam a.k.a.Max Douglas, a fellow Canadian artist. Together they worked onRealworlds: Wonder Woman,Muties #6:The Patriot Game, andRevolution on the Planet of the Apes.
Another long-standing collaborative relationship was withMike Allred, with whom he producedMadman Jam: The Fall of the House of Escher,Creatures of the Id, andThe Everyman. Mireault's character Dr. Robot first appeared as a back-up in Mike Allred'sMadman.
Mireault had a part-timeband called Bug-Eyed Monster, for which he wrote songs. Fellow cartoonistHoward Chackowicz was also a member of Bug-Eyed Monster.[4]
Mireault committed suicide in September 2024, at the age of 63.[4][5] He was survived by two sons and three sisters.[4]
Comics critic Timothy Callahan has argued that Mireault is one of the unheralded creators who helped bring in theModern Age of Comic Books:
Yet there's one creator who doesn't get mentioned nearly as often. A writer/artist who was combining the high Romanticism of the fantastic with the mundane life on the street as well as any of the others. A comic book creator whose visual style has rarely been duplicated, but whose sensibilities seem to predict the coming of cartoonists as diverse asMike Mignola andDash Shaw.I'm talking, of course, about Bernie Mireault.[6]
Mireault was inducted into the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame as part of theJoe Shuster Awards in 2020.[7]
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