| Amanda Conner | |
|---|---|
 Conner at the 2018San Diego Comic-Con WB party | |
| Area | Writer,Penciller,Inker |
Notable works | Harley Quinn Power Girl Gatecrasher |
| Spouse | Jimmy Palmiotti |
| https://paperfilms.com/amanda-conner/ | |
Amanda Conner is an Americancomics artist andcommercial artillustrator. She began her career in the late 1980s forArchie Comics andMarvel Comics, before moving on to contribute work forClaypool Comics'Soulsearchers and Company andHarris Comics'Vampirella in the 1990s. Her 2000s work includesMad magazine, and suchDC Comics characters asHarley Quinn,Power Girl, andAtlee.
Her other published work includes illustrations forThe New York Times andRevolver magazine, advertising work for products such asArm & Hammer,Playskool, design work forABC'sNightline, and commercials forA&E'sBiography magazine.
Amanda Conner studied atThe Kubert School inDover, New Jersey.[1] She names as influencesJoe Kubert, for teaching his students to compose pages as if they were to be devoid of any dialogue or word balloons, andFrank Miller for his pacing and his ability to create tension and intense action and reactions.[2]
Conner worked at a color separation company, which handled comics coloring prior to the industry adoption of computer programs such asPhotoshop. She subsequently worked in a comic book store. At the time she lived a little over an hour from New York City, and on her days off, would travel to New York City with her father, and use his office at the advertising industry where he worked as a home base from which to call editors atMarvel Comics andDC Comics to request a portfolio review. When granted these interviews, she was told that she had potential, but needed to work on her art more. At this same time she became acquainted with professional artists through her work at the comic shop, and answered an advertisement by artistBill Sienkiewicz, who was seeking an assistant. She took the job, which became her first comics work, while continuing to show her portfolio to editors at Marvel and DC.[2] She also illustrated storyboards for the advertising industry.[3] After about her sixth or seventh time showing her portfolio, Marvel editor Greg Wright gave Conner her first illustration assignment, an 11-pageYellowjacket back-up story inSolo Avengers #12 (November 1988).[2][4]
Her other early work includesExcalibur andSuburban Jersey Ninja She-Devils for Marvel,Strip AIDS U.S.A. forLast Gasp in 1988, andArchie andThe Adventures of Bayou Billy stories forArchie Comics in 1989–90.[5][6] During this time, she worked with Marvel editor and artistJimmy Palmiotti (now her husband), who ofteninks over Conner'spencils.
From 1993 to 1994 she penciled issues #1–10 ofPeter David andRichard Howell's creator-owned series,Soulsearchers and Company, which was published byClaypool Comics. In 1994 she penciledBarbie Fashion #43, a Marvel Comics title that was licensed from theMattel doll. That same year she did her firstVampirella work withVengeance of Vampirella, a mini-comic that was bundled with an issue ofWizard magazine. The following year she pencilled issues 2 - 11 of Marvel'sGargoyles, which was based on theDisneyanimated television series of the same name. In 1996 she pencilledKid Death & Fluffy Spring Break Special #1 forTopps Comics andTomoe #3 forBilly Tucci'sCrusade Comics. She also returned to Vampirella with Harris'Vampirella Lives #1–3, which teamed her with writerWarren Ellis.[4]
In 1997 she illustrated theintercompany crossoverPainkiller Jane vs.The Darkness forEvent Comics. It was in working on this book that Conner says that she found her niche in the industry, explaining that the licensed characters she had previously worked on, particularly Barbie and Vampirella (the latter of which she stresses she nonetheless enjoyed for the writers she worked with) had narrow emotional ranges, which limited the facial expressions she was able to render. OnPKJ v. the Darkness she discovered that it was possible to render material of a dark tone that incorporatedblack humor.[2] Conner returned toPainkiller Jane with a #0 issue, which recounted the character's origin.
Her other comic book credits includeLois Lane,Codename: Knockout, andBirds of Prey for DC Comics, as well asTwo-Step with writerWarren Ellis for theCliffhanger!imprint ofWildStorm Comics (owned byDC Comics);X-Men Unlimited for Marvel;Gatecrasher, which she co-created forBlack Bull Comics; andThe Pro, acreator-owned book forImage Comics with Palmiotti and Garth Ennis. In 2005, she illustrated the origin ofPower Girl inJSA Classified #1-4. She also penciled aBlade comic to go with the special DVD edition.[4]
Her art has appeared on ABC'SNightline,[6] and inThe New York Times[6] andMAD magazine.[3] She has also done promotional artwork for thereality television seriesWho Wants to Be a Superhero? and the 2007 feature filmUnderdog. She does spot illustrations inRevolver magazine[3] each month. Her commercial art work includes illustrations for the New York Cityadvertising agencies Kornhauser & Calene, and Kidvertisers, for such accounts asArm & Hammer,Playskool, andNickelodeon.[7]Nike, Inc. commissioned Conner and fellow comics artistJan Duursema to design theMake Yourself: A Super Poweradvertising campaign in 2011.[8]
Conner did modeling/art reference work for the MarvelminiseriesElektra: Assassin in the 1980s, and for artistJoe Jusko'sPunisher /Painkiller Jane in 2000.
Conner, Palmiotti, and writer Justin Gray work together via their multimedia entertainment company PaperFilms. They collaborated on theTerra miniseries, which premiered in November 2008,[9] and the first 12 issues of thePower Girlongoing series,[10] which were published between 2009 and 2010, both of which Conner penciled.[11] in 2009, Conner drew theSupergirl story inWednesday Comics which also featured appearance byKrypto andStreaky the Supercat.[12] Following her departure fromPower Girl, Conner wrote and pencilled a story published inWonder Woman #600, which featured a team-up between Power Girl, Wonder Woman, andBatgirl.IDW Publishing releasedThe Art of Amanda Conner in April 2012[13][14] while DC Comics publishedDC Comics: The Sequential Art of Amanda Conner the following November.[15][16]
In 2012–2013, Conner drew theBefore Watchmen: Silk Spectre limited series which she co-wrote withDarwyn Cooke. Cooke had insisted on having Conner as a collaborator on the series, stating that "I knew I had something to say about Laurie, and I needed somebody to collaborate with who could help realize it. The only person I know alive that could do that was Amanda. So I kind of made it a fuck-or-walk situation, you know? [Laughs.] 'We get Amanda, or I can’t do this.' So that made it incumbent upon [DC co-publisher] Dan [DiDio] to bring Amanda into it."[17] Conner and Palmiotti launched aHarley Quinn ongoing series in November 2013.[18][19]
She provided the design concepts for the DC Universe streamingHarley Quinn animated series.[20] Many of the story line ideas and dialog have been used for source material on the episodes. These concepts have also been launching points for both theBirds of Prey andSuicide Squad feature movies.[21]
Conner's art was featured in "The Perspiration Implementation", the October 19, 2015, episode of the American sitcomThe Big Bang Theory. In the episode, comic book store ownerStuart Bloom asks the women for ideas on how to attract more women to his shop, andAmy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik) points out that an illustration hanging on one of the shop's walls, "Girl on a Leash", may not be conducive to attracting female customers. The image, which was illustrated by Conner and colored byPaul Mounts, depicts a scantily-clad woman being held on a chain leash by a muscular, whip-wielding masked man.[22] The piece was custom-drawn for the show by Conner.[23]
In 2015, Conner was voted as the #2 top female comics artist of all time.[24]
On May 18, 2019, at the Comic Con Revolution event inOntario, California, Conner was named the 2019 recipient of the Joe Kubert Distinguished Storyteller Award, which is given to "outstanding comic book creators who exemplify both Joe Kubert's artistic talent and his commitment to nurturing the comic book community."[25]
While reading each page of a script, Conner does tiny thumbnail sketches with stick figures corresponding to the story indicated on each page, in order to help her design the page's layout. She then does tighter, more elaborate sketches, though still fairly small compared with the finished artwork,[3] approximately 4 in × 6 in (100 mm × 150 mm),[2] and then blows those up on aphotocopier to the proper original comic art size, which is 10 inches x 15 inches. She then uses "very tight pencils" tolight-box it ontoBristol board, if she intends to have it inked by her husband and collaborator, Jimmy Palmiotti, but will do the pencils "lighter and looser" if she intends to ink it herself, as she already knows how she wants the artwork rendered.[3]
Conner has created her own paper stock and blue line format on her drawing paper, because, she explains, she likes having those configurations pre-printed on the page, and feels that "sometimes the rough is too toothy and the smooth is too slick." The stock she uses is the 10 in × 15 in (250 mm × 380 mm) Strathmore 500 series, but she also orders a custom 8 in × 12 in (200 mm × 300 mm) stock because she sometimes finds those dimensions more comfortable and easier to work on more quickly. She also finds the Strathmore 300 series "pretty good", in that she appreciates its texture and greater affordability, but says that she must occasionally contend with getting a "bleedy batch".[2]
Conner uses mechanical pencils with .03 lead because she finds it easier to use than regular pencils that require her to stop and sharpen them frequently.[2] When working on one of her own projects, such asThe Pro, she prefers to letter the art herself, before the inking stage, as she appreciates the handmade, organic look and feel of hand lettering, in contrast to the computer lettering with which most books are currently produced.[3] To ink her own artwork, she usesStaedtler .03, .01 and .005technical pen, and will sometimes use aCopic .005 for extremely fine work, as these implements feel better in her hands than crowquills and brushes.[2] As her artwork is open and lacks much shading, Conner feels thatPaul Mounts is a compatible colorist for her work, as he achieves "the right amount of bounciness or moodiness, depending on what's needed." Conner has stated that her favorite things to draw are facial expressions and body language.[3]
Conner has lived in Los Angeles;Jacksonville, Florida; and Connecticut.[3] She and her husband and frequent collaboratorJimmy Palmiotti[26][27] lived inBrooklyn, New York City but as of 2010 live in Florida,[3] which Palmiotti referred to in an interview as the "sixth borough of New York."[28]
His Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in New Jersey has produced several generations of comics creators (including his own sons, Andy and Adam Kubert) who have gone on to make their own, widely varied, contributions to the field: Amanda Conner, Rick Veitch, Eric Shanower, Steve Lieber, Scott Kolins, and many more.
Amanda Conner started out in comics working on small projects for Marvel and Archie. She had been working as an illustrator for New York ad agencies Kornhauser and Calene and Kidvertisers. She worked on a number of launches and campaigns such as Arm & Hammer, PlaySkool and Nickelodeon, to name a few.
Writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, together with artist Amanda Conner, emphasized the fun of Power Girl in her first ongoing series.
Back in her own ongoing series, Harley Quinn's new lease on life was celebrated by writers Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti.
Winner (31% of All Votes): Amanda Conner (Power Girl)
