Sienkiewicz's work in the 1980s was considered revolutionary in mainstream US comics due to his highly stylized art that verged onabstraction and made use ofoil painting,photorealism,collage,mimeograph, and other forms generally uncommon in comic books.[6][7][8]
Sienkiewicz was born May 3, 1958, inBlakely, Pennsylvania.[3] When he was five years old, he moved with his family to theHainesville section ofSandyston Township, New Jersey, where he attended elementary and secondary school. Sienkiewicz began drawing "when [he] was about four or five", and continued doing and learning about art throughout his childhood. His early comic book influences include artistCurt SwanSuperman comics, and artistJack Kirby'sFantastic Four.[9]
After art school, he showed a portfolio of his work toDC Comics'art directorVince Colletta, which led to his entering the comics field at age 19.[10] The artist recalled in 1985, "They didn't have any work for me, but that didn't bother me. I just figured that if comics didn't work out I'd have done advertising or illustration. Vinnie called [renowned comics and advertising artist]Neal Adams, who put me in touch with [Marvel Comics editor-in-chief]Jim Shooter. Soon after that I was drawingMoon Knight, inThe Hulk [black-and-white comics] magazine".[9] His early art style was heavily influenced by Neal Adams.[11]
Sienkiewicz, during a 1997 appearance inGijón, Spain
Sienkiewicz continued as the artist of theMoon Knight color comics series, starting with the first issue (November 1980). His eclectic art style helped shed the early perception of Moon Knight as a mereBatman clone.[13] Four years later, after a stint as artist onFantastic Four, he became the artist on Marvel'sThe Uncanny X-Men spin-offThe New Mutants, beginning with issue No. 18 (August 1984),[14] producing cover paintings and character designs. From this period on, Sienkiewicz's art evolved into a much more expressionistic style, and he began experimenting with paint, collage, and mixed media.[13] He illustratedThe New Mutants from 1984 to 1985.[15]
Sienkiewicz's own first writing credit was for the painted story "Slow Dancer" inEpic Illustrated in 1986. Sienkiewicz both wrote and illustrated the 1988 miniseriesStray Toasters, an idiosyncratic work published byEpic Comics about a criminal psychologist investigating a series of murders.[15] His first major interior work forDC Comics was contributing toBatman #400 (October 1986).[16]
Sienkiewicz was the subject of a 2008 full-length documentary/interview produced by Woodcrest Productions,The Creator Chronicles: Bill Sienkiewicz.[21]
In 2007, Sienkiewicz penciled30 Days of Night: Beyond Barrow. In 2008, Sienkiewicz illustrated a story forThe Nightmare Factory - Volume 2 graphic novel. That same year, he inked theReign in Hell limited series for DC.[22] Between 2010 and 2012, he inked several issues of Neal Adams'Batman: Odyssey project for DC Comics.[15]
In October 2012, Sienkiewicz teamed with fellow artistsKlaus Janson andDavid W. Mack on the eight-issue Marvel mini-seriesDaredevil: End of Days. Regarding the contrast in art styles, Sienkiewicz related that it was deliberate, in order to "give a very definite break from the "everyday reality" that Klaus' art is meant to portray, as well as the impression of a flashback."[23]
In June 2014, Sienkiewicz was the guest of honor at ceremony for the 2014Inkwell Awards atHeroesCon in Charlotte, North Carolina.[24][25]
In April 2022, Sienkiewicz was reported among the more than three dozen comics creators who contributed toOperation USA's benefit anthology book,Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds, a project spearheaded byIDW Publishing Special Projects EditorScott Dunbier, whose profits would be donated to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees resulting from the February2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sienkiewicz would provide one of the covers to the softcover edition of the book.[26][27][28]
In addition to his work in comics, Sienkiewicz has also worked in numerous other media, especially in the music and trading card industries. His artwork has been published in magazines includingEntertainment Weekly andSpin. In 1998, he collaborated with writer Martin I. Green to produce the children's bookSanta, My Life & Times.
Sienkiewicz has worked on character design for animation. His work on the television seriesWhere on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? received twoEmmy Award nominations in 1995 and 1996.[33] In 2006, Sienkiewicz designed the layout and art forThe Venture Bros. season one DVD set. He designed the cover art for the season three DVD and Blu-ray set.[34]
In October 1979 Sienkiewicz married Francis Ann Dawson (Franki), who worked at Marvel as the administrative assistant for editor-in-chiefJim Shooter and later was Marvel's Administrative Manager of International Licensing.[40] They divorced in 1983.[41]
Judge Dredd and the Angel Gang – Collected edition graphic novel (cover only)
Judge Dredd: City of the Damned – Collected edition graphic novel (cover only)
Judge Dredd: Innocents Abroad – Collected edition graphic novel (cover only — this is a cropped version of the cover of the Titan books Judge Dredd #14)
Judge Dredd: Oz Books One to Three – Titan Books collected edition (covers only — all three covers interlink to form larger image)
Judge Dredd: The Complete Oz – Collected edition graphic novel (cover only — the cover features a mix of covers #2 & 3 from the single reprint books)
"Leaf" #2 by NAB (cover only)
Lone Wolf and Cub #14–20 – US reprint books by First Publishing (covers only)
^Comtois, Pierre (2015).Marvel Comics In The 1980s: An Issue-By-Issue Field Guide To A Pop Culture Phenomenon. Raleigh, North Carolina:TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 104–105.ISBN978-1605490595.
^Dallas, Keith (2013).American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 109.ISBN978-1605490465.
^ab"The Marvel Age Interview: Bill Sienkiewicz" Marvel Age, no. 28, p. 20–22 (July 1985).
^Shooter, Jim (w). "Introduction" Moon Knight Special Edition, no. 1 (November 1983).
^Thomas, Michael (July 17, 2001)."Bill Sienkiewicz Interview".Comic Book Resources.Archived from the original on October 12, 2012.Studying Neal's work, ... I became obsessed ... and became fixated on it. It was like my intention was to be Neal. ... There was no one at this point saying don't do that, you've got to be your own person. ... When I finally got started, what got me hired was the fact that I drew like Neal. Neal in fact called upShooter and said, 'I've got this kid fresh off the street and he draws like me. Is that a problem?'
^abBuchanan, Bruce (August 2008). "The New Mutants: From Superhero Spin-Off to Sci-Fi/Fantasy".Back Issue! (29). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing:65–66.
^DeFalco, Tom (2008). "1980s". In Gilbert, Laura (ed.).Marvel Chronicle: A Year by Year History. London:Dorling Kindersley. p. 211.ISBN978-0756641238.Professor Xavier's young students were given their own monthly title. It was written byChris Claremont and drawn by...Bill Sienkiewicz, who illustrated #18 to #31.
^Manning, Matthew K. (2010). "1980s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.).DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. London:Dorling Kindersley. p. 221.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.Batman celebrated the 400th issue of his self-titled comic with a blockbuster featuring dozens of famous comic book creators and nearly as many infamous villains. Written by Doug Moench, with an introduction by novelist Stephen King...[it was] drawn by George Pérez, Bill Sienkiewicz, Arthur Adams, Joe Kubert, Brian Bolland, and others.
^DeFalco "1980s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 228: "Produced by Frank Miller and illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz,Elektra: Assassin was an eight-issue limited series...published by Marvel's Epic Comics imprint."
^Cowsill, Alan "2000s" in Dolan, p. 334: "DC's version of Hell erupted into all-out war when the rulers of Purgatory, Blaze and Satanus invaded Neron's infernal domain. Written byKeith Giffen with art byTom Derenick and Bill Sienkiewicz."
^McMillan, Graeme (July 20, 2019)."Eisner Awards: The Complete Winners List".The Hollywood Reporter.Archived from the original on April 29, 2025.Best Archival Collection / Project—Comic BooksBill Sienkiewicz's Mutants and Moon Knights… And Assassins… Artifact Edition, edited by Scott Dunbier (IDW)
^Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins," Marvel Comics cover-dated January 1983.
