Mark Schultz

Mark Schultz Original Art - Born in 1955 near Philadelphia, but raised outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, MARK SCHULTZ at age six discovered both comics (notably Dell Comics' Tarzan, and DC Comics' Superman, Metal Men and Hawkman), and, through television broadcasts, classic adventure films, in particular King Kong and the Tarzan series. As a teenager, he was further inspired by the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard, and the illustrators associated with them, especially Al Williamson, Roy Krenkel, and Frank Frazetta. He submitted an eight page Xenozoic introductory tale to Kitchen Sink Press. Publisher Denis Kitchen showed interest in the concept, and the first Xenozoic adventure appeared in the eighth issue of the horror anthology Death Rattle. Reader response was positive, leading Kitchen Sink to offer Mark his own book. Xenozoic Tales premiered in February of 1987. Schultz's painstaking attention to detail and research translated often to a year between issues. Fourteen memorable comic books, a 3-D adaptation and three collections were published all told over a decade. The popular series even inspired a line of candy bars. Mark has been awarded five Harvey awards, two Eisners, an Inkpot, a Spectrum, and three Haxturs (from the Salon Del Internacional Comic del Princapado de Austurias). He created seventy new illustrations and several paintings for Mythmaker, a deluxe collection of Robert E. Howard's original Conan stories, published by Wandering Star (2003). A novel based on DC Comics's Flash character, will be published by Pocket Books. Schultz is also developing Xenozoic Tales as a novel. Mark's artwork is strongly influenced by his love for classic American illustration, and its roots. Some of the artists he admires and studies include Winslow Homer, Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, Daniel Smith, Dean Cornwell, Herbert Morton Stoops, and William Stout. Mark's principal influences from within the comics field include Hal Foster, Alex Raymond, Roy Crane, Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Wally Wood, and Al Williamson.