Mark Bagley is an American comic book artist who started out working for Marvel Comics but has since gone on to work for DC Comics as well. His best-known projects range from New Warriors and Thunderbolts to Ultimate Spider-Man. Primarily, Bagley is known for being a penciler, which refers to the stage of the comic book creation process in which the script is first translated into a visual form consisting of pencil sketches.
Here are five things that you may or may not have known about Mark Bagley:
Was a Technical Drawer
Bagley wanted to become a comic book artist from the start. However, his earlier efforts to enter the comic book industry were met with nothing but failure, with the result that he became a draftsperson for Lockheed Martin. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept of a draftsperson, it is someone who does technical drawing, which means creating drawings that show how something is supposed to function using shared standards for the ease of communication.
Competed in the Marvel Try-Out Book Contest
In 1983, the Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics came up with The Official Marvel Try-Out Book, which was used for a contest to recruit new talent for the business. Like its name suggests, the book had unfinished pages for people who wanted to become one of five positions in the comic book industry, thus providing interested individuals with a chance to show their skills. Although Bagley was hesitant to compete at the start, he went on to win the competition for penciling.
Had to Approach the Editor-in-Chief to Get a Job
With that said, Marvel Comics’s promise to release the contest winners’ work as an official comic book never materialized. In the end, Bagley didn’t get a job at the business until he approached the Editor-in-Chief at a comic book convention, which resulted in a series of low-profile assignments. A couple of the other winners went on to work in the comic books industry as well, whereas the winners for scripting and coloring have never seen their work published.
Collaborated with Brian Michael Bendis on Ultimate Spider-Man
In 2000, the publisher of Marvel Comics relaunched some of their most famous franchises to make them more accessible to new readers, with an excellent example being Ultimate Spider-Man. Bagley was chosen to work with Brian Michael Bendis on the comic book series, resulting in a collaboration that lasted for a consecutive 111 issues. Something that wasn’t just a record for Marvel Comics but also one of the longest-running partnerships in the comic books industry as a whole. Since that time, Bagley and Bendis have collaborated on a number of other projects such as Death of Spider-Man and Brilliant.
Considers Crowd Scenes to Be His Weakness
Bagley has stated on one occasion that he considers crowd scenes to be one of his weak points. This is because crowd scenes take a lot of time and effort, meaning that he finds it more difficult to meet his deadlines when he has to do them. Even worse, doing them can cause him to feel worn-out, thus slowing his progress even further.
