Garth Ennis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Garth Ennis |
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Ennis at a book signing at Midtown Comics in Manhattan in 2019
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| Born | 16 January 1970 Northern Ireland, UK |
| Nationality | Northern Irish American |
| Area(s) | Writer |
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Notable works
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Preacher The Boys Hellblazer Punisher Hitman |
| Awards | National Comics Award for Best Writer, 1997 UK Comic Art Award for Best Writer, 1997 Eisner Award for Best Writer, 1998 |
Garth Ennis (born 16 January 1970) is a famous comic book writer from Northern Ireland and America. He is best known for creating popular series like Preacher with artist Steve Dillon, his long work on Marvel Comics' Punisher stories, and The Boys with artist Darick Robertson.
Ennis has worked with many talented artists. These include Steve Dillon and Glenn Fabry on Preacher, John McCrea on Hitman, and Carlos Ezquerra on both Preacher and Hitman. His exciting stories have earned him many awards and nominations in the comic book world.
Contents
Early Life and First Steps in Comics
Garth Ennis grew up in Northern Ireland. He did not grow up with any specific religion. He first heard about God when he was six years old at school. His teacher explained that God could see everything and would reward or punish people. Ennis found this idea confusing and a bit scary. He later used this feeling in his comic series Preacher.
In 1987, Ennis became friends with artist John McCrea. They met at the first comic book store in Belfast. Ennis later asked McCrea to draw his very first professional comic project. At this store, Ennis also met the famous comic writer Alan Moore. Moore advised him to create his own stories. This way, the comic companies would not own his ideas.
Career in Comics
Working in the UK
Garth Ennis started his comic writing career on his 19th birthday in 1989. His first series was Troubled Souls. It appeared in a British comic magazine called Crisis. His friend John McCrea drew the series. The story was set in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was about a young man who gets caught up in the difficult times of the Troubles.
He also wrote another series for Crisis called True Faith. This was a funny story that made fun of some religious ideas. It was inspired by his school days. Later, Ennis began writing for the popular UK comic series 2000 AD. He wrote many stories for its main character, Judge Dredd.
Working with DC Comics
In 1991, Ennis started writing the horror series Hellblazer for DC Comics. He worked on this series until 1994. Steve Dillon became the main artist during this time. Ennis and Dillon later worked together on many other comics.
Ennis and Dillon then created the very popular series Preacher. It ran from 1995 to 2000. Many people consider Preacher to be Ennis's most important work. The story is about a preacher with special powers who goes looking for God. The series mixes ideas from Western and horror movies with funny but sometimes strange humor. It also makes fun of some religious ideas. The comic was so popular that it was made into a AMC television series in 2016.
From 1993 to 1995, Ennis worked with John McCrea on another DC comic called The Demon. They introduced a new character named Tommy Monaghan. Ennis and McCrea later gave Tommy his own comic series, Hitman. In Hitman, Ennis often showed superheroes in a funny, sometimes silly way. This was a common style in his stories about superheroes. Hitman ran for 60 issues until 2001.
Working with Marvel Comics
Ennis's first work for Marvel was Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe in 1995. After Hitman ended, Ennis was asked to write The Punisher again for Marvel. Steve Dillon also drew many of these stories. Ennis then relaunched The Punisher under Marvel's MAX line. This allowed for more serious and gritty stories. His long run on Punisher was very popular. The creators of the movie Punisher: War Zone said Ennis's comics were a major influence on their film.
In 2008, Ennis finished his work on the Punisher MAX series. He then wrote a Marvel series called War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle. This story was about a World War I pilot. Ennis also wrote other series for Marvel, including Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, Hulk, and Thor. He also wrote several Nick Fury stories for the MAX line. These stories showed Nick Fury as a military and CIA agent, rather than a science-fiction spy.
Independent and Creator-Owned Work
Ennis has also created many original comics for different publishers. He wrote a superhero satire called The Pro for Image Comics. He also created Just a Pilgrim, a story set after a big disaster. His series War Stories tells different tales from wars.
Most of Ennis's original comics have been published by Avatar Press. These include 303, a war story set after 9/11. He also wrote Streets of Glory, a western story. Crossed is a horror comic he created. Chronicles of Wormwood is a story about a unique friendship between two very different characters. In 2011, Avatar asked Ennis to write and direct a short film called Stitched.
Ennis has also done a lot of work for Dynamite Entertainment. His most famous work there is The Boys. This series was mostly drawn by Darick Robertson. The Boys ran for 72 issues and ended in 2012. It was a superhero satire that showed superheroes in a very different light. They were sometimes selfish or even bad. The series was first published by DC Comics, but they stopped it because they were uneasy with its anti-superhero tone. Dynamite then picked up the series. The Boys was very successful and was made into a TV series by Amazon in 2019.
Other projects for Dynamite include the crime comic Red Team. He also created a series of war comics called Battlefields. In 2018, Ennis wrote Sara for TKO Studios. This was a war story about a team of female Russian snipers during World War II. In 2020, he wrote Stringbags for the U. S. Naval Institute. This graphic novel tells the adventures of Allied airmen during World War II.
How Garth Ennis Sees Comics
Garth Ennis grew up reading British war comics. He did not read superhero comics until he was a teenager. He often found them a bit silly. However, he was influenced by some superhero comics from the 1980s. For example, he loved The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller. Ennis said Miller's work made him want to write comics like a novelist.
Even though he has written many superhero stories, Ennis is known for making fun of usual superhero ideas. For example, in Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe, the Punisher fights against many Marvel heroes and villains. Ennis also said he found characters like Captain America a bit strange. He preferred stories about real soldiers in World War II.
Ennis has explained that his main issue with superhero comics is their huge popularity. He feels they limit what comic stories can be about. He believes that many superhero stories don't have a deep meaning because they can never truly end.
Ennis prefers Marvel and DC characters who are more "grounded" or realistic. He likes characters like the Punisher, John Constantine, and Nick Fury. He feels the Punisher is more like the British comic characters he loved as a child.
Personal Life
Garth Ennis became a citizen of the United States by 2016.
He is an atheist, meaning he does not believe in God. He has said that growing up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles influenced his views on religion.
Ennis has always been interested in military history. This interest started when he was a child, inspired by the war comics he read.
Awards
- 1997 National Comics Award for Best Writer
- 1997 UK Comic Art Award for Best Writer (for Hitman and Preacher)
- 1997 UK Comic Art Award for Best Collection (for Preacher: Gone to Texas)
- 1998 Eisner Award for Best Writer (for Hitman, Preacher, Unknown Soldier and Blood Mary: Lady Liberty)
- 1998 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue (for Hitman #34: "Of Thee I Sing")
- 1999 Eagle Award for Favorite Color Comic Book (for Preacher)
- 2001 National Comics Award for Best Supporting Character (for Natt The Hat, from Hitman)
- 2021 Irish Comics News Award for Best Irish Writer (for "Hellmann at the Twilight of the Reich" in Action 2020)
Nominations
- 1993 Eisner Award for the Best Writer (for Hellblazer)
- 1994 Eisner Award for the Best Writer (for Hellblazer)
- 1996 Eisner Award for the Best Writer (for Preacher and Goddess)
- 1997 Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Writer
- 1997 UK Comic Art Awards for Best Original Graphic Novel (for Preacher Special)
- 1998 Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Writer
- 1999 Eagle Award for Favourite Comics Writer
- 1999 Eagle Award for Favourite Comics Character (for Jesse Custer)
- 1999 Comics Buyer's Guide Award for Favorite Writer
- 2000 Comics Buyer's Guide Award for Favorite Writer
- 2001 Eisner Award for Best Writer (for Preacher)
- 2001 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story (for Preacher #59–66)
- 2001 Comics Buyer's Guide Award for Favorite Writer
- 2002 Comics Buyer's Guide Award for Favorite Writer
- 2002 National Comics Award for Best Writer in Comics Today
- 2003 Comics Buyer's Guide Award for Favorite Writer
See also
In Spanish: Garth Ennis para niños
