Brian Wood was born January 29, 1972, and grew up in the village of Essex Junction, Vermont,[13][14] where he attended Hiawatha Elementary School[14] and Essex High School.[15] He has described his upbringing as "outdoorsy and active, with regular incidents involving neighborhood bullies and trauma at home." He describes a period of heavy drinking before moving to New York City to attend college, stating, "I was ejected into the adult world too early, orphaned and lacking a plan, support, or sound judgement."[16] He is a lifelong stutterer,[17][18] has spoken publicly about seeking therapy to deal with childhood trauma[19] and the loss of his mother to cancer.[20]
He moved to New York City in 1991,[21] describing it as "something of a big leap of faith on my part... it was one of those situations where I had hardly any money, and a single backpack full of clothes. I bought a one-way bus ticket from Burlington, Vermont and kind of burned bridges as I left. I was all-in. Stupid, but committed." He describes working below minimum wage at a skate shop while applying to colleges. "After I hit 21, I got a little bit of money from an inheritance, which paid for my first year of school and a grimy $325/month bedroom on East 3rd Street for a few months," he recounts. He also worked as a bike messenger, which instilled in him a love and a knowledge for New York City that would inform many of his future projects.[22]
Wood's first professional work in comics was the five-issue limited seriesChannel Zero, published by Image Comics in 1998, which began as part of his graduation project for Parsons School of Design. Channel Zero is set in a dystopian near-future New York City where the tenets of then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani have grown into a freedom-restricting government initiative called "The Clean Act". The protagonist is Jennie 2.5, a DIY media personality who sets out to stir the complacent population into revolution. Channel Zero was orphaned shortly after Image Comics sold out of the first print run of the collected edition, opting not to return to press, and AiT/Planet Lar acquired it soon afterwards. In 2012 Wood regained the publishing rights and Dark Horse Comics took up the publishing, releasing a "Complete Collection" that included the original graphic novel, the prequel series Channel Zero: Jennie One with Becky Cloonan, his Public Domain design book material, and numerous other extras from the early development of the property.[24][25]
ComicsAlliance has identified Channel Zero as "The Unofficial Bible of Comics Activism,"[26] and noted its "eerie prescience" and "represents an arduous, expressly DIY method of comic book-making that new technology has dramatically changed."[27]Publishers Weekly called it "significant" and "unapologetically experimental," and "Wood is far more interested in trying out a variety of visual techniques than in creating something that is slick and polished. The result is a graphic novel whose form and content could not be more perfectly matched."[28]Bleeding Cool placed Channel Zero within a larger cyberpunk movement.[29]
Following Channel Zero, Wood took a two-year break from comics. In early 2000, comic book writer Warren Ellis offered Wood a co-writing job on Marvel Comics' Generation X, as part of Ellis' Counter-X run. Wood co-wrote issues #63–70 with Ellis and 71–75 on his own, before the series was canceled as part of incoming Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada's attempts to simplify the X-Men franchise. Wood would not work again with Marvel until 2012.[30]
AiT/Planet Lar and original graphic novels
Wood was employed as a staff designer for Rockstar Games, designing for video game franchises such as Grand Theft Auto, Midnight Club, Max Payne, Smuggler's Run and Manhunt.[31] He nonetheless produced a series of original graphic novels, coinciding with a trend within independent comic publishers that favored that format. The first was Couscous Express with artist Brett Weldele, an action romp about food delivery people.[32] This was followed by a trilogy of bike messenger books, The Couriers, The Couriers: Dirtbike Manifesto, and The Couriers: Ballad of Johnny Funwrecker, all drawn by Rob G.[33] Several characters are shared between Couscous Express and The Couriers, and in 2012 all four books were collected together and published by Image Comics.[34] Wood created and wrote the limited series' Pounded for Oni Press and Fight for Tomorrow for DC Comics's imprint Vertigo. He also produced Public Domain and Channel Zero: Jennie One during this time, the first of what will come to be several collaborations with artist Becky Cloonan.[citation needed]
Larry Young's AiT/Planet Lar heavily promoted Wood during this time, including designating the month of January as "Brian Wood Month" to exclusively offer his titles only.[35] Wood also served as AIT's branding designer and overall creative director for a short period of time, and designed covers for Warren Ellis' Come In Alone, Badlands, and Black Heart Billy. In January 2007, Intrepid Pictures optioned the feature film rights to Wood and Rob G.'s graphic novel The Couriers with Javier Grillo-Marxuach set to pen the screenplay.[36]
Demo, Local ,and the single issue format
In 2003, Wood partnered with artist Becky Cloonan to create Demo, an anthology series of twelve 'done-in-one' or 'one-shot' stories about young people with superpowers. Although initially inspired by the aborted NYX project, the series was not traditionally superhero and instead compared emerging powers to neurodiverse themes and tragic love stories.[37] The series was well-received, and Wizard, a steadfastly superhero-oriented comics magazine, named Demo its 2004 "Indie of the Year". The series was also nominated for two Eisner Awards in 2005, for "Best Limited Series" and "Best Single Issue" (for #7, "One Shot, Don't Miss"). Thirteen Minutes cites Wood and Demo as " blipping a young artist named Becky Cloonan onto everyone's collective radar screen, and cementing Wood's relationship with this frequent collaborator."[38]
Wood and Cloonan moved Demo from AiT/Planet Lar to Vertigo Comics in 2008,[39] announcing a "Volume 2" of the series, upping the total number of short stories to 18.[40] In 2015, Wood and Cloonan took the publishing rights to Dark Horse Comics, producing the single volume The Complete Demo.[41]
The Demo format proved successful so Wood went on to replicate it, with some changes, for his 12-issue series Local at Oni Press, which launched in 2005 and was drawn by artist Ryan Kelly.[42] NPR named it one of its Best Graphic Novels of the year and called it a "contemporary ballad to the idea of the open road... Megan moves from state to state, dealing with roommates and dead-end jobs and looking for an existence that befits her intelligence and desire for authenticity. She's not a lost cause; she simply chooses, for personal reasons, to drift a while."
DMZ Book One by Brian Wood
DMZ, Northlanders, and DC Comics exclusivity
Demo was the book with which Wood and Becky Cloonan first gained Vertigo's attention.[43] Editor Will Dennis approached Wood and invited him to pitch, and editor Shelly Bond hired Becky Cloonan to illustrate the series American Virgin.[44] The inspiration for DMZ had come to Wood in early 2003, at a time when the 9-11 incident in New York City and the invasion of Iraq dominated the U.S. national psyche.[45] Wood had just moved to San Francisco from New York City, and the experience of recalling in that political atmosphere the memories and story ideas he had accumulated over a decade living in the city instigated the creation of the artwork that would become the foundation of DMZ.[45][46] Initially developed as Wartime, a five issue black-and-white miniseries, the comic was consciously a project of importance to Wood, representing a return to the perspective of his breakthrough work Channel Zero, a bleak portrayal of youth culture and anti-authoritarian expression in the repressive environment of Giuliani-era New York City. After the "Wartime" title had been disqualified as too close a title to a recent Books Of Magic miniseries, Wood considered a host of alternatives including "Embedded", "No Man's Land" and "The War for New York" before settling on "DMZ".[45]
DMZ launched as a monthly series on August 9, 2005. It ran for seventy-two issues, one of the longest runs in Vertigo history,[47] and was collected in twelve trade paperbacks. A Deluxe Edition of five hardcovers were published in 2014, followed by softcover editions of same in 2016. A two volume compendium set was published in 2020.[48]
In August 2006, DC Comics announced that Wood was signed to an exclusive contract.[49] This was announced at the same time as Wood's second monthly title for Vertigo, the historical series Northlanders.[50] Described as an anthology series that takes a realistic, "street level" looking at Vikings, the series ran for 50 issues before being cancelled due to low sales.[51] It was collected into seven trade paperbacks, and then re-cut into three volumes that presents the stories in a different sequence than originally published.
In 2006, editor Shelly Bond announced Minx, a young adult graphic novel imprint aimed at the teenage girl market.[52] Wood and artist Ryan Kelly produced The New York Four for the imprint.[53] Years later, they would return for The New York Five, published under the Vertigo label. The sequel was nominated for an Eisner award in 2012 for Best New Limited Series.[54] In 2014, Wood and Kelly took the books to Dark Horse Comics and produced the collected edition The New York Four, containing the complete story.[55]
In 2008, Wood was nominated for Best Writer at that year's Eisner Awards, for DMZ, Northlanders, and Local.[56]
During the term of his exclusivity to DC Comics, Wood also wrote DV8 Gods And Monsters for the WildStorm imprint, and a short run on the Supernatural licensed comic. In 2011, Wood was rumored to write the relaunched Supergirl series as part of DC's New 52 initiative,[57] but it did not come to pass. This generated some confusion and commentary, particularly after DC's New 52 website inadvertently leaked Wood's name as the series writer.[58][59] Wood stated, "I don't really know what I can and can't say about it, even now. But to answer at least part of your question, I did not turn down "Supergirl." I would have loved to be the writer on "Supergirl." I have over a year's worth of "Supergirl" story outlines and several scripts sitting right here." Soon after, Wood declined to renew his DC Exclusive.[60]
In 2021, Wood reported that DC Entertainment had renewed the Northlanders publishing agreement.[61]
In late 2011, Bleeding Cool reported that during Fan Expo Canada, Marvel teased a Brian Wood return in 2012, alongside an image of Wolverine's claw marks.[64]CBR later revealed the project as Wolverine & the X-Men: Alpha and Omega, a four issue series with Mark Brooks on art.[65] Wood then took over on the main, "adjective-less" X-Men title starting with #30[66] and wrapping up with #37.[67]
Wood returned in 2013 with the #1 selling relaunch of X-Men with an all-female "A-list" roster: Jubilee, Storm, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Rachel Grey and Psylocke.[68][69]USA Today quoted Wood as saying, "I feel like as far as the X-Men go, the women are the X-Men. Cyclops and Wolverine are big names, but taken as a whole, the women kind of rule the franchise."[70] The reaction to the title was mostly positive,[71] but some took offense at the lack of male characters,[72] and others at the execution.[73] Journalist Laura Hudson interviewed Wood for Wired Magazine, and quoted him as saying, ""There's too much cheesecake out there that is sold, or at least marketed, as a 'strong female' character or book when it's anything but, it just reinforces the worst opinions of the most sexist fans, and we gain no new ground. We probably lose ground. I'm not approaching this new X-Men as a 'female book,' but I'm writing it as a high action X-Men comic, and with some luck that will nullify some of these poisonous critics who go looking for something to feel angry/uncomfortable/threatened by."[69] The title was included in the Battle of The Atom miniseries.[74] Wood left the series in 2014 with issue #17, saying, "I left the title on my own accord, no drama, no pressure, just moving on,"[75] and writer G. Willow Wilson took over.[76]
Brian Wood and Olivier Coipel created the Shogo Lee, Jubilee's adopted infant son. He appeared as a time-traveling adult hero Sentinel-X in Battle of the Atom.[77]
Concurrent with the X-Men, Wood also took over monthly writing duties on Ultimate Comics: The X-Men with issue #13.[78] He continued until issue #33.[79] He and artist Paco Medina created the mutant Nomi Blume aka Mach Two.[80] His final work for Marvel during this time was to take over writing the Moon Knight reboot Warren Ellis began. He scripted issues #7-12.[81]
The bulk of Wood's post-DC Comics creator-owned work happened at Dark Horse Comics. After exiting his exclusive contract, Wood signed on to write the publisher's long-running Conan the Barbarian title, adapting the well-loved "Queen of the Black Coast" short story with Becky Cloonan on art. The series ran for 25 issues. Wood also launched The Massive, a creator-owned series with artist Garry Brown, depicting a group of environmentalists grappling with an unexplained failing of the earth's ecosystems.[83] After the series conclusion at issue #30,[84] Wood and Brown created the six-issue prequel Ninth Wave. In the environmental novel Apocalyptic Ecology in the Graphic Novel by Clint Jones, he states, "[The Massive] comes closest to representing the complexity of real destruction in the case of a global catastrophe."[85]
In 2013 Wood was approached by Dark Horse to head up a brand new Star Wars monthly title, one that uses the original cast of the 1977 film, a first for the publisher. Star Wars #1 debuted to positive reviews, selling out of its initial print run in 24 hours.[86] Wood wrote the series up until issue #20, when Dark Horse lost the license to Marvel Comics.[87] Wood's run is known for making Princess Leia an X-wing pilot, generating a lot of commentary, positive and negative.[88][89][90][91]
Italian artist Andrea Mutti joined Wood in creating Rebels, a historical comic series set during the American Revolutionary War. Wood noted he found it relevant to modern political times. "The first story arc of Rebels is called 'A Well Regulated Militia,' and believe me, that was very specifically chosen to direct confront how loaded that phrase is these days," he says. "The Green Mountain Boys were America's first militia, and it's important to me to draw a very clear line between that and the guys that show up to Obama rallies with assault rifles on their backs, using that phrase to justify acting out."[92]Publishers Weekly describes the series' main story as follows "by shorter slices of war that cover other concerns within the conflict, including those of women who played a role in combat, Native Americans who had to navigate the battle to ensure their own survival, and black combatants desiring actual independence in a war that focused on white men's freedom."[93] They followed it up in 2017 with a second volume, titled Rebels: These Free and Independent States, dealing with the War of 1812. "We have the great political divide of the day, often boiled down to the contrast between Hamilton's Federalist stance and the more states-oriented Democratic-Republicans that Jefferson and Madison pushed for, manifesting in street rallies and back-of-the-pub arguments. We had the piracy in the Barbary states against American merchant ships, the Quasi-War in the Caribbean, John making a couple friends in the abolitionist movement, and the great lead-up to the War of 1812, America's second war with England."[94]
Wood's final creator-owned project during this time was Briggs Land, a generational crime drama set in an American secessionist community, "the Sopranos as secessionists," Wood said.[95] At the same time as announcing the comic series, the Hollywood Reporter announced the property was in development at AMC TV, with Wood both writing and executive producing.[96] Wood said to Bleeding Cool, "I'm writing both, simultaneously. As a comic, its unfolding a little slower, since the 'container' of a 22-page comic is smaller than an hour-long premium cable show, which requires a hell of a lot of story and there's an expectation to get into the meat of it much quicker. In my head, it's two separate Briggs Lands – the one for comics, which is being done one way, and the TV one, which I'm developing differently."[97] There has been no updates on the live action version of the project since Wood posted an image of a completed script.[98]
Aliens: Defiance, Zula Hendricks, and Amanda Ripley
Wood has written a number of series for the Aliens franchise, starting with the 12-issue Aliens: Defiance,[100] which introduced the point-of-view character Zula Hendricks,[101][102][103] an ostracized Colonial Marine suffering from injury and under a cloud of suspicion. He saw similarities between Zula and Ellen Ripley character, and strived to make the connection on the page. "I did take a hard look at Ripley, especially the Ripley in the original film, to figure out how one makes a Ripley-esque lead character since one of our goals with this comic is to create a ‘classic’ Alien story in the mold of the original film. Zula is cut from the same cloth as the crew of the Nostromo: blue collar people just looking ahead to the next paycheck dropped into a terrible situation and needing to struggle their way out of it. Ripley does all that, keeps her wits about her, her humanity, and her cool. I want to instill all of that in Zula, even if it's from a different perspective, that of a soldier. A young, passionate, walking-wounded soldier." The series also featured Ellen's daughter, Amanda Ripley, her first media appearance since the Alien: Isolation video game. "A pre-Isolation Amanda Ripley is [Zula's] only friend." Wood said.[104]
Zula Hendricks, created by Wood and artist Tristan Jones, is canon, featured in the 2019 novelization of the video game Alien: Isolation[105] and the novel Alien: Prototype.[101]
In September 2018, Dark Horse announced Aliens: Resistance,[106] written by Wood with art by Robert Carey. Set after Defiance, it features Zula Hendricks and Amanda Ripley continuing the search for Weyland-Yutani black ops experiments on the xenomorph.[107] It was followed by Aliens: Rescue in 2019[108]
A fourth Alien series, Colonial Marines: Rising Threat, was cancelled prior to publication.[109] It was meant to star Olivia Shipp, a character from Alien: Echo,[110] a young adult novel by Mira Grant.[111]
Sword Daughter and DMZ at HBOMax
In June 2018, Wood and his Briggs Land collaborator Mack Chater launched a new monthly series, Sword Daughter.[112] Described as a Norse - Samurai Cinema revenge mash-up,[113] the team enlisted José Villarrubia as colorist. Dark Horse described the series as "a raw and violent story that is a testament to the power of redemption and the resiliency of family, and a visually stunning tribute to samurai cinema." There would be a total of nine issues of the series, published in three hardcovers, titled She Brightly Burns, Folded Metal, and Elsbeth Of The Island.[114]
Wood also wrote and co-wrote several licensed comics during the late 2010s, EVE Online: Valkyrie, Terminator: Sector War, Mono, John Carter: The End, Planet of The Apes: Memorial, a short story for Megadeth: Death By Design, and RoboCop: Citizens' Arrest.[115] He oversaw a reboot of Robotech for Titan Comics, writing two volumes of the series before turning the job over to Simon Furman.[116]
In 2001, Wood and artist David Choe were commissioned by Marvel to develop the concept of an X-Men series for the publisher's then-upcoming MAX imprint.[120][121] Although the project was shelved at the time, it was later released with a different creative team, while Wood used his ideas to develop the creator-owned series Demo with artist Becky Cloonan.[122]
A catalog entry for Dogs Day End appeared in 2008 from the publisher Top Shelf.[123] Created by Wood with art by Nikki Cook, it never appeared. The catalog described it thusly: "Following up on the time-honored adage "you can't go home again", Dogs Day End details the personal journey of 30-year-old Andrew Maguire, pulled back to the small upstate hometown of his childhood by his mother as she enters the final stages of cancer." Chris Arrant of CBR asked Wood about it in 2010, and he explained, "A bunch of shit went wrong, ranging from schedule problems to my own writing problems, and after a few years I shelved it for a bit, reworked the story, found a new artist, and tried again. And it was at that point I realized that really the only problem was with me, and my inability to write that goddamn story. I think time's just passed it by, to be honest. I love the idea of it, but I just cannot make it work."[124]
In 2012, Bleeding Cool and MTV reported a list of comic book projects Wood described as never making it off the ground.[125][126] There were several DC Comics properties on the list - Green Arrow, Supergirl, Superman Beyond, Rima The Jungle Girl, "Gotham: Neighborhood Rebellion aka Catwoman Year 100", and what he termed "The Re-Imagined Wildstorm Universe." Three creator-owned titles are mentioned: QC, Anthem, and Starve. Starve was published by Image Comics in 2015.[127] That same year, Wood was named as the new writer of Todd McFarlane's "resurrected" Spawn for the #251 relaunch.[128] Shortly after appearing with MacFarlane at New York Comic Con,[129] Wood announced he was no longer employed on the book, issuing this statement: "For the sake of readers and retailers who read the current Image solicits (March 2015), I just want to sent [sic] out a little PSA and say that I am not the writer of Spawn #251. I'm actually not the writer of the Spawn title after all. I delivered, to spec, the script for February's Spawn Resurrection #1 special but raised objections to the considerable extent to which my script and the larger plot was being rewritten during production. I was then removed from the job. I'm not trying to complain or spark drama, but I do think that the audience and the retailers laying down money for the book should be aware when there is a creative team change, especially this close to the book's release. I'm sorry to anyone who was looking forward to my work on Spawn – its a bummer for me too."[130] Paul Jenkins replaced Wood.[131]
Awards and nominations
Nominations
2004 Eisner Award for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition[132]
On November 13, 2013, cartoonist Tess Fowler publicly accused Wood of sexual harassment in offering her his hotel room number at a bar encounter during San Diego Comic-Con in 2003.[143] Later that same month, Wood responded to Fowler with an apology, stating in part, "when she declined, that was the conclusion of the matter for me. There was never an exertion of power, no threats, and no revenge... I think the larger issues of abuse in the comics industry are genuine and I share everyone's concerns. I don't want our difference of accounts to take attention away from that industry-wide discussion that needs to happen." Fowler responded in part, "I've forgiven Brian years ago for the following story... I've moved on from what he did. I never asked for a boycott, or blacklisting, as I am being accused. I actually spoke very openly about the opposite. Brian Wood has every right to be a part of comics. To make books and make a living unhindered. I believe that. I also believe his behavior is a symptom of a much bigger disease."[144]
On November 20, Fowler posted a series of tweets detailing a separate, private apology Wood sent her, writing:
"Since Brian discussed it on Twitter I guess it's ok for me to mention it: After reaching out to him I did get a very specific apology.[145] He said it was 'not for publication', and so I didn't because I wanted him to feel safe enuf to go further. I feel it's necessary to openly acknowledge this, for the sake of all the women talking about their own experiences right now. To me, what he accepted ownership of felt genuine."[146][147][148]
On November 25, former DC Comics employee Anne Scherbina stated that, following a rejected pass sometime in 2002, Wood had relayed a rumor to journalist Rich Johnston about her having used a storeroom at DC for sex. Johnston subsequently published the rumor in his Lying in the Gutters column at Comic Book Resources. While Scherbina admitted that Wood had not named her specifically, she also admitted to having invited Wood into the storeroom in question for sex, categorizing that as "a joke."[149] She believes the rumor and that its publication damaged her reputation at DC, saying, "No one talked about it online, or called me a slut or even said anything to me directly. But the suspicion was there. The subject had been raised in the office and now it was in people's minds. My job didn't change, but I was not given any new responsibilities." She posted her emails with Wood, where he said he had no idea he had gotten her in trouble at work. He apologized. Scherbina appeared not to accept it.[150] Rich Johnston later expressed regret for publishing the rumor, offering a private apology.[151]
In August 2019, Laura Hudson accused Wood of "grabbing" her and "forcing" her into a kiss at a bar in 2007.[152][153] When approached by Comics Beat regarding the allegations, Dark Horse issued a statement to The Beat saying, "Effective immediately, Dark Horse will not pursue any new projects with Brian Wood."[154] On August 21, 2020, The Comics Journal reported that following Hudson's employment on the Ava DuVernay-helmed adaptation of Wood's DMZ, she deleted the accusations against Wood.[155]
On June 19, 2020, Fowler posted screenshots of another exchange with Wood on Twitter, writing:[156]
"Brian Wood e-mailed me. It did not end well. I do not take it as a genuine apology. But others might feel differently. And the fact is, technically, this IS an apology (below) which I accepted before it went bad. Take it as you will. I just don't want my situation used to detract from someone else possibly having a healing exchange with a man who wronged them. Was it a genuine apology? That's up to you. I don't feel it was. But YMMV. FYI: The only person who regularly invoked his daughter into public discourse about his behavior was him. I feel I was more than fair in my responses. Judge for yourself but please don't use my name to detract from the accounts and voices of others."[156]
Channel Zero #1–5 (script and art, 1998) also collected as Channel Zero (tpb, 120 pages, 1998, ISBN1-5824-0082-2)
Channel Zero: Dupe (script and art, one-shot containing the 14-page Channel Zero story previously self-published by Wood, a new 3-page comic story and a 6-page prose story, 1999)
Rebels #1–10 (with Andrea Mutti, Matt Woodson (#7), Ariela Kristantina (#8) and Tristan Jones (#10), 2015–2016) collected as Rebels: A Well-Regulated Militia (tpb, 262 pages, 2016, ISBN1-6165-5908-X)
Rebels: These Free and Independent States #1–8 (with Andrea Mutti, Luca Casalanguida (#7) and Joan Urgell (#8), 2017) collected as Rebels: These Free and Independent States (tpb, 208 pages, 2018, ISBN1-5067-0203-1)
^ abcGiampaoli, Justin (April 2011). "Introductory Interview". Live from the DMZ. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
^Fowler, Tess (November 20, 2013). "(untitled)". Twitter. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
^Fowler, Tess (November 20, 2013). "(untitled)". Twitter. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Fowler, Tess (November 20, 2013). "(untitled)". Twitter. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
^Fowler, Tess (November 20, 2013). "(untitled)". Twitter. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
