Ben Templesmith
Ben Templesmith (born March 7, 1984) is an Australian comic book artist, writer, and illustrator renowned for his distinctive, gritty style in the horror and dark fantasy genres, most notably as the co-creator and artist of the bestselling graphic novel 30 Days of Night with writer Steve Niles.[1][2] Born in Perth, Australia, Templesmith holds a Bachelor of Arts in Design and Illustration and began his professional career in 2001 after working as a newspaper cartoonist from age 16.[3][4] His early influences included Marvel comics, and he has since become a prominent figure in the American comic book industry, contributing to titles across publishers like IDW, Image Comics, and Dark Horse.[4] Templesmith's artistic approach blends digital and traditional techniques, often featuring vivid, atmospheric visuals that emphasize horror elements such as vampires, zombies, and supernatural threats.[3][2] Among his most acclaimed works is 30 Days of Night (2002), a vampire story set in Alaska that achieved New York Times bestseller status and was adapted into two major motion pictures in 2007 and 2010.[1][2][5] He collaborated with writer Warren Ellis on the crime noir series Fell (2005–2008, resumed 2021), which was nominated for multiple Eisner Awards for its innovative storytelling and art.[6] Other notable projects include Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, Criminal Macabre, Hellspawn, and contributions to licensed series like Star Wars, Doctor Who, G.I. Joe, Army of Darkness, Silent Hill, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.[5][3] Templesmith's accolades include multiple nominations for the Eisner Award—the comic industry's highest honor—and the International Horror Guild Awards, as well as a 2007 Spike TV Scream Award, reflecting his impact on horror comics.[1][5] Beyond comics, he has designed book covers, trading cards, DVD art, toys, and concept work for films and music bands, while maintaining a career as a creator-owned artist.[2][4]Personal background
Early life
Ben Templesmith was born on March 7, 1978, in Perth, Western Australia.[7] He spent his childhood in Perth, where he was raised in an unconventional environment. Little detailed information is publicly available regarding his family background, highlighting the independent and self-directed nature of his early development. During his adolescence, Templesmith developed a keen interest in art and comics, drawn to creating original stories within the medium. He began working as a political cartoonist for a local newspaper at age 16.[7] His early artistic influences included illustrators such as Ralph Steadman, Victor Ambrus, Dave McKean, and Ash Wood, whose styles shaped his experimental approach to visual storytelling. He has described growing up exposed to British culture in Australia, with Doctor Who serving as a significant formative influence on his sense of humor and affinity for fantastical elements.[8] Templesmith's early creative pursuits also gravitated toward dark and horrific themes, reflecting a preference for gritty, atmospheric narratives over conventional scares. He has noted that his desire to draw elements like skulls, corpses, and general "dead things" stemmed from these formative interests, laying the groundwork for his later work in horror-infused comics.Education
Templesmith earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in design from Curtin University in Perth, Australia.[9] This program provided him with foundational theoretical knowledge in visual communication and illustration, emphasizing practical skills for commercial applications.[8] In addition to his university degree, Templesmith obtained a diploma in Cartoon and Graphic Art from the Australian College of Journalism, further honing his abilities in sequential storytelling and illustrative techniques.[9] Throughout his academic years, Templesmith engaged in extracurricular art activities, including life drawing classes that he began attending at age 16, which allowed him to refine his figure work and observational skills outside formal coursework.[8] These experiences built upon his childhood fascination with drawing, transitioning his informal hobbies into structured training.[8]Professional career
Early works
Ben Templesmith began his artistic pursuits in Perth, Australia, where he created fan art as a teenager, including a humorous piece depicting the character Spawn on a toilet that was published in an early issue of the Spawn comic series. At age 16, he worked as a newspaper cartoonist, honing his skills in visual storytelling while experimenting with bold, expressive styles influenced by artists like Ashley Wood and Ralph Steadman.[10][11] During his studies in design and illustration at Curtin University, where he pursued a minor in comics, Templesmith produced independent pieces such as short university comics with a limited print run, which were later exhibited at a local museum in Claremont, drawing increased attendance to the event. These early works allowed him to experiment with layered, digital techniques using Photoshop, blending gritty textures and atmospheric shading that would become hallmarks of his horror and sci-fi illustrations. His educational background provided the technical foundation for these experiments, emphasizing composition and narrative design.[11][1][7] At around age 17, Templesmith transitioned to the U.S. comic scene by submitting a collaborative project with a friend to Todd McFarlane, leading to his first professional American work as the artist on Hellspawn #10 (Image Comics, November 2001), a horror series exploring Spawn's mythos. In this issue, he handled both interiors and the cover, contributing to a narrative involving the Hellspawn confronting a monstrous beast and uncovering past conspiracies, with his art praised for its moody, painterly shadows that complemented the series' gritty tone. As a young international artist and self-described "complete newbie," he faced challenges in gaining trust from U.S. publishers, relying on freelance commissions and an early website to showcase his portfolio and secure opportunities remotely from Australia.[12][10][11][13]Major collaborations
Ben Templesmith's collaboration with writer Steve Niles on the horror miniseries 30 Days of Night, published by IDW Publishing in 2002, marked a significant breakthrough in his career, blending visceral vampire lore with atmospheric storytelling set in the isolated Alaskan town of Barrow during its annual polar night.[14] The series' success led to its adaptation into a 2007 feature film directed by David Slade, which grossed over $75 million worldwide and highlighted Templesmith's painted artwork as a key influence on the production design. This partnership continued with the sequel 30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow in 2004, expanding the narrative with returning survivors facing renewed threats, further solidifying their reputation for innovative horror comics.[15] In 2005, Templesmith teamed with writer Warren Ellis for Fell, a noir-horror series published by Image Comics that follows detective Richard Fell's transfer to the decaying urban district of Snowtown, where supernatural elements intertwine with gritty police procedural elements.[16] The work received critical acclaim for its experimental structure—each issue designed to be read in under 15 minutes—and its fusion of Ellis's terse dialogue with Templesmith's shadowy, impressionistic visuals, earning praise as a bold evolution in comics storytelling.[17] Templesmith signed an exclusive contract with IDW Publishing in 2008, lasting through much of 2009, which allowed him to develop original horror projects under their banner and elevated his profile in mainstream publishing.[18] During this period, he created the werewolf-themed miniseries Welcome to Hoxford in 2008, a self-contained tale of inmates at a remote prison facing lycanthropic outbreaks, showcasing his ability to helm atmospheric horror narratives independently while leveraging IDW's platform.[19] Templesmith's foray into DC Comics began in 2012 with contributions to the digital-first anthology Legends of the Dark Knight, where he provided artwork for the three-part story "Crisis of Identity" written by B. Clay Moore, depicting the Joker manipulating Gotham's elite through psychological terror.[20] This led to his role as the primary artist on Gotham by Midnight in 2014, written by Ray Fawkes, which explored occult threats in Batman’s world through the lens of detective Jim Corrigan (the Spectre), emphasizing Templesmith's signature gritty, horror-infused style in a superhero context.[21]Creator-owned projects
Templesmith's creator-owned projects represent his independent ventures where he took full control as writer and artist, enabling a distinctive fusion of grotesque visuals and unconventional narratives. His earliest significant solo work was Singularity 7, a four-issue science fiction mini-series published by IDW Publishing in 2004. The story unfolds in a post-apocalyptic world where microscopic nanites have ravaged Earth, driving humanity underground and to the edge of extinction while a transformative Singularity entity emerges as a god-like antagonist.[22] Building on this, Templesmith developed Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, a comedy-horror series published by IDW from 2007 to 2009, blending surreal humor with demonic encounters. The narrative follows Wormwood, an immortal, beer-drinking larval worm inhabiting a corpse with an English accent, who combats otherworldly threats alongside his robotic drinking buddy Mr. Pendulum and assistant Phoebe, targeting parasites, leprechauns, and eldritch horrors. The series spawned multiple collections, including the hardcover edition Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse Volume 1 gathering the initial "The Taster" arc and the four-issue "Birds, Bees, Blood & Beer" storyline, as well as later volumes like Mr. Wormwood Goes to Washington.[23][24][25] Templesmith returned to creator-owned storytelling with The Squidder in 2014, a four-issue limited series co-published by IDW and his 44Flood imprint, emphasizing post-apocalyptic survival amid alien invasion. The plot centers on an aging, genetically modified soldier navigating a dystopian landscape ruled by tentacled squid-like overlords, incorporating elements of action, horror, and fantasy as he confronts his obsolescence and rebels against the invaders. This project laid the foundation for the Squidverse, an expansive creator-owned universe that Templesmith developed through sequels and interconnected tales exploring themes of human resistance and cosmic horror, bolstered by Patreon-supported expansions starting around 2013 to fund ongoing content.[26][27][28]Recent activities
In recent years, Ben Templesmith has focused on independent horror projects and digital expansions of his Squidverse universe. In 2023, he released Seance Room: Harry's Opus, a horror one-shot published by Source Point Press, exploring supernatural themes through a séance gone wrong. Templesmith self-published Móðir in 2022 via his 78Squid imprint, a 40-page Viking horror one-shot limited to 500 signed and numbered copies, depicting a tale of ancient folklore and monstrous motherhood in shadowy Nordic woods.[29] Expanding his creator-owned Squidverse—evolving from the earlier Squidder series—Templesmith launched SQUIDVERSE News on Substack in 2021, providing updates on art, comics, and rants to thousands of subscribers.[30] Complementing this, his Patreon-based Squid Army club, active since the mid-2010s, continues to offer exclusive original comics and art books to paid members, fostering direct engagement with fans.[31] Templesmith has also taken on freelance illustrations for major publishers, including Marvel illustrations featuring Green Goblin and Venom in 2024, as well as an Alien Xenomorph piece that year.[32] For Alien Day 2025, he produced original Alien paintings and a limited gold foil print available through his online store.[33] In June 2025, he provided a cover for Black Diamond #1 from Panick Entertainment. Later that year, in November, he contributed a 1:50 variant cover for Ordained #1 from Bad Idea.[34][35] The 78Squid online store, operational throughout the 2020s, has facilitated launches of limited-edition prints, signed comics, and merchandise, emphasizing Templesmith's horror and sci-fi motifs while supporting his independent output.[36]Artistic style and influences
Signature techniques
Templesmith's signature techniques emphasize a painterly approach that blends traditional media with digital enhancement to create gritty, atmospheric effects in horror narratives. He begins with hand-drawn illustrations on tonal paper, using ink for line work and applying grey tones along with white highlights via paint, markers, or other available materials to build depth and contrast. These elements are then scanned and refined in Photoshop, where photographic textures—such as cracked walls or collages—are layered in for added grit, comprising roughly 20% of the final composition while the core remains 80% hand-drawn. This mixed-media process, which treats Photoshop primarily as a tool for composition and layering rather than direct drawing, contributes to the visceral, moody quality of his horror visuals.[37][8] In works like 30 Days of Night, Templesmith employs dynamic panel layouts and shadowy, expressionistic shading to heighten tension and immerse readers in bleak environments. His spare yet rewarding style strips away redundancies, using stark contrasts between dark nights and highlighted figures to evoke isolation and dread, effectively expanding the comic medium's expressive potential. This technique rewards close inspection, with layered shadows and highlights creating a sense of depth that mirrors the story's relentless horror.[8][38] Templesmith integrates humor and absurdity into character design particularly in Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, where grotesque figures like the titular worm-possessed corpse are rendered with exaggerated, angular features that blend revulsion with comedic exaggeration. Slender, distorted forms and playful distortions in anatomy underscore the series' darkly humorous tone, allowing absurd scenarios to unfold amid visceral action.[37] Over time, Templesmith's methods have evolved from predominantly traditional drawing to a more integrated mixed-media workflow, incorporating watercolors and ink washes for added depth in sketches and finals. His color palettes, applied digitally in post-production, favor darker, muted tones over vibrant hues to sustain atmospheric tension, distinguishing his work from conventional comic book aesthetics.[39][8]Key influences
Ben Templesmith's artistic style draws heavily from a range of comic book artists and illustrators who emphasized expressive, unconventional techniques in dark genres. He has cited Australian artist Ashley Wood as a primary influence, crediting Wood's innovative approaches to storytelling and visuals—rooted in their shared Perth origins—for inspiring his belief in achieving success from a local base.[11] Similarly, British illustrator Ralph Steadman impacted Templesmith through his dynamic ink work and collages, as seen in works like The Art of Gonzo, which informed Templesmith's fluid, chaotic linework.[11] Other key figures include Victor Ambrus and Richard Searle, whose detailed historical and fantastical illustrations contributed to the evolution of Templesmith's painterly, atmospheric style.[12] In literature and film, H.P. Lovecraft stands out as a foundational horror influence, with Templesmith adapting stories like "Dagon" due to their cosmic dread and visual potential, marking Lovecraft as the first horror author he encountered.[40] Templesmith's affinity for bleak, isolated settings in projects like 30 Days of Night reflects inspiration from John Carpenter's The Thing (1982), where he emulated the film's vague, snow-obscured backgrounds to heighten tension and isolation.[41] Broader cinematic preferences lean toward dark sci-fi, including Aliens, Dark City, and The X-Files, which shaped his thematic focus on supernatural mysteries and otherworldly threats.[12] Australian horror films such as Wolf Creek and Wyrmwood also resonate, reinforcing his interest in gritty, localized terror.[40] Templesmith's Australian roots in Perth infuse his work with a sense of outsider perspective, amplified by early exposure to local creators like Ashley Wood, who demonstrated pathways for regional artists in global industries.[11] This cultural backdrop subtly informs recurring motifs, such as the squid imagery in his Squidverse—a personal universe featuring tentacled entities—stemming from his self-described fondness for squid-headed figures and marine-inspired horrors.[42] Collaborations with writers like Warren Ellis and Steve Niles have profoundly shaped Templesmith's approach to joint projects, fostering a style that blends his visuals with narrative-driven horror. Working with Ellis on Fell honed his ability to adapt concise, gritty scripts into expressive art, while repeated partnerships with Niles on 30 Days of Night and Lust emphasized symbiotic creativity, allowing Templesmith's eerie aesthetics to amplify themes of isolation and monstrosity.[40] These experiences, alongside influences like Hunter S. Thompson's gonzo prose, encouraged Templesmith to embrace dark humor and villain-centric perspectives in ensemble work.[43]Awards and honors
Eisner Awards
Ben Templesmith has earned multiple nominations for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, often referred to as the Eisners, which are widely regarded as the most prestigious honors in the comic book industry, celebrating excellence in storytelling, artwork, and production. His nominations primarily highlight his distinctive painted style and contributions to horror and limited series projects, particularly those tied to the 30 Days of Night franchise created with writer Steve Niles. Although he has not secured a win, these recognitions underscore his impact on visual narrative in comics during the mid-2000s.[44] In 2005, for works published in 2004, Templesmith was nominated in the Best Limited Series category for 30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow, a sequel to the original horror miniseries that explores vampire lore in an Alaskan town during extended darkness, co-created with Niles and published by IDW. He also received a nomination in the Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art) category for the same project, praising his atmospheric, blood-splattered illustrations that blend digital and traditional techniques to evoke dread. These nods placed him alongside notable works like Darwyn Cooke's DC: The New Frontier and Teddy Kristiansen's It's a Bird....[45][46] Templesmith's 2006 nominations, for works published in 2005, included Best Painter/Multimedia Artist for Fell, his creator-owned noir series with writer Warren Ellis published by Image Comics, noted for its gritty urban tales and innovative panel layouts. In 2007, for works from 2006, he garnered another Best Painter/Multimedia Artist nomination for contributions to Fell (Image), The Looking Glass Wars: Hatter M (Desperado/Image), and Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse (IDW), reflecting his versatility across genres from crime to fantasy horror.[47][48][49] In 2008, for works from 2007, Templesmith received a further Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art) nomination for Fell (Image), 30 Days of Night: Red Snow (IDW), and Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse (IDW).[50]| Year | Category | Nominated Work(s) | Publisher(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Best Limited Series | 30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow (with Steve Niles) | IDW | Sequel miniseries focusing on vampire survival horror. |
| 2005 | Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art) | 30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow | IDW | Highlighted for innovative painted visuals. |
| 2006 | Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art) | Fell | Image | Noir detective series with Warren Ellis. |
| 2007 | Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art) | Fell; The Looking Glass Wars: Hatter M; Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse | Image; Desperado/Image; IDW | Multi-project recognition for painted art. |
| 2008 | Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art) | Fell; 30 Days of Night: Red Snow; Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse | Image; IDW; IDW | Continued recognition for painted art across ongoing series. |