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Greg Capullo

Gregory Capullo (born March 30, 1962) is an American comic book artist and renowned for his dynamic, detailed style and contributions to major titles in the industry. A self-taught from , Capullo has built a career spanning over three decades, beginning with commercial art and independent publications before achieving prominence at , , and Comics. He is best known for his long-running collaboration with on the independent series , where he served as the primary for 80 issues, and for his acclaimed work on Batman with writer at Comics starting in 2011. Capullo's early career in the late featured work with smaller publishers, including his debut horror anthology Gore Shriek published by FantaCo Enterprises in . He transitioned to in the early 1990s, penciling series such as (1991–1992) and (1992–1993), where his bold lines and intricate action sequences helped define the era's superhero aesthetics. These assignments established him as a versatile artist capable of handling high-energy team books and cosmic adventures. In 1992, Capullo joined Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on Spawn, pencilling starting with issue #16 and becoming the lead penciller from issue #26 onward (1993–1999, with returns in 2003–2004), contributing to the series' status as the longest-running independent comic book in history. His tenure on Spawn showcased his mastery of dark, horror-infused visuals, earning critical praise and helping the title become a cornerstone of the Image imprint. Capullo also created his own sci-fi/horror mini-series The Creech in 1997 and later co-created Haunt in 2009, both for Image Comics, demonstrating his ability to develop original concepts. More recently, he collaborated with Mark Millar on the 2016 Image series Reborn and in 2024 returned to interior artwork at Marvel on the limited series Wolverine: Revenge, written by Jonathan Hickman. Capullo's return to DC Comics revitalized the Batman franchise, with his artwork on the New York Times bestselling run alongside from 2011 onward, including arcs like and Death of the Family and the co-creation of characters like the and , noted for its atmospheric tension and detailed Gotham settings. Beyond comics, he has provided cover art for bands like Korn and Disturbed, character designs for the HBO animated series, and illustrations for Blizzard's , while contributing to toy designs and video games. His contributions have earned multiple industry accolades, including a Harvey Award for his work on Spawn and several Eisner Award nominations.

Early life

Gregory Capullo was born on March 30, 1962, in Schenectady, New York. He began drawing at the age of four, creating his first notable sketch of Batman and Robin, which his mother preserved. By age eight, Capullo had decided to become a comic book artist, inspired by comic books and Mad Magazine. Lacking formal art education, he was self-taught; after high school, he quit his job at around 17 or 18 to study anatomy, clothing folds, and other techniques for a year, improving his portfolio through self-critique and practice.

Career

2010s

In the early 2010s, Capullo provided layouts and later served as the primary for the series , co-created by and , which ran from 2009 to 2012 and featured supernatural elements with inking by McFarlane. His involvement marked a return to interior artwork after focusing on , toy designs, and personal projects following his departure from in the late 1990s. Capullo's most prominent work of the decade began in 2011 when he teamed with writer Scott Snyder on DC Comics' Batman (vol. 2), launching with issue #1 and the storyline "The Court of Owls," which introduced a secret society of assassins in Gotham City and earned critical acclaim for its horror-infused take on the character. The collaboration spanned over 50 issues through 2016, encompassing major arcs such as "Death of the Family" (2012), featuring the Joker targeting Batman's allies; "Zero Year" (2013–2014), a reimagining of Batman's origin set during his early years; "Endgame" (2014–2015), a Joker-centric epic involving a deadly virus; and "Superheavy" (2015), exploring Batman's identity without the cowl. Capullo's dynamic penciling, often inked by Danny Miki and colored by FCO Plascencia, emphasized gothic architecture, intense action sequences, and psychological tension, contributing to the series' status as a bestseller and influential run in the New 52 era. During this period, Capullo also penciled the six-issue miniseries (2016–2017), written by , a sci-fi/fantasy story exploring themes of death and rebirth. Following the conclusion of the main Batman series with issue #52 in 2016, Capullo provided covers for Snyder's All-Star Batman and took a brief hiatus before reuniting with Snyder for the 2017–2018 event Dark Nights: Metal, a six-issue crossover that introduced the Dark Multiverse and evil versions of Batman, blending cosmic horror with superhero spectacle. His artwork, again inked by Jonathan Glapion and colored by Plascencia, featured intricate designs of otherworldly realms and monstrous Bat-hybrids, amplifying the story's themes of creation and dread. Capullo also created variant covers during this period, including the 2010s retrospective for #1000 (2019), which depicted key Batman villains and highlighted his decade-long impact on the franchise. In 2019, he collaborated once more with Snyder on the three-issue Batman: Last Knight on Earth, a post-apocalyptic tale where an amnesiac Batman uncovers a dystopian world ruled by the , serving as a thematic capstone to their partnership with Capullo's signature blend of epic scale and intimate character moments.

2020s

Capullo continued to contribute variant covers to various titles, including returns to (such as issue #300 in 2019 and subsequent issues in 2020 and 2025) and his long-awaited return to in 2023 with a for #37. In September 2025, he provided for the universe one-shot I Saw Santa.

Bibliography

Interior work

Greg Capullo's interior artwork is characterized by its high-contrast shading, dynamic compositions, and meticulous attention to anatomical detail, often amplifying the intensity of and narratives. His career as a began in the early 1990s at , where he honed his style on cosmic and team-based stories before transitioning to creator-owned projects and major titles. Over three decades, Capullo has contributed to over 200 issues across publishers, frequently collaborating with writers like , , , and to define visual identities for iconic characters. At Marvel, Capullo's breakthrough came with Quasar #18–30 (1991–1992), where he penciled epic battles against cosmic entities, emphasizing the hero's quantum band powers through fluid action sequences. He followed this with X-Force #6–15 and #17–25 (1992–1993), capturing the raw energy of the mutant team's guerrilla tactics and moral conflicts in a gritty, high-stakes style that influenced 1990s extreme aesthetics. After focusing on other publishers, Capullo returned to Marvel interiors with Wolverine: Revenge #1–5 (2024), a red-band written by , featuring visceral revenge-driven action against a roster of Wolverine's foes like and . He also provided a for Fantastic Four #25 (2024). Capullo's tenure at marked a shift toward horror-infused tales, starting with Spawn #7–9 and #26–100 (1993–1999), where he penciled the antihero's hellish origins and battles, evolving McFarlane's designs into more narrative-driven panels with shadowy, necroplasmic effects. He revisited the series for select issues like #300 (2019), delivering a story of Spawn's resurrection. Capullo created and fully penciled The Creech, a three-issue (1997), exploring an alien shapeshifter's through surreal, body-horror visuals. For Haunt #1–5 (layouts) and #6–12, #14–28 (full pencils; 2009–2012), co-created with and , he provided ghostly, ethereal interiors that enhanced the supernatural possession theme. His most acclaimed interior run occurred at DC Comics on Batman (vol. 2) #0–52 (2011–2016), penciling nearly all issues with writer Scott Snyder to craft arcs such as The Court of Owls, Death of the Family, Zero Year, and Endgame, where his art portrayed Gotham's gothic horror and Batman's psychological depth through intricate cityscapes and monstrous villains. Capullo extended this collaboration to Batman: Last Knight on Earth #1–3 (2019), a post-apocalyptic tale, and provided full interiors for Dark Nights: Metal #1–6 (2017–2018), visualizing multiversal threats with nightmarish, metal-themed designs. In 2022, he penciled interiors for the one-shot Batman/Spawn: In the Shadows, reuniting with McFarlane for a crossover pitting the Dark Knight against hellspawn forces. These works solidified Capullo's reputation for elevating ensemble epics and character studies with bold, immersive visuals.

Marvel Comics

DC Comics

Image Comics

Cover work

Greg Capullo's cover artwork is renowned for its intricate line work, dramatic shading, and ability to encapsulate the essence of dark, action-oriented narratives, often enhancing the thematic impact of the underlying stories. Throughout his career, he has contributed covers to titles from , , and , frequently collaborating with writers like and to create visually striking entrances to their series. For Marvel Comics, Capullo provided covers during the early 1990s, including a run on Quasar #19–25 and #28–39 from 1989 to 1991, showcasing his evolving style in cosmic and superhero genres. He followed this with dynamic covers for X-Force #14–27 in 1991–1992, capturing the team's gritty, militant aesthetic during a pivotal era for the X-Men franchise. In recent years, Capullo has made a notable return, illustrating variant covers such as Venom #250 (2025), which highlights the symbiote's monstrous form in high-contrast black and red tones. He is also contributing covers to the Wolverine: Revenge miniseries, starting with issue #1 in 2024, emphasizing Logan's vengeful ferocity through bold, visceral compositions. In 2025, he provided variant covers for Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man #1 and Marvel/DC: Deadpool/Batman #1. Capullo's DC Comics cover work is most iconic in the Batman Vol. 2 series during the New 52 initiative, where he illustrated covers for issues #0–27, #29–33, and #35–43 from 2011 to 2014, often depicting the Dark Knight in shadowed, architectural environments that underscore themes of isolation and vigilantism. These covers, such as Batman #1 and #12, helped define the relaunch's visual identity with their meticulous detail and atmospheric tension. Beyond Batman, he contributed to New 52 titles like Justice League #3 (2011), Nightwing #15 (2012), and Detective Comics #15 and #27 (2012–2013), extending his gothic style across the DC Universe. Later highlights include the cover for Dark Nights: Death Metal #7 in 2020, featuring a multiversal clash of heroes and villains in explosive, metallic hues. At Image Comics, Capullo's covers are synonymous with the Spawn series, where he delivered artwork for extensive runs including issues #16–20, #26–37, #39, #41, #43, #45, #47, #49, and #51–64 from 1993 to 1997, establishing the hellspawn's signature infernal imagery with chains, capes, and neon accents. His involvement continued through later arcs, such as #66–100, #102–150, #158–159, #163–168, #171, #173–176, #180, #185, #190–191, #193–196, #198–201, and #250 in 2015, culminating in milestone covers like Spawn #300 in 2019 that blend horror and heroism. Representative examples from other Image projects include the full covers for Creech #1–3 (1997), Haunt #1, #4, and #7–18 (2009–2012), and Reborn #1–6 (2016–2017), as well as The Scorched #1 (2022), all showcasing his versatility in creator-owned supernatural tales.

Marvel Comics

DC Comics

Image Comics

Writer

Greg Capullo's writing credits at Image Comics are primarily associated with his creator-owned science fiction and horror series The Creech, which he wrote and penciled. The series debuted with a three-issue miniseries published by Image Comics in 1997. The story centers on Dr. Pashu Battu, an engineer at a clandestine agency who creates the Creech—an in vitro life form engineered from the DNA of hundreds of aborted fetuses combined with alien genetic material—as a tribute to his late wife. Returning from a forced vacation, Battu learns that his ethical experiment has been altered and militarized into a powerful, genetically enhanced fighting monster, initiating a relentless pursuit by government agents, religious extremists, and other factions vying to control or eliminate the creature. In 1999, Image Comics issued The Creech: Rage Against Death, a trade paperback that collected the original 1997 issues, presenting the narrative in a single volume while emphasizing the creature's rage-fueled rampage against its creators and pursuers. Capullo extended the saga in 2001 with The Creech: Out for Blood, another three-issue miniseries that picks up the story, depicting the Creech's continued evasion and battles against human hunters and institutional forces, delving deeper into themes of , ethical boundaries in science, and survival. These projects highlight Capullo's narrative approach, which integrates visceral elements with moral dilemmas surrounding , all while showcasing his signature dynamic artwork to drive the plot's tension.

Image Comics

References

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