Shawn McManus
Shawn McManus is an American artist who has worked extensively over three decades for DC Comics and other companies, notably for DC's Vertigo imprint including the Fables series.
Comics
Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, McManus entered the comics field in the early 1980s with work for Heavy Metal and DC Comics. For the June 1983 issue of Heavy Metal he collaborated with Bhob Stewart and John Coffey on "Zenobia". Six months later, McManus and Stewart teamed with Jim McDermott on "Symbiosis", also in Heavy Metal. He drew the Green Arrow backup feature in Detective Comics in 1983–1984. McManus gained wider attention when he illustrated two issues of The Saga of the Swamp Thing written by Alan Moore.McManus worked with writer Todd Klein on Omega Men, creating Zirral and other characters for that series. He has drawn issues of Doctor Fate and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight. He collaborated with Neil Gaiman on the "Fables & Reflections|Fables & Reflections]" and "A Game of You" story arcs in The Sandman. McManus' other Sandman credits include The Sandman Presents: Taller Tales and a pair of limited series about the witch Thessaly written by Bill Willingham. McManus' artwork for Marvel Comics includes Peter Parker: Spider-Man Annual '97 and Daredevil #351. In an interview, John Rozum, who scripted that issue of Daredevil, recalled:
McManus has contributed to titles from a variety of other publishers, including Atomeka Press, Dark Horse Comics, Exhibit A Press, First Comics, Image Comics, Malibu Comics, and DC Comics' Paradox Press. He worked on Leah Moore and John Reppion's Wild Girl with J. H. Williams III, about 13-year-old Rosa Torez who discovers that she can communicate with animals. In 2007, he did an eight-issue run on Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis and an issue of The Creeper for DC.
He illustrated Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love in 2010 and Cinderella: Fables Are Forever the following year. He was one of several artists to contribute to the Fairest in All the Land graphic novel. In October 2022, writer J. M. DeMatteis announced the founding of his own comics publisher company named Spellbound Comics. Through a Kickstarter campaign, he presented the DeMultiverse, which included Layla in the Lands of After drawn by Shawn McManus.
Children's art
Writer-illustrator and lecturer Mark McKenna, creator of the Banana Tail children's book series, described his long association with McManus that led to their Banana Tail: The Early Years color print:Television
In 1987, McManus worked on the animated series Dinosaucers. For the TV series Tales from the Crypt, McManus and Mike Vosburg illustrated comic book covers designed to look like the original 1950s comics. The McManus Crypt cover is seen in the first episode.Awards and nominations
1985 Jack Kirby Award nomination with Alan Moore for Best Single Issue.Comics bibliography
Dark Horse Comics
Cheval Noir #48DC Comics
Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #50–57 Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #44–45 Countdown to Mystery #5 Creeper #5 Deadman #7–9 Detective Comics #533–545 Doctor Fate #1–11, 13–20, 22–24 Elvira's House of Mystery #1, 4 Green Arrow vol. 2 #51–52 Helmet of Fate: Detective Chimp #1 Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3 #27 Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century #16 Lobo #30, 37 Man Called A-X vol. 2 #1–6 New Talent Showcase #4 Omega Men #25–31, 33, 35, 38, Annual #2 The Saga of the Swamp Thing #28, 32 The Sandman #31–33, 35–37 Shadowpact #8 Swamp Thing #111, 116, Annual #3 Talent Showcase #18 Who's Who in the DC Universe #10 Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #3, 7, 9–10, 17–18, 20America's Best Comics
Tom Strong #19, 27 Tom Strong's Terrific Tales #7Paradox Press
- ''The Big Book Of Freaks''