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 '. He collaborated with Neil Gaiman on the "" and "" 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 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 ' 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.

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

1985 Jack Kirby Award nomination with Alan Moore for Best Single Issue.

Comics bibliography

Dark Horse Comics