War of the Worlds Whitman Classics Wraparound Cover (1964) by Shannon Stirnweis – with thanks to Michael Neno
Born in Portland, Oregon, Shannon Stirnweis (1931 – 2019) settled in New York City, where he earned a reputation for his illustration work and fine art painting.
He studied at the University of Oregon, the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, and with Pruett Carter, and had a long and varied career as an illustrator and fine artist.
Art by Shannon Stirnweis for Action for Men, January 1962
Art by Shannon Stirnweis
Art by Shannon-Stirnweis
The Gun Hawk by Shannon Stirnweis
Art for Argosy, May 1966, by Shannon Stirnweis“Housecall” by Shannon Stirnweis
Art by Shannon Stirnweis
He began producing black and white illustrations for men’s adventure magazines in the 1950s, eventually doing colour covers for many publications. He soon progressed to the slicks, and did work for Argosy, Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, Boy’s Life, Reader’s Digest, Show, Popular Mechanics, Time, American Legion, Guidepost, and many others.
At the same time, he illustrated postage stamps, film posters, paperback covers, as well as over 35 children’s books.
The Illustrated Press published Shannon Stirnweis: 80 Years Behind the Brush, a retrospective of Shannon’s work, and presents pieces from each stage of his extensive career, annotated with revealing commentary from the artist
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.