Charles Burns

Charles Burns is a renowned author and artist, born on September 27, 1955, in Seattle. He grew up in the 1970s, and his work gained prominence in Art Spiegelman’s Raw magazine during the mid-1980s. This marked the beginning of a successful career that has seen him work on an extraordinary range of projects and comics.\n \nBurns’s work is diverse, spanning from advertising to album covers and portrait illustrations. He has worked on an ad campaign for Altoids and created album covers for Iggy Pop. His art was also licensed by The Coca Cola Company for their now-defunct OK Soda product. His illustrations have graced the covers of several prestigious publications, including Time, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Magazine.

In addition to his commercial work, Burns has made significant contributions to the world of comics and graphic novels. He was the official cover artist for The Believer magazine at its inception in 2003. His graphic novel, Black Hole, received critical acclaim, winning Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz awards in 2005. Burns currently resides in Philadelphia with his wife and two daughters.

Beyond his work in comics and illustration, Burns has also ventured into set design. In 1992, he designed the sets for Mark Morris's restaging of The Nutcracker at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, demonstrating his versatility as an artist. Despite his diverse portfolio, Burns has maintained a distinctive style that is both recognizable and highly regarded in the industry.
Last Look Trilogy Books
# Title Year
1 X'ed Out 2010
2 The Hive 2012
3 Sugar Skull 2014
4 Last Look 2016
Graphic Novels
# Title Year
1 Hardboiled Defective Stories 1988
2 Curse of the Molemen 1991
3 El Borbah 1999
4 Skin Deep: Tales of Doomed Romance 2001
5 Black Hole 2005
Charles Burns Illustration Books
# Title Year
1 Facetasm 1997
2 One Eye 2007
3 Vortex 2016
Charles Burns Anthologies
# Title Year
1 The Best American Comics 2007 2007
2 The Best American Comics 2009