Mark Rude was born in Redondo Beach, California, but has spent most of his life in Phoenix, Arizona.  A man of indeterminate age, he displayed an interest in drawing from his early years, starting with stick-figures and dinosaurs and eventually moving along to the human form (somehow avoiding hot rod cars and giant robots).  Like any young man with few social skills, he began reading comic books and became enamored with graphical story telling.  He has read many of the classics of American literature, albeit in abridged comic book form.

  His first attempt at comic book art was an adaptation of the 1981 Walt Disney spy thriller Condorman, featuring cute little animals in the starring roles.  He does not make this widely known.  His follow-up comic was the sadly unfinished adaptation of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, again with a cast of cute little fuzzy animals.  He was just a kid; give him a break.

  It was during a tenure as a meager book-shelver at the Phoenix Public Library that Mark strayed upon a copy of ElfQuest: Fire and Flight by Wendy Pini.  This opened his eyes to the possibilities of mixing art and story in an exciting, engrossing way that he had previously not imagined.  It was around this time that a parent's worst nightmare began: he decided to draw comics for a living.

The rest, as they say, is future history.

To contact the artist, send an e-mail HERE.
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