Mark Mazz (born September 1962) is an American comic book art director, editor and comic book writer. Mazz was born in the Franklin Square section of Queens, New York. He is best known for being the creative director for Harris Comics from 1995-1998, and the Design Services Manager for DC Comics in 1998-1999. In December 2008, he founded Atlas Unleashed a new venture which combines the strength of the talent in the independent comics community with the broadbase of traditional publishing, e-commerce, on-line content and mobility devices.
An illustration major at the School of Visual Arts, Mazz studied both classical and modern illustration and storytelling techniques with instructors: Marshall Arisman, John Foote, Carlos Llerena Aguirre, art spiegelman, and Dennis O’Neil.
In 1988, Mazz met long-time associates Mitch Waxman, and Michael DeLepine, as well as journalist and independent radio personality Joseph Mauceri. These associations lead Mazz to be active in the independent comics community starting in 1990. His first published assignments were for Malibu Comics, and Rock ‘N Roll Comics.
During the early 1990’s, Mazz was involved with several small start-ups, and new ventures. Corporate logo design, establishing mastheads, design of retailer incentives, free-standing inserts, industry trade advertising, promotional materials, trade posters were all services that Mark Mazz offered. During this period, MazzStudios’ works were published by: Crusade Entertainment, Cry for Dawn Productions, POP Entertainment, Angel Publishing, Sirius Entertainment, Cailber Comics, and Utterly Strange Publications.
In 1994, Mazz moved to Marvel Comics as a freelance art director in their advertising and promotions department. Once again, a long-time association was formed with another consulting professional, Robert J. Sodaro. Sodaro was then freelancing as a copywriter for Marvel, and Mazz found his style and finesse to be a breath of fresh air. During his time at Marvel, Mazz made strides to integrate desktop publishing techniques into Marvel’s renown Bullpen studio environment. This lead to other opportunities outside of Marvel and his move to a fully digital design studio, Arnie Sawyer Studios.
Prominently known within the film industry and entertainment fields, Arnie Sawyer Studios was very influential for Mazz. With a client list that included, Miramax Films, PBS Broadcasting, New Line Cinema, Fleer, Upper Deck, Topps, Marvel Entertainment, and New Yorker Films, Mazz stepped up his design work. One of the projects that the studio tackled was the redesign of the 1964 Mars Attacks! trading card series from Topps. The quality re-issue of the 40-year old trading card set, received mass media attention and caught the eye of movie director Tim Burton. The 1994 re-issue is credited for reigniting Tim Burton’s love for the property and his choice to direct the Mars Attacks! film. A heavy workload and creative atmosphere was to have an an added bonus. It allowed Mazz to propose to his long-time girlfriend, Andrea.
During the spring of 2006, Mazz renewed his association with the comics industry in general. Highly respected within the indie comics community, Keith Murphey was then in his fifth year as the president of the Comicbook Artists Guild. Impressed by the network, and general good faith of the community, Mazz asked fellow creator James Rodriguez for an introduction. In a drastically changed marketplace, Keith Murphey and Mazz discovered mutual ideals and set a course with their new joint venture, Guild Works Productions (GWP). After two and a half years and the launch of the 21st century horror anthology, Psychosis! Mazz and Murphey parted company with Mazz founding Atlas Unleashed.
Atlas Unleashed is a start-up publishing company dedicated to exploring new avenues of delivering comics both in print and the dawning digital age. Joining Mazz in this new endeavor were other like-minded creators, the core of which includes Edward Pereira, Acevedo-Marzan, Robert J. Sodaro, Shawnti Therrien, James Webb, and Mike De Lepine.
Mark Mazz currently lives on Long Island, in New York State, with his wife, and their two young children.
Date of Birth: September 24th, 1962
Birthplace: Queens, NY
Website: www.mazzstudio.com
E-mail: mazzmundi at gmail dot com
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