Star Wars Artist Series: Dan Parsons

30th September 2022

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Star Wars Artist Series: Dan Parsons

Comic Book Art Education

When comic book artist and book cover illustrator Dan Parsons first saw a glimpse of a galaxy far, far away, it was unfortunately blocked by a big head of hair.
“My first Star Wars memory was standing in a long line in 1977 to see A New Hope for what seemed like forever,” Parsons recalls. “I ended up having to sit in the very back, only to realize that I was behind a dude with a very large afro! It was, after all, the ’70s!”

Luckily for Parsons, he loved what he could glimpse through the curls enough to realize that he one day wanted to merge his love for Star Wars with his talent for art as a career.

“I think I had a sense that I wanted to be an artist when I was a kid,” Parsons explains. “Around that time I saved up my allowance and bought the Ballantine Frank Frazetta art books, and never was quite the same after that. Although, I didn’t start working full time as a professional until recently, I had been working as a research scientist around 14 years before entering this crazy career.”

As a teenager, Parsons took pride in his work as the cartoonist for the school newspaper and chief illustrator for the school literary magazine — The Pikesville Prism. In college, he majored in science, as well as earning a degree in Fine Art from Towson University in Baltimore. “I can’t say that college had any great affect on me other than exposing me to classical art and giving me a chance to work from the live model,” Parsons admits. “My background in art came from the comic books that I read all through my life. I think my psychology came from there as well!”

Studying both fine art and comics, Parsons says that a number of varied illustrators and artists have influenced his style over the years. “I always cite Frazetta as a major influence, but mostly because his work introduced me into the world of art,” Parsons says. “Hal Foster, Alex Raymond, Al Williamson have remained strong influences on me and newer artists that have really affected me are Dave Finch and Travis Charest. I think Gene Colan has had a deep influence on my storytelling. His sense of flow is unrivaled. And of course, Will Eisner. It was a great honor to recently contribute a piece of art to his tribute book. I’m also really into classic art. The Greek/ Hellenistic style is just the most beautiful art ever created.”

“My current favorite is an illustrator from the early 1900s named Joseph Clement Cole,” Parsons adds. “He had a pen and ink style that is just amazing — loose, but highly detailed. Of the modern comic book artists, I like Dave Finch for scale and mood. I also like the Silvestri/Batt team a lot. I love the sketchy, yet tight, feel they get. My favorite Star Wars artist is definitely Jan Duursema. And I am fortunate enough to be able to work with her on the Star Wars books. Her storytelling is on par with her mentor’s, who I also love, Joe Kubert. I just read his new graphic novel Jew Gangster. He is a true master of simplicity.”

A Creative Partnership

Starting out as a self publisher, Parsons came to be known in the independent comic crowd for his “bad girl” comic, Harpy. His work on the comic earned him enough of a reputation to start getting assignments such as the covers and interior work for the Battlestar Galactica comic. Soon enough, Parsons was onto more projects including the Sci Fi channel’s First Wave comic book. He also illustrated various trading cards projects for the titles Witchblade, Vampirella, Lexx, The Crow and The Lord of the Rings, as well as the ever popular Star Wars Heritage and the Revenge of the Sith sets for Topps.

“I have must have drawn nearly every Star Wars character in the galaxy when you put together the Heritage and the Revenge of the Sith sets,” Parsons smiles. “Of course my favorite will always be Jedi Master Plo Koon! Who else in the galaxy has a small intestine for a face? I like working on the bounty hunters a lot too. Bossk is another face only a mother could love!”

However, before he was sketching his favorite characters on cards for Topps, Parsons found himself chatting with his favorite Star Wars artist — Jan Duursema — in hopes of teaming up with her on a future project. “I was at the San Diego Comic-Con back in 2002 and I had a spot in Artist Alley not far from artist Jan Duursema,” Parsons recalls. “Little did I know she was on the hunt for a new inker. I showed her some of my work which at the time had a real Al Williamson flavor. I think it was a King Kong type piece that caught her eye. I inked some sample pages and we have been working together ever since. We both have a realistic, illustrative approach that works well together.”

For his first official Star Wars project, Parsons was hired to ink an 18-page Obi-Wan/Anakin tale for the double-sized 50th issue of Star Wars: Republic. “I went on to ink the first four issues of Jedi and then Jan [Duursema] and I signed on as the regular team for Republic,” Parsons says. “We worked on the title until the series end with issue #83.”

Parsons continues his creative partnership with Duursema as they tackle the newly released Star Wars: Legacy series. He also has lent his penciling and inking talents on King Kong for Dark Horse. “King Kong was always a favorite of mine so that is a real treat to work on,” Parsons says. “I also continue to work on my creator-owned series Harpy and Savage Planet here and there. Some Harpy stuff is scheduled to come out this summer from Amryl Entertainment. I am also working on an oil painting for a pirate novel called Tales from the Sea. There are other things that are in the works, but I don’t want to get yelled at for ‘giving up the ghost.'”……..