It comes as no surprise that many celebrities are fans of the comic book medium. These famous fans have penned comics for Marvel or DC Comics or brought their own creations to life on comics pages over the years. Kevin Smith, the director of films loaded with comic book references, has written A-list characters such as Green Arrow and Daredevil but is not the only celebrity to do so.
Recently, Keanu Reeves teamed with writer Matt Kindt and artist Ron Garney to write the series BRZRKR for BOOM! Studios, causing a massive buzz across both comic and movie fandoms. These celebrities are just a few in the ever-growing list of stars dipping their creative toe into the comic book world.
10 Actor/Comedian Paul Scheer Became A Character In The Marvel Universe After Writing Guardians Of The Galaxy
In 2015, Marvel Comics published a ten-issue series, Guardians Team-Up, having the Guardians of the Galaxy join with various heroes in the universe that they usually wouldn't encounter. Issue seven, teaming Drax the Destroyer with Ant-Man Scott Lang tracking a murderous alien hiding out in Miami. The story was written by Nick Giovannetti and actor/comedian Paul Scheer, best known for the FX/FXX series The League, the Adult Swim comedy-action series NTSF:SD:SUV:, and appearances on shows such as Veep and comedy series Black Monday.
Scheer not only wrote the issue of Guardians Team-Up but later appears in the Astonishing Ant-Man as Darla Deering's boyfriend. Scheer's 616-counterpart is arrested for hiring the supervillain The Voice to disrupt a basketball charity match.'
9 Brian Posehn Brought His Style Of Humor To Marvel's Merc With A Mouth
Marvel's Merc With A Mouth, Deadpool series that began in 2012 and ran for 42 issues, was co-written by writer/actor/stand-up comic Brian Posehn along with veteran comics writer Gerry Duggan. Posehn, who had reoccurring roles on The Big Bang Theory and New Girl, and voices for a variety of animated series, kicked off his Deadpool run by having Wade face former and dead United States presidents such as George Washington, Nixon, Lincoln, and Gerald Ford. Posehn's knack for deadpan humor was the perfect match for Marvel's wise-cracking and seemingly unkillable mutant and was one of the more fun takes on the off-the-wall character.
8 Patton Oswalt Is Playing Head Games With M.O.D.O.K. In Comics And The Small Screen
Stand-up comedian, actor, and writer Patton Oswalt is no stranger to the comic book genre. Not only is he a fan, but he has written a few comics such as JLA: Welcome To The Working Week, Dark Horse Comics properties such as Serenity and The Goon, and other story contributions, also guest-starred as Eric Koenigs on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Oswalt's current comic book project is a co-showrunner of Hulu's upcoming animated series Marvel's M.O.D.O.K. show. He is also currently writing the miniseries M.O.D.O.K. Head Games with Jordon Blum, his fellow showrunner, introducing M.O.D.O.K.'s would-be family, set to appear in the animated series.
7 It Was Live From New York When Saturday Night Live Alumni Bill Hader and Seth Meyers Wrote A Spider-Man One-Shot
In 2009, Saturday Night Live alumni Seth Meyers and Bill Hader teamed up with comic book legend Kevin Maguire for their Marvel Comics writing debut. Spider-Man: The Short Halloween was a one-shot set right on New York City's bustling streets, taking place on Halloween. While pursuing a would-be criminal, The Fumer, Spidey gets injured during the Greenwich Village costume parade and is mistaken for a drunk attendee who is attending in a Spidey costume. The comedic duo delivers a fun yet cliche self-contained story, which is delightful and amusing.
6 Rashida Jones Went From The Office And Parks & Recreation To Frenemy Of The State
Rashida Jones, known for her roles as Ann Perkins on Parks and Recreation and Karen Filippelli in The Office, among others, entered the world of comics books in 2010, with Frenemy of the State. The five-issue action/adventure/comedy/spy comic starring Ariana Von Holmberg, an heiress who is secretly a CIA operative whose cover is a globe-trotting, care-free femme with a penchant for flights of fancy and who also resembles her creator.
Jones, along with Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis, brought Holmberg and her adventures to life. Universal bought the rights to her comic, but it was never green-lite for adaption to the screen.
5 Anthony Bourdain Explored The Culinary World In His Orginal Graphic Novels Get Jiro! And Hungry Ghosts
The late world-renowned chef, bestselling author, and television host Anthony Bourdain ventured into comic books co-writing the Vertigo series Get Jiro and Hungry Ghosts for Dark Horse Comics with Joel Rose. These two graphic novels brought Bourdain's love of food, culture, and adventure to the comic book page.
Get Jiro, a two-volume series set in a classic crime and revenge story where the best chefs act like crime lords, and people kill for a seat at their restaurants. Hungry Ghosts tells the story of a Russian oligarch who makes international chefs play the 100 Candles, an ancient Samurai game.
4 Rosario Dawson Joined The Occult Crimes Taskforce In Her Creator-Owned Comic
Actress Rosario Dawson is no stranger to comic book culture, appearing as Clair Temple in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, voicing DC Comics characters such as Wonder Woman, and recently appearing in The Mandalorian as Ahsoka Tano. In 2006, she teamed with writer David Atchison and artist Tony Shasteen to create the four-issue series, O.C.T.: Occult Crimes Taskforce from Image Comics.
The story follows Sophia Ortiz (modeled after Dawson), a Detective in the N.Y.P.D. who stumbles upon a bizarre murder scene under the covert police unit's jurisdiction as the Occult Crimes Taskforce. Ortiz teams with this specialized group versed in the black arts and equipped with mystical weaponry to stop a supernatural killer and protect Manhattan's streets from the unholy creatures of the night.
3 Nicolas Cage and his son Weston Explored A Post-Katrina New Orleans In Their Voodoo Child
The love of comics is one of the hobbies that father and son Nicolas and Weston Cage share and most likely inspired them to write 2007's Voodoo Child from Virgin Comics. Inspired by Weston's first creative outlet, the black metal band Eyes of Noctum, Voodoo Child tells the story of a detective trying to solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance of some girls in post-Katrina New Orleans and, in the past, the son of a Unionist sympathizer, resurrected before his dying breath by the power of an 1800s Voodoo priest. As the six-issue miniseries progresses, the two stories begin to interconnect, leading to the dramatic finale.
2 Thomas Jane's Bad Planet Teamed Him With One Of The Premiere Horror Writers In Comics
After tearing up the big screen as Marvel's Punisher in 2004, Thomas Jane teamed with horror comic writer Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) to write Bad Planet, a six-issue series for Image Comics under the RAW Studios imprint. Bad Planet is the story about an ancient meteorite that crashing to Earth containing destructive alien organisms. Following the alien organism is another extraterrestrial warrior who follows it to Earth, hoping to stop the invaders from destroying another planet.
The inspiration for the series, according to Jane, was the result of fever dreams of "horrible alien death spiders" he had while he was recovering from a car accident and "hopped up on Vicodin." Jane pitched the idea to comic book artist Tim Bradstreet, who he befriended Tim was creating the promotional posters for the Punisher film.
1 Thomas Morello Raged Against The Machine With Post-Apocalyptic Maxiseries Orchid
Thomas Morello, the former guitarist for Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave, is an outspoken political activist who teamed with artist Scott Hepburn for Dark Horse Comics' 12-issue series Orchid in 2011. The story's post-apocalyptic world is one where the seas have risen and the genetic codes smashed. Humans either live in settlements surrounded by dense wilderness where ferocious new animal species live ready to prey on the helpless or, if they are rich and powerful, live in fortress-like cities on higher ground.
Throughout the series, the world is explored and revealed through the eyes of Orchid, a teenage prostitute, as she learns that she is more than her imposed role in society. Morello deftly uses the comic book format to bring his socialist political views and activism to the page.