Comic Book Veteran and Creator of Harsh Realm and The Psycho James Hudnall Has Passed Away

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Apr 9, 2019

Comic book veteran James Hudnall has passed away.

Hudnall broke onto the comic book scene with his series ESPers which was published by Eclipse Comics in 1986. He would go on to work for both Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Some of his work on Marvel Comics included Alpha Flight and Strikeforce: Morituri. For DC Comics he would work on Action Comics, Superman, and Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography.

After working with Marvel and DC, Hudnall would become one of the founders of the Ultraverse at Malibu Comics. He worked on Ultraverse Origins as well as Ultraverse Year Zero: Death of the Squad.

Following his time with the Ultraverse, James would write Solar Lord at Image Comics in the late 90s and The Psycho in 2006.

James is also credited for helping popularize Japanese Manga for English-speaking audiences. While at Eclipse, Hudnall worked on Area 88. In fact, VIZ Media even hired James to work on translations for popular manga volumes including Silent Mobius.

Hudnall’s Harsh Realm was also adapted into a television series by X-Files producer Chris Carter in 1998. Hudnall and co-creator Andrew Paquette would actually sue Carter and Fox Television for failing to credit them on the show. Carter and Fox Television would eventually with Hudnall and Paquette receiving credit in the opening title for the show.

In 2017, he received an Inkpot Award at San Diego Comic Con International for his work in comics.

Most recently James was working on a new series called Agenda with Matt Cossin. He was crowdfunding the series on IndieGoGo.

Before working in comics, Hudnall joined the Air Force in 1976 after graduating from Point Loma High School. He would go on to get a degree in computer science at Coleman College in San Diego. He would work as a software consultant before breaking into the comic book industry in 1985 as the marketing director at Eclipse Comics.

When James wasn’t writing and working in comics, he was working in internet development. He also worked for Andrew Breitbart’s Big Hollywood in 2009 which eventually became Breitbart News.

James’ death was confirmed by his sister Susan Reynolds on Facebook who wrote, “It’s with deep sadness that I share the loss of our brother James Hudnall.” She indicated she will provide more information as she receives it. She does ask for prayers for Jim.

A number of James Hudnall’s peers and fans remembered him.

Cat & Mouse creator Roland Mann described his time with James, “James used to pop by the Malibu Comics offices fairly frequently as he lived close by. Obviously, his interest was in the current Ultraverse titles he was writing at the time, but it was clear that he loved the medium because we’d often talk about other comics and artists and such. James is the one who introduced me to Jackie Chan, long before anyone in the U.S. knew who he was. James was passionate about storytelling and about comics…we’ll miss him.”

James Hudnall was 61.

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