James Tynion IV
James Tynion IV is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his work on the Batman franchise at DC Comics.
Early life
James Tynion IV was born December 14, 1987, and grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he attended Marquette University High School. While studying creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College, Tynion met and began studying under Scott Snyder, in the nascent years of his comic book writing career. Following school, he became an intern for the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics, working under Editor Shelly Bond, among others.Career
After a few years working in advertising, Scott Snyder asked Tynion to co-write the back-up features for the New 52 relaunch of Batman, in the midst of the acclaimed "Night of the Owls" comic book storyline, starting with Batman #8. In this comic, he tied the Court of Owls mythology to Alfred Pennyworth's father, Jarvis Pennyworth, working with noted American Vampire artist, Rafael Albuquerque. Tynion went on to co-write Batman Annual #1 with Snyder, for artist Jason Fabok, which reintroduced classic Batman villain Mr. Freeze into the present day continuity. Continuing on the back-up stories in the main Batman title, Tynion launched a spin-off of the Night of the Owls storyline with the ongoing comic series, Talon, which ran for 18 issues. Tynion followed up Talon with a brief stint on the title Red Hood and the Outlaws in which he re-introduced a number of members of The League of Assassins back into Batman continuity.In 2013, Tynion paired with artist Jeremy Rock to co-create his first original comic series, The Eighth Seal, for Mark Waid's digital comic publisher Thrillbent. The series, an apocalyptic blend of political intrigue and body horror, was nominated for the 2013 Ghastly Award for Best Web Comic. Tynion followed up the series with an additional horror comic for Thrillbent, The House In The Wall, co-written by Noah J. Yuenkel and drawn by Eryk Donovan.
In 2014, Tynion launched his two biggest series to date. He was named as one of the head writers of Batman Eternal, a weekly Batman comic series designed to explore the full scope and cast of Gotham City. The series would bring classic Batman characters like Carmine Falcone, Hush, Vicki Vale, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain and the original Azrael, Jean-Paul Valley, into the New 52 DC continuity. He also launched the original series The Woods, for BOOM! Studios, with artist Michael Dialynas, which proved to be the highest selling original series at that publisher since Mark Waid's Irredeemable, with the first issue selling out on a distributor level. The series was given an unprecedented full series order, guaranteeing that it will run to its planned conclusion at issue #36. He followed up The Woods with a three-issue apocalyptic horror miniseries for BOOM! Studios, titled Memetic, which paired him with artist Eryk Donovan once again
In 2015, Tynion was announced as one of the co-writers of the new Constantine: The Hellblazer series alongside Ming Doyle and artist Riley Rossmo, as a part of the DCYou publishing initiative at DC Comics. Tynion also was announced as the writer of the Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover with DC and IDW Publishing, the first meeting between the two franchises. The series launched in December 2015 as DC Comics' sixth best selling title for the entire year. He also launched two new creator owned series through Boom! Studios, UFOlogy, co-written by Noah J. Yuenkel with art by Matt Fox, and Cognetic, the spiritual sequel to Memetic with artist Eryk Donovan.
At Wondercon in 2016, James Tynion IV was announced as the writer of the biweekly Detective Comics for DC's Rebirth initiative. The new series launched in June of that year with the classic numbering restored starting with issue #934, and featured Batman and Batwoman as co-leads.
Tynion has worked on a number of additional titles for DC Comics, BOOM! Studios, Marvel Comics, IDW Publishing, and Thrillbent.
Personal life
James Tynion IV is openly bisexual.DC Comics
- Batman Vol. 3 #85-Ongoing
- Year of the Villain: Hell Arisen #1-4
- The Joker 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1
- Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1
- Batman: Pennyworth RIP #1
- Crimes of Passion #1
- Justice League Dark #1-19
- Justice League #5, 8, 12-16, 18, 22, 25-38
- Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III #1-6
- Justice League Dark Annual #1
- Year Of The Villain #1
- The Batman Who Laughs: The Grim Knight #1
- Detective Comics #934-981, 1000
- Mysteries of Love in Space #1
- Justice League Annual #1
- Justice League and Aquaman: Drowned Earth #1
- Justice League Dark and Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour #1
- Wonder Woman #56-57
- Wonder Woman and Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1
- Cursed Comics Cavalcade #1
- The Immortal Men #1-6
- Justice League: No Justice #1-4
- DC Nation #0
- Dark Knights Rising: The Wild Hunt #1
- Detective Comics Annual Vol. 3 #1
- Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1-6
- Batman: Lost #1
- The Batman Who Laughs #1
- Batman: The Devastator #1
- Batman: The Murder Machine #1
- Batwoman #1-6
- Dark Days: The Casting #1
- Dark Days: The Forge #1
- Green Lantern/Space Ghost Annual #1
- The Kamandi Challenge #4
- Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1-6
- Gotham Academy #16
- Batman Vol. 2 #8-16, 18-25, 28, 35-39, 49, 52, 0
- Batman and Robin Eternal #1-26
- Constantine: The Hellblazer #1-13
- Batman Annual Vol. 2 #4
- Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman #8
- Batman Eternal #1-52
- Batman Annual Vol. 2 #3
- Red Hood and the Outlaws #19-28, Annual #1
- Vertigo Quarterly: Cyan #1
- Talon #0-14
- Batman and Robin Vol. 2 #23.2 "Court of Owls"
- Batman and Robin Vol. 2 #23.3 "Ra's al Ghul"
- Detective Comics Vol. 2 #12, 19, 0
- Batman Annual Vol. 2 #1
Boom Studios
- Bravest Warriors: Paralyzed Horse Special
- Memetic #1-3
- The Woods #1-36
- UFOlogy #1-6
- Cognetic #1-3
- The Backstagers #1-8
- Eugenic #1-3
- The Backstagers 2018 Valentine's Intermission
- The Backstagers 2018 Halloween Intermission
- Something Is Killing the Children #1-Ongoing
Marvel Comics
- Death of Wolverine: Logan's Legacy #5
- Amazing X-Men #13
IDW Publishing
- In The Dark: A Horror Anthology
- Love is Love
Thrillbent
- The Eighth Seal
- The House In The Wall
Awards and Nominations
Wins
- 2017 Diamond Gem Award for Licensed TP/HC of the Year for "Batman/TMNT Vol. 1"
- 2017 PRISM Award for Best Single Issue From A Mainstream Publisher for "The Backstagers #1"
- 2016 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for "The Woods"
Nominations
- 2017 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for "The Woods"
- 2017 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for "The Backstagers"
- 2017 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for "Batwoman"
- 2015 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book for "Memetic"