Born in Anderson, Missouri in 1940, Richard Corben is an American comic artist known for his endless contributions to comics in the Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror genres. Corben first gained popularity for his work in various Underground comic publishers, such as Grim Wit, Slow Death, Skull, Rowlf and his own anthology, Fantagor. In 1970, he began illustrating a multitude of stories for Warren Publishing, for publications such as Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, and 1984.

In 1975, legendary French comic artists, Jean "Moebius" Giraud, Philippe Druillet and editor Jean-Pierre Dionnet started publishing the magazine, Métal Hurlant in France. Corben submitted stories to them and continued to do so for Hurlant's American franchise, Heavy Metal Magazine and became one of its most regular and iconic contributors. Among the stories he published in Heavy Metal was his most famous creation, the Den Saga, a fantasy series about the adventures of a young nerd who transforms into a muscular, well-endowed warrior after traveling to Neverwhere, a universe heavily inspired by the works of Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and H.P. Lovecraft. Corben ventured into film work occasionally, and illustrated a few film posters during his career, as well as some album covers, such as Meat Loaf's Bat out of Hell. More recently, Corben illustrated some stories for Mike Mignola's Hellboy, among other stories for Marvel and other publishers.

Corben remains a top influence to figures such as Mike Mignola and Guillermo Del Toro, and has received numerous accolades, such as the Spectrum Grand Master award in 2009 and an induction into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 2012.

Quotes about Richard Corben

"Corben's work is singular in its humanity. He works with towering technical skill... ...the wondrous thing of it all is that underneath all that technical tour-de-force is the sound of a beating heart."

-Will Eisner

"Richard Corben, stands among us like an extraterrestrial peak. He has sat in his throne for a long time, above the moving and multi-coloured field of world comics, like an effigy of the leader, a strange monolith, a sublime visitor, a solitary enigma."

-Moebius

"People Like the American Richard Corben... are, in my view, maestros."

-H.R. Giger

"Mr. Richard Corben... a genuine giant of his chosen medium."

-Alan Moore