Paris Cullins - Blue Devil

2012.11.10 Superheroes for Hospice, Livingston, NJ

Paris Cullins started his career by sending samples of his work to DC Comics for several years, until they offered him a script to work with 3 years later. His first work was as a penciller-inker on "Mystic Murder" written by Steve Skeates and published by DC in Secrets of Haunted House #42. Cullins would continue his work on House of Mystery, Ghosts, The Unexpected and Weird War Tales during the early part of the 1980s.

Then came Green Lantern with Cullins pencilling an eight-page Tales of the Green Lantern Corps, as a backup story in Green Lantern #154 (July 1982), followed by some work at Harvey Comics drawing Richie Rich and Hot Stuff. After co-pencilling duties with Rich Buckler on Justice League of America, Cullins would create the Blue Devil, with writers Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn, premiering in 1984 as a special insert in Fury of Firestorm #24.

Blue Devil would run for 31 issues... Daniel Patrick Cassidy works as a special effects expert and stuntman, who creates an exoskeleton with built-in special effects. When his co-workers unearth the demon Nebiros, Cassidy fights him off with the help of his exoskeletal suit. Nebiros had blasted Cassidy with mystical energy which has permanently adhered the exoskeleton to his body...

Cullins drew the Blue Devil popping out of the inkwell, just as Koko the Clown did in the early Fleischer cartoons...

Cullins was a guest speaker at the Superheroes for Hospice, speaking on "Realism vs Cartooning" the War Between Comic Art Styles" to an intimate group, discussing the changes in drawing styles over the years from the inception of Superman to today's books.  It was a pleasure spending a little time with Cullins, and thanks for supporting the Hospice program...