Title	Eagle
Imagesize	250
Caption	The front cover of the first issue of Eagle, with artwork by Frank Hampson. Advances in printing technology offered a substantial improvement on the original issue's faded colours. The logo was modelled on the top of a large brass inkwell owned by Marcus Morris, the comic's founder, and typography was by Berthold Wolpe, designer of the Tempest font.
Schedule	Weekly
Format	Ongoing
Limited	Y
Ongoing	Y
1shot	Y
Genre	see below
Multigenre	Y
Adventure	Y
Christian	Y
Historical	Y
Humor	Y
Scifi	Y
School	Y
Sport	Y
War	Y
Western	Y
Publisher	Hulton Press IPC Magazines
Date	14 April 1950 to 26 April 1969 1982 to 1994
Startmo	April
Startyr	1950
Endmo	April
Endyr	1969
Issues	992 (original)
Main char team	Dan Dare
Writers	Frank Hampson Chad Varah
Artists	Frank Hampson Frank Bellamy Keith Watson Don Harley Bruce Cornwell
Sort	Eagle (comic book)
Nonus	y

Eagle was a seminal British children's comic, first published from 1950 to 1969, and then in a relaunched format from 1982 to 1994. It was founded by Marcus Morris, an Anglican vicar from Lancashire. Morris edited a parish magazine called The Anvil, but felt that the church was not communicating its message effectively. He was also disillusioned with contemporary children's literature, and with Anvil artist Frank Hampson, created a dummy comic based on Christian values. Morris hawked the idea to several Fleet Street publishers, with little success, until Hulton Press decided to take on the comic.

Following a huge publicity campaign, the first issue of Eagle was released in April 1950. Revolutionary in its presentation and content, it was enormously successful; the first issue sold about 900,000 copies. Featured in colour on the front cover was the comic's most recognisable story, Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future, created by Hampson with meticulous attention to detail. Other popular stories included Riders of the Range and P.C. 49. Eagle also contained news and sport sections, and educational cutaway diagrams of sophisticated machinery. A members club was created, and a range of related merchandise was licensed for sale.

Amidst a takeover of the comic's publisher and a series of acrimonious disputes, Morris left in 1959; Hampson followed shortly thereafter. Although Eagle continued in various forms, a perceived lowering of editorial standards preceded plummeting sales, and it was eventually subsumed by its rival, Lion, in 1969. Eagle was relaunched in 1982 and ran for over 500 issues, before being dropped by its publisher in 1994.

History

Background

Eagle was founded by John Marcus Harston Morris (1915–1989). Morris was born in the Lancashire town of Preston, and in 1918 moved to Southport. He graduated from Brasenose College in Oxford with a second class in Literae Humaniores, and at Wycliffe Hall gained a second in theology in 1939. He became a priest the following year, and served as a chaplain in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve from 1941 to 1943.

In 1945 he became vicar of St. James' Church in Birkdale. Morris had long felt that the Anglican church was not publicising its message effectively enough; four years earlier he had written an unpublished article, intended for the Yarmouth Mercury and entitled Christian Hypocrisy, in which he questioned the difference that the Christian church had made to society in general. Morris also felt that the church was completely out of touch with the people whom it was supposed to represent. He gradually expanded the parish magazine—four pages of cheap paper— into The Anvil, a widely-circulated Christian magazine based on Lilliput. Morris managed to employ several notable contributors on Anvil, such as C. S. Lewis, and Harold Macmillan. In 1948 he employed young artist Frank Hampson, a war veteran who had enrolled at the Southport School of Arts and Crafts, where he was described by his tutor as an "outstanding draughtsman 'prepared to go to endless trouble to get a thing right. He worked as the illustrator on Anvil, and later became the full-time artist for Interim, a Christian publicity society formed during a conference of diocesan editors,

Children's comics such as Rover, The Hotspur, Schoolgirls' Own, The Magnet and Adventure usually contained a mixture of adventure stories, presented as text rather than strip cartoons, and some British boys were buying US horror comics produced for G.I.s. Morris was impressed by the high standard of artwork in the US magazines, but disgusted by their content, which he described as "deplorable, nastily over-violent and obscene, often with undue emphasis on the supernatural and magical as a way of solving problems." He realised that a market existed for a children's comic which featured action stories in cartoon form, but which also would convey to children the standards and morals he advocated. and in January 1949 the Daily Mirror published an optimistic piece about the rumoured publication by the Society of a "new children's comic". This intrigued local journalist Norman Price, and the following month he met with Morris, and helped him express his desire to see such a magazine by co-writing with him "Comics that bring horror to the nursery", published in the Sunday Despatch. Morris's article provoked a strong reaction from its readers; letters of support flooded into his home.

Morris envisioned a character called Lex Christian, "a tough, fighting parson in the slums of the East End of London", whose adventures would be told in strip cartoon form, illustrated by Hampson. The idea gained the support of Terence Horsley, editor of the Sunday Empire News, but Horsley was killed in a gliding accident shortly thereafter. Morris met with Hampson and proposed instead an entirely new children's publication. Hampson was enthusiastic about the idea, and in May that year the two began work on a dummy comic. Lex Christian became Chaplain Dan Dare of the Inter-Planet Patrol, and featured on the cover. On the inside, two pages of Secret City featured a character named Jimmy Swift, and on the back page was a religious story about Saint Paul. Short strips included Joe from Strawberry Farm, and Ernie, Always Unlucky. Other features included Morris's Editor's Letter, as well as a range of news articles. Three photocopies of the dummy were made, each hand-coloured by Hampson.

By now deeply indebted by the publication of The Anvil and the production costs of the dummy comic, Morris formed Anvil Productions Ltd. Its prospectus declared "The Company proposes to publish a new children's coloured 'comic' paper, which will be of a much higher and more mature quality than anything published in England and in appearance and format will be modelled more on the American comic papers which are so far in advance of our own." Initially he sought to keep the project under his control, but his escalating debts forced him to try and sell the idea. To that end, he made several trips to London, where—armed with the dummy—he pitched his idea to several Fleet Street publishers. He met with John Myers at Hulton Press, who referred him to Montague Haydon at Amalgamated Press. He then met Neville Pearson at George Newnes, Ltd., whose executives claimed that the comic was "not an economic proposition". The US comic reprinter Boardmans was next, followed by Mike Wardell of the Sporting Record. Neither The Times nor The Daily Telegraph were interested, and at The Sunday Times the personal assistant to Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley, presumed that Morris was asking for a charitable donation. In autumn 1949 however, Hulton Press contacted Morris with the instruction "definitely interested do not approach any other publisher".

1950–1969

In October that year Morris sold The Anvil—by then selling about 3,560 copies monthly—for £1,250, plus a £200 annual contract to continue as editor.|group="nb"}} Morris wanted to produce a comic the pages of which would be filled with role models whose behaviour and moral outlook he felt was socially desirable. Foreigners would not be depicted as either enemies or villains, and at least one child in any group of children would be from an ethnic minority. Religious values would not be imposed upon the reader, although their underlying moral tones would be made obvious on each page. These were innovative but somewhat risky ideas, as nothing similar existed in the market, and Hulton therefore commissioned extensive research into the new comic, which by then, inspired by the design of her church lectern, had been christened Eagle by Hampson's wife. Layout and typography were designed by Morris's friend, Ruari McLean, assisted by Charles Green, and faced with an initial print run of 1 million copies, Aintree printer Eric Bemrose designed and built a new ten-unit rotogravure machine in about twelve weeks. The comic was heavily publicised before its release; copies were mailed direct to several hundred thousand people who worked with children, and a "Hunt the Eagle" scheme was launched, whereby large papier-mâché golden eagles were set on top of several Humber Hawk cars, and toured across the UK. Those who spotted an eagle were offered tokens worth 3d, which could be exchanged at newsagents for a free copy of Eagle.

Despite its relatively high price tag, the comic was an immediate success; released on 14 April 1950,|group="nb"}} the first issue sold about 900,000 copies. Eight of its twenty pages were presented in four-colour rotogravure. Such high quality strips as Riders of the Range and P.C. 49 helped ensure a weekly circulation of almost a million copies, but it was the adventures of Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future, which most captivated readers. Authors Dudley Jones and Tony Watkins describe Dare as being part of the "'powerful sense of beleaguered hope' that characterised not only the campaign against horror comics but other aspects of British post-war culture."|group="nb"}}

While Morris (who by now had resigned from St James) edited the magazine from Hulton's premises at Shoe Lane in London, Hampson was assisted in his work by expert consultants, among them Arthur C. Clarke (then an aspiring young science fiction writer). Scriptwriters included Anglican priest Chad Varah (founder of Samaritans). Varah also accompanied Morris on tours of Cathedrals often filled with Eagle readers keen to meet the comic's creators. Peter Ling and Macdonald Hastings were contributors, as was Harris Tweed's creator John Ryan, who was also responsible for Captain Pugwash, printed in the first 19 issues.

Children were encouraged to submit their good deeds to the comic; those that had their stories printed were called MUGs, a not-so-subtle dig at the "spivs" who made fun of them. The best of these stories were awarded the title of "MUG of the Month", or "MUG of the Year". Readers were also invited to join an Eagle club. Upon payment of a subscription, members would be given a gilt Eagle badge, a rulebook, and a list of privileges. The club proved extremely popular, attracting within months a membership of about 100,000, but it also served as a research tool for Hulton; questionnaires were sent to a random selection of members, asking each to rate certain aspects of the comic. Eagles production costs were funded partly by advertising revenue, although advertisers were required to integrate their designs so as to match the comic's high standards. Eagle also spawned a large range of merchandise, which included toothpaste, pyjamas, and toy ray guns.

Eagle became immensely popular with people of all ages and walks of life. Copies brought into school regularly found their way into the hands of the staff, who enjoyed it almost as much as the children they taught. The Lancet reported on one doctor who read Eagle on his rounds. It was sent to soldiers in Korea, to refugee camps, and was praised by Geoffrey Grigson on the BBC Home Service. Wolf Mankowitz proclaimed Dan Dare as a "Hero of Our Time", and the Earl of Jellicoe was reported to have read the comic in the library of Westminster Palace. Lord Mountbatten supposedly placed a subscription order for his nephew, Prince Charles, and on one occasion rang Hulton to complain that the comic had not arrived; a replacement was quickly despatched. Years later Morris sent the prince a copy of The Best of Eagle (1977); Charles replied and thanked him for the "fond memories". The comic was not universally popular, however, as it was quickly banned in South Africa.

| align = left | width = 33%}} Despite settling some of his debts, Morris once again found himself in financial trouble, with unexpected tax bills and arguments with Hulton over payments. In 1955 he sold the copyright of his signature to Hulton for £7,250 (a portion of which was a loan). 45% of his £5,000 per annum salary was paid to the taxman. With only one other profit-making magazine (Farmer's Weekly), Hulton sought to curb Eagles costs, complaining about the use of taxis, expensive stationery, electricity and telephone bills, restaurant bills, and staff expenses. At their 1957 AGM Hulton's Chairman reported a fall in profits, from £298,000 to £36,000, blaming reduced revenue from another of their magazines, Picture Post, and increased production costs. Several of Morris's friends later left the company, and following a short period of internal turmoil Morris gave up the editor's chair in 1959. The following year Eagle was taken over by Odhams Press.|group="nb"}} described by Morris as "a most fastidious artist and scrupulous draftsman, and like Hampson at his best, often consumed with anxiety." With Keith Watson and Don Harley, the three worked from a studio in Fleet Street. The front cover was redesigned, the Eagle name appearing across the top of the page rather than in one corner, coinciding with a new-look Dare. Many readers found Bellamy's changes to Dare (made at the behest of Eagles publisher) objectionable. Following Hampson's departure, the emphasis on Dan Dare's exploration of the Solar System had changed instead to include interstellar travel. Continuity became strained, and production on Dan Dare ceased in 1967, when it was replaced by reprints from earlier editions. By 1966 it was in decline. Although not as successful as its predecessor, 574 issues were published. A change to a monthly anthology caused by falling sales was, however, a portent of the comic's future. Toward the end of its life issues contained reprints of earlier work, alongside new Dan Dare stories written by Tom Tulley and illustrated by David Pugh. The relaunched Eagle was dropped in 1994.

Legacy

| align = right| width = 33%}} Eagle inspired several imitators, such as Valiant, Tiger, and Lion (which featured a Dan Dare clone, "Captain Condor") but such adventure tales were less palatable for girls. Female characters like Dan Dare's Professor Peabody (one of only two female main characters in the strip), were generally given less important roles than the men, and as a result a trend developed toward producing comics aimed specifically at either boys or girls. Girl, a sister title to Eagle, appeared in November 1951, Girl was followed in 1953 by Robin, which was aimed at younger children, and in March 1954 by Swift, for older readers. During the mid-1950s however, comics began sensationalising their covers with war imagery, and Eagle followed suit in the 1960s.

Morris went on to become editorial director of the National Magazine Company, and later its managing director and editor-in-chief. He launched Cosmopolitan in the UK, and with Condé Nast he formed COMAG, one of the UK's largest media distribution companies. He was appointed OBE in 1983, retired the following year, and died in March 1989. Despite his later work however, he is best remembered as the founder of Eagle. His memorial service at St Bride's Church in Fleet Street was filled to overflowing. | align = left| width = 25%}} Hampson was embittered by his departure from Eagle. Although he created Dan Dare, he and Morris had each signed contracts which made the space adventurer the copyright of its publisher.|group="nb"}} This made it difficult for him to get hold of his original artwork, and excluded him from any profits Hulton made from the huge range of Dan Dare and Eagle merchandise it licensed. He called Odhams, the comic's owner after 1960, "Treens". Hampson later worked on various advertising commissions, and illustrated seven Ladybird books. He recovered from cancer to became a graphics technician at Ewell Technical College, and in 1975 at the Lucca comics convention was declared as the best writer and illustrator of strip cartoons since the end of the Second World War. At the first ever British comics convention he was awarded the Ally Sloper award, as the best British strip cartoon artist. He died at Epsom in July 1985.

Gerald Scarfe and David Hockney were first published in Eagle. Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons has also praised Hampson's work, and the author Tim Rice, in his foreword to Living with Eagles (1998), cites the stories printed in Eagle as helping "me in my story-telling efforts through musicals many years on." Professor Stephen Hawking, when asked about the influence Dan Dare had on him, replied: "Why am I in cosmology?", and the entertainer Kenny Everett chose an Eagle Annual as his book on Desert Island Discs.

The comic industry's Eagle Awards, first presented in the late 1970s, are named after Eagle, and a fan club, the Eagle Society, regularly publishes the quarterly Eagle Times.

Related publications

References

;Footnotes

;Notes

;Bibliography

External links

Eagle Times

British Pathe footage of Hampson at work in 1956

Eagle at www.comicsuk.co.uk

www.dandare.org

www.dan-dare.net

www.frankhampson.co.uk

Category:British comics Category:Publications disestablished in 1994

Name	Stephenie Meyer
Imagesize	160px
Caption	Meyer in April 2009
Birthname	Stephenie Morgan
Birthdate	December 24, 1973
Birthplace	Hartford, Connecticut
Occupation	Novelist, Producer
Notableworks	The Twilight Series
Nationality	American
Genre	Vampire romance, young-adult fiction, science fiction
Influences	Orson Scott Card, Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, Maeve Binchy, Brontë sisters, Daphne du Maurier, L. M. Montgomery, Louisa May Alcott, Eva Ibbotson, William Goldman, Janet Evanovich
Influenced	Aprilynne Pike
Signature	stephenie meyer signature.svg
Website	http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/

Stephenie Meyer (born December 24, 1973), née Morgan, is an American author known for her vampire romance series Twilight. The Twilight novels have gained worldwide recognition and sold over 100 million copies globally, with translations into 37 different languages. with Twilight being the best-selling book of the year. She sold an additional 26.5 million books in 2009, making her the first author to achieve this feat in that year. Meyer was ranked #49 on Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People in 2008", and was also included in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list of the world's most powerful celebrities in 2009, entering at #26. Her annual earnings exceeded $50 million. Also in 2010, Forbes ranked her as the #59 most powerful celebrity with annual earnings of $40 million.

Personal life

Stephenie Meyer was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Stephen and Candy Morgan. She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, with five siblings: Seth, Emily, Jacob, Paul, and Heidi. She attended Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. She then attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she received a B.A. in English in 1997. Meyer met her husband Christiaan, nicknamed "Pancho", when she was growing up in Arizona, and married him in 1994 when they both were 21. Together they have three sons: Gabe, Seth, and Eli. Christiaan Meyer, formerly an auditor, has now retired to take care of the children.

Meyer is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has stated that she is "straitlaced" about her beliefs, and does not drink alcohol or smoke. Meyer had never written even a short story before Twilight, and had considered going to law school because she felt she had no chance of becoming a writer; she later noted that the birth of her oldest son Gabe changed her mind, saying, "Once I had Gabe, I just wanted to be his mom." and also owns a home on Marrowstone Island, Washington.

The Twilight series

Twilight

Meyer says that the idea for Twilight came to her in a dream on June 2, 2003. The dream was about a human girl, and a vampire who was in love with her but thirsted for her blood. In a matter of three months she had transformed her dream into a complete novel, though she claims that she never intended to publish Twilight and was writing for her own enjoyment. Her sister's response to the book was enthusiastic and she persuaded Meyer to send the manuscript to literary agencies. Eight publishers competed for the rights to publish Twilight in a 2003 auction.

Twilight was published in 2005 with a print run of 75,000 copies. and later rose to #1. Foreign rights to the novel were sold to over 26 countries. The novel was named the Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and a New York Times Editor's Choice.

Subsequent novels

Following the success of Twilight (2005), Meyer expanded the story into a series with three more books: New Moon (2006), Eclipse (2007), and Breaking Dawn (2008). In its first week after publication, New Moon reached #5 on the New York Times Best Seller List for Children's Chapter Books, and in its second week rose to the #1 position, where it remained for the next eleven weeks. In total, it spent over 50 weeks on the list. After the release of Eclipse, the first three "Twilight" books spent a combined 143 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. Over 1.3 million copies were sold on the first day. The novel also won Meyer her first British Book Award, despite competition with J. K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard. The series has sold over 100 million copies worldwide In 2008, the four books of the series claimed the top four spots on USA Today's year-end bestseller list, making Meyer the first author to ever achieve this feat as well as being the bestselling author of the year.

In August 2009, USA Today revealed that Meyer broke J.K. Rowling's record on their bestseller list; the four Twilight books had spent 52 straight weeks in the top 10. The books have also spent more than 143 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List.

Upon the completion of the fourth entry in the series, Meyer indicated that Breaking Dawn would be the final novel to be told from Bella Swan's perspective. Midnight Sun was to be a companion novel to the series. It would be a retelling of the events of the novel Twilight, but from the perspective of Edward Cullen (as opposed to Bella Swan). Meyer had hoped to have Midnight Sun published some time shortly after the release of Breaking Dawn, but after an online leak of a rough draft of its first 12 chapters, Meyer chose to delay the project indefinitely. Since Meyer has decided to pursue non-Twilight related books as a result of the leak, she made the rough chapters of "Midnight Sun" available on her website. Each book in the series was also inspired specifically by a different literary classic: Twilight by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice; New Moon by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet; Eclipse by Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights; and Breaking Dawn's theme by Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Meyer said, "I've been reading books for adults my entire life. Growing up I was an avid reader—the thicker the book, the better." She also said she is a huge fan of Orson Scott Card, and "can't go through a year without re-reading" Jane Austen's books.

Meyer, a Mormon, acknowledges that her faith has influenced her work. In particular, she says that her characters "tend to think more about where they came from, and where they are going, than might be typical." Meyer also steers her work from subjects such as sex, despite the romantic nature of the novels. Meyer says that she does not consciously intend her novels to be Mormon-influenced, or to promote the virtues of sexual abstinence and spiritual purity, but admits that her writing is shaped by her values, saying, "I don't think my books are going to be really graphic or dark, because of who I am. There's always going to be a lot of light in my stories."

Film adaptations

Summit Entertainment optioned Twilight in April 2007. Catherine Hardwicke directed the film, and the screenplay was written by Melissa Rosenberg. It stars Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan and Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen. The movie was released on November 21, 2008. Meyer makes a brief cameo appearance in a diner scene. Following the success of Twilight, Summit greenlit a film adaptation of the sequel, , in November 2008. Chris Weitz directed the film, which was released on November 20, 2009. Summit greenlit an adaptation of the third book in the series, , in February 2009. David Slade directed the film, which was released on June 30, 2010. Summit also obtained the rights to Breaking Dawn in November 2008, and greenlit a two-part adaptation in June 2010 that will start production in late 2010. A November 18, 2011, release date has been set for the first part, and a November 16, 2012 release for the second part.

Reception and recognition

Entertainment Weekly has hailed Meyer as "the world's most popular vampire novelist since Anne Rice", while The Guardian described her as an "imaginative storyteller, a prolific author and a newly powerful figure in the publishing market." Wayne Janes of Toronto Sun agreed, saying, "Meyer's success points up another trend — the virtual domination of the best-seller lists the last few years by what would normally be classified as young adult fiction," and noted, "In the absence of a new Harry Potter adventure, teens, fantasy enthusiasts and women (sales are mostly to females) who swoon at the idea of a virginal James Dean-ish vampire made Meyer the go-to gal for chaste love." Tymon Smith of The Times has described her as the "superstar of young adult fiction".

Meyer was named USA Today's "Author of the Year" in 2008, and one of MSN Lifestyle's "Most Influential Women of 2008" where she was described as a "literary luminary". She was also ranked #49 on Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People in 2008", As well, Meyer was included in The Arizona Republic's "Valley's Most Fascinating People" in December 2008.

Novelist Orson Scott Card said, "[Stephenie Meyer] writes with luminous clarity, never standing between the reader and the dream they share. She's the real thing". Scott also went on to describe Meyer as an "amazing phenomenon". In an interview with Newsweek, author Jodi Picoult said, "Stephenie Meyer has gotten people hooked on books, and that's good for all of us."

Meyer was ranked #5 on Forbes' list of "Hollywood's Top-Earning Women", the only author on the list, and it was noted that the "Twilight series of young-adult vampire books have taken the publishing and film worlds by storm." She was also ranked #82 on Vanity Fair's list of the "Top 100 Information Age Powers" of 2009. The same year, Meyer was featured in an issue of the biographical comic Female Force, a Bluewater Productions title which celebrates influential women in society and pop culture. The comic has previously published biographies of women such as Oprah Winfrey and Princess Diana.

Fan following

Meyer has gained a following among young adult readers for her Twilight novels, which are set in the small town of Forks on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. Forks has thus received an unusual amount of attention, and celebrates "Stephenie Meyer Day" on September 13, the date of character Bella Swan's birthday.

Fans express themselves in other ways: "[They] dress up like her characters. They write their own stories about them and post their tales on the Internet. When she appears at a bookstore, 3,000 people go to meet her. There are Twilight-themed rock bands." King described the Twilight series saying that "people are attracted by the stories, by the pace and in the case of Stephenie Meyer, it's very clear that she's writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It's exciting and it's thrilling and it's not particularly threatening because it's not overtly sexual." Meyer has dismissed such criticisms, arguing both that the books center around Bella's choice, and that her damsel in distress persona is due only to her humanity.

Other works

One of Meyer's short stories was published in Prom Nights from Hell, a collection of stories about bad prom nights with supernatural effects. Other authors who contributed to this collection are Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe, and Lauren Myracle. Prom Nights from Hell was released in April 2007.

In May 2008, Meyer's adult sci-fi novel, The Host, was released by the adult division of Little, Brown and Company; it follows the story of Melanie Stryder and Wanderer, a young woman and an invading alien "soul," who are forced to work as one. The Host debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list, and remained on the list for 26 weeks. In March 2008, Meyer said she was "almost done" writing a possible sequel to The Host, entitled The Soul. If she were to continue the series, the third book would be called The Seeker.

Meyer mentions having several other book ideas on file, including a ghost story titled Summer House and a novel involving time travel, as well as another about mermaids.

On August 28, 2008, it was announced that Meyer had written the treatment for Jack's Mannequin music video, "The Resolution", which she co-directed the following week.

In 2009, Meyer teamed with the skateboard and clothing company Hobo Skate Company to produce her own clothing line, consisting of a line of T-shirts and skateboards related to her science-fiction novel, The Host.

On March 30, 2010, it was announced that Meyer had written a 200-page novella "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner". The book was released on June 5, 2010, by Atom and was also available for free between June 7 and July 5 on the official website.

Philanthropy

In April 2009, Meyer took part in Project Book Babe, a benefit designed to help pay her friend Faith Hochhalter's medical bills after Hochhalter was diagnosed with breast cancer. Meyer donated many advance reader copies and original manuscripts for auction. The same year, Meyer teamed up with Hobo Skate Company to auction off a The Host-themed skateboard, which sold for $1500 that was donated to charity.

Publications

;Twilight series # Twilight (2005) # New Moon (2006) # Eclipse (2007) # Breaking Dawn (2008)

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner (novella, 2010)

;Other books

Prom Nights from Hell (section, 2007)

The Host (2008)

References

External links

Stephenie Meyer's official website

The Twilight Series's official website

Exclusive Stephenie Meyer video & interview

Cover art and reviews of each Twilight novel

Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:American fantasy writers Category:American Latter Day Saints Category:American science fiction writers Category:American women writers Category:Brigham Young University alumni Category:People from Hartford, Connecticut Category:People from Phoenix, Arizona Category:Writers of young adult literature Category:Writers from Arizona

Caption	Cross at the 2009 Brooklyn Book Festival
Birth date	April 04, 1964
Birth place	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, Television, Film, Books
Nationality	American
Active	1992–present
Genre	Satire, Black Comedy, Blue Comedy, Observational Comedy, Sketch Comedy
Subject	Recreational drug use, drinking culture, race relations, American culture, self-deprecation, human behavior, religion, human sexuality
Influences	Lenny Bruce , Bill Hicks
Influenced	Brian Posehn
Notable work	Host/Various on Mr. Show Tobias Funke in Arrested Development Newton in Men in Black Ronnie in Run Ronnie Run Ian Hawke in Alvin and The Chipmunks Happy Time Harry and Bert Banana on Aqua Teen Hunger Force Todd Margaret on The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret

David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American actor, writer and stand-up comedian perhaps best known for his work on HBO's sketch comedy series Mr. Show and for his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox sitcom Arrested Development.

Cross is currently starring in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret and has a recurring role on the Fox sitcom Running Wilde.

Early life

Cross was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Susi. Cross's father is from Leeds, England. Six months after his birth, Cross's family moved to Florida. After additional moves to New York and Connecticut, the family settled back in Roswell, Georgia, where Cross remained for nearly a decade. His father was often absent, and his family was poor. Cross and his family were evicted from their home while living in Georgia. He spent some time living in motels and at friends' homes while growing up. Cross has been estranged from his father since age 19, although they both currently reside in New York City.

He attended Northside High School of the Performing Arts (now North Atlanta High School), graduating in 1982. Cross was elected treasurer of his senior class and was voted "Most Humorous" by his classmates.

Beginnings in comedy

Cross began performing stand-up comedy at 17. The day after he graduated from high school, Cross went to New York. Lacking a plan, he drifted around, working briefly for a lawn care company in Long Island, and later enrolled at Emerson College in Boston. He would drop out after only a semester, but during his time there he discovered his new favourite things: partying and sketch comedy. Cross joined This is Pathetic, a college sketch group, where he met John Ennis. In the summer of 1985, the two aspiring actors took a road trip to Los Angeles, although this did not significantly further their acting careers. In Boston, Cross began to perform stand-up more regularly. From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, Boston had a booming comedy scene, although Cross did not fit the types of acts being booked most of the time. He recalls that it was "a loud-, dumb-, pandering-, racist-, homophobic-type scene".

In 1990, a new comedy scene began to emerge at the famous comedy club chain called Catch a Rising Star (where many of the comedians of the 1970s and 1980s got their start). Cross—along with Janeane Garofalo, Louis C.K., and other comics—appeared regularly several nights a week. Cross formed the sketch comedy group "Cross Comedy" with twelve other performers, and they put on a new show every week. They were known for playing tricks on the audience, such as introducing fake comics or planting fake hecklers. Cross became increasingly focused on his comedy work.

Cross later co-starred as Tobias Fünke in Arrested Development, which was originally intended to be only a minor role. He has also played smaller roles on programs such as Just Shoot Me!, The Drew Carey Show, NewsRadio, Strangers with Candy, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Since October 2005, Cross has appeared on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report as Stephen Colbert's arch-nemesis, a fictional liberal radio talk show host from Madison, Wisconsin named "Russ Lieber". Cross also developed an animated series for Comedy Central called Freak Show, which co-starred H. Jon Benjamin, and was cancelled due to low ratings. He has appeared several times on the MTV2 series Wonder Showzen.

Cross teamed up with Odenkirk to produce a feature film, based on one of their Mr. Show characters, called Run Ronnie Run. The film satirized the reality television craze, and featured cameos from many stars. However, Cross and Odenkirk came into creative conflict with the director, Troy Miller, and after nearly two years of production, New Line Cinema sent it straight to DVD. In 1994 and again in 1999, Cross was a guest voice actor on Joe Frank's radio show, featured in the episodes "The Last Run", "A Hearing", "The O.J. Chronicles", and "Jam".

Cross continues to perform stand-up, in which he blends liberal-leaning political commentary and satire. In 1999, he was given his own one-hour comedy special on HBO, entitled The Pride Is Back. He has released three recordings, Shut Up You Fucking Baby!, It's Not Funny, and Bigger and Blackerer. In 2004, Shut Up You Fucking Baby! was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. In 2003, he released his first tour film, Let America Laugh, and was named #85 on Comedy Central's list of the 100 greatest stand-ups of all time. He appears on Un-Cabaret compilation albums, including Freak Weather Feels Different and The Good, the Bad and the Drugly.

In 2004, Cross provided voices for a Marine in the Xbox game Halo 2, and a store clerk named in . He also was the voice of the violent, alcoholic "Happy-Time Harry" doll and Bert Banana in Aqua Teen Hunger Force (although the part was credited as Sir Willups Brightslymoore). He has also made guest appearances in the Adult Swim series Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!. He directed the music video for The Black Keys' song "10am Automatic", a spoof of public-access television.

In April 2005, Cross criticized stand-up comedian Larry the Cable Guy in a Rolling Stone interview, saying, "It's a lot of anti-gay, racist humor — which people like in America — all couched in 'I'm telling it like it is.' He's in the right place at the right time for that gee-shucks, proud-to-be-a-redneck, I'm-just-a-straight-shooter-multimillionaire-in-cutoff-flannel-selling-ring-tones act. That's where we are as a nation now. We're in a state of vague American values and anti-intellectual pride." In response, Larry devoted a chapter in his book GIT-R-DONE to Cross and the "P.C. left", claiming that Cross had "screwed with my fans, it was time for me to say something". Cross responded with An Open Letter to Larry the Cable Guy posted on his website. He continued to mock Larry in his stand-up, satirizing Blue Collar TV during a guest appearance on Wonder Showzen. In December 2005, he ended his performance on Comedy Central's Last Laugh '05 by mockingly yelling "GIT-R-DONE!" (Larry the Cable Guy's catch phrase) to the audience as he left the stage. He pokes fun at Larry's comedy in Freak Show with a character called "Danny the Plumber Guy".

Cross appeared in The Strokes' music video for "Juicebox" as a bad local "morning zoo" radio DJ. He also appeared in The New Pornographers' video for "Use It", in Superchunk's video for "Watery Hands" (along with Janeane Garofalo), and in Yo La Tengo's video for "Sugarcube" (along with Bob Odenkirk and John Ennis). Cross contributes to Vice magazine, writing a column titled "My America".

In 2005, he contributed to the UNICEF benefit song "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?". In October 2005, he was sued by Nashville club owner Thomas Weber, who accused Cross of taping him without permission for Shut Up You Fucking Baby and Let America Laugh in violation of Weber's privacy rights. Weber established a website called wearenotlaughing.com. In April 2006 the case against Cross himself was dismissed and the case proceeded with Warner Music, Subpop Records, WEA Corporation, and the Alternative Distribution Alliance.

In the Beastie Boys' 2006 concert film Awesome; I Fuckin' Shot That!, Cross played the character Nathaniel Hörnblowér in the fictional segment "A Day in the Life of Nathaniel Hörnblowér". In the Bob Dylan biographical film I'm Not There, Cross played the role of poet Allen Ginsberg. Both Bill Lawrence and Zach Braff of Scrubs were ambitious to have Cross cameo on the show as Tobias Fünke, but because of the series' cancellation, the plan never came to fruition.

Cross provided commentary on the Vicarious music video DVD for the band Tool. He has previously performed comedy as an opening act for the band, and its members appeared on Mr. Show several times. He played Ian Hawke in the 2007 movie Alvin and the Chipmunks and Crane in the 2008 movie Kung Fu Panda.

Cross starred in a pilot for HBO called David's Situation which filmed in May 2008 and included many Mr. Show alumni at the taping. On August 6, 2008, Bob Odenkirk announced on bobanddavid.com that David's Situation would not be produced.

Cross's first UK-only project, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, was a comedy pilot for Channel 4 which he co-wrote with writer Shaun Pye, which has been picked up for a full series. Cross's first book, I Drink For A Reason, was published in August 2009.

In September 2009, Cross performed at his own comedy stage at the ATP New York 2009 music festival, for which he picked Eugene Mirman, Jon Benjamin & Jon Glaser and Derrick Brown & The Navy Gravy to join him.

On March 29, 2010 Cross's first comedy special in six years "Bigger and Blackerer" was streamed on Epix HD. A CD with "slightly different content" was released on May 25, 2010.

Personal life

Cross was raised Jewish, however he is an atheist and does not practice Judaism. He is dating actress Amber Tamblyn.

Cross has criticized Inside the Actors Studio host James Lipton, calling him "pretentious." Lipton, who thought that Cross's impression of him was not good-natured, would later appear alongside Cross in Arrested Development, in the recurring role of Prison Warden Stefan Gentles. During filming, Cross was impressed with Lipton's acting and comedic ability, and the two became good friends. On one commentary track for season four of Mr. Show, Cross discussed the encounter, complimenting Lipton for his professionalism and performance but maintaining his criticism of Lipton's show for its depiction of celebrities (which was displayed earlier in The Pride Is Back).

Responding to critics of his decision to appear in the critically panned but enormously profitable Alvin and the Chipmunks, Cross noted that the film paid for a summer home, and more than "all my other projects combined: book, TV show, the two pilots, Year One, yeah." Cross reprised his Chipmunks role in the film's .

Discography

Shut Up, You Fucking Baby! (2002) 2CD

Let America Laugh (2003) DVD

It's Not Funny (2004) CD

Bigger and Blackerer (May 2010) CD/DVD

Compilation appearances

Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1 (2004) CD/DVD (featured clip on bonus DVD)

Invite Them Up (Compilation) (2005) CD/DVD

Comedy Death-Ray (Compilation) (2007) CD

Filmography

Television

The TV Wheel - Various (1995)

Mr. Show - Host/Various (1995–1998)

The Drew Carey Show (1996, 1997) – Earl

NewsRadio (1996, 1998) - David/Theo (2 episodes)

Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (1997)

Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1997) (1 episode)

David Cross: The Pride Is Back (1999)

Tenacious D (1999)

Home Movies (2001)

Just Shoot Me! (1999, 2000, 2003) – "Slow" Donnie

Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2002–2003, 2008) (3 episodes)

King of the Hill (2003) - Ward Rackley (1 episode)

Oliver Beene (2003) – Narrator

Arrested Development (2003–2006) – Dr. Tobias Fünke

Crank Yankers (2003, 2004) - Various (2 episodes)

Celebrity Poker Showdown (2004) - Himself

The Colbert Report (2005) – Russ Lieber

Last Laugh 2005 (2005) - Himself

Tom Goes to the Mayor (2005) - Todd (1 episode)

Wonder Showzen (2006) - Various (3 episodes)

Family Guy (2006) - Jerry Kirkwood (1 episode)

Freak Show (2006) – Benny, Primi & Various

Night of Too Many Stars (2006) – Himself

Odd Job Jack (2007) Julius J

Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! (2007, 2008, 2010) – Various (3 episodes)

Never Mind the Buzzcocks (2007) - Himself

(2007) - Ronnie Chase (1 episode)

David's Situation (2008) - David (HBO pilot)

Important Things with Demetri Martin (2009) - Co-worker (1 episode)

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (2010) - Todd Margaret

Soul Quest Overdrive (2010–present) - Bert (Upcoming series)

Running Wilde (2010) - Dr. Andy Weeks

Movies

Destiny Turns on the Radio (1995) – Ralph Dellaposa

The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996) – Male Radio Caller/Bookstore Man

The Cable Guy (1996) – Sales Manager

Waiting for Guffman (1996) – UFO Expert

Men in Black (1997) – Newton, the Morgue Attendant

Small Soldiers (1998) – Irwin Wayfair

Ghost World (2000) – Gerrold

Chain of Fools (2000) – Andy

One Day... (2001) – The Turd

Life Without Dick (2001) – Rex

Pootie Tang (2001) – Pootie Tang imposter

Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) – Dog/Animal Groupie #2

Scary Movie 2 (2001) – Dwight Hartman

Men in Black II (2002) – Newton, the Video Store Attendant

Martin & Orloff (2002) – Dan Wasserman

Run Ronnie Run (2002) – Ronnie

Melvin Goes to Dinner (2003) – Seminar Leader

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) – Rob

''Awesome; I Fuckin Shot That! (2006)

She's the Man (2006) – Principal Gold

Curious George (2006) – Junior Bloomsberry (voice)

School for Scoundrels (2006) – Ian Winsky

Crashing (2007) – Man in Space

The Grand (2007) – Larry Schwartzman

I'm in Hell (2007) – Scott

I'm Not There (2007) – Allen Ginsberg

Battle for Terra (2007) – Giddy (voice)

Alvin and The Chipmunks (2007) – Ian Hawke

The Toe Tactic (2008) – Timmy (voice)

(2008) – Yivo (voice)

Kung Fu Panda (2008) – Master Crane (voice)

The Legend of Secret Pass (2008) – Loo (voice)

Demoted (2009) – Ken Castro

Year One (2009) – Cain

(2009) – Ian Hawke

Cat Tale (2010) – Stork (voice)

Megamind (2010) – Minion (voice)

(2011) – Crane (voice)

Music videos

"Watery Hands" by Superchunk (1997) – Actor

"Sugarcube" by Yo La Tengo (1997) – Actor

"10 A.M. Automatic" by The Black Keys (2004) – Director

"Juicebox" by The Strokes (2005) – Actor

"Use It" by The New Pornographers (2005) – Actor

"Vicarious" DVD by Tool (2006) – Commentary

Video games

Halo 2 (2004) – Marine

(2004) – Zero

Brütal Legend (2009) - The Screamer

Bibliography

I Drink for a Reason (2009), Grand Central Publishing, New York (ISBN 9780446579483)

References

External links

Bob Odenkirk and David Cross website

David Cross: An eye for a tooth and a tooth for an eye That Other Paper

Interview by Brian M. Palmer

Kittenpants.org interview

Cross On Atheism

Whatever Happened To: that lawsuit against David Cross?

Scene Missing Magazine interview

David Cross on Chortle

I Drink For A Reason Book website

Category:1964 births Category:American atheists Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American satirists Category:American screenwriters Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American television writers Category:Actors from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Jewish atheists Category:Living people Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Sub Pop artists Category:Emerson College alumni Category:Emmy Award winners