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Boleslav (William) Felix Robert Sienkiewicz (sin-KEV-itch), usually referred to simply as Bill Sienkiewicz, was born May 3, 1958 in Blakely, Pennsylvania, United States. He is a visual artist probably best known for his unique and recognizable work on various comic books, notably Marvel Comics' Elektra: Assassin. He attended the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts in Newark, New Jersey.
Sienkiewicz often utilizes oil painting, collage, mimeograph and other forms generally uncommon in comic books. Some critics have suggested the influence of abstract and expressionist art on Sienkiewicz's work. He has had a major influence on the style of comic illustration from 1980 onwards. His use of unconventional media and heightening of the comic cover as a stand alone artwork have been an influence on Dave McKean, Ashley Wood, Kent Williams and others.
His first credited work for Marvel Comics was on an issue of Fantastic Four. This led to him securing a regular role as penciller for Moon Knight; his unconventional graphic style and use of collage on the series won him a cult status in the industry, even though the title suffered from poor sales. When Moon Knight was moved to direct sales in 1981, Sienkiewicz was given greater creative freedom, culminating in the story "Hit It" (issue #26) that marked a creative breakthrough.
In 1983 he started working on New Mutants with Chris Claremont, where his distinctive cover paintings and character design gained much attention for the series. His first writing credit was for the painted story Slow Dancer in Epic Illustrated magazine in 1986. Sienkiewicz produced one-off covers for a range of Marvel titles, including Rom, Dazzler, The Mighty Thor, Return of the Jedi and The Transformers, and drew the comic adaptation of Dune.
He illustrated the 1986 eight-part miniseries Elektra: Assassin written by Frank Miller, for which he won the Kirby Award for Best Artist and the prestigious Yellow Kid Award for "bridging the gap between American and European artistic sensibilities". That same year he contributed to the Brought to Light graphic novel with Alan Moore and wrote and illustrated the critically acclaimed miniseries, Stray Toasters, an idiosyncratic work about a criminal psychologist investigating a series of murders. In 1988 Sienkiewicz and Alan Moore published the first two issues of Big Numbers, an ambitious project that was never completed. In 1990 Bill Sienkiewicz also published the graphic novel Classics Illustrated Moby Dick.
In addition to his work in comics, Sienkiewicz has also worked in numerous other media. In 1995, he illustrated the biography of Jimi Hendrix, Voodoo Child: The Illustrated Legend of Jimi Hendrix. The following year he provided the artwork for the Bruce Cockburn album Charity Of Night. He has also published a children's book called Santa: My Life & Times (An Illustrated Autobiography) in 1998, and his artwork has been published in various magazines, such as Entertainment Weekly and Spin Magazine. He has also created record covers, such as RZA's Bobby Digital In Stereo (1998) and EPMD's Business As Usual (1990).
Sienkiewicz was nominated for an Emmy Award twice, in 1995 and 1996, for his production and character design on Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?.
In 2004, development began on a script for a Stray Toasters movie co-written by Sienkiewicz with Jeff Renfroe and Marteinn Thorsson. The film was scheduled for release in 2005 but reportedly is still in production.
In 2004, Sienkiewicz contributed to card art for VS System, a collectible card game published by Upper Deck Entertainment.
In 2006, Sienkiewicz designed the layout and art for The Venture Bros. Season One DVD set.
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