'Evangeline' #1 (First Comics).
Judith Hunt is an American illustrator and comic artist, who has worked on a large variety of products, ranging from books, magazines, television, comics, videos, and toys. In comic circles, she is best known for her comic book work during the 1980s, often alongside her then-husband Chuck Dixon. Her work includes the series about nun/agent 'Evangeline' (1984-1986) at Comico/First Comics, the two issues of 'Robotech Defenders' (1985) at DC Comics and some issues of 'Conan the King' for Marvel Comics. She eventually ventured into children's illustration, most notably for Highlights for Children. For this magazine, Hunt also illustrated the 'Timbertoes' comic strip between 1994 and 2002.
Early career
Judith Hunt was born in Washington, and she nowadays resides in Kennebunk, Maine. Working as an engraver from the age of 18, the first published children's book with her illustrations was 'Stories for the Children's Hour'. It was followed by 'Three Little Kittens' (1979), a picture book published under Platt & Munk's Gingerbread imprint, and 'Raggedy Ann and Andy Go Flying' (Western Publishing, 1980) by Mary Fulton. Around the same period she was active as an illustrator for all sorts of Disney products, including the 'Winnie the Pooh's Adventures With Words' (1981) and 'Travels with Pooh' (1984) booklets for Dutton Childrens Books. Together with her then-husband Chuck Dixon, she made her first appearances in Gasm, the sci-fi indie comic magazine published by Myron Fass in 1977-1978. Hunt was active in the professional comic book industry throughout most of the 1980s.
'Evangeline '#2 (Comico).
Evangeline
Her most notable co-creation with her husband Chuck Dixon was perhaps the vigilante nun 'Evangeline' (1984-1989), who defends the Vatican by orders from the powerful Cardinal Szn in the 23rd century. Besides its remarkable outset, the series was notable as one of the first comic book titles using painted colors. The first two issues were published by the Pennsylvania-based Comico Comics, but the author couple left after a dispute over copyrights. While the first two issues were reprinted in a special by Lodestone Comics in 1986, the title was revived at First Comics in 1987. Dixon and Hunt co-wrote the stories, with Hunt providing pencils and paint, while Ricardo Villagrán did the inking. Hunt left after four First issues, after which Cara Sherman-Tereno, John Statema and Jim Balent subsequently assumed pencil duties for the rest of the 12-issue run. An attempt to relaunch 'Evangeline' as a webcomic written by the couple's son Ben Dixon in 2008-2009 never saw the light.
'Robotech Defenders' #2.
Other comic book work
Judith Hunt worked on a couple of other comic books during the 1980s, starting with the two-issue mini-series based on the 'Robotech Defenders' toyline at DC Comics (1985), written by Andrew Helfer. With Sam Glanzman, she pencilled a special issue of DC's war comic 'The Losers' (1985) as part of the 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' crossover project. She was also present at Marvel Comics, pencilling three issues of 'Conan the King' (1986-1987) with Mike Manley, while Art Nichols and Al Williamson provided inks. A more steady homebase was however First Comics. Besides relaunching 'Evangeline', Hunt also illustrated issues of 'American Flagg!' (1985) and 'Jon Sable, Freelance' (1987) for them. Her final comic book work was a 'Moon Knight' story for the 'Marvel Fanfare' title in 1988.
'Moon Knight', from Marvel Fanfare #38 (ink by Bill Sienkiewicz).
Highlights for Children
By the late 1980s, Hunt left the comic book industry and focused on children's illustration. She began an enduring collaboration with Highlights for Children magazine and its publishing division Boyds Mills Press until the early 2000s. She illustrated many booklets in the 'Hidden Picture' and 'Puzzlemania' series, and created characters and illustrations for the magazines Which Way USA and Funzone. In Highlights for Children, she most notably created the comics feature about the wooden puppet family 'The Timbertoes' (1994-2002) with editor/writer Marileta Robinson. The feature was created for the magazine by John Gee in 1951, and continued by Sidney A. Quinn between 1977 and 1994. After Hunt's departure, it was continued by Rich Wallace and artist Ron Zalme.
Further illustration career
Judith Hunt has additionally done extensive work in several fields of the commercial art market. She made updated model sheets for licensing designs of Johnny Gruelle's 'Raggedy Ann and Andy' for Macmillan Publishing in 1986, and illustrations for many children books and toy packaging designs for companies like Mattel. Further early children's books with her artwork were the 'Muppets' storybooks 'What's a Gonzo' (1986) and 'Baby Kermit's Birthday Surprise' (1986) by Andrew Gutelle for Henson Associates. Since her departure from Highlights, she has illustrated the educational nature book 'Animals Under Our Feet' (Treasure Bay, 2007) by Sindy McKay, the award-winning children's picture book 'Prunes and Rupe' (Filter Press, 2007) by Lydia Griffin, and the historical pre-teen novels 'Susan Creek' (Veritas Press, 2004) and 'Two Williams' (Veritas Press, 2007) by Douglas Winter. Among her other publishing clients are Scholastic, Random House, Hallmark Cards, Harcourt and National Geographic. With her knowledge of botany and ecology, Hunt has additionally illustrated botanical and wildlife conservation signs and posters for organizations like the United States Forestry Service and the Maine Department of Conservation.
Illustration from 'Susan Creek'.