Stephen DeStefano

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox comics creator Stephen DeStefano (born 1966) is an American comics artist, animator and storyboard artist best known as the co-creator of 'Mazing Man and Hero Hotline with writer Bob Rozakis.

Early life

DeStefano was born in Jamaica, Queens, New York and attended the High School of Art and Design.

Career

DeStefano's first credit in the comics industry was as the creator of the character Captain Electron in Adventure Comics #479 (March 1981), and then the characters Zeep and Thumbelina in the "Dial H for Hero" story in Adventure Comics #483 (July 1981). His first professionally published comics artwork was a one-page parody of the "I…Vampire" feature in House of Mystery #306 (July 1982). DeStefano wrote and drew "The Mini (Mis)Adventures of Nick O. Tyme" in New Talent Showcase #6–12 (June–December 1984). He then teamed with writer Bob Rozakis to create 'Mazing Man, a character introduced in an eponymous series beginning in January 1986. After the cancellation of that series, the Rozakis-DeStefano team created Hero Hotline in Action Comics Weekly #637 (January 1989). After a four-issue run as a back-up feature, Hero Hotline received its own six-issue limited series. In the 1990s, DeStefano was a frequent contributor to The Big Book Of series published by Paradox Press. His other comics work includes credits at Dark Horse Comics, Disney Comics, Fantagraphics Books, and Marvel Comics. As an animator, DeStefano has worked on such series as The Ren & Stimpy Show and Futurama. He inked the Cage limited series drawn by Genndy Tartakovsky in 2016–2017. In 2020, DeStefano won the Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation Emmy for Character Design on the Genndy Tartakovsky series Primal.

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Writer	Storyboard artist	Art director	Animator	Notes
1992–96	The Ren and Stimpy Show	Template:Yes	Template:Yes		Template:Yes	background designer, layout artist, layout supervisor, and background assistant
1993	2 Stupid Dogs				Template:Yes	background designer
1994	Beethoven				Template:Yes	character designer
1995	The Baby Huey Show		Template:Yes			ep: "Operation Immunization"
	The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat	Template:Yes				also assistant director
1996	Earthworm Jim		Template:Yes
1998	Superman: The Animated Series		Template:Yes		Template:Yes	background key designer
	The New Batman Adventures		Template:Yes
1999–2001	What a Cartoon!		Template:Yes		Template:Yes	three episodes; models ("King Crab: Space Crustacean") and prop designer ("Foe Paws")
1999	Courage the Cowardly Dog		Template:Yes			ep: "The Demon in the Mattress"
1999–2001	The Woody Woodpecker Show		Template:Yes
2001	Imp, Inc.				Template:Yes	animation layout
2002	Poochini's Yard		Template:Yes			ep: "Diva Dog"
	Welcome to Eltingville		Template:Yes			TV short
	Private Eye Princess		Template:Yes
2003	Xiaolin Showdown		Template:Yes
2004–10	The Venture Bros.		Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	character designer
2006	Minoriteam				Template:Yes	illustrator; ep: "Tribe and Prejudice"
	The X's		Template:Yes			ep: "Homebody"
	Plastic Man in: Puddle Trouble		Template:Yes		Template:Yes	model designer; TV short
	The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy	Template:Partial	Template:Yes			ep: "Anger Mismanagement"
2006–07	Drawn Together		Template:Yes
2007–09	Random! Cartoons		Template:Yes			two episodes
2007	The Modifyers				Template:Yes	character designer
2010–11	Sym-Bionic Titan		Template:Yes		Template:Yes
2011	Batman: The Brave and the Bold	Template:Yes	Template:Yes			ep: "Four-Star Spectacular!"
2012	Ben 10: Ultimate Alien				Template:Yes	character designer; ep: "Catch a Falling Star"
	Secret Mountain Fort Awesome	Template:Yes	Template:Yes			ep: "Festro Gets Glasses"
	Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil		Template:Yes			two episodes
	The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes		Template:Yes
	Dreamworks Dragons		Template:Yes			two episodes
	New Teen Titans		Template:Yes			ep: "Apprentice: Part Three"
	The Looney Tunes Show		Template:Yes
2012–13	Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated		Template:Yes			storyboard revisionist
2013	POV		Template:Yes			ep: "Listening Is an Act of Love: A StoryCorps"
2013–18	Mickey Mouse				Template:Yes	character and prop designer
2017	Samurai Jack		Template:Yes		Template:Yes	storyboard layout, storyboard clean-up, and layout keys
2018–19	Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles				Template:Yes	character designer
2019	Primal				Template:Yes
2020–23	Looney Tunes Cartoons				Template:Yes
2022	The Cuphead Show!				Template:Yes
2023–present	Unicorn: Warriors Eternal				Template:Yes

As voice actor

Year	Title	Role(s)
1994	The Ren and Stimpy Show	Chalky Cheesefist
1995	The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat	Additional voices
2002	Private Eye Princess	Hildegard the Maid
2008	The Venture Bros.	Dr. Paul Entmann

Film

Year	Title	Storyboard artist	Animator	Notes
1995	Runaway Brain		Template:Yes	Visual development artist
2006	Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo	Template:Yes		TV movie
2007	Futurama: Bender's Big Score	Template:Yes		Direct-to-video
2008	Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs	Template:Yes
2012	Big Top Scooby-Doo!	Template:Yes
2015	Hotel Transylvania 2		Template:Yes	character designer
2018	Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation		Template:Yes
2022	Hotel Transylvania: Transformania		Template:Yes
2024	Fixed		Template:Yes

Bibliography

Apple Comics

• 101 Other Uses for a Condom #1 (1991)

Dark Horse Comics

• Cheval Noir #26, 44 (1992–1993)
• Hellboy, Jr. #1–2 (1999)
• Hellboy, Jr., Halloween Special #1 (1997)
• Instant Piano #1–4 (1994–1995)
• Wolf & Red #2 (1995)

DC Comics

• Action Comics Weekly #637–640 ("Hero Hotline" feature) (1989)
• Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam! #6 (2009)
• Bizarro Comics #1 (2001)
• Blackhawk vol. 3 #3–4 (1989)
• The Brave and the Bold #200 (one page) (1983)
• Cartoon Cartoons #16, 22–23, 32 (2003–2004)
• Cartoon Network Action Pack #7 (2007)
• Cartoon Network Block Party #3 (2005)
• Cool World #1–4 (movie adaptation) (1992)
• Dexter's Laboratory #11, 30 (2000–2002)
• Elvira's House of Mystery Special #1 (1987)
• Fast Forward #2 (1993)
• The Flash Secret Files and Origins #2 (1999)
• Flintstones and the Jetsons #4 (1997)
• Hero Hotline #1–6 (1989)
• House of Mystery #306, 311, 313–315, 321 (1982–1983)
• Just Imagine Stan Lee... Secret Files and Origins #1 (one page) (2002)
• Legion #9 (2002)
• Looney Tunes #100, 150 (2003–2007)
• Looney Tunes Magazine #6 (1991)
• 'Mazing Man #1–12 (1986)
• 'Mazing Man Special #1–3 (1987–1990)
• New Talent Showcase #6–12 (1984)
• Scooby-Doo #28–29, 45, 77, 79 (1999–2004)
• Secret Origins vol. 2 #16 ('Mazing Man), #30 (Plastic Man), #34 (G'nort) (1987–1988)
• Superman and Batman: World's Funnest #1 (2001)
• Superman Villains Secret Files and Origins #1 (1998)
• Sweatshop #1–3 (2003)
• Wednesday Comics HC (one page) (2010)
• Who's Who in the DC Universe #8 (1991)
• Who's Who in the Legion of Super-Heroes #3 (1988)
• Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #7, 13, 15–16 (1985–1986)
• Who's Who Update '88 #1 (1988)

Paradox Press

• The Big Book of Bad (1998)
• The Big Book of Little Criminals (1996)
• The Big Book of Scandal (1997)
• The Big Book of Urban Legends (1994)
• The Big Book of Vice (1999)

Disney Comics

• Disney Adventures #97–1, #97–8 (1997)
• Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Adventures #1–2, 7–11 (1990–1991)

Fantagraphics Books

• Critters #32, 38, 50 (1989–1990)
• Itchy Planet #3 (one page) (1988)

Harvey Pekar

• American Splendor #14 (1989)

Marvel Comics

• Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey #1 (movie adaptation) (1991)
• Bill & Ted's Excellent Comic Book #1–3 (1991–1992)
• Cage #1–4 (2016–2017)
• Video Jack #4, 6 (1988)

NBM Publishing

• Classics Desecrated (1995)

Oni Press

• Jingle Belle #1–2 (1999)
• Oni Double Feature #13 (1999)
• Oni Press Summer Vacation Supercolor Fun Special #1 (2000)
• Paul Dini's Jingle Belle Winter Wingding #1 (2002)
• Paul Dini's Jingle Belle's All-Star Holiday Hullabaloo #1 (2000)

Palliard Press

• XXXenophile #6 (1992)

Renegade Press

• Renegade Romance #1–2 (1987–1988)

United Plankton Pictures, Inc.

• SpongeBob Comics #4–5, 34, 43 (2011–2015)

External links

• Template:IMDb name
• Template:Comicbookdb
• Stephen DeStefano at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
• Stephen DeStefano at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
• Stephen DeStefano papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library