Star Wars Artist Series: Adam Hughes

Princess Leia, Wonder Woman, Vampirella, Cat Woman, Lara Croft, and Storm all have one man in common, and he's not wearing a cape or carrying a lightsaber. Artist Adam Hughes has a rare talent for transforming legendary comic book heroines into modern-day Mona Lisas.

Known by many fans for his "good girl" pin-up style art, Hughes is considered to be one of the greatest artistic contributors in the world of comics today. He's drawn covers and art for such titles as Star Wars, The Justice League, Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Tomb Raider, Legionnaires, Ghost and Gen 13, only to name a few.

During his childhood in Riverside, New Jersey, Hughes exhibited artistic tendencies at a young age. He says he always had a feeling he'd either make his way to outer space, or draw his path there.

"I was raised watching moon landings [on TV], and really wanted to be an astronaut," Hughes says. "The only other thing I was good at was drawing. Not that I was good at being an astronaut; I was 5. But I was good at wanting to be an astronaut."

As he dreamt of traveling to the moon, he soon was introduced to another galaxy worthy of exploration.

"I am a first generation Star Wars nerd," Hughes admits. "I was just turning 10 in May of 1977. I became a fan about two minutes into my first screening, at the Eric Cinemas in Pennsauken, New Jersey. My mother couldn't drive home fast enough for me to get to my pen and paper so I could start drawing Star Wars."

As the years passed by, Hughes found himself seriously contemplating a career in art.

"When I escaped from high school, I gave myself a certain amount of time to get a career in comics going," Hughes recalls. "My New Year's resolution for 1987 was to give myself five years to get into comics. If I didn't do it by then, I'd learn a trade. I was invited to a New Year's party thrown by Neil Vokes and Rick Rankin, who were self-publishing their mystical kung fu comic Eagle. They offered me a pin-up [assignment], which I spent all New Year's Day working on. It snowed like it was Alaska, so it was a good day, all snowed in with nothing but my very first assignment and some music to keep me company. As New Year's resolutions go, I think a 24-hour turnaround is pretty good."

Instead of attending college, Hughes continued to pursue freelance art assignments, honing his skills as an artist, and looking to other illustrators and painters for inspiration including Norman Rockwell, Alphonse Mucha, Dean Cornwell, Drew Struzan, Mike Mignola, Kevin Nowlan, Steve Rude, among many others.

It wasn't long before Hughes' unique style was in demand. In 1988, Hughes illustrated both the cover and interior content to the comic book Maze Agency, and a year later began work on DC Comic's Justice League series. But it was his work on the Dark Horse series Ghost, a 4-year run of Wonder Woman covers for DC Comics, and his own GEN-13: Ordinary Heroes for Wildstorm that seemed to gain Hughes the most recognition from his ever-growing fan base.

Of course, Star Wars fans might recognize Hughes more for his covers for the Classic Star Wars movie adaptations where he's captured the epic moment where Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia swing over the cavernous Death Star chasm, and an equally memorable scene featuring Princess Leia in her infamous metal bikini costume.