Lowell Cunningham (born c. 1958/1959)^[1] is an American comic book author. He is best known for creating the comic book The Men in Black, which later became the basis for a media franchise.^[2]

Early life

Lowell Cunningham was raised in Franklin, Tennessee, the son of farmers Ralph and Ruby Cunningham, the latter of whom was also an office worker for the state government. A fan of science-fiction and espionage fiction spy-fiction TV shows in his youth, he went on to a bachelor's degree in philosophy from The University of Tennessee^[1] in 1985.^[3]

Career

Following college, Cunningham worked for nearly three years in the circulation department of the Knox County Library in Knoxville, Tennessee.^[4] After his 1990 comic-book series The Men in Black from Aircel Comics finished its run, Cunningham worked as a factory security guard.^[1] When his comic became the basis for the 1997 film Men in Black, Cunningham earned what he said in an interview that year was an initial "six-figure sum. In the low six figures. I've been living off it for five years."^[1]

This launched a media franchise that has included the sequels Men in Black II (2002) and Men in Black 3 (2012), a 2019 spin-off Men in Black: International, and an animated television program, Men in Black: The Series, which ran from October 1997 to June 2001. Cunningham went on to co-write four Star Wars parody short films with director John E. Hudgens, released from 2000 to 2005, and in 2012 returned to comics with About Comics' Jack Ooze, starring a district attorney turned semi-liquid superhero.^[5][6]

Personal life

As of 2008, Cunningham lived in West Knoxville, Tennessee.^[4]