Matthew Southworth

Matthew Southworth is a comic artist living in Seattle, Washington. His most notable work is Stumptown, a modern noir series written by Greg Rucka and published by Oni Press; he has also worked on Spider-Man: The Grim Hunt (Marvel Comics) and illustrated a Killer Croc story for DC Comics. Southworth has also worked as an inker on several projects, including Ares for Marvel Comics and Infinity, Inc. for DC Comics.

Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Southworth worked in the literary department at the celebrated Actors Theatre of Louisville. He attended the graduate drama program at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, studying playwriting and directing; his plays include Big Wide Empty, Sugar, and Damages to Tony. After graduation, he worked at Paramount Pictures for Tom Cruise's company Cruise/Wagner, then moved on to freelance development work for many companies including Warner Bros., Touchstone, MGM, Paramount, Broder-Kurland-Webb-Uffner, and others. As a screenwriter, he was an uncredited writer on the film Suspect Zero and wrote and directed an independent feature film called Big Wide Empty, based on his play.

After leaving Los Angeles for Seattle, Southworth formed a band, the Capillaries, in which he sang lead vocals and played guitar. The Capillaries released one album, "Overnight Lows and Daylight Savings", and achieved modest success and steady local airplay in Seattle. A second album, "Love Conquers Some", was recorded but remains unreleased; the Capillaries have not performed since early 2009. The Capillaries included many Seattle musicians from various bands at one time or another, including Aaron Huffman and Rob Knop of Harvey Danger, Eric Corson of the Long Winters, and Jon Auer of the Posies.

Southworth also briefly played second guitar in Harvey Danger and performed as the guitarist in Harvey Danger singer Sean Nelson's band Sean Nelson and His Mortal Enemies. Southworth also appears on albums by Jon Auer ("The Year of Our Demise") and Ian Moore ("Luminaria").

Southworth's first published comics work was a short piece in Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon, followed by three issues of Infinity, Inc. Those issues, which he inked, also contained short backup pieces penciled by Southworth and inked by Stefano Gaudiano, who Southworth has occasionally assisted on projects like Daredevil and The Sensational Spider-Man. In June 2012, Southworth partnered with Southdown Creative to create a motion comic in support of the Xbox LIVE promotion, "Summer of Arcade 2012."