Mark Wheatley

Mark Wheatley (born May 27, 1954) is an American illustrator, writer, editor, and publisher in the comic book field. Wheatley's comic book and pulp creations include Breathtaker, Mars, and Blood of the Innocent, all illustrated with his frequent collaborator Marc Hempel. Wheatley has written books, comic books, and television shows, and his illustrations have appeared in magazines, books, comic books, and games.

Biography Wheatley came from the world of fandom, having published fanzines in the early 1970s.

Insight Studios In 1978, Wheatley founded the Baltimore-based Insight Studios as a design, illustration, and art production studio; he was joined by Marc Hempel in 1980. Since then, Insight has expanded into publishing and has become home for many notable creators, including Frank Cho.

Wheatley has worked as an editor and art director for a number of publishers. He is also the inventor of an early digital color separation technology for comics.

In 2022, Wheatley and Hempel discovered that original artwork had been stolen from an Insight Studios warehouse. The suspected thief died in 2015, and the artwork was sold by his estate to private collectors; the theft was realized in 2022 when art began going up for sale online. As of 2026, Wheatley and Hempel are still trying to get the stolen art returned.

Film and television Breck Eisner is set to direct the upcoming Hollywood film adaptation of Blood of the Innocent, a comic book series Wheatley co-created with Rickey Shanklin and Marc Hempel. Inferno Entertainment has acquired underlying rights to the series and is funding development and production of the feature, which is being co-produced with Circle of Confusion.

Awards Wheatley has won the Inkpot, Speakeasy, and Mucker awards, and has been nominated for the Harvey and Ignatz awards.