Scott Benson

Scott Benson is best known as a writer, artist, and co-creator of the acclaimed 2017 adventure game *Night in the Woods*, a story-driven title set in a world of anthropomorphic animals that follows a young woman returning to her hometown. Born in the United States, Benson’s path into comics preceded his game work, with a short but focused career in the mid-1990s. Between 1993 and 1995, he was credited as an artist and writer on 25 comic book issues, most notably for Marvel’s *War Machine*, *The Sensational She-Hulk*, and *Darkman*, as well as licensed work on *The Ren & Stimpy Show* and the horror anthology *Strange*. His style in this period was clean and expressive, suited to both superhero action and offbeat humor. Before *Night in the Woods*, Benson collaborated with programmer Alec Holowka and co-writer Bethany Hockenberry on two smaller companion games, *Longest Night* (2013) and *Lost Constellation* (2014). The main game was funded through a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, raising over four times its initial $50,000 goal, and upon release in February 2017, it earned widespread praise for its writing, dialogue, and character work. Benson’s later legacy is defined by this deeply personal narrative, which has been ported to multiple platforms and expanded in the *Weird Autumn* edition. He has not received major industry awards for his comics work, but *Night in the Woods* remains a touchstone in indie game storytelling.