Conner worked at a color separation company, which handled comics coloring prior to the industry adoption of computer programs such as
Photoshop. She subsequently worked in a comic book store. At the time she lived a little over an hour from New York City, and on her days off, would travel to New York City with her father, and use his office at the advertising industry where he worked as a home base from which to call editors at
Marvel Comics and
DC Comics to request a portfolio review. When granted these interviews, she was told that she had potential, but needed to work on her art more. At this same time she became acquainted with professional artists through her work at the comic shop, and answered an advertisement by artist
Bill Sienkiewicz, who was seeking an assistant. She took the job, which became her first comics work, while continuing to show her portfolio to editors at Marvel and DC. After about her sixth or seventh time showing her portfolio, Marvel editor Greg Wright gave Conner her first illustration assignment, an 11-page
Yellowjacket back-up story in
Solo Avengers #12 (November 1988). Her other early work includes
Excalibur and
Suburban Jersey Ninja She-Devils for Marvel,
Strip AIDS U.S.A. for
Last Gasp in 1988, and
Archie and
The Adventures of Bayou Billy stories for
Archie Comics in 1989–90. During this time, she worked with Marvel editor and artist
Jimmy Palmiotti (now her husband), who often
inks over Conner's
pencils. From 1993 to 1994 she penciled issues #1–10 of
Peter David and
Richard Howell's creator-owned series,
Soulsearchers and Company, which was published by
Claypool Comics. In 1994 she penciled
Barbie Fashion #43, a Marvel Comics title that was licensed from the
Mattel doll. That same year she did her first
Vampirella work with
Vengeance of Vampirella, a mini-comic that was bundled with an issue of
Wizard magazine. The following year she pencilled issues 1-6 and 9-11 of Marvel's
Gargoyles, which was based on the
Disney animated television series of the same name. In 1996 she pencilled
Kid Death & Fluffy Spring Break Special #1 for
Topps Comics and
Tomoe #3 for
Billy Tucci's
Crusade Comics. She also returned to Vampirella with Harris'
Vampirella Lives #1–3, which teamed her with writer
Warren Ellis.
Nike, Inc. commissioned Conner and fellow comics artist
Jan Duursema to design the
Make Yourself: A Super Power advertising campaign in 2011. Conner did modeling/art reference work for the Marvel
miniseries Elektra: Assassin in the 1980s, and for artist
Joe Jusko's
Punisher / Painkiller Jane in 2000. Conner, Palmiotti, and writer Justin Gray work together via their multimedia entertainment company PaperFilms. They collaborated on the
Terra miniseries, which premiered in November 2008, and the first 12 issues of the
Power Girl ongoing series, which were published between 2009 and 2010, both of which Conner penciled. in 2009, Conner drew the
Supergirl story in
Wednesday Comics which also featured appearance by
Krypto and
Streaky the Supercat. Following her departure from
Power Girl, Conner wrote and pencilled a story published in
Wonder Woman #600, which featured a team-up between Power Girl, Wonder Woman, and
Batgirl.
IDW Publishing released
The Art of Amanda Conner in April 2012 while DC Comics published
DC Comics: The Sequential Art of Amanda Conner the following November. In 2012–2013, Conner drew the
Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre limited series which she co-wrote with
Darwyn Cooke. Cooke had insisted on having Conner as a collaborator on the series, stating that "I knew I had something to say about Laurie, and I needed somebody to collaborate with who could help realize it. The only person I know alive that could do that was Amanda. So I kind of made it a fuck-or-walk situation, you know? [Laughs.] 'We get Amanda, or I can’t do this.' So that made it incumbent upon [DC co-publisher] Dan [DiDio] to bring Amanda into it." Conner and Palmiotti launched a
Harley Quinn ongoing series in November 2013. She provided the design concepts for the DC Universe streaming
Harley Quinn animated series. Many of the story line ideas and dialog have been used for source material on the episodes. These concepts have also been launching points for both the
Birds of Prey and
Suicide Squad feature movies. Conner's art was featured in "
The Perspiration Implementation", the October 19, 2015, episode of the American sitcom
The Big Bang Theory. In the episode, comic book store owner
Stuart Bloom asks the women for ideas on how to attract more women to his shop, and
Amy Farrah Fowler (
Mayim Bialik) points out that an illustration hanging on one of the shop's walls, "Girl on a Leash", may not be conducive to attracting female customers. The image, which was illustrated by Conner and colored by
Paul Mounts, depicts a scantily-clad woman being held on a chain leash by a muscular, whip-wielding masked man. The piece was custom-drawn for the show by Conner. In 2015, Conner was voted as the #2 top female comics artist of all time. On May 18, 2019, at the Comic Con Revolution event in
Ontario, California, Conner was named the 2019 recipient of the Joe Kubert Distinguished Storyteller Award, which is given to "outstanding comic book creators who exemplify both Joe Kubert's artistic talent and his commitment to nurturing the comic book community." ==Technique and materials==