In 1980, Ellis married Melissa Martin, a graphic designer, photographer and writer who served as his business partner.
Millennium gave early exposure to comics artists such as Mike Wieringo and Darryl Banks, and utilized industry veterans Jim Mooney and Don Heck.
For Millennium, Ellis conceived and scripted Nosferatu: Plague of Terror, a four-part series that provided a complete story of the title character's origin quite apart from the Dracula legend.
In 1995, Ellis began writing action-adventure novels for Harlequin Enterprises Gold Eagle imprint, first for the long-running Mack Bolan franchise and the post-apocalyptic Deathlands series.
[2] In 2008, Ellis co-authored The Everything Guide to Writing Graphic Novels with Melissa Martin (published by Simon & Schuster).