Somewhere between Mike Mignola, A Fistful of Dollars, and Johnny Cash’s Ghost Riders in the Sky, rides the gray man, consequential king, Joseph Bones, Shadow of Death! A lone gun story silhouetted against the surreal desert valley where ghost and ghoul, witch and prophet, mystery and dream, ebb in and out. Joe Death and the Graven Image wanders the tombstoned road, poking at the fabric of life, loss, retribution, redemption, and the keys to paradise.
From the pages of Joe Death and the Graven Image author Benjamin Schipper illustrates key scenes to deepen and illuminate much that was only eluded to in the book.
To read the blog about this piece click HERE.
To purchase this print click HERE.
Cover and Interior illustrations for Moody Publishers.
Art Director: Erik M. Peterson
This faux book cover is for Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal Artist Tribute book, now on shelves (August 2018) from Archaia! I was particularly inspired by old, promotional art sources back when the film first came out back in 1982. A beautiful and fun film, I think all the fans are on the edge of their seats waiting for Netflix’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance!
Jens K. Styve the creator of the Norwegian comic strip Dunce hired me to create a guest cover for his newest collection of English translated comic strips! This collection is mostly to do with his dog Brego. The cover and title is a parody on the classic Weird Science EC Comics.
Cover art, interior and chapter header illustrations for Jennifer Trafton's new novel, Henry and the Chalk Dragon, to be released in April of 2017 by the Rabbit Room Press. Pre-order by clicking here.
I was hired by Boom-Studios/Archaia, comic licensers of the Jim Henson Company, to write and illustrate one issue of their annual four-part Storyteller comic. The Storyteller was a TV show starring John Hurt as the main, frame character who retold the folklore of different cultures. Every year the comic has a theme such as Dragons, Giants, Witches, etc. This year the theme was Faeries and I loved diving into both the visual and folklore research in order to create this issue.
My issue is loosely based on various Danish folklore.
This is a personal comic, an internal dialogue about where I was as a children’s book illustrator and where I wanted to be as a cartoonist.
It was a self-medicating process that helped me work out a very small comic. It was also a genuine attempt to work for Mike Mignola and Dark Horse comics on one of their projects, or potentially my own, which didn’t happen at the time but definitely put me on some important radars. The biggest result being a very nice article by Cory Godbey over on Muddy Colors, HERE.
The real, lasting benefit was to just write and complete a whole comic story, no matter how short. Hope you enjoy! Lettered by the exceptional Clem Robins.
A fun pin-up for Ben Bender’s all-ages comic Bëorn, campaigning on Kickstarter from April 6th to May 6th.
Fan art for one of my favorite comics these days: Helena Crash, written by Fabian Rangel Jr., illustrated by Warwick Johnson Cadwell, and lettered by Ironbark. The premise of the comic is way out there, but the characters and relationships are wonderfully believable and lovable. It was only four issues but I hope they get a chance to make more with this girl! Beautiful stuff.
The Bman has always been my favorite super. The first comic I ever remember owning was the trade paperback of Year One by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. This, along with Batman the Animated Series, was a great foundation not only for love of a character but love of solid design in illustration. Many artists over the years have added to this tradition, Mike Mignola and Paul Pope not the least of which.
Like a phoenix from the ashes, my Patreon newsletter “Friday Five’s” is reborn as a direct email newsletter. Patreon was an excellent platform but I’ve decided to cut out the middle man and trickling monetary value in order to speak directly to as many people as possible without a pesky paywall getting in the way.
I keep reminding myself that my core value needs to be as a bookmaker. When Joe Death and the Graven Image releases I want it to succeed on its own, not floated by my ability to gather a paying community inside an exclusive group, but rather sales when I have a physical product to offer.
So, in the meantime welcome to the Ole Noggin! My weekly newsletter where I’ll be sharing what I’m working on and what I’m genuinely loving. Join me today by filling out the email address form below.
A scary story written by renowned British author Philip Kerr, published by Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Fan art and promotion for Joey Ellis's wonderful world of Leaky Timbers, coinciding with his release of the Leaky Timbers pitch video. Here's to hoping it gets picked up by some major TV/internet company! I had a lot of fun ripping off some other greatest American Illustrators of all time, Norman Rockwell and N.C. Wyeth and mashing my style with Joey's characters for these illustrations.
Editorial Illustration for a horror story involving the endless and unsortable paper filing system. Switch to the leader in School Administration Software: Frontline Education.
An early attempt at sequential storytelling, exploring the nuances of human existence through the fiction of horse people.
Cover and interior Illustration for the 1963 Newbery Medal winner A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle.
Sentimental dad move has me drawing my son’s favorite thing ever, tractors. Trak-ahs as he calls them. I’ve never actually wanted to draw one of these things, but the more we looked at them together the more I saw something worth drawing.
Purchase one from my store HERE
Series of bookmarks for self-promotion, particularly at SCBWI conferences and other book related conventions.
Fan art for one of my favorite comics and comic creators working today. Andrew Maclean's Head Lopper comic is great. Wonderful stories and killer character designs. Also some John Bauer homage being paid here.
Coffee strong enough to wake the dead.
I had the extremely great pleasure of working on this series of posters for the Children's Theatre of Charlotte. Growing up I can remember multiple class field trips to see some of these classic theatre shows, A Year With Frog and Toad specifically. Hope these only add to the wonderful experience kids will have at the theatre in Charlotte.
Put your armor on, this stuff is hot.
A fun little fake brand for a friends website, intended to feature government bills in a readable, user-friendly format.
Images inspired by the music of Lullatone. I don't often find music that fits just perfectly with children's book illustration so when I do I'm incredibly inspired to make.
Partnering with the Lamp Post Guild has been one of my most stretching ventures in 2016. Set to open January of 2017, my first course, How to Work from Home (like a Boss) explores the topic of managing yourself, your time, and your home office. Here are some of the illustrations I made to accompany the course banners, covers, and articles.
