Dave Johnson (comics)

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Dave Johnson
Johnson sitting at a table
Johnson at the New York Comic Con
Born (1966-04-04) April 4, 1966 (age 56)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Writer, Penciller, Inker, Editor
Notable works
Detective Comics
100 Bullets
Deadpool
Awards2002 Eisner Award for Best Cover Artist

Dave Johnson (born April 4, 1966) is an American comic book artist known for his cover work. For Image Comics he has worked on titles including Erik Larsen's SuperPatriot and Robert Kirkman's Invincible. For DC Comics he has provided covers to titles such as Detective Comics and the DC/Vertigo book 100 Bullets, for which he won the 2002 Eisner Award for Best Cover Artist. His Marvel Comics work includes covers for Deadpool.[1] He has also done some writing, as on Batman: Black and White #6 and Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #194.

In 2022 he was among the three dozen contributors to the benefit book Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds, whose profits would be donated to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees resulting from the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Early life[]

Dave Johnson was born April 4, 1966[2] in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,[2][3] though his family moved to Georgia when he was a child. He has a younger sister. He discovered comics as a child, though he eventually lost interest in them. His interest in the medium was renewed in the late 1970s, beginning with Chris Claremont and John Byrne's run on The Uncanny X-Men. Johnson has named Byrne and Michael Golden as two of his main influences. Johnson studied painting at the Art Institute of Atlanta, but ultimately became more interested in illustration, specifically on the ability to instantly convey information in a single image, explaining at WonderCon in 2009, "[With] billboards, you have five seconds to deliver a message." Applying this idea to comics covers, he said, "You're walking down the aisle (at your comic shop), and the simpler the design, and the brighter and bolder the covers, the better an idea it is. You say 'Batman,' and get the whole message at once."[3]

Career[]

In 1985 Johnson began working for Comico on the title Robotech.[1]

In 2002 he was awarded the 2002 Eisner Award for Best Cover Artist for his work on the DC Comics book Detective Comics and the DC/Vertigo book 100 Bullets.[4]

In April 2022, Johnson was reported among the more than three dozen comics creators who contributed to Operation USA's benefit anthology book, Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds, a project spearheaded by IDW Publishing Special Projects Editor Scott Dunbier, whose profits would be donated to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees resulting from the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Johnson would provide one of the covers to the softcover edition of the book.[5][6][7]

Technique and materials[]

When doing covers, Johnson prefers to think out all of his preliminary work for a week before rendering his ideas within an hour. He does not like presenting editors with a large number of cover ideas, preferring instead to deliver the final products, saying that "most editors are clueless" about covers. When painting, Johnson begins by applying the darkest pigments, before layering on lighter colors with acrylic, saying, "I'm trying to be less opaque and more brushy. I'm a terrible painter; it's a pure accident that it comes out as good as it does." When doing painted covers, he prefers do so fully, without completing a substantial amount of the image digital, although he does employ a digital greywash technique for layering.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "CGC Welcomes Comic Book Illustrator Dave Johnson for a Private Signing Event". Certified Guaranty Company. June 24, 2021. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Dave Johnson (b. 1966)". Grand Comics Database. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c "WC: Dave Johnson - The Thinking Man's Cover Artist". CBR.com. February 28, 2009. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  4. ^ "2002 EISNER AWARD WINNERS". ICv2. August 13, 2022. Archived from the original on September 10, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  5. ^ Kaplan, Rebecca O. (April 18, 2022). "ZOOP launches benefit anthology COMICS FOR UKRAINE: SUNFLOWER SEEDS". The Beat. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  6. ^ Brooke, David (April 18, 2022). "'Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds' to benefit Ukrainian refugees". AIPT. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  7. ^ Kit, Borys (April 20, 2022). "Comic Book Creators Team for Ukraine Relief Effort Anthology 'Sunflower Seed'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.

External links[]

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