JotCast | Felix Comic Art Chat with DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON (4/3/18)

Felix Comic Art Chat with DANIEL WARREN JOHNSON (4/3/18)

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DWJ

9:26

Hey Mike. Depends on how recent you mean! I believe the last real purchase I made was at last years NYCC, where I bought two Goran Parlov Punisher: The Platoon pages. Felix was instrumental in my meeting Goran so I could buy some pages, I'll forever be in his debt for that.

9:27

Also, I traded some art with Tradd Moore, of a two page spread from Luther Strode, where he's fighting Jack the Ripper! Very excited about that one as well, and another NYCC get.

Felix Lu

9:27

PUNISHER: THE PLATOON came up in our chat with Cliff Chiang, too. Great comic!

Jabba

9:27

Daniel, have you ever arm wrestled @NickPitarra?

DWJ

9:27

Probably one of my favorite comics in recent years(Punisher: The Platoon)

9:28

Jabba, I have never arm wrestled, nor will I ever, arm wrestle, Nick Pitarra.

On second thought, I may have arm wrestled him while tipsy in Tokyo, but I'm pretty sure I let him win :)

Felix Lu

9:28

Just as he would never pick up a guitar in your presence, either.

DWJ

9:28

Haha, amen.

Jimbo

9:28

Who is your favorite marvel character of all time?

Felix Lu

9:29

Spidey.

DWJ

9:29

Easily Beta Ray Bill. I also love the Punisher, but don't like what he stands for. Beta is so much fun, and his design makes me very happy.

He's the perfect "hero". Weird, fun, badass, and from outer space. Also, his spaceship is the best.

Cameron Lentz

9:29

Whatever your next project is, I'm sure it will be outstanding!

DWJ

9:30

Cameron, look for an announcement around SDCC. I'm super excited to share it with everyone. Already almost finished with drawing issue 2.

Chris

9:30

So I spent a bit of time looking through your sold (thanks Felix for keeping it up for us to see still) do you ever miss your soul you sold at the crossroads? Seriously, you're outstanding. No questions. just awe.

DWJ

9:32

Haha! My soul is still intact,(I think). THanks for the awesome comment. Just doing my best and trying to put the work in.

Matt Todd

9:33

@Daniel congratulations on the new baby and wrapping up Extremity, you should be very proud of both. Have you picked up any new pieces of original art? What Artist Editions are inspiring you these days? That Orion commission you posted would have made Jack Kirby very happy.

DWJ

9:35

Thanks Matt! I was flipping through the New Gods AE recently when I saw I had to do that commission, it helps give me ideas as far as composition and dynamics go. Also, I love having an excuse to look at them. The New Gods one is right under my desk, standing up, so I have access to it at all times. I also have been digging into the Daredevil: Born Again AE, that is one of my favorites as well. I ALSO bought the newest Beta Ray Bill AE. Simonson is one of my all time favorite artists.

Jabba

9:35

@jkroeg My parents did name me Ryan...

Johnny

9:35

Hey Guys!! This is a pretty cool idea.

Kyle

9:35

Hey Felix & Daniel! Can’t wait to get to say hi at C2E2 Friday!! One of the things that I love about your work Daniel is the energy that your art emits! I was just wondering what your process was for getting that to work so naturally!

DWJ

9:35

Hello Johnny! Welcome.

9:38

Hey Kyle. I'm glad you recognize that energy in my work. I've worked a LOT on trying to keep the energy through my lines as a piece gets more and more finished. Oftentimes, I would lose the energy that my pencils had once I went to ink something. It just took YEARS to get it to the place where I enjoy my inks more than my pencils. Each artist has their own journey with it, but mine was making sure to stay loose with my inks, just like I am with my pencils. Also, I've been focusing a lot on composition and where a character is on the page. A lot of work goes into that in the early stage, and really helps sell the piece in different ways as it nears completion.

Johnny

9:38

Hand lettering is such a cool concept. I really wish that we'd go back to that. It makes the original pages that much cooler as well.

Felix Lu

9:39

Absolutely. HOWEVER, I have seen bad lettering ruin art, too. So, IMO, better to have no lettering, than poor, amateurish lettering.

DWJ

9:39

Johnny, it's quite the challenge! I wanted to push myself in a new way, and I love the way old pages look with the lettering ON the page. My publisher wanted to try and do hand lettering in a digital way, but I really wanted to do it ON the page.

Cameron Lentz

9:39

Yeah I can really see its influence in your work. Especially the motion you put into you lines.

Felix Lu

9:40

A follow-up on AKIRA, I believe.

DWJ

9:40

Cameron, totally. A lot of what Otomo does is in his speed lines. I've taken a lot of inspiration from other Manga artists that will actually "blur" fast moving body parts with a ton of super tiny lines. That also works great and I used that a lot as well.

jkroeg

9:41

How you handling dad-life? Balancing art ok?

DWJ

9:41

I'm thinking of Tetsuro Ueyama specifcally. Google him sometime and be blown away/

9:42

Jkroeg, whew. It's tough. I love my daughter but dang. She needs a lot of attention! It's a learning curve for sure, but each day I get a bit better at being a dad. I bought some noise cancelling headphones, because when she cries upstairs I lose my focus : ) But even that is getting easier to handle. It also makes me work harder in the time I do have to work on my art. Not easy, but definitely worth it.

Kyle

9:42

Sorry if this posts Twice, but can’t wait for C2E2 and getting to say hi Friday! Daniel I absolutely love the energy that your art has. I was just wondering what your process was in getting that sense of motion and energy to come out so naturally

Felix Lu

9:43

See above!

Jared

9:43

@Daniel, I felt like the ending of Extremity was slightly open ended, will we ever get more Extremity?

DWJ

9:44

Jared, unfortunately, no. EXTREMITY is over, I've said all I want to say. With a story about the cost of violence and the heavy subject matter, I felt it was necessary to have an open ending so that the reader can finish the story for themselves.

Matt Todd

9:44

Outstanding!!! re: Warm up sketches

Cameron Lentz

9:44

Dan, congrats on the new addition to your family!

DWJ

9:44

Thanks Cameron!

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