THE ROSICRUCIAN: Another Comic Tale Adrift in the Ether

SPORTS ANNOUNCER: ...and just before the buzzer, Johnson manages to sneak in one more blog update before 2017 comes to a crashing close!




I think it's important to post unsuccessful pitches online. They always hurt a little bit; taking so much precious time to create characters and a story that will never grow and mature and find their way into the hands of an eager readership. But there is oh-so-much to learn from every one!

The Rosicrucian was an intriguing concept written by my pal, and long-time collaborator, James Davidge. Filled with mystery, mysticism, romance and intrigue, it promised to be full of bizarre characters and mind-bending scenarios (i.e. the assassination of the Pope.) James went as far as to commission these pages from me, as well as the beautiful cover by Fiona Staples that graces the top of this post.

Was I intimidated at the thought of having some sweet Staples art in front of my cartoony doodles. Hell yes! But what greater incentive is there to do your very best?

Looking back on this 2014 pitch, I cringe at my lettering job, and the exploration with texture and colour, though the limited palette and lighting scheme of the first few pages carries into newer work. The apparent restraint in the figures and inks starts to loosen up towards the end, but doesn't quite achieve the buoyancy of some of my latest work.

I was so inspired by Jae Lee's storytelling for this one; clearly not in the art style itself, but in his widescreen approach. It was an interesting challenge with some cool results that I logged away for future use, specifically regarding composition and cropping.

I hope you enjoyed another story that never was! The great news is that this collaboration went well enough that James and I are forging ahead on a new comic for which we received a grant! So it's a done deal, it's going to happen! And it was this pitch that helped cement that relationship, which is just too cool for words. I'll be working on the new project this year and will release details as they appear!

It's looking like Hoth outside the animation studio today, so stay warm out there, and have a Happy New Year!

RAUCOUS CAUCUS: Experiments in Comic Book Stenography

When you're a freelance Illustrator, you have to find jobs wherever you can, invent jobs you didn't know existed, and leap head-first into interesting challenges, whether you've got your water wings on or not! One of my favourite jobs of this past year was as a "Comic Book Stenographer" for the emerging artist workshop Raucous Caucus, run by the wonderful Alberta Theatre Projects.

They thought it would be a great idea to have an embedded illustrator follow the participants throughout their day, attempting to capture the energy, emotion, and insight that is packed into this truly special event. I was so excited to be a part of it, I barely thought about the work that would be involved - the sheer amount of drawing to be done, and how the heck to assemble them afterwards - and I'll tell you: when this 12-hour day was done, I was so damn burnt out, but so damn inspired!

What follows are my on-site drawings and observations throughout this crazy day. I hope it gives you a glimpse into the manic energy and crazy talent of all those involved. Visit ATP for more info on their incredible programming!

If you're interested in the idea of comic book stenography/comic journalism/graphic recording, I highly recommend you check out Sam Hester's fantastic work. She's a local comic legend, a huge inspiration to Calgary comic types like myself, and probably the nicest person you're likely to meet. 

I was truly fortunate this year, as my 2017 was chock full of teaching, for the Catholic School Board, the Calgary Board of Education, Arts Commons and the Alberta College of Art + Design. All that combined with some truly awesome comic collaborations have made 2017 a banner year for me. I hope your year was equally awesome, and here's to a relaxing holiday and a Happy New Year!

Bring it, 2018. Bring. It.

NICK JOHNSON: ALL OF ME

About ten years ago, I was joking around with my good buddy Chad, saying: "If I ever release a collection of my comic short stories, I'm going to call it NICK JOHNSON: ALL OF ME, just like that FARRAH FAWCETT Playboy video. And I'm going to fill it with pinup photos of myself that homage the exact ones on the dvd box. Wouldn't that be HILARIOUS?"

Well, when I finally got around to collecting these shorts, I'd forgotten about this convo entirely! That was until aforementioned good buddy Chad piped up and said "Hey Nick, weren't you going to name it after that Farrah Fawcett video???"

I'm a man of my word.

Thankfully, I thought better of the photo pinups and decided to draw my cartoon self into the book instead. You're welcome!

So behold! NICK JOHNSON: ALL OF ME! 142 pages of comic stories drawn between 2005 and 2015! What started as a collection of my own work turned into a tribute to the wide array of insanely talented, and good-hearted folk I've worked with throughout the years!

While I did publish a very small print run of this big, very costly book, it is now available digitally on COMIXCENTRAL, a fantastic hub for indie comics!  I've got a Shop there now featuring my first mini-comic series, THE ART OF DODGING SHADOWS and the fan favourite WOLF HANDS! Here is a smattering of the many stories you will find inside:

 

Most of these stories have been out-of-print or otherwise unavailable for years, some of them have never been released before, so I was vehement that these stories get one more chance to shine.

Flipping through this book, and literally seeing my evolution as a comics storyteller, is pretty thrilling. And remembering all the great times I've had with the vibrant Alberta comics community warms my shrivelled little grape of a heart.

I hope you'll enjoy the ride!

There's Something About Your First Bite...

It brings me great pleasure to be able to announce (finally!) the project I've been working on since November of last year....

...THE V-CARD! Written and funded by my mysterious benefactor, Dallas Casavant, with letters by Sean Rinehart! I've been describing it as "American Pie with vampires" and as you can see from the cover, we are leaning into that idea pretty damn hard.

THE CAPTIVE AUDIENCE: Dear God, Nick! Won't you stop your incessant yammering and tell us WHERE we can buy the damn book!?!

NICK: Ha! Ha! Ha! Why certainly!

Issues 1 and 2 will be available in print this very weekend at the EDMONTON EXPO! Dallas will have copies at his table (TABLE 820/920), where I will be signing, sketching, and selling original art, throughout the weekend. Also, I will once again be hanging out in Artist Alley (TABLE H09) with my pal Sho Uehara, hawking copies of WISHLESS: A GRAPHIC ANTHOLOGY and LEIGHTON RELIQUARY!

Below is some preview art to get your eyeballs salivating!

And here's a sneak peek at the cover of Issue 2, which shows off Dallas' love for the one and only PRINCE, with an homage to the Purple Rain album cover art.

As I mentioned, BOTH issues will be available at the Edmonton Expo this very week.

Also, Dallas has started up a Kickstarter page to help fund the completion of Issues 3 and 4 (which I have already begun to draw) and it would be so awesome of you to take a peek at the site and, heck, make a pledge if you are so inclined. There are some really fun rewards! And there's a sneak peek at the MOTION COMIC of V-Card that is currently in production. Very cool to see my art in motion. Maybe I should get into animation... I'm sure I could take that on and still live a balanced life....

(NOTE: Nick Johnson was never seen again.)

See you in Edmonton this weekend!

LEIGHTON RELIQUARY: An Imagined History

This past Spring, I had the pleasure of working with my previous collaborator Pete Balkwill to create a supplementary comic story for an amazing artistic endeavour. Working with the assistance of the Leighton Art Centre, and other talented artists in Calgary, we created LEIGHTON RELIQUARY, an art show on display at the Centre from March to April. Now that the show is officially finished, I present the entire comic in all its Canadian history glory!

 

This was easily one of the most fun and rewarding comic experiences I've had thus far, the perfect outlet to explore my fascinations with Canadian history, the creative process, heck, even haunted houses! The book is still available at the Leighton Art Centre gift shop and I will have copies at future comic shows to be announced!

I'm actually working full-time as a freelance comicker and illustrator at the moment (WHAT?!? DREAM COME TRUE? HELL YEAH!) and these kinds of gigs really keep the creative spirit thriving. Cuz hey, let's get real, some days even working on comics can feel like a regular day job!

I've been working on a huge comic project since late 2016 that hasn't been officially announced yet, but I'm half way through the second of four issues so I'm hoping I'll have a chance to talk about it soon. You can get a few sneak peeks at my Instagram account!

I'll post a few more updates very soon, including snippets from comic classes I've been teaching and further design work on my comic REACTIONARY.

Thanks so much for reading! Talk soon!