Interviews 

C2E2: Talking Covers with Dave Johnson [Interview]

By | April 29th, 2013
Posted in Interviews | % Comments

This year at C2E2, I had quite a few opportunities to sit down with creators and chat about their current and upcoming works. Over the next few days we’ll be rolling them out for your enjoyment.

Up now, Dave Johnson, cover artist of “100 Bullets” and “Punisher MAX” among dozens of others.

Who are some of the artists that inspired you when you were younger? Are there any in particular you feel helped you become the artist you are today?

Dave Johnson: Basically Mike Golden, John Byrne, Kirby of course. Neil Adams. I was born in the 60s, so when I was young there wasn’t a whole lot of options to choose from. I had to love them all.

Do you feel there is anything that digital-based art can do that traditional ink and paper doesn’t match up to, or vice-versa?

DJ Yeah, yeah, it’s getting more amazing with each program, harder to tell the difference. But I can sell an original, which is something digital can’t do. And it’s always good to have a physical foundation.

We live in a fairly connected world with social networking. DOes feedback (both positive and negative) with fans and critics through Twitter or other websites affect you?

DJ: Not Really. I do what I like to please me. And I’m my harshest critic anyway.

A lot of your work skews noir. Why do you think that is?

DJ: I don’t know, I just get tapped to do it. My style lends itself to starkness, and that works better with that genre.

Your covers often convey a lot with a very narrow focus on just a couple objects. Do you go through a lot of thumbnails, or do you usually get it right the first time?

DJ: I do it in my head more than anything. I go through about a 100 ideas before I even start putting anything down. If that gets editorial approval, then I only do one.


Drew Bradley

Drew Bradley is a long time comic reader whose past contributions to Multiversity include annotations for "MIND MGMT", the Small Press Spotlight, Lettering Week, and Variant Coverage. He currently writes about the history of comic comic industry. Feel free to email him about these things, or any other comic related topic.

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