John Workman

Infobox Comics creator
name = John Workman


imagesize =
caption =
birthname = John Elbert Workman Jr.Rosenberg, Aaron. [http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/06/20/happy-birthday-john-workman/ "Happy Birthday, John Workman, the King of Letterers," ComixMix (June 20, 2008).] Retrieved July 22, 2008.]
birthdate = birth date and age|1950|06|20
location = Beckley, West Virginia
deathdate =
deathplace =
nationality = American
area = Letterer, Writer, Artist, Designer
alias =
notable works = "Thor"
"Doom Patrol"
"Heavy Metal"
awards = CBG Fan Award, 2005

John Workman (b. June 20, 1950, Beckley, West Virginia) is an editor, a writer, an artist, a designer, a colorist, and a letterer in the comic book industry. He is known for his frequent partnerships with writer/artist Walter Simonson, and also for lettering the entire run of Grant Morrison/Rachel Pollack's "Doom Patrol" (DC Comics).

Biography

Early life and career

Workman grew up in Aberdeen, Washington, and studied at Grays Harbor College and Clark College, getting an Associate in Arts degree in 1970.

He got his start in publishing in 1974, with "Star*Reach", where he wrote, penciled, inked, and lettered stories for the seminal fantasy/science fiction comics anthology. In fact, Workman's work on "Star*Reach" attracted attention from DC Comics, and they offered him a production job in 1974.)

Workman was art director of "Heavy Metal" magazine from 1977 to 1984. His comics art, writing, and design work are evident throughout issues from that period.

Lettering

From 1977-1983, Workman lettered comics occasionally (mostly for DC); he has been working steadily as a freelance letterer since 1983. Some of the regular titles he has lettered include First Comics' "Grimjack" from 1984 to 1987, Marvel's "Fantastic Four" from 1985 to 1989, "Cosmic Odyssey" in 1988–1989, "Fantastic Force" from 1994–1996, "The Incredible Hulk" from 1997–1999, and "Spider-Girl" from 2000–2002.

For DC Comics, Workman lettered "Doom Patrol" from 1987–1995, the "Legion of Super-Heroes" from 1991–1993, "Michael Moorcock's Multiverse" in 1997–1998, and "Aquaman" in 1999–2000.

Workman handled lettering chores for Topps Comics' "X-Files" titles in the late 1990s, and Image Comics' "Savage Dragon" from 2003–2005.

Walt Simonson

Workman has worked on many of Walt Simonson’s projects, including "Thor" (Marvel, 1983–1987), "Balder the Brave" (Marvel, 1985), "Jurassic Park" (Topps, 1993), "Star Slammers" (Bravura/Malibu, 1994), and "Orion" (DC, 2000–2002).

Tommy Lee Edwards

Recently Workman has lettered much of the Marvel, DC, and Wildstorm work of Tommy Lee Edwards, including "Gemini Blood" (1996–1997), "The Question" (2005), "Bullet Points" (2007), and "Marvel 1985" (2008).

Writing, artwork, and design

In addition to the thousands of comics pages that he has lettered, Workman has also written and/or drawn for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Archie Comics, "National Lampoon", "Playboy", Hamilton Publishing, and others.

He wrote and drew the 41-page "Adventures of Roma" which ran in consecutive issues of "Dark Horse Presents" in 1997. His early science-fiction and girlie-humor strips "Sindy" and "The Fallen Angels" were collected in a five-issue run by Forbidden Fruit, an imprint of Apple Comics. "Wild Things", a two-issue series published by Metro Comics, was made up mostly of material created by Workman for such diverse publications as "Star*Reach" and "Heavy Metal".

For the Fantagraphics imprint Eros Comix, Workman wrote and designed "Betty Being Bad" (1990), a 48-page booklet about pin-up model Betty Page. He also wrote and designed two hardcovers for Heavy Metal Books, "Heavy Metal: 25 Years of Classic Covers" and "Innocent Images".

Lettering style

Workman is noted for his distinct lettering style, tight craftsmanship, and the fact that he still does traditional lettering on art boards instead of using the computer and digital fonts. Because he does most of his lettering by hand, his collaboration is sought by those artists who wish to have a more cohesive and integrated look to the final artwork. (A joke in the comic book community goes that "Comic books are the only place where having 'Workmanlike' craftsmanship is a plus.")Fact|date=August 2008

One of Workman's lettering trademarks is to often erase or omit panel borders when they touch the top, side, or bottom of a word balloon or caption, thus opening up the balloon/caption to the gutter. In this regard, Workmans's lettering style is similar to the late Bill Oakley's.

Personal life

John Workman is married to a woman named Cathy, and has a daughter named Katie.

Notes

References

* Field, Todd. [http://www.comicon.com/moore/6_interview_jazzy.htm Interview with John Workman, Comicon.com: Alan Moore.]
* Rosenberg, Aaron. [http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/06/20/happy-birthday-john-workman/ "Happy Birthday, John Workman, the King of Letterers," ComixMix (June 20, 2008).]
* [http://www.comicbookdb.com/creator.php?ID=10640 John Workman at the Comic Book Database]
* [http://www.comicbookdb.com/creator.php?ID=16 John E. Workman at the Comic Book Database]