Jen Lee (cartoonist)

Last updated

Jen Lee is an American cartoonist, illustrator, and author. Her works include Thunderpaw: In the Ashes of Fire Mountain, Vacancy,Garbage Night, and At the Edge of the Stream at Dusk.

Contents

Personal life

Lee grew up in Naples, Florida. She studied illustration at the School of Visual Arts. She was a resident of Twin Falls, Idaho in 2017, [1] but later that year moved to Los Angeles, [2] a move chronicled in her book At the Edge of the Stream at Dusk.

Career and works

Lee created Thunderpaw: In the Ashes of Fire Mountain, an animated webcomic. The comic started in August 2012 and was released gradually online. [3] [4] The story follows two dogs, Bruno and Ollie, who after some apocalyptic event try to make their way home. [5] [6] [7]

Lee's comic Vacancy was published in 2015. Published by Nobrow Press, the 24 page book follows a dog Simon who decides to become a wild animal after all humans have vanished. [8] [9]

In 2017, Lee published a longer follow-up to Vacancy entitled Garbage Night, also through Nobrow. The comic follows the same characters and setting. [10] [2]

In 2019, Lee published At the Edge of the Stream at Dusk, a memoir about her move to Los Angeles to a new job, after a breakup. The comic, in which the people are drawn as anthropomorphic animals, was published by ShortBox. [11]

Lee has also worked as a freelance illustrator. [12]

Reception

Several reviewers have praised Lee's work. A reviewer for Bleeding Cool described Thunderpaw as "A unique beast that could only work in it’s[ sic ] native online environment... Constantly glitching and twitching with a frantic energy... As well as perfectly portraying her two main characters as hyperactive, jittery puppies it also gives her world a restless and unnerving quality to it" and added "I’d give up all my [paper] trades in an instant for more quirky gems like this." [5] A review for Gizmodo's site Io9 said "Lee makes great use of her digital canvas to convey both the emotions of her canine protagonists and the devastation around them", [6] and a reviewer for Comic Book Resources said: "The color palette seems vintage and dusty, recalling communist propaganda posters from the '40s and '50s. The style, however, is more modern. Although far more polished, Thunderpaw recalls the graffiti-like art styles that made its mark on the black-and-white comics of the '80s and '90s." [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carla Speed McNeil</span> American comics creator

Carla Speed McNeil is an American science fiction writer, cartoonist, and illustrator of comics, best known for the science fiction comic book series Finder.

<i>Moms Cancer</i> Webcomic by Brian Fies

Mom's Cancer is an autobiographical graphic medicine webcomic by Brian Fies which describes his mother's fight against metastatic lung cancer, as well as his family's reactions to it. Mom's Cancer was the first webcomic to win an Eisner Award, winning in 2005. Its print collection, published in 2006, won a Harvey Award and a Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis.

Gurihiru, also credited as Illustrator Unit Gurihiru and Gurihiru Studios, is a Japanese illustration team, consisting of Chifuyu Sasaki and Naoko Kawano. Both originating from Sapporo, Japan, they are currently based in Saitama, mainly working as artists for American comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan North</span> Canadian writer

Ryan North is a Canadian writer and computer programmer.

Sandra and Woo is a comedy webcomic written by a German author, Oliver "Novil" Knörzer, and drawn by an Indonesian artist, Puri "Powree" Andini. It is published in English and German. The first strip was put online on 19 October 2008 and the black-and-white comic strip was updated twice a week after. The last regular strip before the current hiatus was posted on 26 November 2022. A new strip, reusing existing art, was posted on 12 August 2023.

<i>Avas Demon</i> 2012 science-fantasy webcomic

Ava's Demon is a science fantasy webcomic written and drawn by Michelle Czajkowski Fus and colored by a number of colorists. The comic, which has been ongoing since 2012, is known for its painted art style and animations. The first physical publication of Ava's Demon was released in 2013 after a successful Kickstarter project, and another Kickstarter in 2020 became the most-backed webcomic Kickstarter at the time.

<i>Stand Still, Stay Silent</i>

Stand Still, Stay Silent is a Finnish-Swedish webcomic started by Minna Sundberg, which ran 2013–2022. Set in post-apocalyptic Scandinavia, the webcomic incorporates Norse mythology, focusing on an adventure into the external "silent world". Reviewers have praised it for its beautiful visuals and cartography. It received a Reuben Award in the "Online Long Form" category in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mother Panic</span> Comics character

Mother Panic, also known as Violet Paige, is a fictional vigilante appearing in comic books published by DC Comics and its imprint Young Animal, focused on mature readers. The character was created by writers Jody Houser and Gerard Way and illustrator Tommy Lee Edwards, first appearing in an insert preview of her own series in DC's Young Animal Ashcan Edition (2016).

<i>Oglaf</i> Sexually explicit comedy webcomic

Oglaf is a sexually explicit comedy webcomic produced by Australians Trudy Cooper and Doug Bayne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosemary Valero-O'Connell</span> American illustrator and cartoonist

Rosemary Valero-O'Connell is an American illustrator and cartoonist. She is known for her work with DC Comics and BOOM! Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natalie Riess</span> American artist, illustrator, and webcomic creator

Natalie Riess is an American artist, illustrator, and webcomic creator. She gained public recognition after her comic Space Battle Lunchtime was published by Oni Press in 2016. Her webcomic Dungeon Critters created with Sara Goetter was published by First Second Books in 2020.

Jen Bartel is an American illustrator and comic artist, best known for her work for Marvel Comics and Image Comics. She co-created the comic Blackbird for Image with Sam Humphries. She won two Eisner Awards for her work as a cover artist in 2019 and 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids' Comics</span>

The Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids' Comics is given to a comic book aimed at younger readers that fulfills the criteria of quality, timelessness, originality, diversity, and inclusion. It is named in honour of Dwayne McDuffie, a creator known for his work creating comics and animation.

<i>Delilah Dirk</i> Graphic novel series

Delilah Dirk is a series of action adventure graphic novels following adventures of the titular character, Delilah Dirk. Written and illustrated by Tony Cliff, Delilah Dirk started as a webcomic, and now consists of three full graphic novels and one shorter story.

Monster Pulse is an all-ages fantasy webcomic written and illustrated by Magnolia Porter. The comic began in 2011 and completed on 4 June 2021.

<i>Agents of the Realm</i>

Agents of the Realm is a webcomic by Mildred Louis. Started in 2014, it follows the adventures of five women new to university who become magical girls and must protect this world and as well as another dimension. Agents of the Realm was shortlisted for a Cartoonist Studio Prize in the category "Best Web Comic" of 2017.

<i>Blindsprings</i> Fantasy webcomic

Blindsprings is a fantasy webcomic by Kadi Fedoruk. Started in October 2013, it follows a magical Princess named Tamaura after she is forced to return from a spirit realm, finding that 300 years have passed.

<i>Henchgirl</i> Comic by Kristen Gudsnuk

Henchgirl is a comic by Kristen Gudsnuk about a henchperson working for a supervillain. Originally a webcomic, it was published in issues then as a trade paperback. In 2020, a television adaptation was announced to be in development.

References

  1. ↑ Wootton, Julie (10 May 2017). "Twin Falls woman prepares to release graphic novel". Twin Falls Times-News. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  2. 1 2 Brown, Hillary (2017-07-06). "Cartoonist Jen Lee on Anthropomorphic Animals, Crossbows & Her Evocative Graphic Novel, Garbage Night". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  3. ↑ "THUNDERPAW IS ON NOW!". repoghost.com. August 8, 2012.
  4. ↑ Sirkecioglu, Serhend (2012-09-07). "Future Comics Review: Thunderpaw: In the Ashes of Fire Mountain". The Beat. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  5. 1 2 Karlson, Jason (2014-12-11). "Webcomic Spotlight - Jen Lee's Thunderpaw: In the Ashes Of Fire Mountain". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  6. 1 2 Davis, Lauren (14 September 2013). "Two frightened dogs search for their home at the end of the world". io9. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  7. 1 2 "'Thunderpaw': Always keep moving | CBR". www.cbr.com. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  8. ↑ Asselin, Janelle (27 April 2015). "Adorable, Sad Animals: Jen Lee's 'Vacancy' and 'Thunderpaw'". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved 2020-01-05.
  9. ↑ Meier, Alison (2015-06-23). "Publisher of Small-Format Comics Gives Emerging Authors a Big Break". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  10. ↑ Akhtar, Zainab (2017-01-05). "The 20 comics to watch out for in 2017". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  11. ↑ Hilgenburg, Josh (17 July 2019). "PREVIEW: SHORTBOX #11 brings together another unmissable lineup". www.comicsbeat.com. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  12. ↑ Meehan, Meagan (2017-04-15). "Interview with author and illustrator Jen Lee". Blasting News. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.