John Paul Leon was born on April 26, 1972, in New York City.
[2]
Leon first began working professionally at the age of 16, with a series of black and white illustrations for
TSR's
Dragon and Dungeon
magazines.
[3]
He majored in illustration at New York's
School of Visual Arts
, studying under artists such as
Will Eisner
,
Walter Simonson
, and Jack Potter. It was during this time that he received his first professional comics job, illustrating the
Dark Horse Comics
miniseries
RoboCop
: Prime Suspect
(October 1992).
[4]
By his junior year he was given the job as the inaugural artist on the
DC Comics
/
Milestone
ongoing series
Static
(June 1993), his first breakout work,
[5]
which Simonson agreed would serve as Leon's course work for that semester.
[6]
He would draw
Static
until its ninth issue (February 1994).
[5]
Leon graduated from SVA with a
Bachelor of Fine Arts
[7]
in 1994.
[8]
Regarding this milestone, Leon would relate to
Newsarama
in 2019:
[9]
"When I graduated SVA, I remember they had us fill out a form, for what purpose, I don't recall. But among the questions asked was something along the lines of, where do you see yourself in 20 years, or what are your goals for the next several years. I remember my answer was, '...To build a body of work and to be highly regarded among my peers.' Something like that."
[9]
As Leon's popularity rose, he became a sought-after artist for both DC and Marvel, projects. He drew the miniseries
Logan: Path of the Warlord
and
The Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix
(both in 1996), and the 12-issue miniseries
Earth X
(1999), written by
Jim Krueger
and
Alex Ross
, another signature work of Leon's that depicted a dystopian future of the
Marvel Universe
,
[5]
[6]
and which spawned multiple sequels. Leon also contributed to regular ongoing series such as multiple
Batman
-related books,
Superman
, and
Challengers of the Unknown
(1997).
[5]
By the early 2000s, Leon's work caught the notice of DC Comics' parent company
Warner Bros.
,
[5]
through which Leon would provid artwork for a number of style guides for the studio's feature film adaptations of DC properties, including
Superman Returns
,
Batman Begins
,
Green Lantern
, and
The Dark Knight
.
[3]
[5]
Leon also illustrated
Superman Returns: Be a Hero
, a children's book published by
Meredith Books
as a tie-in to the 2006 feature film
Superman Returns
.
[2]
[10]
Leon's other career-defining works of the 2000s included two issues of
New X-Men
in 2002, and two DC Comics miniseries:
The Winter Men
, which was written by Leon's SVA classmate
Brett Lewis
and published under DC's
Wildstorm
imprint, and the DC miniseries
Batman: Creature of the Night
,
[5]
[6]
a four-issue miniseries written by
Kurt Busiek
that, due to Leon's third diagnosis of stage two
colorectal cancer
, was published over the course of four years, with the final issue being released in 2019.
[9]
In April 2021, Leon was announced as the artist on the upcoming
Batman/Catwoman Special
#1, a
retelling
of the origin of Catwoman, written by
Tom King
.
[11]
Leon's last interior artwork was the "memory sequence" in the first issue of
Jupiter's Legacy: Requiem
(June 2021), which writer
Mark Millar
dedicated to Leon's memory.
[12]
Personal life and death
edit
In 2008, Leon was diagnosed with
colorectal cancer
, for which he would be treated several times, with a combination of
chemotherapy
, radiation, and surgery. By 2012 he was in remission. In January 2018, he was diagnosed with the disease a third time, which had again spread to his lungs. He underwent chemotherapy again in January 2019, and indicated in an interview that November that he was responding well to the treatment, and was exhibiting promising energy levels. Though he continued to work throughout this process, it hindered the timely release of the book
Batman: Creature of the Night.
[9]
As of 2018, Leon lived with his wife and daughter
[4]
in
Miami, Florida
.
[8]
John Paul Leon died May 2, 2021, at age 49,
[13]
[14]
after a 14-year battle with cancer. He was survived by his wife, daughter, and older brother. Leon's colleague,
Tommy Lee Edwards
, set up a
GoFundMe
page to create a trust fund for the education of Leon's then-17-year-old daughter, and help fund her education in engineering.
[4]
Marvel Comics and DC Comics ran tributes to Leon in books they published in the first week of June 2021.
[15]
Marvel's featured a eulogy by Marvel Entertainment EVP Creative Director
Joe Quesada
, who stated, "John Paul Leon was truly a unique talent, admired and envied by all of us in the industry for his ability to convey the complexities of the world with a distilled simplicity of line and mastery of the craft that few can ever hope to achieve. He’s passed much too soon, leaving us to wonder what further heights he would have achieved, but thankful for the work he’s left behind that will inspire generations of artists to come. Our hearts at Marvel go out to his family, loved ones, friends, and fans. Godspeed."
[16]
In DC's books, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer
Jim Lee
wrote, "One of the greatest artists of our generation, he was also one of the nicest and most talented creators one could be lucky enough to have met." On its website, DC also published tributes by Leon's collaborator Tom King, and DC vice president and editor-in-chief
Marie Javins
.
[17]
This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
September 2008
)
|
- RoboCop
(with
John Arcudi
, in
Dark Horse Comics
#1?3,
Dark Horse Comics
, 1992)
- RoboCop: Prime Suspect
(pencils, with writer
John Arcudi
and inks by
Jeff Albrecht
,
Dark Horse Comics
, 1992?1993)
- Static
#1?9 (pencils, with writers
Michael Davis
,
Robert Washington III
and
Dwayne McDuffie
, and inks by Steve Mitchell,
Milestone Comics
, 1993?1994)
- Shadow Cabinet
#0?17 (1994?95)
- World's Collide
One-Shot (1994)
- Icon
#20 (1994)
- Superman: The Man of Steel
Annual
#1 (1995)
- Shadow of the Bat
#40?41 (1995)
- X-Men
Annual
1995 (1995)
- Logan: Path of the Warlord
(1996)
- The Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix
(pencils, with writer
Peter Milligan
and inks by
Klaus Janson
, 4-issue mini-series, Marvel, 1996, tpb, 96 pages, October 1997,
ISBN
0-7851-0556-5
)
- Challengers of the Unknown
#1?12, 16 (1997?98)
- Moon Knight
Vol. 3 #4 (1998)
- Daredevil
#375 (1998)
- The Creeper
#9 (1998)
- Grendel: Devil's Toll
(1998)
- Earth X
#0?12 (with writers
Alex Ross
and
Jim Krueger
and inks by
Bill Reinhold
,
Marvel Comics
, 1999?00)
- Gotham Knights
#6 (Batman Black & White backup feature, 2000)
- Static Shock: Rebirth of the Cool
#1?4 (2000)
- Smallville: The Comic
(2002)
- New X-Men
#127, 131 (2002)
- Weapon X
#4 (2003)
- Tom Strong
#25 (2004)
- Captain America
Vol. 5 #7 (2005)
- The Winter Men
(with
Brett Lewis
, 6-issue limited series, Wildstorm, 2005?06, 2008,
ISBN
1-4012-2526-8
)
- Hellblazer
#229 (2007)
- Midnighter
#8 (2007)
- Ex Machina
Specials #3?4 (2007?09)
- DC: Infinite Halloween Special
(2007)
- Scalped
(2008)
- Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos
Vol. 2 #1 (2009)
- Dark Reign: Made Men
One-Shot (2009)
- Black Widow: Deadly Origin
#1?4 (2009)
- DMZ
#50 (2010)
- Milestone Forever
#1?2 (2010)
- Static Shock Special
(2011)
- The Spirit
Vol. 2 #16 (2011)
- Animal Man
Vol. 2 #6, 20 (2012?13)
- American Vampire
Anthology
#1 (2013)
- Batman Incorporated
Special (2013)
- Detective Comics
Vol. 2 #35?36 (2014)
- Mother Panic
#7?9 (2017)
- Batman: Creature of the Night
(with
Kurt Busiek
, 4-issue limited series, 2017?2019)
- DC: Beach Blanket Bad Guys
Special (2018)
- DC: Crimes of Passion
Special (2020)
- Catwoman
Vol. 5 #25 (2020)
- Let Them Live: Unpublished Tales from the DC Vault
#3 (2021)
- Batman/Catwoman Special
#1 (2021) (posthumous)
- ^
MacDonald, Heidi (May 3, 2021).
"RIP John Paul Leon"
. The Beat. Archived from
the original
on May 3, 2021
. Retrieved
October 26,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
Cole, Neil (May 3, 2021).
"Comic Book Legend John Paul Leon Passes Away at Age 49"
. Superman Super Site. Archived from
the original
on May 3, 2021
. Retrieved
May 3,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
Gelman, Samuel (May 2, 2021).
"Static, Earth X Artist John Paul Leon Dies at 49"
.
CBR.com
. Archived from
the original
on May 3, 2021
. Retrieved
May 3,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
Johnston, Rich
(May 3, 2021).
"John Paul Leon's Family Issue Statement and Fundraiser In His Memory"
.
Bleeding Cool
. Archived from
the original
on May 3, 2021
. Retrieved
May 3,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Arrant, Chris (May 3, 2021).
"Artists' artist John Paul Leon dies at age 49"
.
Newsarama
. Archived from
the original
on May 3, 2021
. Retrieved
May 3,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
MacDonald, Heidi
(May 3, 2021).
"RIP John Paul Leon"
.
Comics Beat
. Archived from
the original
on May 3, 2021
. Retrieved
May 3,
2021
.
- ^
Johnston, Rich
(May 2, 2021).
"Comic Book Legend John Paul Leon Has Passed Away At The Age Of 49"
.
Bleeding Cool
. Archived from
the original
on May 3, 2021
. Retrieved
May 3,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"About the artist"
. johnpaulleon.com. September 16, 2018. Archived from
the original
on 2021-05-03
. Retrieved
May 3,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Arrant, Chris (November 6, 2019).
"John Paul Leon opens up on his cancer battle & his Batman: Creature of the Night work"
.
Newsarama
. Archived from
the original
on February 3, 2021
. Retrieved
May 3,
2021
.
- ^
"Superman returns?: be a hero / by Brent Sudduth?; illustrated by John Paul Leon and Tommy Lee Edwards"
.
Harnett County Public Library
. Archived from
the original
on May 3, 2021
. Retrieved
May 3,
2021
.
- ^
Marston, George (April 15, 2021).
"Selina Kyle's origin retconned for Batman/Catwoman special by King and Leon"
.
Newsarama
. Archived from
the original
on April 18, 2021
. Retrieved
May 3,
2021
.
- ^
Millar, Mark
?(
w
),
Edwards, Tommy Lee
?(
a
).
Jupiter's Legacy: Requiem
, no.?1 (June 2021).
Image Comics
.
- ^
MacNamee, Olly (May 3, 2021).
"John Paul Leon (1972?2021): Family's Statement On His Passing"
.
Comicon.com
. Archived from
the original
on May 4, 2021
. Retrieved
October 26,
2021
.
- ^
Anderson, Jenna (May 2, 2021).
"John Paul Leon, Legendary Batman, X-Men, and Static Artist, Dies at 49"
. ComicBook.com
. Retrieved
May 2,
2021
.
- ^
Johnston, Rich
(June 14, 2021).
"Marvel And DC Comics Run Tributes To The Late John Paul Leon"
.
Bleeding Cool
. Archived from
the original
on June 14, 2021
. Retrieved
August 10,
2021
.
- ^
"Marvel Comics Remembers John Paul Leon"
.
Marvel Comics
. May 3, 2021. Archived from
the original
on August 10, 2021
. Retrieved
August 10,
2021
.
- ^
"DC Remembers John Paul Leon 1972 ? 2021"
.
DC Comics
. May 5, 2021. Archived from
the original
on August 10, 2021
. Retrieved
August 10,
2021
.