Everything about John Totleben totally explained
John Totleben (born
February 16,
1958 in
Erie, Pennsylvania) is an
American illustrator working mostly in
comics.
After studying art at a
vocational high school in Erie, Totleben attended the
Joe Kubert School for one year. He then spent several years working for comics editor
Harry Chesler, producing illustrations for the
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam; these never saw print. His first published work appeared in
Heavy Metal in
1979.
His first success in American comics, and still his best-known work, was as the
inker (of pencilled art by
Steve Bissette) for the
DC Comics title
Swamp Thing, when the series was being written and reinvented by
Alan Moore; Totleben and Bissette joined the series in
1983, shortly before Moore. Totleben's style was unusual for the time, and is still distinctive among U.S. comics artists, for its fluid layouts and heavily detailed rendering (using a combination of
stippling and
hatching). He also painted covers for the series in
oils and
acrylic, and continues to be a popular cover painter.
Beginning in
1985, Bissette and Totleben co-created and edited the short-lived
horror anthology
Taboo.
Taboo showcased a wide range of writers and artists, from mainstream to semi-underground, and is best known as the original venue for the acclaimed graphic novel
From Hell.
Totleben's most ambitious comics project was with Moore again, on the third volume of
Miracleman, which he pencilled and inked. Response to his art was so strong that
Eclipse Comics retained him as the series' sole artist (after changing artists several times in the previous volume) despite delays caused by his newly-diagnosed eye disease,
retinitis pigmentosa.
Totleben's work with Moore and Bissette on
Swamp Thing earned many
Kirby Awards, including 1985's Best Art Team, 1985's Best Single Issue (for
Swamp Thing Annual #2), 1985's Best Cover (for
Swamp Thing #34), and Best Continuing Series for each of the years 1985-1987. Totleben and Bissette were also nominated for Best Art Team in 1986 and 1987, and
Swamp Thing #34 was also nominated for 1985's Best Single Issue.
Though Totleben's eye condition has made him legally
blind, it has left his central vision clear enough for him to continue working in his usual style, but much more slowly. He has illustrated a number of titles for DC and
Marvel Comics, and worked on Moore's satirical
Image Comics series
1963, in which he was described as "'Jaunty' John", the blind "inker without fear".
Further Information
Get more info on 'John Totleben'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://john_totleben.totallyexplained.com">John Totleben Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
