About Me...

"Once upon a time, I was writing about Kandinsky and abstract painting.
Now I draw Spider-Man.”

Hi! I’m JL, a visual artist who’s always hoped my artwork could do the talking. But if you’ve landed here, I guess it’s only fair that I share a bit of my story. 

 

I’ve been drawing comics since I was a child, but it wasn’t until 2010 that I started doing it professionally. Before that, my goal was to become a university art professor. While traveling a bit of the world, I earned a bachelor’s degree, then a master’s, and even a PhD. The stuff you put on LinkedIn but that don’t really say much about who you are. Truth is, besides drawing and painting, I’ve always loved reading and researching—especially history and philosophy. So I enjoyed the ride! But never stopped thinking about drawing comics again.
 

After spending years writing about Kandinsky, abstract painting, Hegel, and all kinds of transcendental stuff (that probably nobody will ever read), I realized the academic world didn’t quite fulfill me the way I had hoped. So I decided to listen to my inner voice and go back to my roots: Hulk, Superman, Spider-Man, Star Wars. The fun stuff, but this time taking it seriously! I’d always loved making my own comics, but I knew that doing it professionally would take thousands of hours of study, practice, and commitment.
 

After a period of working on several collaborations—most of them unpaid (but that’s how it usually goes)—I began my first ventures into the pro comic book world in 2010, working for small indie publishers for a while.  For five years, I didn’t stop knocking on every publisher’s door I could find—writing to editors, sending thousands of emails (literally) asking for advice, showing up at conventions. It was a tough process. Sweat and tears. There were times when I felt like giving up. But I had no plan B. I was going full kamikaze.

Then, just before Christmas in 2014, I got the kind of news that changes everything: Marvel was giving me a shot!

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Since 2015, I’ve been working with Marvel Comics through their Custom Solutions Group, creating artwork for projects featuring Spider-Man, the Avengers, Black Panther, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and even original superheroes I’ve designed specifically for so many brand campaigns and custom stories.
 

Independently, I’ve also worked on non-superhero stories. I’m drawn to the horror genre, and have illustrated indie comics like Under the Flesh, Call of the Void, The Deep Dark, and Blackhart Manor. At some point, I started adapting Lovecraft’s Herbert West—Reanimator into a graphic novel. I’m not sure if I’ll ever finish it, but it’s a project I keep coming back to. And when time allows, I enjoy drawing and painting portraits, landscapes, and experimenting with different styles—usually while listening to my oldies playlist—just for the joy of it.

Hope this was at least mildly entertaining! Now I’ll crawl back into my studio (a.k.a. the sactuary) to keep working on my stuff...