John Workman
John Workman (born June 20, 1950) is an American editor, writer, artist, designer, colorist and 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).
This article is about the comic book artist. For the Edinburgh painter, see John Workman (painter).John Workman
John Elbert Workman Jr.[1]
June 20, 1950[1]
Beckley, West Virginia[1]
American
Letterer, Writer, Artist, Designer
E. L. Bert, W.H. Pratt, J. P. Patches, John-Boy Waltonman, Vertig
Thor
Doom Patrol
Heavy Metal
Wild Things
CBG Fan Award, 2005
Harvey Award for Lettering 2009, 2011, 2016
Society of Illustrators Certificates for Merit, Editorial 1980, 1982
Society for News Design, Magazines, Award for Excellence 2006
Born in Beckley, West Virginia, Workman spent the first eight years of his life in Glen Rogers, West Virginia and Darlington, Maryland. Inspired by the George Reeves Superman TV series, he began writing short stories and drawing pictures. Living in Aberdeen, Washington, he studied art and journalism at Grays Harbor College and Clark College, receiving an Associate in Arts degree from Grays Harbor in 1970.
Lettering style[edit]
Workman is noted for his distinct lettering style, tight craftsmanship, and the fact that for the most part he still does traditional lettering on art boards instead of using the computer and digital fonts. 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, Workman's lettering style is similar to that of the late Bill Oakley. Workman's lettering style was highly influenced by the lettering of Jean "Moebius" Giraud from the time when Moebius appeared regularly in the pages of Heavy Metal.
Because he does most of his lettering by hand, Workman's 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.")
Recently, however, even Workman has moved toward digital lettering. In addition to his "on-the-art boards work", Workman has been electronically hand-lettering by way of a WACOM tablet for such books as Torchwood, Mega Man, Thor, Turf, DC's "Before Watchmen" series Ozymandias, Superman: American Alien, and the latest incarnation of the Batman title.
Personal life[edit]
Workman is married to the former Cathy Foster, whom he met at Aberdeen's Eaton's Bookstall when she was looking for issues of Lois Lane drawn by Kurt Schaffenberger,[3] and the two have a daughter named Kate, a writer who is the author of two Sherlock Holmes novels. His brother Bill worked beside him on-staff at Heavy Metal magazine. Both were in the 2000 Jon Cryer film Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five.