How to Make A Living as A Graphic Novel Illustrator: The Story of John J. Pearson
Graphic novels have long been an underappreciated medium of storytelling. Slowly, but surely, literati have begun to accept them as a serious art form. In 1992, the graphic novel Maus, based on a Polish Jew Holocaust survivor’s stories, became the first of its genre to win a Pulitzer Prize. Since then a steady stream of graphic novels have been adapted to the screen, such as V for Vendetta, Watchmen, The Walking Dead, Umbrella Academy, 300, Sin City, The Crow, and From Hell. So, even people who don’t read graphic novels are likely to have been exposed to them on Netflix or at the theaters. Additionally, graphic novel sales rose 16 percent in bookstores during 2019 in part due to a growing legion of new fans reached through movies and episodic series. Along these lines, Marvel was able to translate the success of their comics to billions upon billions of dollars at the box office. The moment for graphic novels and comics has arrived and with it, their creators are emerging as the new storytelling rockstars.
The Remote Traveller had the chance to sit down with one of these uber-talented artists, John J. Pearson of Leeds, United Kingdom, and learn how he managed to turn his passion for visual storytelling into a full-time living.
“As a kid, I loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. My mum was always pushing me towards a creative outlet,” says Pearson. “In the U.K., they make you pick a track. I remember being hesitant to choose art. Even though it was what I loved to do, I didn’t know if I could make money doing it. My mum was the one who encouraged me to pursue my passion. I studied fine art at university and worked on my craft obsessively.”
Pearson is a British Comic Award shortlisted illustrator and has built a drawdropping portfolio, producing bespoke images for various clients such as Image Comics, Netflix, Warner Bros, 2000 AD, Titan Comics, Heavy Metal Magazine, Vice Press, Rue Morgue Magazine, WWE, 44Flood, Nuclear Blast Records, and The Ray Harryhausen Foundation amongst many others.
“Turning my art into a career was a gradual thing. I was working in a film and television museum as an explainer. I was also tutoring art students at Leeds Art University three days per week and doing illustration work on the side. Then, when I had enough of a base built up, I went full-time into illustration. Funny thing is, even though I got established enough not to, I actually went back to teaching part-time because I realized how much I love it. Currently, I lecture on a comic art and concept degree,” says Pearson.
“What got me into graphic novels was a self-published series we did called Beast Wagon. We did lots of little tours where we would go to different stores and promote each issue. My partner on the project, Owen Michael Johnson, organized signings in Austin, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. If there aren’t any opportunities, you have to create them. I work a lot with another writer, P.M. Buchan. We’re currently working on Blood Moon, a contemporary horror story. But yeah, the suggestion I’d make for aspiring comic artists and graphic novelists is that if you can’t get it published, put it out yourself.”
Pearson’s debut series Beast Wagon was described by The Guardian as a ‘twisted zoological fable.’
“It’s an incredibly dark, surreal story of animals in a zoo and their interactions with humans and vice-versa. It has these interweaving threads like these monkeys in a drive-through that think people are there to invade their land and another one of them is a writer who goes on an acid trip and has a conversation with a turtle,” says Pearson. “We did it in true Hunter S. Thompson gonzo style and got high before we went to the zoo and observed the people observing the animals. Since the Beast Wagon days, a lot of my work has been digital, but I’m starting to mix the two, which is resulting in some very expressive art making. I want people to feel the visuals in a visceral kind of way.”
The Leeds-based artist fuses traditional drawing techniques with collage and digital painting to produce vivid, compelling imagery. At times, his work features elements of photorealism, psychedelia, popular culture, and abstraction. His art has been exhibited through the United States and the United Kingdom and he has done dozens of live murals at high profile events as both an independent artist and as a part of Leeds art collectives.
“I’ve always had a passion for storytelling; not necessarily just the narrative, but even how the textures, brushstrokes, and mark-making add to the story. I have kind of a dirty style as well, which contributes in an abstract and experimental way. There are darker underpinnings to what I do. Many of the artists I admire greatly have that edge to their work like Francis Bacon and Dave McKean. McKean changes massively from one project to the next. What connects these artists and what I hope people experience in my work, is an attempt to understand emotions that most humans don't want to. I like things that explore those dark, more negative responses. Memento mori art, the art that makes people feel like time is limited. You should celebrate it because it makes your time here a lot more concentrated,” says Pearson. “McKean and Bacon are masters of using photos and layering and repeating images, which is something I’m beginning to do more of. I like the surreal stuff and how it leaves room for interpretation. I did that even with Lucid House Publishing’s The Prophet and Spellbound Under The Spanish Moss. For the Spellbound cover there were certain key indicators like the gold leaf to make it feel valuable. It gives it that preciousness and with it being a quest story, the characters are searching for something — like they’re panning for gold.”
Pearson is currently working on Blue in Green (Image Comics), Death Sentence: London (Titan Comics), Megadeath: Death by Design (Heavy Metal), and his ongoing self-published folk horror webcomic Blood Moon with co-creator P.M. Buchan.
“I did the coloring for Blue in Green and on the back of that, I’m working on comic books for the band The Doors. It’s the fiftieth anniversary of the infamous concert where Jim Morrison supposedly exposed himself, so it’s exploring some of the wildness and legend of that night.”
One of the primary differences between hobbyists and professionals is the ability to work with high caliber clients on a repeat basis. John J. Pearson has managed to carve out an exceptional career for himself despite a modest, but extremely targeted following.
“Make sure to network. Email, email, email. A lot of the success in my career has been me being proactive. Don’t be too dependent on social media as an artist. I see many artists base their entire creative output on Instagram. You may not be functioning as an artist in a career sense even if you have hundreds of thousands of followers. People put too much into online recognition. It’s about looking for the right people. Twitter, for example, is where most people in comics live. As an artist, I’m looking for writers. A lot of times, on Instagram, it’s other artists that are going to follow you,” explains Pearson. “Make a list of ten people or companies you want to connect with. Go online, find them, and work backwards. Infiltrate that person’s network and reverse engineer how you’ll get in front of them.”
Pearson counts the caliber of clients and collaborators he works with amongst the highlights of his career along with the fact that he is able to make his art into an occupation.
“Always do the work. You have to put in a tremendous amount of it to get anything out of it. You have to want it badly and to be critical of your own art. Constantly look to improve and expand your network. Part of me is never quite satisfied with the work I do. The next piece is always going to be better. A lot of people can’t take rejection, but I always tell my students, if someone rejects your work, do it better and work harder on it,” says Pearson. “The hardest part of getting started in the beginning is money. I also always tell my students not to work for free — and you shouldn’t — but you’ve got to put in the work because you love it, so in a sense that’s exactly how you get started.”
