Steampunk CommuniTea Weekend Special Guest Artist and Costumer
Joe says of himself:
Bio Born in Atlanta Georgia in the late sixties, I began immediately to disassociate myself from the locals and climb into my own head to escape my surroundings.
From my new introverted vantage point I surveyed my new kingdom and began constructing a complex vision of the future I craved.
My talents emerged early as an artist and my mother found it easier to give me pencil and paper than have me draw all over the walls. I was hooked and drew everything I could think of. As we were a bit of a vagabond family we moved quite a bit and being able to draw well served as an easy in with my new friends.
My comics career started when my brother Lex introduced me to comics. From that point on I wanted to be a part of that world.
Going to comic conventions and speaking with comic artists I absorbed much as I could and started taking my own comics to show editors.
In a few short years I was approached to do my first comic–I think I was 18 at the time–and I drew an issue of EX-MUTANTs. From there I did issues for THE SOUTHERN KNIGHTS and my favorite SPEED RACER.
Books like Interview with the Vampire and LeState followed but superheroes were what I really wanted to draw. I wouldn’t have to wait long; I put together some of my best pages in a story I called the NAJ (Need A Job) and submitted to the big boys. three days later I was working for DC comics on Mr. Miracle. Talk about a dream come true!
In my 20 years drawing comics off and on I’ve drawn for nearly every comic company and nearly every character worth drawing. I’ve even had the good fortune to create a few characters of my own like The Heretic from Dark Horse and my new characters The Witch Kids due out this summer.
Around the time I moved to California, I had grown weary of the daily grind of comics and wanted to do something more personal. I started a new company along with a few friends and created a line of Dress-up magnets and calendars of pin-up boys for the gay community. The success of what my fans dubbed “Joe-Boys” has taken center stage in my career.
Always seeking a new challenge I began animating web cartoons a few years back which lead to the first gay erotic cartoon film The House of Morecock. And this year I have released a new CGI film, Stonewall and Riot!, in-which my brother and I taught ourselves how to animate in 3D. I’m sure I’ve washed over parts of my past such as being a founding member of Gai-Jin studios and co-creation Xodus USA and Magazine, but I don’t like talking about myself so much.
Find more of Joe’s work:
http://www.joephillips.com/
https://www.facebook.com/JoePhillipsART/
Madame Askew and The Grand Arbiter 