Doing it all is a rare trait in American comics. Doing it all and doing it well is even rarer. And that's exactly how illustrator Josh Middleton has made a name for himself.
He started his career as a young artist back in the late '90s at CrossGen, the Tampa-based comic book publisher. He and a bunch of creators signed on for what looked like a bold new direction in the making of comics—and it was.
After relocating to Florida from Pennysylvania, Josh worked on their title Meridian and fans ate it up. But it wasn't long before things went South (pun intended), and he and others decided to part ways with the maverick company.
Post CrossGen, Josh pubbed a creator-owned project called Sky Between Branches with a European company, Com.X. The preview issue of the book got the attention of Joe Quesada at Marvel, and he asked Middleton to collaborate with him on a little something called NYX.
That series was, of course, a huge hit and from there Josh worked on Superman/Shazam First Thunder over at DC among other things. He's also done a ton of covers over the last few years for titles like New Mutants, American Virgin, Vixen and Supergirl.
As implied earlier, this guy is somewhat of a white tiger. He's one of few comic artists living here in the States who handles all the art chores himself. Every bit. You tend to see more of that sort of thing in places like Europe, so it makes him a rare breed on this soil.
In the interview, we cover some background, the 'dark days in Tampa' (HIGH-larious), many of the projects mentioned above, and just why he decided to take the reins and do it all himself.
Plus, Josh gives us the inside scoop on his recent book cover illustrations for Tor and Scholastic, and tells some funny stories about his recent experiences in Hollywood.
**Picture provided by Midus Unknown.
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Thank you very much for that interview. Absolutely hilarious. Also thank you for all of these interviews you do with all of these artists. For someone who is a aspiring illustrator, it is inspiring to hear from all of these people I admire. Keep up the awesome work!
(Swain re: Thanks for the kind words, Sterling, we'll definitely keep 'em coming.)
Posted by: Sterling Jenkins | June 06, 2009 at 13:37
Having lived in Florida for the past 20 years, I'm going to have to agree wholeheartedly with Josh's assessment of Florida. Except it smells like dead fish, seaweed and sun fried whale sperm.
Great interview.
Posted by: Donal DeLay | June 07, 2009 at 20:12
This interview is fantastic. This is my third time listening to it since it first came out. Absolutely hilarious and informative. Mr. Middleton's work is great and it is really cool to get a glimpse of the artist behind the art.
(RE: I couldn't agree more, Lance. We were cracking up and at the same time, the experience made us appreciate his art even more. - S)
Posted by: Lance Red | September 04, 2010 at 14:08