Lisner

	Joseph Michael Linsner
	Background information
Birthdate:	Dec 13, 1968 / 55 yo
Location:	Queens, New York, U.S.
Awards:	Inkpot Award, 2007
Spouse(s):	Kristina Deak-Linsner
Nationality:	American

Joseph Michael Linsner (b. ✦December 13, 1968) is an American comic book writer-artist best known for his mature-audiences supernatural character Dawn. Known for his illustrations of female characters, he is a popular cover artist for the comics industry.

Early life

Linsner was born in Queens, New York. One of three brothers, his father died when Joseph was 14. Linsner grew up with a fascination for Batman, the X-Men, Conan the Barbarian, and the pinup artist Alberto Vargas. Later influences included Alan Moore, Pat Mills, and David Cronenberg.

Career

Linsner introduced the lingerie-wearing occult character Dawn in Cry for Dawn #1 (1989),[3] a nine-issue series self-published by Linsner and Joseph M. Monks' own Cry for Dawn Productions (CFD). Linsner broke into mainstream comics drawing the cover of Justice League Quarterly #13 (Winter 1993). CFD dissolved in the spring of 1994, and Linsner moved Dawn to Sirius Entertainment for several limited series and one-shots.

His Marvel Comics work includes the one-shot Killraven #1 (Feb. 2001), several covers for the company's mid-2000s Mystique series, and painted covers and interior penciling and inking for the Wolverine-Black Cat three-issue limited series Claws (Oct.-Dec., 2006), followed in 2011 by the three-issue limited series Wolverine & Black Cat: Claws 2 (Aug.–Nov., 2011).

In 2002, Linsner self-published "I Love New York", a benefit book for the American Red Cross following the September 11 attacks; the comic presents his perceptions as a native New Yorker on that day.

Image Comics released the 176-page paperback The Art of Joseph Michael Linsner (ISBN 978-1582403250) in October 2003.

He provided the illustrations for the 2007 book "Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes" by Christopher Knowles (ISBN 1-57863-406-7).

Linsner drew the cover of Dark Fantasy Productions' Dark Fantasy #1 (1994). He drew the cover of the crossover one-shot Witchblade/The Punisher #1 (June 2007), and has also done painted comic book cover art for Topps Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and others. He did his first cover for Dynamite Entertainment in 2007 (Red Sonja), and since 2012 has been one of the company's most prolific cover artists, mainly for its collections of comics featuring such licensed characters as Red Sonja, Vampirella, Bettie Page, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, Dejah Thoris, and Jennifer Blood.

Following the introduction of his character Dawn in the original nine-issue series that debuted in 1989 (CFD), he moved the character to Sirius Entertainment for several miniseries. These included the five-issue Dawn (1995–1996, reprinted as the trade paperback collection Dawn: Lucifer's Halo #1, Nov. 1997, ISBN 1-57989-014-8), and the six-issue Crypt of Dawn (Oct. 1996 – March 1999), and the one-shots Dawn 1/2: Dreams of Dawn (1999) and Dawn #1/2 (2000), co-published by Sirius and Wizard magazine.

Linsner broke into mainstream comics drawing the cover of Justice League Quarterly #13 (Winter 1993). His Marvel Comics work includes the one-shot Killraven #1 (Feb. 2001), several covers for the company's mid-2000s Mystique series, and painted covers and interior penciling and inking for the Wolverine-Black Cat three-issue miniseries Claws (Oct.-Dec. 2006). He drew the cover of the Image Comics one-shot Witchblade/The Punisher #1 (June 2007). Linsner also drew and colored the cover of Dark Fantasy Productions' Dark Fantasies #1 (1994), and has also done painted comic-book cover art for Topps Comics, Dark Horse Comics and others. He has also provided the illustrations for Our Gods Wear Spandex.

Controversy

In 2013, in the pages of a Dawn comic, Linsner accused his former assistant Eva Hopkins of acquiring and selling his original pages without his consent. Hopkins denied the allegations, and an online war of words erupted between the two creators.

Personal life

Linsner is married to Kristina Deak-Linsner.

Awards and honors

Linsner was nominated for the 1997 Eisner Award for Best Painter/Digital Artist.[14]

He was given an Inkpot Award at the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con. Along with Herb Trimpe and Greg Land, Linsner was a guest of honor at the 2008 Toronto Comic-Con.