Some Thoughts On John Paul Leon

 With the recent passing of John Paul Leon, lots of people have been talking about how much of a nice guy he was and how much of a talent he was. I never had the pleasure of meeting him but have enjoyed his work for over 20 years. I have been re-reading some of his work and I thought I'd talk about a few of my favourite works that he was a part of.

EARTH X (1999 - 2000)

In 1999, my best friend discovered that Dublin had a comic shop called Forbidden Planet and I was like a kid in a candy store. One of the first series I was drawn to was Earth X. The Alex Ross covers just caught the eye and I immediately purchased all the issues that had been released up to that point. When I opened the comic, the art inside couldn't be more different. I saw a gritty, shadowy art style that captured the dark atmosphere of this grim future. Alex Ross had designed some great characters but John Paul Leon humanised them. He balanced the cosmic worlds of the Watcher and the Eternals with the street level characters like Captain America and excelled at drawing everything. This was a big story but, with his various character moments, John Paul Leon grounded it.

NEW X-MEN ISSUE 127 (2002)

One of the first series I collected as a fan was X-men. When Grant Morrison took over, it brought a whole new dimension and look to the team. One of his new X-men was a character called Xorn. He was imprisoned by the Chinese government and has to wear a skull-like mask designed to restrain his energy output as he has a "sun" for a brain. Despite his ordeals, he is optimistic, open, and even somewhat naive. In New X-men 127, "Of Living And Dying", he keeps a diary to share his thoughts with Professor Xavier, since Xavier cannot read his mind. This issue was John Paul Leon's first of two guest spots for New X-men (both inked by Bill Sienkiewicz). The street level nature of the story, which sees Xorn looking for a mutant monster in Mutant Town, really plays to Leon's skills as an artist. He is once again able to blend the super people with the regular people and there are some great character moments again.

WEAPON X ISSUE 14 (2003)

I am big fan of books about the bad guys so it was a no brainer that I was going to pick up this series about the new Weapon X program. Written by Frank Tieri, a writer I have since become a big fan of, the series did a great job of using minor characters. The end of issue 13 revealed that Mr. Sinister was using the Weapon X program for his own ends. Issue 14 "Sinister's List" took a break from the ongoing story and looked at Sinister's history during World War II where he came in contact with some of the Invaders. John Paul Leon's art is perfect for this era and looks even better in the World War II scenes which are similar in style to "Schindler's List" down to the touches of red. The story is a great standalone and is probably my favourite of Leon's works.

ANIMAL MAN ISSUE 6 (2012)

"Tights", issue 6 of the New 52 Animal Man series, written by Jeff Lemire, has one of Buddy Baker's kids watching a low budget independent movie he starred in. The film tells the story of Chas Grant, formerly "Red Thunder" a failed street level superhero, who is trying to deal with finding work, his ex-wife and raising a kid. Amazingly, John Paul Leon, who draws all the movie scenes, has managed to get even better over time. Added to his brilliant character work are some amazingly detailed backgrounds. This issue makes me sad that we never got to see him on a longer Daredevil story (he did do a fill-in issue in 1998 for issue 375). You can read Leon's pages as a stand alone story. It ends on a cliffhanger but this is resolved in my next pick.

ANIMAL MAN ISSUE 20 (2013)

 "Tights" part two sees the conclusion of the story of Chas Grant. His life appears to turn around as his finds fame after becoming an internet sensation. More great work from Leon. Just check out the "silent" panels on this page. 

These are just some of my favourites. There are loads more and I will be desperately hunting for a copy of the trade of his creator owned series The Winter Men (with writer Brett Lewis).

Tommy Lee Edwards has started a fundraiser for John Paul Leon’s family to help with funeral expenses and his daughter’s college fund. You can donate here.