Joshua Dysart

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Joshua Dysart
Joshua Dysart on Free Comic Book Day
in 2012
Born (1971-06-21) June 21, 1971 (age 52)
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Writer
http://www.joshuadysart.com

Joshua Dysart (

Virgin Comics and Random House
Books.

Career

Comics

Dysart co-created and wrote

Russ Manning Award
. The last four issues, a story arc entitled "Lamenting Pain", was not collected until 2009, when IDW Press decided to publish a trade which also featured never before seen developmental material and an unseen short story by Dysart.

More work followed, including a two-year stint as the monthly writer of

Eric Powell on covers. Dysart has also worked on Conan and Hellboy and has co-written with Mike Mignola on a series of projects in the same setting
of Hellboy.

From 2008 to 2010 he wrote a revamp of

Eisner Award for Best New Series in 2009.[4] and won a Glyph Comics Awards for Best cover. In 2010 Unknown Soldier won the Glyph for STORY OF THE YEAR.[5] Unknown Soldier was featured on the front page of the art section of the New York Times [6] and Dysart was interviewed by the BBC, who also published some of his research photos on their website.[7] In December 2009 Dysart gave an exhaustive interview to WORLD VISION REPORT about his experiences in the conflict zone and attempts to adapt them into a mainstream, commercial work.[8]

In June 2010, Vertigo Comics published Dysart's graphic novel based on Neil Young's 2003 album Greendale.[9][10] Cliff Chiang drew the book.[11][12] It spent two weeks at #3 on the New York Times Graphic Novel Best-Seller list.[13]

In 2012 Joshua Dysart became one of the primary architects of the Valiant Universe when he helped launch the "Summer of Valiant" with fellow creators Robert Vinditti, Duane Swierzinski, Fred Van Lente, and Justin Jordan.[14] It was a reboot of the shared superhero universe of 1990's era publisher Valiant Comics. He has since done two monthly series, the revamp of Harbinger and the original Imperium, and co-wrote Bloodshot for the publisher, as well as multiple single issues over the years. He and artist Khari Evans are responsible for bringing back the popular Faith/Zephyr character, an overweight female superhero, in her current incarnation.[15] In 2013 he helmed Valiant's first summer crossover, Harbinger wars, which introduced his original creation, a team of super-powered children called Generation Zero.[16][17] Generation Zero and Faith were both given their own individual series.

In 2015 the

Huffington Post World in four installments.[20] In 2017 WFP released Living Level-3: South Sudan, the sequel by Dysart and the same team. Again, Dysart spent ten days traveling in the subject country for research. Focusing on the intersection of famine, civil war, and free market inflation in destabilizing the youngest nation in the world.[21][22]

In 2018 Dysart once again was part of the launch line-up of a brand new company TKO Studios with an original graphic novel Goodnight Paradise.[23] A murder mystery that takes place in the homeless culture of Venice Beach, California as it is rapidly gentrifying due to technology companies moving in. Dysart has lived in Venice Beach since the early 2000s.[24] The book has received overwhelmingly positive reviews for its humanist exploration of community disintegration and displacement. The AV CLUB said, "the book is a savage takedown of a society that prioritizes profit over people."[25] And Comics Beat concluded that it was, "As compassionate a portrayal of the homeless as any medium has seen in recent years."[26] Goodnight Paradise is a prime example of a perennial theme of Dysart's:

"The issue of displaced humanity has been central to a lot of my work, going all the way back to my Unknown Soldier days, but this was the first time I’ve turned that lens on my own community. I suppose there’s a richness of character and general detail that comes from the fact that this is pulled from more than a decade of material and thought on the subject and the place." - Joshua Dysart[27]

In April 2022, Dysart was reported among the more than three dozen comics creators who contributed to

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[28][29] Dysart's contribution is an editorial on Ukrainian artists.[30]

Media tie-in

Dysart has been extensively involved in multi-media crossovers over his career. He authored the one-shot

Hellboy video game from Konami. He has written a two-volume 270 page graphic novel for Avril Lavigne entitled Make 5 Wishes which was published by Del Rey Manga and Random House. That book has been printed in over seven languages as well as digitally distributed throughout Asia. His six-issue comic book mini-series adaptation of the Deepak Chopra novel Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment
was published in December 2010.

In 2013 Archaia Entertainment LLC published Dysart's The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths, Volume 2. Taking place in Jim Henson's Dark Crystal universe, Dysart's story tells of the cracking of the crystal.

In 2015 Valiant Entertainment announced a five-picture deal with Sony Pictures to bring two of its series Bloodshot and Dysart's Harbinger, to the big screen. Both Bloodshot and Harbinger will receive two features each before a fifth movie, Harbinger Wars, also written by Dysart, is hoped to be released.[31]

Advocacy and education

Dysart has, on multiple occasions, taught and talked about the role of comics in pop-culture, as well as actively promoted comics "he feels bring a wider audience to the medium". He has produced discussion panels for the

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.[38] In 2010 he interviewed David Petersen on his Eisner-award-winning Mouse Guard comic.[39]

In 2018, Dysart wrote a short piece for

Orlando nightclub shooting. He also wrote a short comic about the marketing of the AR-15 for Where We Live, a graphic novel benefitting the survivors of the mass shooting that took place at the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest
music festival.

In 2018, Dysart became involved in the early stages of Comics For Peace,[40] a Pakistani initiative by locals to encourage and promote positive social change through the medium of comic books. He helped hand choose and then mentor young creatives from across Pakistan. The students created stories that brought attention to the societal issues that concerned them, including discrimination, hate, violence and extremism. Two creators published by the program and mentored by Dysart were brought to the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, where they were given a table and spent the convention pitching their comics to attendees. In the process, thousands of free comics created by Pakistani young people were handed out.[41]

Bibliography

An incomplete selection of work:

Notes

  1. ^ "Warzones and Rock Stars: Joshua Dysart Interview"
  2. ^ McLean, Matthew. Out of Africa: Joshua Dysart on Greendale and Unknown Soldier Archived 2008-08-20 at the Wayback Machine, Vertigo Spotlight, Comics Bulletin, August 2, 2008
  3. ^ Exclusive Preview: Vertigo's Unknown Soldier #1, Newsarama, July 17, 2008
  4. ^ Eisner Nominations Spotlight Newcomers[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ 2010 Glyph Comics Award Winners Announced Archived 2011-01-14 at the Wayback Machine, comicsworthreading.com, May 15, 2010
  6. ^ title=Civil War in Uganda, Illustrated and in Panels
  7. ^ title=In pictures: Ugandan comic hero
  8. ^ title=Unknown Soldier Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Ekstrom, Steve. "Joshua Dysart on Neil Young's Greendale at Vertigo". Newsarama. Archived from the original on August 27, 2007.
  10. New York Times
    .
  11. ^ Arrant, Chris (June 9, 2010). "Artist Cliff Chiang Welcomes You to Vertigo's GREENDALE". Newsarama. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
  12. ^ Lorah, Michael (June 8, 2010). "Touring NEIL YOUNG'S GREENDALE With Writer Josh Dysart". Newsarama. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
  13. ^ GUSTINES, George (June 25, 2010). "Graphic Books Best-Sellers: Goin' Back With Neil Young". New York Times. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  14. ^ Voice, The Valiant. "Valiant Entertainment". Valiant Entertainment. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  15. ^ "'Harbinger' Writer Joshua Dysart on Bringing Zephyr Back in the 'Geek Chic' Era [Interview]". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  16. ^ "Joshua Dysart Takes Valiant's HARBINGER WARS to Las Vegas". Newsarama. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  17. ^ "Generation Zero (Team) - Comic Vine". Comic Vine. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  18. ^ "LL3: Living Level-3 Emergency | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger Worldwide". www.wfp.org. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  19. ^ Dysart, Joshua (2016-01-19). "The Inspiring Story Behind 'Living Level 3:Iraq'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  20. ^ Dysart, Joshua (2016-01-19). "Living Level 3: Iraq -- Chapter 1". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  21. ^ "A Year of Free Comics: LIVING LEVEL-3: SOUTH SUDAN, a searing look at one of the world's humanitarian emergencies". The Beat. 2017-04-11. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  22. ^ "Unknown Soldier's Josh Dysart And Alberto Ponticelli Team For WFP Comic On South Sudan". Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News. 2017-04-11. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  23. ^ "GOODNIGHT PARADISE". TKO STUDIOS. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  24. ^ "Interview: Joshua Dysart Talks 'Goodnight Paradise!'". Villain Media. 2019-01-16. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  25. ^ Sava, Oliver. "TKO Studios wants to revolutionize comics... and it just might do it". AUX. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  26. ^ "We Read TKO Studios First..." www.comicsbeat.com. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  27. ^ "Interview: Joshua Dysart Talks 'Goodnight Paradise!'". Villain Media. 2019-01-16. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  28. ^ Kaplan, Rebecca O. (April 18, 2022). "ZOOP launches benefit anthology COMICS FOR UKRAINE: SUNFLOWER SEEDS". The Beat. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  29. ^ Brooke, David (April 18, 2022). "'Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds' to benefit Ukrainian refugees". AIPT. Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  30. ^ Kit, Borys (April 20, 2022). "Comic Book Creators Team for Ukraine Relief Effort Anthology 'Sunflower Seed'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  31. ^ "'Bloodshot,' 'Harbinger' Comics to Get Film Treatment From Sony, Valiant Entertainment (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
  32. ^ Heinberg, Vaughan, Grayson and Waid Featured at West Hollywood Book Fair Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ The West Hollywood Book Fair
  34. ^ Outlook: Graphic novel pros come to campus
  35. ^ Manning, Shaun (October 13, 2008). "Dysart & Wimberly on "The Stain"". Comic Book Resources.
  36. ^ PDF: Ohio State University Press Release
  37. ^ Notables 2010: Josh Dysart and Ron Wimberly’s The Stain
  38. ^ title= Video: Creator Bryan Lee O’Malley Talks the Future of Scott Pilgrim Archived 2012-04-03 at the Wayback Machine
  39. ^ title= Petersen & Dysart Discuss "Mouse Guard"
  40. ^ "ComicsforPeace". ComicsforPeace. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  41. ^ "Comic book series promotes Pakistani peace". San Diego Jewish World. 2019-07-19. Retrieved 2019-10-09.

References

External links

Interviews

Preceded by Swamp Thing writer
2004–2006
Succeeded by