Jen Lee is an American cartoonist, illustrator, and author. Her works include ''Thunderpaw: In the Ashes of Fire Mountain'', ''Vacancy,'' ''Garbage Night'', and ''At the Edge of the Stream at Dusk''.

Personal life

Lee grew up in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,115, down from 19,539 at the 2010 census. Naples is a principal city of the Collier County, Florida, Naples–Marc ...

. She studied illustration at the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

. She was a resident of

Twin Falls, Idaho Twin Falls is the county seat of and the largest city in Twin Falls County, Idaho, United States. The city had a population of 51,807 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.

in 2017, but later that year moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, a move chronicled in her book ''At the Edge of the Stream at Dusk''.

Career and works

Lee created ''Thunderpaw: In the Ashes of Fire Mountain'', an animated webcomic. The comic started in August 2012 and was released gradually online. The story follows two dogs, Bruno and Ollie, who after some apocalyptic event try to make their way home. Lee's comic ''Vacancy'' was published in 2015. Published by

Nobrow Press Nobrow Press is a British comics publishing company based in London, England. Nobrow is known for its bi-annual eponymous anthology, for publishing the works of Blexbolex, Luke Pearson, Jon McNaught and Jesse Moynihan, and for exposing the En ...

, the 24 page book follows a dog Simon who decides to become a wild animal after all humans have vanished. In 2017, Lee published a longer follow-up to ''Vacancy'' entitled ''Garbage Night'', also through Nobrow. The comic follows the same characters and setting. In 2019, Lee published ''At the Edge of the Stream at Dusk'', a memoir about her move to Los Angeles to a new job, after a breakup. The comic, in which the people are drawn as

anthropomorphic animals Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

, was published by ShortBox. Lee has also worked as a freelance illustrator.

Reception

Several reviewers have praised Lee's work. A reviewer for

Bleeding Cool ''Bleeding Cool'' is an Internet news site, focusing on comics, television, film, board games, and video games. Owned by Avatar Press, it was launched by Rich Johnston in 2009. Avatar Press also publishes an associated magazine, also called ''B ...

described ''Thunderpaw'' as "A unique beast that could only work in native online environment... Constantly glitching and twitching with a frantic energy... As well as perfectly portraying her two main characters as hyperactive, jittery puppies it also gives her world a restless and unnerving quality to it" and added "I’d give up all my apertrades in an instant for more quirky gems like this." A review for

Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' () is a design, technology, science, and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the sub-blogs ''io9'' and ''Earther'', which focus on pop ...

's site

Io9 ''io9'' is a sub-blog of the technology blog ''Gizmodo'' that focuses on science fiction and fantasy pop culture, with former focuses on science, technology and futurism. It was created as a standalone blog in 2008 by editor Annalee Newitz under ...

said "Lee makes great use of her digital canvas to convey both the emotions of her canine protagonists and the devastation around them", and a reviewer for

Comic Book Resources ''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...

said: "The color palette seems vintage and dusty, recalling communist propaganda posters from the '40s and '50s. The style, however, is more modern. Although far more polished, ''Thunderpaw'' recalls the graffiti-like art styles that made its mark on the black-and-white comics of the '80s and '90s."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Jen Living people American comics artists American female comics artists American comics writers American female comics writers American graphic novelists American webcomic creators Year of birth missing (living people) People from Naples, Florida Artists from Florida