John Kovalic (born Robert John Kovalic, Jr. on 24 November 1962) is an American
cartoonist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...
, illustrator, and writer.
Career
Born in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, England, Kovalic is best known for his ''
Dork Tower
''Dork Tower'' is an online comics, comic created, written and drawn by John Kovalic. It chronicles the lives of a group of geeks living in the fictional town of Mud Bay, Wisconsin. Mud Bay's design is strongly influenced by the writer's home, a ...
'' comic book,
comic strip
A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...
, and
webcomic
Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...
, and other humorous work set in and about the fantasy
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
genre, such as ''The Unspeakable Oaf''. He has illustrated
board
Board or Boards may refer to:
Flat surface
* Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat
** Plank (wood)
** Cutting board
** Sounding board, of a musical instrument
* Cardboard (paper product)
* Paperboard
* Fiberboard
** Hardboard, a ...
and
card game
A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...
s for several companies, including
Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''.
History
Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...
(notably the ''
Munchkin
A Munchkin is a native of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. Although a common fixture in Germanic fairy tales, they are introduced to modern audiences with the first appearance in the classic c ...
'' card game,
plus its many expansions and derivatives, and ''
Chez Geek'' and its derivatives), Cumberland Games & Diversions (''
Pokéthulhu''), and the third edition of
Fantasy Flight Games
Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) is a game developer based in Roseville, Minnesota, United States, that creates and publishes role-playing game, role-playing, board game, board, card game, card, and dice game, dice games. As of 2014, it is a division of ...
's ''
Mag Blast''. He was also the sole illustrator for the "Super Deluxx" edition of ''
Kobolds Ate My Baby!'' and has subsequently occasionally featured supplemental KAMB material in the ''Dork Tower'' comic book.
Kovalic is a co-founder and co-owner of
Out of the Box Publishing.
He is also the company's art director and designer of the 2003 trivia
party game
Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate interaction and provide entertainment and recreation. Categories include (explicit) icebreaker, parlour (indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games.Frankel, Lillia ...
''Whad'Ya Know?'', based on ''
Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?'', as well as the illustrator of ''
Apples to Apples
''Apples to Apples'' is a card-based party game originally published by Out of the Box Publishing Inc., and now by Mattel. Players start with a hand of seven "red apple" cards, which feature nouns. A player is selected to be the first judge, an ...
''.
Kovalic is an editorial cartoonist for the ''
Wisconsin State Journal
The ''Wisconsin State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin. As of Septembe ...
''.
His work has appeared in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' and ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', and he continues to freelance for Milwaukee's ''
The Daily Reporter''.
He has also worked for ''
CARtoons Magazine''. He is also the writer of the comic ''
Doctor Blink Superhero Shrink'', which is penciled and inked by
Christopher Jones and colored and lettered by
Melissa Kaercher.
Honors
Kovalic's cartoons are multi–Origins Award–winners and have been nominated for two Harvies—for best cartoonist and the special award for humor in comics.
''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' called Kovalic a "Hot Pick".
In 2003, Kovalic became the first cartoonist inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming's Hall of Fame.
Kovalic has thrice been a guest of honor—in 2003, 2007, and 2008—at the science, science fiction, and fantasy
convention CONvergence
Convergence may refer to:
Arts and media Literature
*''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen
*Convergence (comics), "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics:
**A four-part crossover storyline that ...
., and on multiple occasions at
Warpcon in
Cork
"Cork" or "CORK" may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
*** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine
Places Ireland
* ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
.
List of games illustrated
Kovalic has provided illustrations for large number of games, including:
* ''10 Days'' series
* ''aBRIDGEd''
* ''
Apples to Apples
''Apples to Apples'' is a card-based party game originally published by Out of the Box Publishing Inc., and now by Mattel. Players start with a hand of seven "red apple" cards, which feature nouns. A player is selected to be the first judge, an ...
'' series
* ''Backseat Drawing''
* ''Blink''
* ''
Bosworth''
* ''
Button Men: Dork Victory''
* ''Cash n' Guns'' Second Edition
* ''Chain Game''
* ''
Chez Geek'' series
* ''Cineplexity''
* ''Cloud 9''
* ''Cover Up''
* ''Creatures and Cultists''
* ''Creepyfreaks''
* ''Dork 20''
* ''Dork Tower: The Boardgame''
* ''Dungeonville''
* ''Easy Come, Easy Go''
* ''Escape from Elba''
* ''Fish Eat Fish''
* ''Gold Digger''
* ''
Illuminati: New World Order'' series
* ''
Kobolds Ate My Baby!''
* ''Letter Flip''
* ''Letter Roll''
* ''
Mag Blast''
* ''Mix Up''
* ''
Munchkin
A Munchkin is a native of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. Although a common fixture in Germanic fairy tales, they are introduced to modern audiences with the first appearance in the classic c ...
'' series
* ''Munchkin Quest''
* ''My Dwarfs Fly''
* ''My Word!''
* ''Ninja Versus Ninja''
* ''Nutty Cups''
* ''Party Pooper''
* ''Pepper''
* ''PokeTHULHU''
* ''Quitch''
* ''Rock''
* ''ROFL!''
ROFL! at Cyrptozoic games
* ''Shape Up''
* ''ShipWrecked''
* ''Snorta''
* ''Squint''
* ''Tutankhamen''
* ''Wallamoppi''
* ''Warhamster Rally''
* '' Whad'Ya Know?''
* ''Wheedle''
* ''ZenBenders'' series
References
External links
''Dork Tower''
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovalic, John
1962 births
American comic strip cartoonists
American webcomic creators
English comics artists
English comics writers
Living people
Artists from Manchester