Cheer up, sleepy Jean

January 14, 2008 11:07 AM

James Jean shows how he creates the painted cover for Fables. His blog is full of gorgeous figure studies and sketches that show influences from Lucian Freud and pop/manga design. His eponymous site also includes a broad cross-section of his works: Dive, Tigerlily, and his great recess series.
posted by klangklangston (14 comments total)

I had never heard of fables. must... read.
posted by shmegegge at 11:14 AM on January 14, 2008

ummm....awesomeness!!!
posted by P.o.B. at 11:20 AM on January 14, 2008

"I had never heard of fables. must... read."

It's REALLY good, and most of the used places seem to have the collections cheap. I think that parents mistakenly buy it for kids, and then it gets dumped pretty fast.
posted by klangklangston at 11:23 AM on January 14, 2008

Gorgeous, magical, dreamlike work. Thank you klangklangston!
posted by LeeJay at 11:26 AM on January 14, 2008

Very nice!
posted by prostyle at 11:34 AM on January 14, 2008

I think that parents mistakenly buy it for kids, and then it gets dumped pretty fast.

Yeah, that would be a pretty easy mistake to identify. "Mom, why is Goldilocks spouting strange feminist anthems? Why did they kill that cuwtsie animal?"
posted by yerfatma at 11:48 AM on January 14, 2008

I have never gotten into graphic novels. Recently, I picked the first volume of Fables up at a friend's house and read the whole thing in one sitting. I now finally understand why people are fans.
posted by naturesgreatestmiracle at 12:01 PM on January 14, 2008

Fables is the only comic currently published that I bother reading. The author is a republitard but his antiquated moral positions work well coming from dark age characters placed in a modern context.

If only Warren Ellis would get back to Desolation Jones, then I'd have two comics worth reading every month... grumble.
posted by bunnytricks at 12:11 PM on January 14, 2008

Fantastic artwork. I've never read any Fables stuff or heard of JJ before this (probably not my style of writing), but his talent is unquestionable.
posted by misha at 12:13 PM on January 14, 2008

I recently discovered him after buying an issue of Theme magazine, and I wish I had money to spare to buy a bunch of paintings.

Sadly, in that same article it is revealed that James Jean may have glaucoma -- confirmation will only come after another eye exam, which was to take place 6 months after the interview.
posted by TheyCallItPeace at 12:50 PM on January 14, 2008

Oh cool, I've been reading Fables for a while now, but hadn't known that James Jean had a blog. He's a great artist, I just wish the writing lived up to the cover art. (see: the absolutely ridiculous treatment of the political complexities in the Animal Farm arc.)
posted by nerdcore at 1:34 PM on January 14, 2008

Cool, thanks! I love Fables. It's the only ongoing series I buy, except for The Walking Dead. I didn't know JJ had a blog. /off to peruse
posted by gemmy at 3:08 PM on January 14, 2008

I started reading Fables simply to get a new image by James Jean every month.

Fables itself is a little weak at the get-go but what it has evolved into is really terrific.
posted by pokermonk at 3:39 PM on January 14, 2008

Yeah, I remember thinking that the author, Bill Willingham, was a dick when I was in high school, although I can't remember now why I thought that. Probably because he couldn't get new issues of Elementals out as fast as I wanted. I guess that from his writing, I always felt that I would hate him if I met him in real life.

James Jean on the other hand, has always struck me as a great guy, and his illustrations are always top-class. Good enough for me to give up my dreams of becoming an illustrator...
posted by donkeymon at 4:31 PM on January 14, 2008