Josh Bayer is a prolific cartoonist, independent publisher and teacher based in New York City. I took Josh’s Comics and Cartooning class in Brooklyn last year and learned a ton about the history of comics, ranging from early newspaper strips to Marvel’s Golden Age to the alternative comics being made today. He also taught us his process, storytelling, drawing and inking techniques, and encouraged us to make our own comics using a number of different methods.
One of the best things about the class was being able to see Josh’s sketchbooks in person. He usually works on a bunch of projects at once, over multiple sketchbooks. The pages are as intense as the drawings themselves. Layers of corrections, obsessive hatching, watercolor, and ink carved into the paper. Josh lives and breathes comics, and his artwork reflects that dedication and craft.
I had a really difficult time choosing just a few images to share here from the mountains of work he’s created over the years. For more of Josh’s drawings and comics, go to his tumblr, portfolio site, and online store. His latest comic is the amazing Raw Power 2.
