Georges Jeanty
Encyclopedia
Georges Jeanty is an American comic book
penciler best known for his work on The American Way, an eight-issue American comic book limited series produced under DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint, and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight
comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics
.
, and classic superhero comics like Fantastic Four
and Saga of the Swamp Thing - Jeanty made comic books his focus.
Jeanty specifically credits Frank Miller's
Daredevil #183
, as pivotal in his decision to pursue a career in comics.
His artist influences include American comic book artists John Byrne, Michael Golden, and Alan Davis
, as well as European comic book artist legends Milo Manara
and Jean Giraud (Moebius)
.
. Soon after, he worked on the “bad girl” comics for London Night Studios, featuring various characters like Poizon, Stryke, and Razor. Moving to Atlanta in 1999, Jeanty joined the ranks of Atlanta-based Gaijin Studios
.
After breaking in at DC Comics
, on titles like Green Lantern
, Superboy
, and Superman
, Marvel Comics
offered Jeanty his first regular ongoing monthly series- Bishop: The Last X-Man
(1999). Jeanty's Marvel work also included Gambit
, Deadpool
, Weapon X
, and the X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
mini-comic for the Activision
video game. During this time, in 2003, Jeanty left Gaijin Studios and after a year, formed Atlanta-based Studio Revolver, with Dexter Vines
, Tom Feister
, Brian Reiber, and Tariq Hassan.
In 2006, DC Comics’ imprint, Wildstorm Comics paired Jeanty with Hollywood screenwriter John Ridley
, for The American Way, an eight-issue comic book mini-series that presented a skewed parallel history of the civil unrest during 1960s America, where the United States Government created its own "superheroes" and "villains" and arranged fake fights to influence public opinions.
, who asked if he was interested in working on a Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic book. Buffy's creator, Joss Whedon
, who had been a fan of Jeanty's work since Bishop: the Last X-Man, specifically asked for him.
This was not the movie and television character's first foray into comics, between 1998 and 2004, Dark Horse Comics published various Buffy comics when the television show was on air, but not all the comics were considered canon.
However, this new comic book series was to be the canonical
continuation of the popular television series that aired for seven years, so it was titled Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight
.
Jeanty started penciling the first issue of Season Eight immediately after completing The American Way, working closely with Joss Whedon in bringing the television series to the comic book world. In doing this, Whedon strictly wanted "comic book stylized" versions of the Buffy characters, that carry the essence of their television counterparts, without looking like redrawn picture stills.
Lots of attention and detail still goes into rendering these stylized versions, Jeanty saying, "It takes me 30% more time to do a Buffy page than, say, a Gambit page, because of the likenesses. But how hard is my job when I get to sit around all day and draw Sarah Michelle Gellar
, Alyson Hannigan
, or Michelle Trachtenberg
?"
Over the course of Season Eight, Jeanty also worked with alumni Buffy writer Jane Espenson
, and comic book writers Brian K. Vaughn, Jeph Loeb
, and Brad Meltzer
. Jeanty also created variant covers for most of the comic book series.
The comic book series was nominated and won many awards during its forty-issue run, including: The 2008 The Eisner Award
for Best New Series and the 2009 GLAAD Media Award
for Outstanding Comic Book.
The complete series was later collected into seven trade paperbacks
which were regularly listed on the The New York Times Graphic Books Best Seller List.
Mathew Springer stated, "He brings these people to life not as drawings of actors and actresses, but as fully realized comic book characters in their own right."
Buffy creator, Joss Whedon, stated that while looking for an artist for Buffy Season Eight, he desired someone that was "good at capturing the likenesses [of the characters], but did not draw a weak... non-comic that reeks of licensing." And that, "Georges mixes both abilities with a grace and power not seen since Superman vs. Muhammad Ali."
Mark Stoddard complimented Whedon's choice of Jeanty, saying, "his layouts and storytelling are clear, he handles the action sequences pretty well, and the character likenesses are excellent, retaining a sense of artistic individuality, rather than simply generating portraits or rehashing television stills".
Overall, Jeanty's artwork received mostly positive reviews, although there was some initial debate among Buffy fans and critics over Joss Whedon's art style choice. Keith McDuffee thought Jeanty's pencils "have a bit to be desired" compared to the photo-realistic artwork on the covers. However, Richard George of IGN praised Jeanty's work as a happy medium between real life and comics, urging readers not to compare Jeanty's interior art to Jo Chen's
photo-realistic cover style, and that "Both styles have their place".
on July 19, 2010. The Blu-ray and DVD of the motion comic series was released on January 4, 2011.
2011, Dark Horse Comics officially announced that Jeanty will return as regular artist for Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Nine
.
. Joining him, as inker, will be Jeanty's former studio mate from Studio Revolver, Dexter Vines
.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
penciler best known for his work on The American Way, an eight-issue American comic book limited series produced under DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint, and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote the...
comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
.
Early life
He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Miami, Florida. After majoring in the Fine Arts, at Miami-Dade University, he considered a career in acting, but decided to use his artistic talent to pursue a career as a commercial artist. Inspired by the comic books he read while growing up, featuring 70’s comic book superhero icons like Luke CageLuke Cage
Luke Cage is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Archie Goodwin and artist John Romita, Sr., he first appeared in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1...
, and classic superhero comics like Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 , which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium...
and Saga of the Swamp Thing - Jeanty made comic books his focus.
Jeanty specifically credits Frank Miller's
Frank Miller (comics)
Frank Miller is an American comic book artist, writer and film director best known for his dark, film noir-style comic book stories and graphic novels Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300...
Daredevil #183
Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
Daredevil is a fictional character, a superhero in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Bill Everett, with an unspecified amount of input from Jack Kirby, and first appeared in Daredevil #1 .Living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood...
, as pivotal in his decision to pursue a career in comics.
His artist influences include American comic book artists John Byrne, Michael Golden, and Alan Davis
Alan Davis
Alan Davis is an English writer and artist of comic books, known for his work on titles such as Captain Britain, The Uncanny X-Men, ClanDestine, Excalibur, JLA: The Nail and JLA: Another Nail.-UK work:...
, as well as European comic book artist legends Milo Manara
Milo Manara
Maurilio Manara – known professionally as Milo Manara – is an Italian comic book writer and artist, best known for his erotic approach to the medium.-Career:...
and Jean Giraud (Moebius)
Jean Giraud
Jean Henri Gaston Giraud is a French comics artist. Giraud has earned worldwide fame, not only under his own name but also under the pseudonym Moebius, and to a lesser extent Gir, the latter appearing mostly in the form of a boxed signature at the bottom of the artist's paintings, for instance the...
.
Early career
Jeanty’s first break into comics was Paradigm #1 (1994) published by Caliber ComicsCaliber Comics
Caliber Comics or Caliber Press was an American comic book publisher founded in 1989 by Gary Reed. Featuring primarily creator-owned comics, in the next decade Caliber published over 1300 comics and ranked as one of the America's leading independent publishers...
. Soon after, he worked on the “bad girl” comics for London Night Studios, featuring various characters like Poizon, Stryke, and Razor. Moving to Atlanta in 1999, Jeanty joined the ranks of Atlanta-based Gaijin Studios
Gaijin Studios
Gaijin Studios was a group of American comic book artists formed in Atlanta, Georgia. It was one of the longest-running collectives of freelance comic book artists in the United States, having been in continuous operation for nineteen years, from 1991 to 2010...
.
After breaking in at DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
, on titles like Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
, Superboy
Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. These characters have also been the main characters of four ongoing Superboy comic book series published by DC....
, and Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
offered Jeanty his first regular ongoing monthly series- Bishop: The Last X-Man
Bishop (comics)
Bishop is a fictional comic book superhero, appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, in particular the X-Men family of books...
(1999). Jeanty's Marvel work also included Gambit
Gambit (comics)
Gambit is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero that has been a member of the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, the character first appeared briefly in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 , weeks before a more comprehensive appearance in Uncanny X-Men #266...
, Deadpool
Deadpool (comics)
Deadpool is a fictional character, a mercenary and anti-hero appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza, Deadpool first appeared in The New Mutants #98 Deadpool (Wade Winston Wilson) is a fictional character, a mercenary and...
, Weapon X
Weapon X
Weapon X is a fictional clandestine government genetic research facility project in the Marvel Universe conducted by the Canadian Government's Department K, which turns willing and unwilling beings into living weapons. The project often captures mutants and experiments on them to enhance their...
, and the X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is an action role-playing game released in 2005 for the Xbox, PlayStation 2, N-Gage, PlayStation Portable, and GameCube video game consoles as well as the PC...
mini-comic for the Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
video game. During this time, in 2003, Jeanty left Gaijin Studios and after a year, formed Atlanta-based Studio Revolver, with Dexter Vines
Dexter Vines
Dexter Vines is an American comic book artist and inker, known for his collaborations with pencilers such as Steve McNiven and Ed McGuiness, the latter of whom he is credited with as "eDex" team.-Career:...
, Tom Feister
Tom Feister
Tom Feister is an American illustrator, animator and comic book artist.Feister is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design. He began his career as an editorial illustrator while still in college. He has since gone on to pursue a career in the varied and related fields of comic book...
, Brian Reiber, and Tariq Hassan.
In 2006, DC Comics’ imprint, Wildstorm Comics paired Jeanty with Hollywood screenwriter John Ridley
John Ridley
John Ridley is an American film director, actor, and writer.Ridley got his start as a stand-up comedian. He eventually was hired as a writer for sitcoms such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Martin...
, for The American Way, an eight-issue comic book mini-series that presented a skewed parallel history of the civil unrest during 1960s America, where the United States Government created its own "superheroes" and "villains" and arranged fake fights to influence public opinions.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight
While completing The American Way, Jeanty was contacted by Dark Horse Comics' Senior Managing Editor, Scott AllieScott Allie
Scott Allie is an American comics writer and editor, currently the Senior Managing Editor for Dark Horse Comics.-Career:Scott Allie is the author of The Devil's Footprints and the editor of the Hellboy, Conan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Serenity comics, as well as the founding editor of Dark...
, who asked if he was interested in working on a Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic book. Buffy's creator, Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
, who had been a fan of Jeanty's work since Bishop: the Last X-Man, specifically asked for him.
This was not the movie and television character's first foray into comics, between 1998 and 2004, Dark Horse Comics published various Buffy comics when the television show was on air, but not all the comics were considered canon.
However, this new comic book series was to be the canonical
Buffyverse canon
The Buffyverse canon consists of materials that are thought to be genuine and those events, characters, settings, etc., that are considered to have inarguable existence within the fictional universe established by the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
continuation of the popular television series that aired for seven years, so it was titled Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote the...
.
Jeanty started penciling the first issue of Season Eight immediately after completing The American Way, working closely with Joss Whedon in bringing the television series to the comic book world. In doing this, Whedon strictly wanted "comic book stylized" versions of the Buffy characters, that carry the essence of their television counterparts, without looking like redrawn picture stills.
Lots of attention and detail still goes into rendering these stylized versions, Jeanty saying, "It takes me 30% more time to do a Buffy page than, say, a Gambit page, because of the likenesses. But how hard is my job when I get to sit around all day and draw Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...
, Alyson Hannigan
Alyson Hannigan
Alyson Lee Hannigan is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Willow Rosenberg in the cult classic television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Michelle Flaherty in three American Pie films, and Lily Aldrin on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother.-Early life:Hannigan was born in...
, or Michelle Trachtenberg
Michelle Trachtenberg
Michelle Christine Trachtenberg is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Dawn Summers in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl...
?"
Over the course of Season Eight, Jeanty also worked with alumni Buffy writer Jane Espenson
Jane Espenson
Jane Espenson is an American script writer and television producer who has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She had a five-year stint as a writer and producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and shared a Hugo Award for her writing on the episode "Conversations with Dead People"...
, and comic book writers Brian K. Vaughn, Jeph Loeb
Jeph Loeb
Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III is an American film and television writer, producer and award-winning comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series Smallville and Lost, writer for the films Commando and Teen Wolf and was a writer and Co-Executive Producer on the NBC TV show Heroes from its...
, and Brad Meltzer
Brad Meltzer
Brad Meltzer is a bestselling American political thriller novelist, non-fiction writer, TV show creator and award-winning comic book author.-Early life:...
. Jeanty also created variant covers for most of the comic book series.
The comic book series was nominated and won many awards during its forty-issue run, including: The 2008 The Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for Best New Series and the 2009 GLAAD Media Award
GLAAD Media Awards
The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives...
for Outstanding Comic Book.
The complete series was later collected into seven trade paperbacks
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
which were regularly listed on the The New York Times Graphic Books Best Seller List.
Reception
Georges Jeanty's artwork, on Season Eight received praise for successfully capturing the essence, excitement, and humor of the television show, without looking like a media tie-in.Mathew Springer stated, "He brings these people to life not as drawings of actors and actresses, but as fully realized comic book characters in their own right."
Buffy creator, Joss Whedon, stated that while looking for an artist for Buffy Season Eight, he desired someone that was "good at capturing the likenesses [of the characters], but did not draw a weak... non-comic that reeks of licensing." And that, "Georges mixes both abilities with a grace and power not seen since Superman vs. Muhammad Ali."
Mark Stoddard complimented Whedon's choice of Jeanty, saying, "his layouts and storytelling are clear, he handles the action sequences pretty well, and the character likenesses are excellent, retaining a sense of artistic individuality, rather than simply generating portraits or rehashing television stills".
Overall, Jeanty's artwork received mostly positive reviews, although there was some initial debate among Buffy fans and critics over Joss Whedon's art style choice. Keith McDuffee thought Jeanty's pencils "have a bit to be desired" compared to the photo-realistic artwork on the covers. However, Richard George of IGN praised Jeanty's work as a happy medium between real life and comics, urging readers not to compare Jeanty's interior art to Jo Chen's
Jo Chen
Jo Chen is a female comic book artist and writer best known for her highly detailed painted comic book covers.-Biography:Chen was born in Taipei, Taiwan and emigrated to the United States in late 1994. Working professionally in the Asian comic book industry since age fourteen, she burst suddenly...
photo-realistic cover style, and that "Both styles have their place".
Motion comics
Fox Home Entertainment produced motion comics based on the first 19 issues of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight. The first motion comic debuted on Amazon Video on Demand and iTunesITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
on July 19, 2010. The Blu-ray and DVD of the motion comic series was released on January 4, 2011.
Online comics
Jeanty penciled an 8-page Spike story written by Jane Espenson that will be available as an online comic book from Dark Horse Comics.Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Nine
During WonderConWonderCon
WonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and motion picture convention, held in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1987.The convention was conceived by retailer John Barrett and originally held in the Oakland Convention Center, where it remained until 2003, when it moved to San...
2011, Dark Horse Comics officially announced that Jeanty will return as regular artist for Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Nine
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine is the sequel to the Season Eight comic book series, a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer...
.
. Joining him, as inker, will be Jeanty's former studio mate from Studio Revolver, Dexter Vines
Dexter Vines
Dexter Vines is an American comic book artist and inker, known for his collaborations with pencilers such as Steve McNiven and Ed McGuiness, the latter of whom he is credited with as "eDex" team.-Career:...
.
Personal life
In early 2011, Georges left Studio Revolver, in Atlanta, and relocated to Long Beach, California.Awards and recognition
- 2008 Eisner Award for Best New Series - Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season Eight