John McVey CD cover

Singer/songwriter/musician/producer John McVey got in touch with me ages ago about licensing my kite drawing for his CD cover, and the final product is finally out.

It's still strange for me to see my drawings on products and in magazines, since I was not part of the process of putting it all together. I'm a graphic designer by trade, so I'm used to specifying and setting up all the nitpicky details. That being said, I'm really happy with how the drawing was reproduced on this. 

Here are the liner notes:

John is a super nice guy, and gave me a generous shout out in the liner notes. You can listen to his album on his website, and also buy it on iTunes.

Drawing in Newsweek magazine

The good people at Newsweek got in touch with me a while ago to do an editorial illustration for an article about an eco-friendly restaurant. This was a great assignment, and I was really happy with the draft they chose. The final piece I made ended up being more about words than drawing, so it kind of felt like I was being paid to write for the first time. Read the full article.

I've also got 5 (five!) drawings about airplanes in last week's international edition of the Newsweek (available outside of the US and Canada), and I'll blog about those as soon as permitted.

Interview in Sydney's Spit Press

Spit Press, Sydney's Creative Newspaper (that's Sydney, Australia) interviewed me a little while ago and the issue is out. If you're not fortunate enough to get your hands on this lovely free paper, you can read the whole thing online.

Here's a pic of the article:

And here's the cover of the paper:

Thanks Spit Press! It was an honour.

Featured in Italy's Eight Mag

Eight Mag, a free, small-format magazine from Italy, did a nice feature on me.The magazine is filled with people who are, like, 1000% cooler than me, so it feels odd yet amusing to be included. (By the way, I cannot take credit for the giant 3D "A" with antlers that kicks off the article.) Flip through the whole magazine.

Thanks Eight mag!

Cover artwork for Harper Perennial book: Postcards From a Dead Girl

Ages ago I was asked by Harper Perennial to illustrate the cover of Kirk Farber's first novel, Postcards From a Dead Girl. I absolutely loved working on this project. The people I worked with at Harper were fantastic. The book was released last week, and I just received a copy, so I can finally share it here.

I was thrilled to see that the designer put my fellow from the cover onto the spine. A lovely little surprise!

One of the cool things about working on a book cover is getting an advanced copy, and getting to read something before it is released. My wife and I both read it and we loved it. And lots of reviewers and regular folks seem to agree. You can preview the book online.

Buy the book: Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble 

Holiday Matinee book

I was fortunate enough to be featured in Holiday Matinee's first book, I Swear to Good You Are God At This, 72 pages of creative inspiration.

Here's the spread about yours truly:

The text in the above picture says:

"Marc Johns is one clever dude. I'm quite certain he was born with superpowers that enable him to draw the sharpest and wittiest illustrations on the planet. His new book, Serious Drawings, will get you laid. Ok, maybe not but it's definitely a must-have and will make you smile."

Um, I'm blushing just a bit. Much, much too kind.
And here are an assortment of great spreads full of goodness and inspiration and enormous talent:

Dave from Holiday Matinee is the most passionate, energized, positive person I have ever met through email. His enthusiasm is intoxicating, and it comes across in this book. We need more folks like Dave in this world!

Read more about the book on Holiday Matinee's website, or buy it here. Oh, and follow Holiday Matinee on twitter.

Drawing about the vacuum of space in Wired magazine

I did a drawing for Wired magazine about the vacuum of space. Tardigrades, in case you were wondering, are extremely tough little arthropod-like creatures that can somehow survive in the vacuum for up to 10 days. I learn so much from their assignments. It was in the December 2009 issue of Wired. You can read the article, Three Smart Things About the Vacuum of Space, online.

Interview in Blanket Magazine

The awesome Blanket Magazine interviewed me for their Holiday Issue. Blanket is an online PDF magazine run by Bec Brown in Manchester, full of  art, design, and photography, interviews, stories, crafts, and such. You can buy the latest issue on their website.

Here's a peak at the layout of the interview from the issue:

Article in TLC Magazine

TLC Magazine wrote a piece on me in their Dec/Jan issue... with my name on the cover and everything!  Read the article here. You can pick up a copy of the magazine at these locations throughout Vancouver, or read the whole magazine online on Issuu.

(Read the article)

Drawings in the New York Times

Holy crap! This Sunday, I will have three drawings in The New York Times Magazine. If you don't pick up the paper regularly, the Magazine is a supplement that comes with the (massive) Sunday edition of the New York Times newspaper. Needless to say, I am so excited about this! My father, who is an avid reader of the Times, is amazed, thrilled and proud (thanks Dad!). I don't normally blog about the appearance of my drawings in a publication before the publication comes out, but since it's a newspaper, you've only got one day to get it. So get it!

UPDATE: Twitter pal Austin Kleon (a real mensch, I must add) spotted my drawings on the NYT website. Here are some handy links:
Artificial Car Noise, Lunar Legalism, and Infant Sleep is Destiny.

Book review in Giant Robot

In the same month as the Juxtapoz magazine review, my book received a review in Giant Robot magazine (issue #60, August 2009). I love Giant Robot! Click the image to see a larger view.

(read the review)

Book review in Juxtapoz

Juxtapoz wrote a really nice review of my book back in August. I was so excited when this came out — I'm a huge fan of the magazine. Click on the image to see a larger view.

(Read the review)