Gene Ha
Encyclopedia
Gene Ha is an American
comics artist
and writer best known for his work on books such as Top 10 and Top 10: The Forty-Niners
, with Alan Moore
and Zander Cannon
, for America's Best Comics, the Batman
graphic novel
Fortunate Son, with Gerard Jones
, and The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix
, among others. He has also drawn Global Frequency
and has done covers for Wizard Magazine and Marvel Comics
.
He was awarded the 1994 Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award
, and won two Eisner Award
s, in 2006 and 2008.
. Although he says his parents were well-educated Korean immigrants who hoped their three sons would get prestigious degrees and move on to corresponding careers, Ha, the most introverted of his parents' three sons (and the only one of the three not to play high school football), was a "geek
", and sought out escapist fantasy, particularly through comic books. Although he says his two brothers were more artistically talented than he, they lacked the patience to sit for hours on end working on drawing. Ha sees parallels between his generation of Asian-American comics artists and the generation of Jewish creators from the 1930s, both of whom were children of immigrants struggling to fit into America.
Ha cites as his influences numerous creators from the 1980s, such as John Byrne, Frank Miller
, Bill Sienkiewicz
, Walter Simonson, Alan Moore
and most importantly Matt Wagner
, whose Mage
series Ha says is still "magical" to him, and its main characters "personal archetypes".
Ha took few classes in art, as he was only interested in drawing as a means of creating comics, and South Bend offered little in the way of education in realistic drawing. He began to truly understand graphic arts when working on his high school newspaper, The Clay Colonial, winning the Most Valuable Staffer Award, which was unusual for an artist. After high school, Ha attended the College for Creative Studies
. In his last semester he sent drawing samples to Marvel and DC. Though he received a harshly critical response from Marvel, DC was interested, and sent him a sample script.
#36 (February 1993), whose story, "The Ghost of Christmas Light", was written by Gerard Jones
. He would continue a number of books for DC and Malibu Comics
, and eventually did work for Marvel as well, illustrating the 1994 miniseries Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, which documented the childhood of the character Cable
. He would eventually draw that miniseries sequel as well, Askani'son.
He would subsequently illustrate a number of different properties for various publishers, including Aliens: Havoc, Superman, JLA
Annual, which included interiors and cover work. In 1999, he began illustrating Top Ten, one of the books of Alan Moore's America's Best Comics imprint for Wildstorm. He would draw that series' twelve issues, which ran until late 2001.
Once Ha obtains a script, he makes "tiny" thumbnail sketches of each page, and then makes layout sketches on shrunked copies of comic art board, two per page. It is at this stage that he works out the light/dark balance of the page. Though he says about 90% of his artwork are done without photo reference, he will sometimes photograph his friends pose as the central characters, or use a full length mirror to draw himself. He renders minor characters from his imagination. Irrespective of how much sunlight he has on a given day, he prefers to use a 500W incandescent photo lamp, though he believes a 500W halogen lamp is also adequate. He prefers to use a lead holder with H lead for sketching, and 2B lead for shading, which he sharpens with a rotary lead pointer, believing that such leads can be sharpened better than a traditional pencil. He blows up a scan of each page layout to 8.5" x 11", and draws "tight" pencils on top of these, which are then scanned and printed on 11" x 17" inkjet paper in faint blue line
. He prefers Xerox
paper because he feels that the surface of marker paper tends to get smudgy or oily. When importing art to modify in his computer, he uses Photoshop.
To effect his current ink wash
style of shading and inking, he uses a variety of warm grey Copic
markers with wide and brush tips, in particular a 9W Copic Sketch brush marker. For outlines and precise shading effects he will use a variety of pencils, most notably a 2B pencil, and for highlights and corrections, he will use white chalk pencils and white gouache
paint. He also uses Staedtler
Mars technical pens.
When doing digitally painted covers, he also uses a Winsor & Newton
Series 7 Size 1 brush, Badger Air Opaque airbrush paint, water soluble ink wash and Strathmore Windmill vellum
100lb. Bristol board
. He cleans his brushes with Masters Brush Cleaner, to which he adds water for a gel consistency.
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
comics artist
Comics artist
A comics artist is an artist working within the comics medium on comic strips, comic books or graphic novels. The term may refer to any number of artists who contribute to produce a work in the comics form, from those who oversee all aspects of the work to those who contribute only a part.-Comic...
and writer best known for his work on books such as Top 10 and Top 10: The Forty-Niners
Top 10: The Forty-Niners
Top 10: The Forty-Niners, a graphic novel published by America's Best Comics in 2005, is a prequel to the ABC series Top 10, a police procedural set in the city of Neopolis, where superpowers, robots, monsters, and other comic fodder are the norm for all citizens...
, with Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
and Zander Cannon
Zander Cannon
Alexander "Zander" Cannon is an American comics writer and artist, known for his work on books such as Top 10 and Smax.-Early life:Cannon was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Grinnell College in 1995 with a B.A...
, for America's Best Comics, the Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
Fortunate Son, with Gerard Jones
Gerard Jones
For the entrepreneur see Gérard Jones.Gerard Jones is an award-winning American author and comic book writer.-Biography:Jones was born in Cut Bank, Montana, and raised in Los Gatos and Gilroy, California...
, and The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix
The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix
The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix was a four-issue comic book mini-series written by Scott Lobdell, drawn by Gene Ha, and published by Marvel Comics in 1994. It is important in revealing much of the back story for the character Cable, much of which had been implied before, but was still...
, among others. He has also drawn Global Frequency
Global Frequency
Global Frequency is an American comic book limited series published by Wildstorm Productions, created and written by Warren Ellis.It is a science fiction series set in the present day, consisting of single-issue, standalone stories. The series of twelve issues was published between October 2002 and...
and has done covers for Wizard Magazine and 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...
.
He was awarded the 1994 Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award
Russ Manning Award
The Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award is an American award presented to a comic book artist whose first professional work appeared within the previous two years. It was named after comic book artist Russ Manning...
, and won two 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...
s, in 2006 and 2008.
Early life
Gene Ha born in Chicago, but raised in South Bend, IndianaSouth Bend, Indiana
The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
. Although he says his parents were well-educated Korean immigrants who hoped their three sons would get prestigious degrees and move on to corresponding careers, Ha, the most introverted of his parents' three sons (and the only one of the three not to play high school football), was a "geek
Geek
The word geek is a slang term, with different meanings ranging from "a computer expert or enthusiast" to "a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts", with a general pejorative meaning of "a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp[ecially] one who is perceived to...
", and sought out escapist fantasy, particularly through comic books. Although he says his two brothers were more artistically talented than he, they lacked the patience to sit for hours on end working on drawing. Ha sees parallels between his generation of Asian-American comics artists and the generation of Jewish creators from the 1930s, both of whom were children of immigrants struggling to fit into America.
Ha cites as his influences numerous creators from the 1980s, such as John Byrne, Frank Miller
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...
, Bill Sienkiewicz
Bill Sienkiewicz
Boleslav Felix Robert "Bill" Sienkiewicz [pronounced sin-KEV-itch] is an Eisner Award-winning American artist and writer best known for his comic book work, primarily for Marvel Comics' The New Mutants and Elektra: Assassin...
, Walter Simonson, Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
and most importantly Matt Wagner
Matt Wagner
Matt Wagner is an American comic book writer and artist, best known as the creator of the series Mage and Grendel.-Career:...
, whose Mage
Mage (comics)
Mage is an American superhero comic book written and illustrated by Matt Wagner. Three volumes, each of 15 issues are planned; , two have been published.-Publication history:...
series Ha says is still "magical" to him, and its main characters "personal archetypes".
Ha took few classes in art, as he was only interested in drawing as a means of creating comics, and South Bend offered little in the way of education in realistic drawing. He began to truly understand graphic arts when working on his high school newspaper, The Clay Colonial, winning the Most Valuable Staffer Award, which was unusual for an artist. After high school, Ha attended the College for Creative Studies
College for Creative Studies
College for Creative Studies is an art education institution in the United States and was cited by BusinessWeek as one of the 60 best design schools in the world. It is a private, fully accredited, four-year college located in Detroit, Michigan...
. In his last semester he sent drawing samples to Marvel and DC. Though he received a harshly critical response from Marvel, DC was interested, and sent him a sample script.
Career
Ha's first published comics work was in Green LanternGreen 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...
#36 (February 1993), whose story, "The Ghost of Christmas Light", was written by Gerard Jones
Gerard Jones
For the entrepreneur see Gérard Jones.Gerard Jones is an award-winning American author and comic book writer.-Biography:Jones was born in Cut Bank, Montana, and raised in Los Gatos and Gilroy, California...
. He would continue a number of books for DC and Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. The company's headquarters was in Calabasas, California. Malibu imprints included Aircel Comics and Eternity Comics...
, and eventually did work for Marvel as well, illustrating the 1994 miniseries Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, which documented the childhood of the character Cable
Cable (comics)
Cable is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared as an infant in Uncanny X-Men #201...
. He would eventually draw that miniseries sequel as well, Askani'son.
He would subsequently illustrate a number of different properties for various publishers, including Aliens: Havoc, Superman, JLA
JLA
JLA is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* The Justice League of America, a fictional DC Comics superhero team**JLA , a comic book featuring the Justice League* Joe Louis Arena, a hockey arena in Detroit, Michigan...
Annual, which included interiors and cover work. In 1999, he began illustrating Top Ten, one of the books of Alan Moore's America's Best Comics imprint for Wildstorm. He would draw that series' twelve issues, which ran until late 2001.
Techniques and materials
Non-photo blue
Non-photo blue is a common tool used in the graphic design and print industry. It is a particular shade of blue that can not be detected by graphic arts cameras. This allows layout editors to write notes to the printer on the print flat which will not show in the final form...
. He prefers Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
paper because he feels that the surface of marker paper tends to get smudgy or oily. When importing art to modify in his computer, he uses Photoshop.
To effect his current ink wash
Ink and wash painting
Ink and wash painting is an East Asian type of brush painting also known as ink wash painting. Only black ink — the same as used in East Asian calligraphy — is used, in various concentrations....
style of shading and inking, he uses a variety of warm grey Copic
Copic
is a brand of marker made in Japan by Too and distributed in the United States and Canada by Imagination International. The markers are available in 346 colors and are refillable. The inks used to refill the markers can be mixed to create new colors, and empty markers are sold for this purpose...
markers with wide and brush tips, in particular a 9W Copic Sketch brush marker. For outlines and precise shading effects he will use a variety of pencils, most notably a 2B pencil, and for highlights and corrections, he will use white chalk pencils and white gouache
Gouache
Gouache[p], also spelled guache, the name of which derives from the Italian guazzo, water paint, splash or bodycolor is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water. A binding agent, usually gum arabic, is also present, just as in watercolor...
paint. He also uses Staedtler
Staedtler
Staedtler Mars GmbH & Co. KG is a German fine writing instruments company and one of the world's leading manufacturers and suppliers of writing, artist, and engineering drawing instruments. The firm was founded by J.S. Staedtler in 1835 and produces a large variety of writing instruments, including...
Mars technical pens.
When doing digitally painted covers, he also uses a Winsor & Newton
Winsor & Newton
Winsor & Newton manufactures a wide variety of fine art products including: oils, alkyds, watercolours, acrylics, pastels, brushes, canvases, papers, portfolios, and distributes the Derwent pencil sets.-History:...
Series 7 Size 1 brush, Badger Air Opaque airbrush paint, water soluble ink wash and Strathmore Windmill vellum
Vellum
Vellum is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally smooth and durable, although there are great variations depending on preparation, the quality of the skin and the type of animal used...
100lb. Bristol board
Bristol board
Bristol board is an uncoated, machine-finished paperboard. It is named after the city of Bristol in the southwest of England...
. He cleans his brushes with Masters Brush Cleaner, to which he adds water for a gel consistency.
Awards
- 1994 Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer AwardRuss Manning AwardThe Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award is an American award presented to a comic book artist whose first professional work appeared within the previous two years. It was named after comic book artist Russ Manning...
- 2006 Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe 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 Graphic Album (for Top 10: The Forty-NinersTop 10: The Forty-NinersTop 10: The Forty-Niners, a graphic novel published by America's Best Comics in 2005, is a prequel to the ABC series Top 10, a police procedural set in the city of Neopolis, where superpowers, robots, monsters, and other comic fodder are the norm for all citizens...
, with Alan Moore) - 2008 Eisner Award for Best Single Issue (for Justice League of America #11)
Nominations
- 1999 Eisner Award for Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team (for StarmanStarman (comics)Starman is a name used by several different fictional DC Comics superheroes, most prominently Ted Knight and his sons David and Jack.Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Jack Burnley, the original Starman, Ted Knight, first appeared in Adventure Comics #61...
#46) - 2006 Eisner Award for Best Penciller/Inker (for Top 10: The Forty-Niners)
- 2007 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series (for Ton 10, with Alan MooreAlan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
and Zander CannonZander CannonAlexander "Zander" Cannon is an American comics writer and artist, known for his work on books such as Top 10 and Smax.-Early life:Cannon was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Grinnell College in 1995 with a B.A...
) - 2007 Eisner Award for Best New Series (for Top 10, with Alan Moore and Zander Cannon)
- 2007 Eisner Award for Best New Graphic Album (for Top 10: The Forty-Niners, with Alan Moore)