Jon M. Gibson
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Michael Gibson (born November 22, 1982, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
) is an American writer
and director whose work often focuses on pop culture. He is the founder and a partner in iam8bit
, a production company, marketing boutique and artist collective, along with Amanda White, Taylor Harrington
and Nick Ahrens
.
in 2001, before resigning his post to become a freelance writer. He contributed to dozens of international publications, including Cargo
, Game Informer
, Electronic Gaming Monthly
, FHM
, LA Weekly
, GQ, Maxim
, Men’s Health, MTV.com, Sound & Vision, Vanity Fair
, Wired
, and Yahoo!
Then, Gibson transitioned into TV screenwriting, developing a variety of pilots for Disney Channel, Scholastic/PBS, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network, and scripting episodes various animated children’s shows, including Brandy and Mr. Whiskers
(Disney) and Maya & Miguel
(PBS). Gibson has also served as producer on several projects for title designer Kyle Cooper (se7en
, Spider-Man
, Dawn of the Dead), including Metal Gear Solid 3 (Konami) and Goldeneye: Rogue Agent
(EA).
Currently, Gibson co-owns iam8bit
Productions with partners Amanda White, Taylor Harrington
and Nick Ahrens
in Los Angeles, Cali.
and Capcom Entertainment.
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
) is an American writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and director whose work often focuses on pop culture. He is the founder and a partner in iam8bit
Iam8bit
iam8bit is a production company, creative think tank and art exhibition based in Los Angeles, California. The company works in many entertainment industries including video games, film, fashion and music. They have produced many projects including exclusive taste-maker mailers, large scale...
, a production company, marketing boutique and artist collective, along with Amanda White, Taylor Harrington
Taylor Harrington
Taylor Harrington is an American editor and motion graphics artist. He is a partner in iam8bit, a production company, marketing boutique and artist collective, along with Jon M...
and Nick Ahrens
Nick Ahrens
Nick Ahrens is an American designer and art director. He is a partner in iam8bit, a production company, marketing boutique and artist collective, along with Jon M. Gibson, Amanda White and Taylor Harrington.-Career:...
.
Career
Gibson co-founded and was the executive editor of Play (US magazine)Play (US magazine)
Play was a U.S.-based magazine focused on video games, anime, manga, film, DVD, television, comics, music and media. Published by Fusion Publishing, Inc. since 2001, Play magazine also had a separate Internet presence on its website, Play Online...
in 2001, before resigning his post to become a freelance writer. He contributed to dozens of international publications, including Cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
, Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
, Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
, FHM
FHM
FHM, originally published as For Him Magazine, is an international monthly men's lifestyle magazine.- History :The magazine began publication in 1985 in the United Kingdom under the name For Him and changed its title to FHM in 1994 when Emap Consumer Media bought the magazine, although the full For...
, LA Weekly
LA Weekly
LA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
, GQ, Maxim
Maxim (magazine)
Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
, Men’s Health, MTV.com, Sound & Vision, Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
, Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
, and Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
Then, Gibson transitioned into TV screenwriting, developing a variety of pilots for Disney Channel, Scholastic/PBS, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network, and scripting episodes various animated children’s shows, including Brandy and Mr. Whiskers
Brandy and Mr. Whiskers
Brandy & Mr. Whiskers is an American animated television series about a dog and a hyperactive rabbit that get stuck in the Amazon Rainforest together. The show originally aired from August 2004 to August 2006. It was televised in the United States by Disney Channel, and also aired on Toon Disney...
(Disney) and Maya & Miguel
Maya & Miguel
Maya & Miguel is a children's television animated series for children aged 6-12 produced by Scholastic Studios. It appears on PBS as part of the PBS Kids GO! lineup and on the CBBC channel in the UK...
(PBS). Gibson has also served as producer on several projects for title designer Kyle Cooper (se7en
Se7en
Seven is a 1995 American thriller film, which also contains horror and neo-noir elements, directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. It was distributed by New Line Cinema and stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, R...
, Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
, Dawn of the Dead), including Metal Gear Solid 3 (Konami) and Goldeneye: Rogue Agent
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent is a 2004 action-adventure Science-Fiction First-Person Shooter video game, developed and published by Electronic Arts. Despite it is set in an alternate timeline of James Bond universe, the player takes the role of an ex-MI6 agent who is recruited by Auric Goldfinger, a...
(EA).
Currently, Gibson co-owns iam8bit
Iam8bit
iam8bit is a production company, creative think tank and art exhibition based in Los Angeles, California. The company works in many entertainment industries including video games, film, fashion and music. They have produced many projects including exclusive taste-maker mailers, large scale...
Productions with partners Amanda White, Taylor Harrington
Taylor Harrington
Taylor Harrington is an American editor and motion graphics artist. He is a partner in iam8bit, a production company, marketing boutique and artist collective, along with Jon M...
and Nick Ahrens
Nick Ahrens
Nick Ahrens is an American designer and art director. He is a partner in iam8bit, a production company, marketing boutique and artist collective, along with Jon M. Gibson, Amanda White and Taylor Harrington.-Career:...
in Los Angeles, Cali.
Books
Gibson is the author of several books:- i am 8-bit: Art Inspired by Classic Videogames of the 80s (2005), a collection of the i am 8-bit exhibition's best pieces from its first year. Foreword by Chuck KlostermanChuck KlostermanCharles John "Chuck" Klosterman is an American author and essayist who has written for The New York Times Magazine, The Believer, and The Washington Post, and has written books focusing on American popular culture....
. - Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi (2008), a coffee table biography of filmmaker Ralph BakshiRalph BakshiRalph Bakshi is an Israeli-American director of animated and live-action films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, five of which he wrote...
. Co-authored by Chris McD. - Porn & Pong: How Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider and other Sexy Games Changed Our Culture (2008), a chronicle of sex in the videogame sphere by Damon Brown. Foreword by Jon M. Gibson.
- SUPER i am 8-bit: More Art Inspired by Classic Videogames of the 80s (2011), a follow-up collection of the i am 8-bit exhibition's best pieces from the years 2006-2010. Foreword by Kevin PereiraKevin PereiraKevin Pereira is co-host of G4's Attack of the Show! .-Biography:While in high school, Pereira hosted Pointless Audio under the pseudonym Captain Immy...
. Co-authored with Amanda White, Taylor HarringtonTaylor HarringtonTaylor Harrington is an American editor and motion graphics artist. He is a partner in iam8bit, a production company, marketing boutique and artist collective, along with Jon M...
and Nick AhrensNick AhrensNick Ahrens is an American designer and art director. He is a partner in iam8bit, a production company, marketing boutique and artist collective, along with Jon M. Gibson, Amanda White and Taylor Harrington.-Career:...
.
TV
In 2004, Gibson began his screenwriting career, writing many episodes of various animated television series. He also pitched and developed several of his own concepts for shows, as well as collaborating with others.Television series
- KatbotKatbotDisney's Katbot was to be a comedy series based on the character Katbot and website created by Angela Martini for Funny Garbage with a pilot directed by Beavis and Butt-heads Emmy-nominated director Mike deSeve...
(2005) writer (2 episodes) - Maya and Miguel (2005–2006) writer (4 episodes, with Jorge R. GutierrezJorge R. GutierrezJorge R. Gutierrez is a Mexican animator, painter, writer & director who created the multiple Annie & Emmy award winning animated television series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera for Nickelodeon.-Biography:...
) - Brandy & Mr. Whiskers (2006) creator, writer (1 episode, with Jorge R. GutierrezJorge R. GutierrezJorge R. Gutierrez is a Mexican animator, painter, writer & director who created the multiple Annie & Emmy award winning animated television series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera for Nickelodeon.-Biography:...
) - Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, commonly known by its initialism, SRMTHFG, is an American/Japanese anime television series, and was created by Ciro Nieli, one of the directors of Teen Titans, with animation being done by a Japanese studio known as The Answer Studio...
(2006) writer (1 episode)
Pilots/Development
- Scott Pilgrim's Evil Exes (2010) executive producer, writer (with Nick Hurtwitch & Michael BacallMichael BacallMichael Bacall is an American screenwriter and actor. He acted in movies and television from an early age. Turning to writing in the 2000s, he co-wrote and co-starred in Manic...
). Developed for Universal PicturesUniversal Pictures-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
as a series of six animated short films, revealing the origin of each of Scott Pilgrim's evil exes. - Bunnytown (2005) writer, co-creator (with Gerald de Jesus). Optioned by & Developed for Disney ChannelDisney ChannelDisney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
. A Goonies-esque concept, following the adventures of several pre-pubescent bunnies on their journeys inside the unpredictable ecosphere of a magician's hat. - The Not-So Fantastics (2005) writer (created by John Fang). Optioned by & Developed for NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
. A series focused on the antics of a group of bumbling animals "interning" for legendary superheroes. - Enter Mode 5 (2005) writer (created by Gabe Swarr). Optioned by & Developed for Cartoon NetworkCartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
. Based on the original comic strip by Gabe Swarr, the series told the inside stories of an elite group of nerds with such ridiculously active imaginations, they are dysfunctional in the real world. - Juan Calavera & the Nightmare Hunters (2005) writer (created by Jorge R. GutierrezJorge R. GutierrezJorge R. Gutierrez is a Mexican animator, painter, writer & director who created the multiple Annie & Emmy award winning animated television series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera for Nickelodeon.-Biography:...
& Sandra EquihuaSandra EquihuaSandra Equihua is a Mexican animator and painter.-Biography:Born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico.Equihua is married to Jorge R. Gutierrez. Together they created the Nickelodeon series El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera...
). Optioned by & Developed for Disney ChannelDisney ChannelDisney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
. Alongside Juan Calavera, legendary nightmare hunter, twin brother and sister battle bad dreams. - Stupid Cupid (2004) writer, producer, creator. Optioned by & Developed for Disney ChannelDisney ChannelDisney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
. On her 13th birthday, a girl inherits the supernatural powers of cupid, per her family's generational prophecy.
Appearances
- Icons (2003) as himself. Originally aired on G4.
- Rockman Anniversary Collection (2004) as himself. Originally aired on G4. Repurposed for Mega Man Anniversary CollectionMega Man Anniversary CollectionMega Man Anniversary Collection a compilation of video games developed by Atomic Planet Entertainment and published by Capcom. It was released exclusively in North America on June 23, 2004 for the Nintendo GameCube and Sony PlayStation 2 and on March 15, 2005 for the Microsoft Xbox...
videogame. - The Screen SaversThe Screen SaversThe Screen Savers was a live American TV show on TechTV. The show launched concurrently with the channel ZDTV on May 11, 1998. The Screen Savers originally centered around computers, new technologies, and their adaptations in the world...
(2005) as himself. Originally aired on G4. - FilterFilter (TV series)Filter is an American television series on the G4 cable television channel which follows a countdown format. It was canceled in December 2005, resurrected in a re-formatted form, and then once again was canceled in August 2006. It is currently airing as a commercial break hosted by Candace Baily....
(2003–2005) as himself. Originally aired on G4. - Attack of the Show (2006–Present) as himself. Originally aired on G4
- Coin-Op TV Live (2007–Present) as himself.
- GameHead (2007–2008) as himself. Originally aired on Spike.
- GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley (2008–Present) as himself. Originally aired on Spike.
Directing
In 2008, Gibson began his directing career, starting with a series of shorts and commercials for various clients like The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
and Capcom Entertainment.
- Kitchen Compadres (2007) director, writer (4 shorts). A micro-series involving two bumbling puppets and a human host. Produced by i am 8-bit, in conjunction with Screen NoveltiesScreen NoveltiesScreen Novelties is a collective of film directors, specializing in stop motion animation. It was formed in 2003 by Mark Caballero, Seamus Walsh, and Chris Finnegan....
, for The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
. - Lost' Mega Man 10 Commercial (2010) director, writer. A "faux" commercial for Mega Man 10Mega Man 10Mega Man 10, known in Japan as , is a video game developed by Capcom and Inti Creates. It is the tenth main entry of the original Mega Man series...
, posed as an archival discovery from the 80s. Produced by i am 8-bit for Capcom Entertainment. - Mega Man Universe Teaser Trailer (2010) director, writer. A live-action/stop-motion hybrid teaser trailer for Mega Man UniverseMega Man Universewas an upcoming 2.5D action platformer game in the Mega Man series being developed by Capcom for Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network, and has since been cancelled. Mainly based on Mega Man 2, the game would have allowed players to create their own levels and customize characters...
. Produced by i am 8-bit, in conjunction with Buddy System Studios, for Capcom Entertainment. - Save UP (2011) director, writer. A PSA satire starring Rachael Leigh Cook. Produced by i am 8-bit.
Companies
Since he was a teenager, Gibson has successfully founded several companies, including:- The DVD Digital Bayou (1997–2000) founder. Launched when the DVD format was in its infancy, the website published news and reviews.
- i am 8-bit Productions (2006–Present) founder. While the art show launched in 2004, i am 8-bit became an official company in 2006.
- Nerdcore (2006–Present) co-founder (with Chris Carle). An independent publisher of the annual Nerdcore calendar, as well as graphic novels, comics, and art books.