Justin Murphy (comics)
Encyclopedia
Justin Murphy is an independent publisher and creator of comics and 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...

s. He is also a playwright and composer. He co-wrote a play which won most outstanding musical at the New York International Fringe Festival.

Southern Blood comic book

His comics career began in 1992 when he self-published a small press black and white series about the American Civil War entitled Southern Blood. The book received spotty distribution with Diamond Comics
Diamond Comic Distributors
Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. is the largest comic book distributor serving North America. They transport comic books from both big and small comic book publishers, or suppliers, to the retailers. Diamond dominates the direct market in the United States, and has exclusive arrangements with most...

 and ran for 8 issues. After the comics implosion in the early 1990s, Murphy was forced to close down his company JM Comics and discontinue the Southern Blood series.

Eagle Song musical

After finishing a BFA at Jacksonville University, Murphy took a break from comics to write plays for the stage. His first collaboration was a musical based on the characters from Southern Blood called Eagle Song. He wrote the libretto and co-wrote all the music with composer Roger Butterley, a sometime musical director for artist Phoebe Snow. Together they produced and released a complete symphonic recording starring Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Jamie-Lynn Sigler is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Meadow Soprano on the HBO television series The Sopranos.-Early life:...

 and numerous other Broadway actors. Murphy and Butterley also sang lead roles on the recording, but the show had difficulty finding a producer to stage it after New York was hit with the 911 attacks and Frank Wildhorn's musical The Civil War flopped on Broadway years earlier.

Fallen Angel rock opera

The duo continued to write however, and in 2006 produced the rock opera Fallen Angel at the New York International Fringe Festival. The musical tale of Lucifer's fall from Heaven won the Most Outstanding Musical Award at the festival that year.

Cleburne: A Graphic Novel

In 2008, after two years of collaboration with Marvel artists Al Milgrom and J.Brown, Murphy made his return to comics with the graphic novel Cleburne. The 208-page, full color book told the true story of Confederate General Patrick Cleburne
Patrick Cleburne
Patrick Ronayne Cleburne was an Irish American soldier, best known for his service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, where he rose to the rank of major general....

 and his plan to enlist freed slaves to fight for the South. Murphy wrote and illustrated the book, with Milgrom and Brown providing the inks and colors. The book won a Xeric Foundation
Xeric Foundation
The Xeric Foundation is a private, nonprofit corporation based in Northampton, Massachusetts, which for twenty years awarded self-publishing grants to comic book creators, as well as qualified charitable and nonprofit organizations...

grant and earned a bronze Book of the Year Award in the graphic novel category from ForeWord Magazine It was also a finalist for the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards. A film adaptation is currently in development.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK