John Kovalic
Encyclopedia
John Kovalic is a cartoonist
, illustrator
, and writer
.
Kovalic is best known for his Dork Tower
comic book
, comic strip
and webcomic
, and other humorous work set in and about the fantasy
role-playing game
genre, such as The Unspeakable Oaf. He has illustrated board
and card game
s for several companies, including Steve Jackson Games
(notably the Munchkin
card game plus its many expansions and derivatives and Chez Geek
and its derivatives), Cumberland Games & Diversions (Pokéthulhu), and the third edition of Fantasy Flight Games
's Mag Blast
. He was also the sole illustrator for the "Super Deluxx" edition of Kobolds Ate My Baby!
has subsequently occasionally featured supplemental KAMB material in the Dork Tower comic book.
He is a co-founder and co-owner of Out of the Box Publishing
where he is the company's art director and designer of the 2003 trivia party game
Whad'Ya Know?, based on Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?
, as well as the illustrator of Apples to Apples
.
Kovalic is an award-winning editorial cartoonist for the Wisconsin State Journal
. His work has appeared in The New York Times
and The Washington Post
and he has worked for CARtoons Magazine
. He is also the writer of the comic Doctor Blink Superhero Shrink, which is penciled and inked by Christopher Jones
and colored and lettered by Melissa Kaercher.
Kovalic has thrice been a guest of honor—in 2003, 2007, and 2008—at the science, science fiction
, and fantasy
convention
, CONvergence
.
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
, illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, and 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....
.
Kovalic is best known for his Dork Tower
Dork Tower
Dork Tower is an online comic created, written and drawn by John Kovalic. It chronicles the lives of a group of geeks living in the fictional town of Mud Bay, Wisconsin. Mud Bay's design is strongly influenced by the author's home town of Madison, Wisconsin. Topics have included role-playing...
comic book
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...
, comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
and webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
, and other humorous work set in and about the fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
genre, such as The Unspeakable Oaf. He has illustrated board
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
and card game
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
s for several companies, including Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and the gaming magazine Pyramid.-History:...
(notably the Munchkin
Munchkin (card game)
Munchkin is a card game by Steve Jackson Games, written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Kovalic, that has a humorous take on role-playing games, based on the concept of munchkins ....
card game plus its many expansions and derivatives and Chez Geek
Chez Geek
Chez Geek is a card game that parodies geek culture and cohabitation. It was created by Jon Darbro and developed by Alain H. Dawson, with additional development by Steve Jackson and Russell Godwin...
and its derivatives), Cumberland Games & Diversions (Pokéthulhu), and the third edition of Fantasy Flight Games
Fantasy Flight Games
Fantasy Flight Games is a Roseville, Minnesota-based game company that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games. Fantasy Flight Publishing was founded in 1995 by its CEO, Christian T. Petersen. Since the release of its first game product in 1997, the company has been doing...
's Mag Blast
Mag blast
-Background:Mag Blast is a spaceship-themed strategy card game, produced by gaming company Fantasy Flight Games. It is set in the universe of "Twilight Imperium", a board game made by the same company. The game is playable for 2-8 players, and is described as "a game of screaming space battles"....
. He was also the sole illustrator for the "Super Deluxx" edition of Kobolds Ate My Baby!
Kobolds Ate My Baby!
Kobolds Ate My Baby! is an independently published role-playing game from 9th Level Games, a small-press publisher and designer of humorous role-playing games based in Pennsylvania...
has subsequently occasionally featured supplemental KAMB material in the Dork Tower comic book.
He is a co-founder and co-owner of Out of the Box Publishing
Out of the Box Publishing
Out of the Box Publishing is a Wisconsin based Publishing Company specializing in family, card and party games. As of December 2008, they have published over 45 titles....
where he is the company's art director and designer of the 2003 trivia party game
Party game
Party games are games that some people play as forms of entertainment at social gatherings. Party games usually involve more than one player. There are a large number and styles of party games available and the one selected will depend on the atmosphere that is sought to be generated...
Whad'Ya Know?, based on Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?
Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?
Whad'Ya Know? is an American comedy, interview, and quiz radio show. Hosted by Michael Feldman, it was created in 1985. It is produced by Wisconsin Public Radio and distributed weekly by Public Radio International...
, as well as the illustrator of Apples to Apples
Apples to Apples
Apples to Apples is a party game originally published by Out of the Box Publishing, and now published by Mattel. It is designed for four to ten players and played for 30–60 minutes....
.
Kovalic is an award-winning editorial cartoonist for the Wisconsin State Journal
Wisconsin State Journal
The Wisconsin State Journal is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin...
. His work has appeared in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
and he has worked for CARtoons Magazine
CARtoons Magazine
CARtoons magazine was an American publication that focused on automotive humor and hot rod artwork. Originated by Carl Kohler and drag-racing artist Pete Millar, it was published by Petersen Publication Company as a quarterly starting in 1959. Editors over the years included Dick Day, Jack...
. He is also the writer of the comic Doctor Blink Superhero Shrink, which is penciled and inked by Christopher Jones
Christopher Jones
Christopher Jones or Chris Jones is the name of:* Christopher Jones , English sailor, master of the Mayflower*Christopher Jones , Roman Catholic Bishop of Elphin, Ireland....
and colored and lettered by Melissa Kaercher.
Kovalic has thrice been a guest of honor—in 2003, 2007, and 2008—at the science, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
convention
Fan convention
A fan convention, or con , is an event in which fans of a particular film, television series, comic book, actor, or an entire genre of entertainment such as science fiction or anime and manga, gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and...
, CONvergence
Convergence
-Mathematics:* Convergence , refers to the notion that some functions and sequences approach a limit under certain conditions* Convergence , the notion that a sequence of transformations come to the same conclusion, no matter what order they are performed in.-Natural sciences:*Convergence ,...
.
List of games illustrated
Kovalic has provided illustrations for large number of games, including:- 10 Days series
- aBRIDGEd
- Apples to Apples series
- Backseat Drawing
- Blink
- Bosworth
- Button Men: Dork Victory
- Chain Game
- Chez Geek series
- Cineplexity
- Cloud 9
- Cover Up
- Creatures and Cultists
- Creepyfreaks
- Dork 20
- Dork Tower: The Boardgame
- Dungeonville
- Easy Come, Easy Go
- Escape From Elba
- Fish Eat Fish
- Gold Digger
- Illuminati: New World Order series
- Kobolds Ate My Baby
- Letter Flip
- Letter Roll
- Mag*Blast
- Mix Up
- Munchkin series
- Munchkin Quest
- My Dwarfs Fly
- My Word!
- Ninja Versus Ninja
- Nutty Cups
- Party Pooper
- Pepper
- PokeTHULHU
- Quitch
- Rock
- Shape Up
- ShipWrecked
- Snorta
- Squint
- Tutankhamen
- Wallamoppi
- Warhamster Rally
- Whad'Ya Know
- Wheedle
- ZenBenders series
External links
- Dork Tower online
- Doctor Blink home page
- Dork Tidings: Muskrat Ramblings for Now People—Kovalic's LiveJournalLiveJournalLiveJournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free and open source server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community....
- Gaming work credits