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John Layman

John Steele Layman (born November 13, 1967) is an American comic book writer and letterer. Layman is most known for his writing published by Image Comics: Chew, its spin-off/midquel series Chu (Saffron Chu), the stand-alone Outer Darkness, and the crossover series Outer Darkness/Chew, as well as the Marvel Comics series Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness, Gambit, and Cyclops: A Pirate's Life for Me.

Career

Once an editor for Wildstorm, a branch of DC Comics, Layman turned to writing comics full-time in 2002, mainly for Marvel Comics.

He also worked on several comic books based on licensed properties, such as Xena: Warrior Princess and ThunderCats, as well as crossovers like Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness.[1]

From 2007[2]–2010 he worked as a writer for Cryptic Studios, a video game developer in Los Gatos, California.

Layman has written a number of creator-owned titles at Image Comics, such as the graphic novel Puffed,[3] and Chew,[4][5] with artist Rob Guillory.[6][7] Chew has gone on to achieve much success, being nominated for two Harvey Awards, two Eagle Awards, and winning an Eisner Award for Best New Series in 2010.[8]

In April 2022, Layman was reported among the more than three dozen comics creators who contributed to Operation USA's benefit anthology book, Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds, a project spearheaded by IDW Publishing Special Projects Editor Scott Dunbier, whose profits would be donated to relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees resulting from the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[9][10] Layman and Rob Guillory teamed up to contribute a new Chew story to the anthology.[11]

Bibliography

AfterShock Comics

  • Eleanor and the Egret (#1–5)

Image Comics

  • Puffed
  • Stay Puffed
  • Chew (Tony Chu, Cannibal Detective) #1–60 (2009 – 2016)
  • Volume 1: Tasters Choice #1–5 (with Rob Guillory, tpb, 128 pages, 2009, ISBN 1-60706-159-7)
  • Volume 2: International Flavor #6–10 (with Rob Guillory, tpb, 128 pages, 2010, ISBN 1-60706-260-7)
  • Volume 3: Just Desserts #11–15 (with Rob Guillory, tpb, 128 pages, 2010, ISBN 1-60706-335-2)
  • Volume 4: Flambé #16–20 (with Rob Guillory, tpb, 120 pages, 2011, ISBN 1-60706-398-0)
  • Volume 5: Major League Chew #21–25 (with Rob Guillory, tpb, 120 pages, 2012, ISBN 1-60706-523-1)
  • Volume 6: Space Cakes #26–30, Chew: Secret Agent Poyo one-shot (with Rob Guillory, tpb, 156 pages, 2013, ISBN 1-60706-621-1)
  • Volume 7: Bad Apples #31–35 (with Rob Guillory, tpb, 128 pages, 2013, ISBN 1-60706-767-6)
  • Volume 8: Family Recipes #36–40 (with Rob Guillory, tpb, 128 pages, 2014, ISBN 1-60706-938-5)
  • Volume 9: Chicken Tenders #41–45, Chew: Warrior Chicken Poyo one-shot (with Rob Guillory, tpb, 128 pages, 2015, ISBN 1-63215-289-4)
  • Volume 10: Blood Puddin' #46–50 (with Rob Guillory, tpb, 128 pages, 2015, ISBN 1-63215-396-3)
  • Volume 11: The Last Suppers #51–55, Chew / Revival one-shot (with Rob Guillory, tpb, 128 pages, 2015, ISBN 1-63215-681-4)
  • Volume 12: Sour Grapes Chew #56–60, Chew: Demon Chicken Poyo one-shot (with Rob Guillory, tpb, 184 pages, 2017, ISBN 978-1-5343-0031-6)
  • Leviathan #1–3 (2018)
  • Outer Darkness #1–12 (2018 – 2019)
  • Volume 1: Each Other's Throats #1–6 (with Afu Chan, tpb, 136 pages, 2019, ISBN 1-53431-210-2)
  • Volume 2: Castrophany of Hate #7–12 (with Afu Chan, tpb, 136 pages, 2019, ISBN 1-53431-370-2)
  • Outer Darkness/Chew #1–3 (2020)
  • Outer Darkness/Chew: Fusion Cuisine (with Afu Chan and Rob Guillory, tpb, 72 pages, 2020, ISBN 1-53431-657-4)
  • Chu (Saffron Chu) #1–present (2020–present)
  • Volume 1: First Course #1–5 (with Dan Boultwood, tpb, 128 pages, 2021, ISBN 978-1-5343-1774-1)
  • Volume 2: (She) Drunk History #1–5 (with Dan Boultwood, tpb, 128 pages, 2022, ISBN 978-1-5343-2003-1)

Wildstorm

  • Gen13 vol. 2:
  • "When Bedbugs Bite" (with Scott Lobdell and Ed Benes, in #48, 1999)
  • "Over My Dead Body" (with Scott Lobdell, Ed Benes, Scott Benefiel, Steve Ellis and Pat Quinn, in #50, 2000)
  • "Meanwhile" (with Dan Norton, in #53, 2000)
  • Wildstorm Thunderbook, anthology, "Down and Out with the Deviants" (with Jeffrey Moy, August 2000)
  • Bay City Jive (limited series) (May 2001 – July 2001):
  • "The Demon-Gate Freak Out!" (with Jason Johnson, in #1–3, 2001)
  • Thundercats: Dogs of War (limited series) (August 2003 – December 2003):
  • Thundercats: Dogs of War (tpb, 128 pages, 2004, ISBN 1-4012-0287-X) collects:
  • "Bone of Contention" (with Brett Booth, in #1, 2003)
  • "Hounded" (with Brett Booth, in #2, 2003)
  • "Pack of Lies" (with Brett Booth, in #3, 2003)
  • "Hand That Feeds You" (with Brett Booth, in #4, 2003)
  • "Dog Gone" (with Brett Booth, in #5, 2003)
  • Thundercats: Enemy's Pride (limited series) (August 2004 – December 2004)
  • Thundercats: Enemy's Pride (tpb, 128 pages, 2005, ISBN 1-4012-0617-4) collects:
  • "Lie of The Beholder" (with Joe Vriens, in #1, 2004)
  • "Best Served Cold" (with Joe Vriens, in #2, 2004)
  • "Eye of The Tiger" (with Joe Vriens, in #3, 2004)
  • "The King and I" (with Joe Vriens, in #4, 2004)
  • "Animas Acme" (with Joe Vriens, in #5, 2004)
  • Red Sonja/Claw (limited series) (March 2006 – June 2006)
  • Red Sonja/Claw The Unconquered: Devil's Hands (tpb, 112 pages, 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1210-7) collects:
  • "The Accursed" (with Andy Smith, in #1, 2006)
  • "Soul Corruption" (with Andy Smith, in #2, 2006)
  • "Divide & Conquered" (with Andy Smith, in #3, 2006)
  • "Severed Alliance" (with Andy Smith, in #4, 2006)

Marvel Comics

  • X-Men Unlimited #47, "Strange Harvest" (with Dan Norton, May 2003)
  • Marvel Age: Fantastic Four (October 2004 – November 2004)
  • Volume 2: Doom Digest (tpb, 96 pages, 2004, ISBN 0-7851-1550-1) collects:
  • "Invaders from Planet X" (with Ryan Odagawa, in #7, 2004)
  • "Prisoners of the Puppet Master" (with Joseph Dodd, in #8, 2004)
  • Gambit vol. 4 #1–12 (September 2004 – June 2005)
  • Volume 1: House of Cards (tpb, 144 pages, 2005, ISBN 0-7851-1522-6) collects:
  • "The Prodigal Sinner" (with Georges Jeanty, in #1, 2004)
  • "Player's Club" (with Georges Jeanty, in #2, 2004)
  • "Slight of Hand" (with Georges Jeanty, in #3, 2004)
  • "Bet Your Life" (with Georges Jeanty, in #4, 2004)
  • "Celebrity Poker" (with Georges Jeanty, in #5, 2004)
  • "Backstabber's Rhapsody" (with Roger Robinson, in #6, 2005)
  • Volume 2: Hath No Fury (tpb, 144 pages, 2005, ISBN 0-7851-1747-4) collects:
  • "Voodoo Economics" (with Georges Jeanty, in #7–9, 2005)
  • "X, Lies and Videotape" (with Georges Jeanty, in #10, 2005)
  • "Thieves' World" (with Roger Robinson and Georges Jeanty, in #11–12, 2005)
  • The Pulse: House of M and The Pulse Special Edition #1 (with among other artist, June 2005)
  • Fantastic Four: House of M (limited series) (July 2005 – September 2005):
  • House of M: Fantastic Four/Iron Man (tpb, 144 pages, 2006, ISBN 0-7851-1923-X) collects:
  • "A Doctor in the House" (with Scot Eaton, in #1, 2005)
  • "Four the Hard Way" (with Scot Eaton, in #2, 2005)
  • "King For A Day" (with Scot Eaton, in #3, 2005)
  • Sentinel Squad O*N*E (limited series) (January 2006 – May 2006)
  • Decimation: Sentinel Squad O.N.E (tpb, 120 pages, 2006, ISBN 0-7851-1997-3) collects:
  • "Tin Can Heroes" (with Aaron Lopresti, in #1–5, 2006)
  • Marvel Zombies vs. The Army of Darkness (limited series) (March 2007 – July 2007)
  • Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness (hc, 128 pages, 2007, ISBN 0-7851-2743-7) collects:
  • "Earth's Mightiest Zero" (with Fabiano Neves, in #1, 2007)
  • "Marvel Team-Ups" (with Fabiano Neves, in #2, 2007)
  • "Night of the Livid Dead" (with Fabiano Neves, in #3, 2007)
  • "The Book of Dooms" (with Fabiano Neves, Fernando Blanco and Sean Phillips, in #4, 2007)
  • "The Stalking Dead" (with Fabiano Neves, Fernando Blanco and Sean Phillips, in #5, 2007)
  • Shadowland: Bullseye, one-shot, "Bullseye: Dead on a Rival" (with Sean Chen, August 2010) collected in Street Heroes (hc, 192 pages, 2011, ISBN 0-7851-4887-6)
  • Women of Marvel #1, "Love & Illusion" (with Davide Gianfelice, January 2011)
  • Identity Wars (hc, 112 pages, 2011, ISBN 0-7851-5568-6) collects:
  • The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #38, "Part 1" (with Lee Garbett, April 2011)
  • Deadpool Annual #1, "Part 2" (with Juan Doe, May 2011)
  • The Incredible Hulks Annual #1, "Part 3" (with Al Barrionuevo, June 2011)
  • Cyclops vol. 3 #6–12 (October 2014 – April 2015)
  • Volume 2: A Pirate's Life for Me #6–12 (tpb, 160 pages, 2015, ISBN 0-7851-9076-7)
  • Guardians Team-Up #4 (with Otto Schmidt, April 2015)

Oni Press

  • Armageddon & Son (graphic novel, with Dave Dumeer, tpb, 96 pages, November 2005, ISBN 1-93266-433-5)
  • Stephen Colbert's Tek Jansen (limited series) (July 2007 – May 2009)
  • Stephen Colbert's Tek Jansen (tpb, 136 pages, 2009, ISBN 1-93496-416-6) collects:
  • "Invasion of the Optiklons!" (with Tom Peyer, Jim Massey, Scott Chantler and Robbi Rodriguez, in #1, 2007)
  • "Return to Space Academy!; Danger Express To Doom" (With Jim Massey, Tom Peyer, Robbi Rodrigez and Matt Wagner, in #2, 2008)
  • "Evil Has 1000 Eyes; Depth & The Maidens" (With Jim Massey, Tom Peyer, Robbi Rodrigez and Darwyn Cooke, in #3, 2008)
  • "Too Many Jansens; Born To Be Hyperwild" (with Tom Peyer and Robbi Rodrigez, in #4, 2009)
  • "The Army of Doom at the Nebula of Death!" (with Jim Massey, Tom Peyer and Robbi Rodrigez, in #5, 2009)

Dynamite Entertainment

  • Xena Warrior Princess: Contest of Pantheons (limited series) (July 2006 – August 2007)
  • Xena Warrior Princess Volume 1: Contest of Pantheons (tpb, 104 pages, 2007, ISBN 1-93330-535-5) collects:
  • "Holy Arcrimony" (with Fabiano Neves, in #1, 2006)
  • "Pantheon Pandemonium" (with Fabiano Neves, in #2, 2006)
  • "Stalk Like an Egyptian" (with Fabiano Neves, in #3, 2006)
  • "Undead Reckoning" (with Fabiano Neves, in #4, 2006)
  • Xena Warrior Princess: Dark Xena (limited series) (May 2007 – August 2007)
  • Xena Warrior Princess Volume 2: Dark Xena (tpb, 144 pages, 2008, ISBN 978-1-933305-61-5) collects:
  • "The Way We Were" (with Noah Salonga, in #1, 2007)
  • "(Re)Born Bad" (with Noah Salonga, in #2, 2007)
  • "Partners in Crime" (with Noah Salonga, in #3, 2007)
  • "Unwritten History" (with Noah Salonga, in #4, 2007)
  • Army of Darkness/Xena: Warrior Princess (limited series) (March 2008 – July 2008)
  • Volume 1: Why not? (tpb, 104 pages, 2009, ISBN 1-60690-008-0) collects:
  • "Battered & Bruced, Part One: The Grimmest Fairy Tale" (with Fabiano Neves, in #1, 2008)
  • "Battered & Bruced, Part Two: Autolykness Adventures" (with Fabiano Neves, in #2, 2008)
  • "Battered & Bruced, Part Three: From These Ashes" (with Fabiano Neves, in #3, 2008)
  • "Battered & Bruced, Part Four: The Best Laid Plans…" (with Fabiano Neves, in #4, 2008)

IDW Publishing

  • Scarface: Scarred for Life (limited series) (December 2006 – April 2007)
  • Scarface: Scarred For Life (tpb, 128 pages, 2007, ISBN 978-1-60010-087-1) collects:
  • "City of Zeroes" (with Dave Crosland, in #1, 2006)
  • "The Scum Also Rises" (with Dave Crosland, in #2, 2007)
  • "Everybody Angles" (with Dave Crosland, in #3, 2007)
  • "Mutually Assured Destruction" (with Dave Crosland, in #4, 2007)
  • "Top O' The Heap, End O' The Line" (with Dave Crosland, in #5, 2007)
  • Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths (limited series) (June 2011 – October 2011)
  • Godzilla: Gangsters & Goliaths (tpb, 120 pages, 2011, ISBN 1-61377-033-2) collects:
  • "Among The Monsters" (with Alberto Ponticelli, in #1, 2011)
  • "The Wronged Man" (with Alberto Ponticelli, in #2, 2011)
  • "Moth and Flame" (with Alberto Ponticelli, in #3, 2011)
  • "While Tokyo Burns" (with Alberto Ponticelli, in #4, 2011)
  • "Makoto Sato's Last Stand" (with Alberto Ponticelli, in #5, 2011)
  • Mars Attacks (June 2012 – May 2013)
  • Mars Attacks Deluxe Edition, #1–10 (hc, 252 pages, 2014, ISBN 1-63140-015-0)

DC Comics

  • Detective Comics vol. 2 #13–29 (October 2012 – March 2014)
  • Volume 3: Emperor Penguin (tpb, 192 pages, 2012, ISBN 1-4012-4634-6) collects:
  • "IQ Test" (with Andy Clarke, in #13, 2012)
  • "Seeds & Dirt" (with Andy Clarke, in #14, 2012)
  • "Love in Bloom" (with Andy Clarke, in #15, 2012)
  • "Pecking Order" (with Andy Clarke, in #16, 2013)
  • "Doctor's Orders" (with Andy Clarke, in #17, 2013)
  • "A Cut Above" (with Henrik Jonsson, in #18, 2013)
  • Volume 4: The Wrath (tpb, 264 pages, 2014, ISBN 1-4012-4997-3) collects:
  • "Birth of a Family" (with Andy Clarke, in #19, 2013)
  • "Birdwatching" (with Henrik Jonsson, in #19, 2013)
  • "Through A Blue Lens" (with Jason Masters, in #19, 2013)
  • "Empire of the Son" (with Andy Clarke, in #20, 2013)
  • "Territorial" (with Andy Clarke, in #21, 2013)
  • "My Better Half" (with Andy Clarke, in #22, 2013)
  • "Marital Abyss" (with Andy Clarke, in #23, 2013)
  • "State of Shock" (with Jason Fabok, in #24, 2013)
  • "Face in the Crowd" (with Joshua Williamson and Scott Eaton, in Annual #2, 2013)
  • "Contained Multitudes" (with Joshua Williamson and Szymon Kudranski, in Annual #2, 2013)
  • "Harvey Bullock, This is Your Life" (with Joshua Williamson and Derlis Santacruz, in Annual #2, 2013)
  • Volume 5: Gothtopia (hc, 176 pages, 2014, ISBN 1-4012-4998-1) collects:
  • "Whistleblower's Blues" (with Jason Fabok, in #25, 2013)
  • "Troubled Waters" (with Jorge Lucas, in #25, 2013)
  • "Crown of Fear" (with Aaron Lopresti, in #26, 2013)
  • "Gothtopia, Part One: The Perfect Crime" (with Jason Fabok, in #27, 2014)
  • "Welcome to... Gothtopia, Part Two: The Maddening Crowd" (with Aaron Lopresti, in #28, 2014)
  • "The Truth And Nothing But" (with Aaron Lopresti, in #29, 2014)
  • Batman: The Dark Knight vol. 2 #23.3: Clayface, "Not Just Another Pretty Face" (with Cliff Richards, September 2013)
  • Catwoman vol. 4 #25, "Before the Claws Come Out" (with Aaron Lopresti, November 2013) collected in Race of Thieves (tpb, 232 pages, 2014, ISBN 1-4012-5063-7)
  • Batman Eternal (April 2014 – August 2014):
  • Volume 1 (tpb, 480 pages, 2014, ISBN 1-4012-5173-0) collects:
  • "Batman Eternal" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Jason Fabok, in #1–3, 2014)
  • "Injustice For All" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Dustin Nguyen, in #4, 2014)
  • "Disinfect" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Andy Clarke, in #5, 2014)
  • "The Denied" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Trevor McCarthy, in #6, 2014)
  • "The Sinking Of An Empire!" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Emanuel Simeoni, in #7, 2014)
  • "Guided by Darkness" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Guillem March, in #8, 2014)
  • "The Unburied Past" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Guillem March, in #9, 2014)
  • "When Animals Attack" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Riccardo Burchielli, in #10, 2014)
  • "Day of the Dads" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Ian Bertram, in #11, 2014)
  • "The Good Man" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Mikel Janín, in #12, 2014)
  • "Infernal Relations" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Mikel Janín, in #13, 2014)
  • "Natural Order" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Jason Fabok, in #14, 2014)
  • "The Common Limit" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Dustin Nguyen, in #15, 2014)
  • "The Monster Machine" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Dustin Nguyen, in #16, 2014)
  • "The Savior" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Dustin Nguyen, in #17, 2014)
  • "A Night on Earth" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Andy Clarke, in #18, 2014)
  • "Breaking Bat" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Emanuel Simeoni, in #19, 2014)
  • "Wild Animals" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Emanuel Simeoni, in #20, 2014)
  • "Ten Forty-Eight" (with Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, and Tim Seeley and Jason Fabok, in #21, 2014)
  • Suicide Squad: Kill Arkham Asylum #1-5 (limited series, with Jesús Hervás and David Baron, February 2024-June 2024) collected in tpb October 2024, ISBN 978-1-77951-838-5

Dark Horse Comics

  • Aliens: Inhuman Condition (graphic novel, with Sam Kieth, hc, 56 pages, April 2013, ISBN 1-59582-618-1)

External links

References

  1. "John Layman Talks Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness on the CNI Podcast". Comics Bulletin.^
  2. Cryptic Studios announces the hire of John Layman Cryptic Studios, retrieved April 13, 2019^
  3. "Puffed Piece". Comics Bulletin.^
  4. Kiel Phegley. John Layman Bites Back in Chew Comic Book Resources, April 23, 2009, retrieved April 13, 2009^
  5. John Layman. FULL SCRIPT: Chew #1 by John Layman Comic Book Resources, June 3, 2009, retrieved April 13, 2012^
  6. CBR News Team. CBR News: Rob Guillory: The Art Of Chew Comic Book Resources, April 30, 2009, retrieved May 2, 2009^
  7. Rob Guillory. CBR News: Rob Guillory's Chew Process Comic Book Resources, June 2, 2009, retrieved June 6, 2009^
  8. Chew Wins Best New Series Eisner Award Things From Another World, July 24, 2010, retrieved April 25, 2013^
  9. Rebecca O. Kaplan. ZOOP launches benefit anthology COMICS FOR UKRAINE: SUNFLOWER SEEDS The Beat, April 18, 2022, retrieved April 26, 2022^
  10. David Brooke. 'Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds' to benefit Ukrainian refugees AIPT Comics, April 18, 2022, retrieved April 26, 2022^
  11. Borys Kit. Comic Book Creators Team for Ukraine Relief Effort Anthology 'Sunflower Seed' The Hollywood Reporter, April 20, 2022, retrieved April 30, 2022^