Jonathan Jay Lee is an artist and illustrator whose clients include Marvel Comics, Mercedes, San Miguel, Lamborghini, Lee Kum Kee, MINI, Disney+, Ho Lee Fook, Asics Tiger, the Japan Tourism Board and HSBC. Jonathan was named one of the World’s Best 200 Illustrators in Lürzer’s Archive. A former Professor, Jonathan has also designed and taught more than 20 different courses in Illustration and Sequential Art.
Which three books would you recommend?
Understanding Comics Scott McCloud
I would recommend this book to anyone who is in the practice of storytelling in any way, form or industry. This book breaks down the art form in an analytical and entertaining way; a comic about comics. It is THE textbook for comics. An incredible visual essay on the medium that incorporates both the written and visual together in print form.
Vagabond Inoue Takehiko
I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in period pieces and beautiful ink-work, but also to anyone who feels like they’re alone on a strange path to becoming something bigger than themselves. Intimately personal and reflective with masterful pacing, this piece of a wandering samurai warrior is a meditation of what it truly means to be a master of the sword, or a perfect analogy of the artists’ path.
Vagabond is pure visual poetry.
100% Paul Pope
For anyone who is into auteur films and movies, 100% is a love story revolving around 6 characters whose lives are only connected by the gritty future city that is reminiscent of New York City, Paris, or Hong Kong. An indie comics rockstar, Paul Popes’ loose and care-free ink work is exactly as he describes it: viscous like blood. 100% is the epitome of the comic book medium and best enjoyed at the height of your own struggles.
What is your favourite bookstore or library?
Tokyo:
Tsutaya in Futako-Tamagawa
Mandarake in Shibuya
NYC:
Forbidden Planet in Union Square
Strand Bookstore on Broadway