John Linton Roberson
John Linton Roberson (born in Kingstree, South Carolina, January 22, 1969), also known as JLRoberson, is an American writer, illustrator, and cartoonist.
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[edit] Biography
His father was Lt. John Linton Roberson III, who served under Col. David Hackworth in the Vietnam War.[1]
An alumnus of DePaul University's Goodman School of Drama,[2] Roberson studied Soviet film theory & history under Richard DeCordova, and philosophy of tragedy and comedy under Dr. Stephen Houlgate. He later self-published the quarterly anthology Plastic[3] from 1998-2001 under his Bottomless Studio imprint, contributing Vitriol,[4] a 12-chapter black comedy. The magazine also featured work by Sam Henderson, Kamagurka & Herr Seele (Cowboy Henk), and other contributors. From 1999-2001 he created several strips for the San Francisco web magazine Spark-Online, usually under the title Slash & Burn.[5] He also wrote numerous film articles for Hollywood Bitchslap from 1999-2003.[6]
In early 2003, he was editor, publisher, and one of 26 contributors to the comics anthology Working for the Man, a benefit book published in e-book format for William Messner-Loebs. The collection contains an introduction by Gary Groth as well as work by Sam Kieth, Steve Bissette, Ted Rall, Donna Barr, and P. Craig Russell.[7][8]
Since 2002, he has written a political/arts blog, I Didn't Write That![9]
In Summer 2004, he directed the premiere of his comedy Suspension of Disbelief(written 1989) in Chicago for Theatre O' the Absurd.[10] He had previously appeared as Saturninus in their 2003 performance of Titus Andronicus, also supplying the poster design. More recently, in 2009 he performed in "Koba's Bad Cut" and "Strictly Kosher" with Seattle's McCroskey Memorial Internet Playhouse.[11]
Roberson created the characters Vladrushka[12] (inspired in part by actresses Georgina Spelvin and Joan Severance[13]) and Rosa & Annalisa for the adult comics publisher Eros Comix, later serializing their adventures in This Sickness at Adultwebcomics.com,[14] and in a print comic of the same name.[15]
He has also collaborated with a number of writers, most often Charles Alverson.[16][17] as well as Janet Harvey, John E. Williams, and Shane Durgee.
From November 2008 to April 2009, he was the regular illustrator for humorist David Volk's column "Last Stop" in AAA's Journey Magazine.[18] Pages from his stories "Martha" and "Story of OH!" were exhibited at the Robert Daniel Gallery in Tacoma, WA June 12–13, 2009.
Most recently, he began in 2010 a comics adaptation of Frank Wedekind's tragedy Lulu, Roberson's depiction of the character's appearance inspired by the Italian actress Stefania Casini.[19] Roberson is at present serializing the work online, the first two chapter now published in print in THIS SICKNESS #6 and 7.[20][21] He also announced in 2010 a VLADRUSHKA ongoing series, set to debut around 2011-2, and reportedly to also include the famous public-domain underground characters Octobriana and Projunior.[22]
[edit] References
- ^ About Face by David Hackworth & Julie Sherman, p. 673-74, 676
- ^ DePaul Students & Graduates list, Freebase
- ^ Katherine Keller review of Plastic, Sequential Tart, January 2000
- ^ Vitriol, a graphic novel(online)
- ^ First Spark-Online Appearance, November 1999, retrieved archive
- ^ Hollywood Bitchslap reviews archived at EFilmcritic.com.
- ^ Working for the Man anthology Review by Bill Sherman
- ^ WORKING FOR THE MAN, free PDF download. (55 mb)
- ^ I Didn't Write That!, John Roberson's blog
- ^ Suspension of Disbelief Review at Windy City Times
- ^ Koba's Bad Cut Performed for MMIP, 2009, by John Roberson (video)
- ^ Vladrushka(2004-present, adult content)
- ^ I DIDN'T WRITE THAT!, March 26, 2011.
- ^ Tim Pilcher & Gene Kannenberg, Erotic Comics vol. 2, p. 182; 2010, Abrams Comic Art, ISBN 978-0-8109-7277-3
- ^ The Comics Reporter, April 7, 2008
- ^ "The Story of OH!"(2007) by Charles Alverson & JLRoberson (complete--adult content),
- ^ "Rapunzel"(2003) by Charles Alverson & John Linton Roberson (originally in "Working For The Man"),
- ^ Journey Magazine, January/February 2009, p. 60
- ^ I DIDN'T WRITE THAT!, Jan. 27, 2010, "Stefania Casini: The Physical Model for Lulu".
- ^ "Frank Wedekind's LULU, a Comics Adaptation," January 10, 2010
- ^ Chad Parenteau review of THIS SICKNESS & MARTHA
- ^ Announcement of VLADRUSHKA series at I DIDN'T WRITE THAT!.
[edit] External links
- Bottomless Studio
- Deconstructing Comics reviews Vladrushka and The Man-2011(podcast)
- Deconstructing Comics Talks with John Roberson about theatre, comics & storytelling-2011(podcast)
- Joey Manley podcast Interview, 2006, Talkaboutcomics.com(mp3 download)
- Austin English interview, 2001, Spark-Online.com
- Seattle Times, p. A1, 1/17/09
- Lulu online
- Vladrushka online (adult content)
[edit] Selected Bibliography
Bottomless Studio (All as editor, contributor and publisher.)
- This Sickness #7 with LULU, 2011
- This Sickness #6 with LULU, 2010
- Suspension of Disbelief, a play in Two Acts, 2011
- Martha, an autobiographical graphic novella, 2010
This Sickness Vol. 1(1-5), 2008–2010 (all written & drawn by Roberson unless otherwise noted)
1. "Story of OH!" and "Rapunzel", written by Charles Alverson and drawn by Roberson
2. "Soft Ceiling"
3. Vladrushka
4. "October Surprise"
5. "Martha"
Plastic 1-8, 1998-2001 (serialized Vitriol and other stories)
Working For the Man, 2003
Eros Comix / Fantagraphics (2003–2006)
Menage a Trois #3 & 7 (Rosa & Annalisa, "October Surprise" and "a.")
Blowjob #3 & 19 (Vladrushka, "Red Star" and "Gulag Gangbang")
Footlicker #3 (Vladrushka, "Friction")
Other
Legal Action Comics #1, 2001 (Danny Hellman, ed.)
