- For other persons named Joseph/Joe Phillips, see Joseph/Joe Phillips
Joe Phillips (born February 13, 1969) is an American artist, known for his mainstream comic book art and for his work depicting his views of gay life. He currently lives in San Diego, California.
Early Years and Comic Work
Phillips was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1969. He attended Northside School of the Arts where he learned skills such as set design and designing costumes. Upon graduation he travelled to Europe where he furthered his artistic skills, taking part in various projects such as guerrilla street art. Upon his return to the United States, he worked on the comic book title Southern Knights.
His first major comic book job was working on the comic book"Speed Racer" for seven issues. His first cover art was in August 1989 for "Mister Miracle" number 7, He continued to work on Miracle until its end in 1991. From then onwards, he produced artwork for titles including "Justice League of America", "Silver Surfer", "X-Men", "Legion of Super-Heroes", "The Incredible Hulk" and "Lobo". In 1991 he worked under George Pérez as a penciller on Wonder Woman for two issues.
Phillips was one of the founding members of Gai-Jin Studios, a comic book studio whose past members include artists such as Adam Hughes and Brian Stelfreeze. In late 1992 he began work on the revival of "Timber Wolf" where he worked as both a penciller and as the cover artist, this run lasted for an entire story arc. In 1996 he created a new comic book character, "The Heretic", of which he was both a writer and artist. The title was released by Dark Horse Comics. Other later work included "Captain America", "Wolverine", "Green Lantern" and "Superboy". In 2008 he worked on the Doctor Who comic book. Phillips has worked for various comic book companies including Marvel, DC and Dark Horse comics.
Gay work
It was while Phillips was working on a Superboy comic entitled "Superboy & Risk: Double Shot" that he first sexualized his artwork and dropped hints about homosexuality. Some readers picked up on this, one such person was art director of XY Magazine, Eriq Chang. Chang quickly offered Phillips a slot in the gay publication drawing a comic strip that would later become known as "Joe Boy". In September 1999 Phillips co- founded Xodus USA, which sold clothing and gay-themed accessories. Online clothing retailer International Male carried Xodus USA's first line of clothing, most of which was designed by Phillips. The Xodus USA partnership was dissolved in August 2000, after which Phillips went on to produce calendars and other printed materials for 10% Productions. It was during this period that Phillips was engaged by Ska Killers, Toasters, USA.
Phillips was approached by the hardcore porn website Karas Adult Playground to produce adult animation, his first — Cumquest — was a spoof on the popular sci-fi series Star Trek. Another animation job followed for the gay porn website Absolutely Male for which Phillips created the animation The House of Morecock, a story about Jonas Morecock, a gay paranormal investigator. Morecock proved to be very popular and a set of 10 episodes was released on DVD by 10% Productions in 2001. In 2002 Morecock was nominated for a GayVN award in the category "Best Alternative Release"; it subsequently won in its category. A series of comic strip books followed alongside sets of postcard books. TLA Video lists Morecock as one of their all-time bestselling titles.
In 2001 Phillips released "Boys Will Be Boys" - a calendar featuring original gay-themed art. In 2003 a book of the same title was released; it featured the art from the 2002 and 2003 calendars and incorporated some new original pieces. Boys was the first gay-themed comic book that publisher Bruno Gmunder released. Due to its success, in 2007 the book was re-released as an “Extended Edition” containing nearly double the amount of art. The calendar continues to be released annually.
In 2003 Phillips helped launch Xodus Magazine, with former Xodus USA co-founder and current publisher Nicholas Reedy. The magazine was created for the gay community and featured covers, a cartoon series and spot illustration by Phillips as well as a wrap up column at the end of each issue. The magazine featured an advice column from Mothers of gay people. After three years of successful distribution, the magazine ended publication after a long legal battle eventually drained the magazines recourses. Other clients who commissioned Phillips for gay work include ID Lube, Elbow Grease, Inside Pride, Jocko Underwear, Odyssey Magazine, Gloss Magazine, Gay and Lesbian Times San Diego, Freshmen, All Boy, Cyber Socket, and Prism Comics plus singers Ari Gold, Justus Boys, Alan Gnuo and Levi Kreis. He also created the art for the comic book character "Rage", which featured in the second season of the Showtime series Queer as Folk.
In 2006 with Adult Visual Animation, Phillips released his second adult-themed animated movie entitled The Ultimate Orgasm. The movie was a cross-over of the two genres Phillips was known for - Superheroes and work for the gay community. The movie was created entirely in 3D graphics. As with his previous movie, "Stonewall & Riot" was nominated for a GayVN award.
Other Work and Recently
Phillips worked for Bud Light, for which he created unique art for a nation wide 12 month ad campaign featuring his signature "Joe Boys". He also created the artwork for the front cover of multiple "Masterbeat" compilation CD's by DJ Brett Hendricson. He was one of four finalists for a MySpace competition in which Dashboard Confessional searched for their next music video and he was also a finalist in a nationwide advertising campaign by Kraft Foods. A music video for singer Ari Gold which he directed and animated won LOGOs "Music Video of The Year 2007". In late 2008 his comic book creation The Heretic was re-released in a graphic novel format. He has also worked with gay porn producer Chi Chi LaRue to create promotional art for Channel 1 Releasing. Current projects underway include a sequel to "The House of Morecock", a music video for Levi Kreis and several new books, including comics for Dark Horse and TokyoPop. In June 2009 Phillips won a Nicky award for "Outstanding Community Artist".
