John Paul Leon's THE WINTER MEN Artist's Edition

by John Paul Leon (Art, Cover & Story) and Brett Lewis (Story)

THE WINTER MEN is the project John Paul Leon was most proud of. Its artwork has never been sold or left his Miami studio, except to be scanned for this book. Now, as a tribute to the renowned artist, JP’s closest friends have united to publish an Artist's Edition of this modern comics masterpiece, with all proceeds proudly going to JP’s wife and daughter.

Please pledge your support and join JP's studio-mates and Project Organizers Tommy Lee Edwards & Bernard Chang, Book Editor & Project Initiator Scott Dunbier, and artists Bill Sienkiewicz, Lee Weeks, Duncan Fegredo, Sean Phillips, Kim Jung Gi, Peach Momoko, Walter Simonson and Joe Quesada (who are all contributing brand new pin-ups) in celebration of an astonishing and inspiring body of work. John Paul Leon’s THE WINTER MEN Artist’s Edition features 200 pages of full-size 12 x 17 scans of all of the original comic art pages, along with never-before-seen concepts, layouts, sketches, unused art and pin-ups.

$194,573

supported of $35,000

1008

supporters

Close video

EXPLORE OUR Rewards

$150

930

claimed

John Paul Leon's THE WINTER MEN Artist's Edition

200 pages of full-size 12 x 17 scans of all of the original comic art pages, along with never-before...

$50

19 / 100

claimed

Bill Sienkiewicz WINTER MEN Signed Giclee Art Print

11 x 16 high quality Giclee. Signed and numbered. Scroll down to ART PRINTS section to see in greate...

$50

75 / 76

claimed

Peach Momoko WINTER MEN Signed Giclee Art Print

11 x 16 high quality Giclee. Signed and numbered. Scroll down to ART PRINTS section to see in greate...

$50

4 / 100

claimed

Kim Jung Gi WINTER MEN Signed Giclee Art Print

11 x 16 high quality Giclee. Signed and numbered. Scroll down to ART PRINTS section to see in greate...

$50

9 / 100

claimed

Sean Phillips WINTER MEN Signed Giclee Art Print

11 x 16 high quality Giclee. Signed and numbered. Scroll down to ART PRINTS section to see in greate...

$50

13 / 100

claimed

Duncan Fegredo WINTER MEN Signed Giclee Art Print

11 x 16 high quality Giclee. Signed and numbered. Scroll down to ART PRINTS section to see in greate...

$50

17 / 100

claimed

Walter Simonson WINTER MEN Signed Giclee Art Print

11 x 16 high quality Giclee. Signed and numbered. Scroll down to ART PRINTS section to see in greate...

$50

9 / 100

claimed

Lee Weeks WINTER MEN Signed Giclee Art Print

11 x 16 high quality Giclee. Signed and numbered. Scroll down to ART PRINTS section to see in greate...

$50

7 / 100

claimed

Tommy Lee Edwards WINTER MEN Signed Giclee Art Print

11 x 16 high quality Giclee. Signed and numbered. Scroll down to ART PRINTS section to see in greate...

$90

14

claimed

Any Two WINTER MEN Signed Giclee Art Prints

Write us at hello@wearezoop.com and let us know your selections. ***As of 4:30pm on 11/17, we can no...

$125

13

claimed

Any Three WINTER MEN Signed Giclee Art Prints

Write us at hello@wearezoop.com and let us know your selections. ***As of 4:30pm on 11/17, we can no...

$200

6

claimed

Any Five WINTER MEN Signed Giclee Art Prints

Write us at hello@wearezoop.com and let us know your selections. ***As of 4:30pm on 11/17, we can no...

$338

12

claimed

Retailer Bundle - 3 copies of John Paul Leon's THE WINTER MEN Artist's Edition

3 copies of John Paul Leon's THE WINTER MEN Artist's Edition at 25% discount, postpaid. U.S. retaile...

$525

6

claimed

Retailer Bundle - 5 copies of John Paul Leon's THE WINTER MEN Artist's Edition

5 copies of John Paul Leon's THE WINTER MEN Artist's Edition at 30% discount, postpaid. U.S. retaile...

$1

111

claimed

Donations

If you want to add a little something extra for the cause, you can increase in increments of $1 by s...

Preview

 

Some sample interior pages:

 

 

 

 

Art Prints

All pin-ups will be in the book, and most are also being offered as stand alone 11 x 16 high quality giclee art prints, signed and numbered, in the Rewards section above.

 

Please note: some art prints will be revealed and added to the Rewards section during the course of the campaign, so check back often!

 

1 print = $50

2 prints = $90

3 prints =  $125

5 prints = $200

8 prints = $300

 

Bill Sienkiewicz (Russian text translates to 'For John Paul, with Love & Respect')

 

Duncan Fegredo

 
Sean Phillips

 

Walter Simonson

 

Tommy Lee Edwards

 

Peach Momoko

 

Kim Jung Gi


Lee Weeks


 

About JP

World-renowned artist John Paul Leon passed away on May 2nd, 2021 after a 14-year battle with cancer. A true "artist's artist", he is best known for his critically acclaimed works THE WINTER MEN, Marvel's EARTH X, BATMAN: CREATURE OF THE NIGHT, LOGAN: PATH OF THE WARLORD, THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF CYCLOPS AND PHOENIX, and CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN, and his bold and dramatic work has influenced many of today's young talents. 

 

"One of the greatest artists of our generation, he was also one of the nicest and most talented creators one could be lucky enough to have met. So young and still creating the very best work of his career. I remain in awe of both his unrivaled draftsmanship and his stellar designwork - both of which were simply unparalleled & technically just so precise & perfect. But what really made me a fan was how he squeezed in every bit of emotion & life in every image he created."
- JIM LEE

 

"I was lucky enough to be his teacher at SVA in the early 90s. I am honored to have JP's Ragnarök cover framed and hanging in our front hallway. It's a constant reminder to do better every day and to try to make myself into the best artist I can. A brilliant artist, a good friend. Godspeed, John Paul. All our love, pal. Thank you for everything."

  • - WALTER SIMONSON
  •  
 
 

The Project

 

 

This has been a bittersweet adventure for Tommy Lee Edwards and Bernard Chang. They flew down to JP's home in Miami and, with JP's wife Christina's help, they were able to pull all of the WINTER MEN art. Bernard then transported everything to Scott Dunbier in San Diego to be meticulously scanned, and then flew it all back to Christina in Miami.

 

JP's wish was to have any funds from his art sales go into a trust for his 17-year-old daughter and help fund her future education and interests in engineering. All proceeds from this Zoop campaign are proudly going to JP’s wife Christina and daughter Zenaida, to help get this trust started while helping them transition through this difficult period.

 

*Grateful acknowledgement to IDW Publishing for allowing us to use the term Artist's Edition for this book

Personnel

All personnel attached to this project, including Zoop, will be donating their time and efforts and forgoing any payment. Let's meet the few key folks who put it all together:

 

Bernard Chang (Organizer) is a comic book artist and designer, best known for his work in the comic book and entertainment design industries. He is currently collaborating with award-winning author Gene Luen Yang on THE MONKEY PRINCE (DC Comics), a new comic book series debuting in early 2022, integrating the legendary tales of the Monkey King and Journey to the West into the DC Universe; and is a former Walt Disney Imagineer, designing rides and attractions as a blue sky concept designer.

 

"At 15, while auditioning to be in the first class at the New World School of the Arts high school in Miami, Florida, I pulled out a sketchbook during a break and started drawing Thor, which peaked the curiosity of another art school hopeful sitting next to me, John Paul Leon. We shared our admiration for then Thor artist, Walter Simonson, and a friendship was instantly born. We attended art colleges in New York City together and, under the mentorship of Michael Davis and his Bad Boy Studio, trekked out to the 1992 San Diego Comic Con, which resulted in me being discovered by Bob Layton at Valiant Comics, and JP landing STATIC at Milestone Comics."

 

Tommy Lee Edwards (Organizer) has illustrated comics like TURF, GRENDEL KENTUCKY, MARVEL 1985, and JUPITER’S LEGACY: REQUIEM, along with designing movies like THE BOOK OF ELI, and games like COMMAND AND CONQUER. His most rewarding work was often created alongside his “brother” John Paul Leon, when they collaborated on everything from comics such as CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN and MOTHER PANIC, to advertising campaigns, animation, children’s books, and licensing work for movies such as BATMAN BEGINS. When TLE was writing or directing animated projects for Google, Microsoft, and others, JP was always brought in to design them. TLE’s wife Melissa colored JP’s EARTH X, STATIC SHOCK, and THE WINTER MEN series from their home in central North Carolina.
 
"JP gave all of us 30 years of his heart, soul, and talent. It's so wonderful to see so many of you all giving some back."
 
Scott Dunbier (Editor and Initiator) created the Artist’s Edition format at IDW Publishing in 2010 and since then has spearheaded more than 75 of these oversized behemoths. He also worked on several projects with John Paul Leon, including being one of several editors of the original THE WINTER MEN comics.
 
“John Paul was a brilliant talent, but also an incredibly good and decent person. It is an honor for me to work on this Artist’s Edition.”
 
Randall Dahlk, whose credits include 50-plus Artist's Editions for IDW Publishing, is donating his design skills to this project.

Delivery

This book will be going to the printer within two weeks of the end of the campaign. Expected delivery time to our fulfillment center is roughly four months from approve to print date, but with the current state of international shipping there may be delays. Zoop will keep supporters updated throughout this process.

A few short answers to how this works.