My name is Richard J. Fowlks, a lifelong resident of the Great Northwest. I am a graphic designer with a specialization in photography retouch and publication design. I am fascinated with comic book and pop culture, and my work is inspired by different eras of media.
I prepare work for both print and the web. I’ve worked with big national clients and local mom and pop companies for over 13 years with a vast range of diversity in projects.
For me, art and creativity is a complex communication with the intended audience. As a designer, I seek to communicate clearly and concisely with intuitive design that conveys the meaning and intent of the material. Each design choice–from color to typography to size and spacial relationships–creates meaning for the material being presented. Any extraneous design for design's sake is not just a waste of space, but dilutes the power of the communication with your audience. I am inspired during collaborations with photographers and authors to deliver their intended material in a way that draws the audience in and shares a viewpoint with them.
When I’m not in front of a computer monitor, I can be found outside playing with my kids, reading or enjoying a tasty beverage.
My name is Richard J. Fowlks, a lifelong resident of the Great Northwest. I am a graphic designer with a specialization in photography retouch and publication design. I am fascinated with comic book and pop culture, and my work is inspired by different eras of media.
I prepare work for both print and the web. I’ve worked with big national clients and local mom and pop companies for over 13 years with a vast range of diversity in projects.
For me, art and creativity is a complex communication with the intended audience. As a designer, I seek to communicate clearly and concisely with intuitive design that conveys the meaning and intent of the material. Each design choice–from color to typography to size and spacial relationships–creates meaning for the material being presented. Any extraneous design for design's sake is not just a waste of space, but dilutes the power of the communication with your audience. I am inspired during collaborations with photographers and authors to deliver their intended material in a way that draws the audience in and shares a viewpoint with them.
When I’m not in front of a computer monitor, I can be found outside playing with my kids, reading or enjoying a tasty beverage.
COMIC BOOK EXPLOSION: AN ORAL HISTORY OF DC COMICS CIRCA 1978
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Things looked bleak for comic books throughout the 1970s because of plummeting sell-through rates. With each passing year, the newsstand became less and less interested in selling comic books. The industry seemed locked in a death spiral, but the Powers That Be at DC Comics had an idea to reverse their fortunes. In 1978, they implemented a bold initiative: Provide readers with more story pages by increasing the price-point of a regular comic book to make it comparable to other magazines sold on newsstands. Billed as “The DC Explosion,” this expansion saw the introduction of numerous creative new titles. But mere weeks after its launch, DC’s parent company pulled the plug, demanding a drastic decrease in the number of comic books they published, and leaving stacks of completed comic book stories unpublished. The series of massive cutbacks and cancellations quickly became known as “The DC Implosion.” TwoMorrows Publishing marks the 40th Anniversary of one of the most notorious events in comics with an exhaustive oral history from the creators and executives involved (Jenette Kahn, Paul Levitz, Len Wein, Mike Gold, and Al Milgrom, among many others), as well as detailed analysis and commentary by other top professionals, who were “just fans” in 1978 (Mark Waid, Michael T. Gilbert, Tom Brevoort, and more)—examining how it changed the landscape of comics forever! By Keith Dallas and John Wells.
MAGAZINE DESIGN
BACK ISSUE #114
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Back Issue #114 is busting loose with Black Superheroes of the 1970s, featuring the Bronze Age history of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire! Plus: a retrospective of artist BILLY GRAHAM, Black Panther censorship in the UK, Black Goliath, a TONY ISABELLA interview, Black Lightning After Isabella, the Teen Titans’ Mal Duncan, DON McGREGOR and PAUL GULACY’s Sabre, and… Black Bomber (who?). Featuring CHRIS CLAREMONT, J. M. DeMATTEIS, STEVE ENGLEHART, ROY THOMAS, TREVOR VON EEDEN, and more, under a classic Luke Cage cover by the Irreverent Billy Graham. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
BACK ISSUE #113
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Back Issue #113 celebrates the original Tim Burton Batman movie’s 30th Anniversary, featuring a guest column and interview with Batfilms producer MICHAEL USLAN, an interview with screenwriter SAM HAMM, and a chat with the man who might have been Two-Face: BILLY DEE WILLIAMS.
Plus: 1989: DC Comics’ Year of the Bat, DENNY O’NEIL and JERRY ORDWAY’s Batman movie adaptation, MINDY NEWELL’s Catwoman, GRANT MORRISON and DAVE McKEAN’s Arkham Asylum, MAX ALLAN COLLINS’ Batman newspaper strip, and JOEY CAVALIERI and JOE STATON’s Huntress. Featuring a classic Michael Keaton Batman cover by JOSE LUIS
GARCIA-LOPEZ, with cover design by MICHAEL KRONENBERG. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
BACK ISSUE #112
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Hunker down in your fallout shelter with Back Issue #112's explosive “Nuclear Issue,” starring the Fury of Firestorm! Also: Dr. Manhattan, a DAVE GIBBONS Marvel UK Hulk interview, villain histories of Radioactive Man and Microwave Man, Bongo’s Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy, and the one-shot wonder, Holo-Man! With CARY BATES, PAT BRODERICK, GERRY CONWAY, STEVE ENGLEHART, RAFAEL KAYANAN, BILL MORRISON, FABIAN NICIEZA, JOHN OSTRANDER, ROY THOMAS, and more! Featuring a Firestorm cover by Pat Broderick. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
BACK ISSUE #111
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BACK ISSUE #111 (84 FULL-COLOR pages, $8.95) is the “Alternate Realities” issue, cover-featuring the 20th anniversary of ALEX ROSS and JIM KRUEGER’s Marvel Earth X! Plus: What If?, Bronze Age DC Imaginary Stories, Elseworlds, Marvel 2099, and PETER DAVID and GEORGE PÉREZ’s senses-shattering Hulk: Future Imperfect. Featuring TOM DeFALCO, CHUCK DIXON, PETER B. GILLIS, PAT MILLS, ROY THOMAS, and many more! Featuring an Earth X cover by ALEX ROSS. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
FULL BLEED #3
Here's just SOME of what to expect in the third volume of FULL BLEED and beyond:
Monsters of Rock: An interview with Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, and Anthrax’s Scott Ian, concerning their shared history and love of all things horror and genre. The Grant Morrison Interview, Part One. The Underdream: A new comic by Josh O’Neill and Gideon Kendall. Black’s In: When a “Blackout” is a Good Thing - Text and illustrations by Abdulkareem Baba Aminu. Lover’s Eyes: An Essay by Tini Howard, with illustrations by Sara Richard. Home: A new comic from Erin Nations. Following the Bloody Trail of the Shaolin Cowboy: An interview with Geof Darrow, featuring never-before-seen art, by Hannah Means-Shannon. We Don’t All Live in a Yellow Submarine: An Essay by Vivek J. Tiwary. The Watering Shed: A brand-new short story featuring Hap & Leonard from award-winning novelist Joe Lansdale . May 1968: The Revolution that Almost Was - A comic essay by Julia Alekseyeva. The Lost Boys of the U-Boat Bremen Chapter Three by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Steve Beach. Down Mexico Way: A travel log by Jarrett Melendez, with illustration from Danica Brine. Uncharted Part Two: A short story by Benjamin Percy with spot illustrations by Brent Schoonover. The Shapes: A new comic from Adam Knave & Andrew Losq. Arizona Daisy: A new comic from Roger Langridge. New short comics from Shannon Wheeler and Noah Van Sciver. A personal tale of young love gone wrong, by award-winning novelist and screenwriter, Jon Raymond. The Big Smoke, a photo essay from Joel Meadows. Blade Runner: Technology Steals the Soul — An essay by Tom Waltz, with illustration by Santipérez. The Big Smoke, a photo essay from Joel Meadows.
…and believe it or not, more!
BONUS! Las Vegas Repo #2, a stand-alone comic, and follow-up to the acclaimed first issue, by Shaun Harris and Miguel Ruano!
BACK ISSUE #110
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BACK ISSUE #110 (84 FULL-COLOR pages, $8.95) is a “Make Mine Marvel” issue, cover-featuring STEVE ENGLEHART’s “lost” issues of West Coast Avengers! Plus: DENNY O’NEIL and CARMINE INFANTINO’s Marvel work, a MARK WAID/ANN NOCENTI Daredevil Pro2Pro interview, British Bronze Age Marvel fandom, plus histories of Pizzazz Magazine, Speedball, and the anthology Marvel Comics Presents. And go backstage of Marvel Comicon ’75 in a photo- and ephemera-packed retrospective. Featuring TOM DeFALCO, SCOTT EDELMAN, TERRY KAVANAGH, LUKE McDONNELL, MARV WOLFMAN, and many more merry marching Marvelites! Previously unpublished West Coast Avengers cover by AL MILGROM and MIKE MACHLAN. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.
BACK ISSUE #109
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You’ll believe a mag can fly in BACK ISSUE #109 (84 FULL-COLOR pages, $8.95), as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Superman: The Movie! Explore the Superman movies’ effects on comic books, media, and collectibles with commentary from many of their creators. Plus: CARY BATES discloses his plans for the un-produced Superman V, ELLIOT S. MAGGIN’s Superman novels, and exclusive interviews with Superman executive producer ILYA SALKIND, JACK O’HALLORAN (Non), AARON SMOLINSKI (baby Clark), JEFF EAST (young Clark), and DIANE SHERRY CASE (teenage Lana Lang). 10% of the proceeds from this issue’s comic shop orders will be donated to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. Christopher Reeve Superman cover by GARY FRANK (from Superman: Secret Origin #4), with cover design by MICHAEL KRONENBERG. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.