Joseph Michael Linsner (born December 13, 1968)[1] is an American comic book writer/artist, known as the creator of the mature-audiences supernatural character Dawn,[2] and for his illustrations of female characters. He is a popular cover artist in the comics industry.[3][2]
Linsner introduced the lingerie-wearing occult character Dawn in Cry for Dawn,[3] a nine-issue series self-published by Linsner and Joseph M. Monks' Cry for Dawn Productions beginning in 1989.[6][7] Cry For Dawn Productions dissolved in late 1993,[8] and Linsner took Dawn to Sirius Entertainment;[9] Dawn was published by Sirius for several limited series and one-shots[10] from 1995 to 2000.
Linsner broke into mainstream comics drawing the cover of Justice League Quarterly #13 (Winter 1993). His Marvel Comics work includes the one-shotKillraven #1 (Feb. 2001),[5] several covers for the company's mid-2000s Mystique series, and painted covers and interior penciling and inking for the Wolverine-Black Cat three-issue limited series Claws (Oct.-Dec., 2006), followed in 2011 by the three-issue limited series Wolverine & Black Cat: Claws 2 (Aug.–Nov., 2011).
In 2002, Linsner self-published I Love New York, a benefit book for the American Red Cross following the September 11 attacks; the comic presents his perceptions as a native New Yorker on that day.[11][12]
Linsner has a lengthy association with The Hero Initiative, the not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping comic book creators, writers, and artists in need.[13][14][15]
In 2013, in the pages of a Dawn comic, Linsner accused his former assistant Eva Hopkins of acquiring and selling his original pages without his consent. Hopkins denied the allegations, and an online war of words erupted between the two creators.[16][17]
Eleven or One: An Angry Christ Comic (Sirius Entertainment, 1995)
Dawn #1–5 (Sirius Entertainment, 1995–1996)
Crypt of Dawn #1–6 (Sirius Entertainment, 1996–1999)
collected in The Best of Crypt of Dawn (Sirius Entertainment, Inc., 2000)
Dawn: Lucifer's Halo #1 (Sirius Entertainment, Nov. 1997, ISBN1-57989-014-8) — collects material from Drama (Sirius Entertainment, 1994) and Dawn (Sirius Entertainment, 1995)
Dawn 1/2: Dreams of Dawn (Sirius Entertainment, 1999)
Dawn 1/2 (Sirius Entertainment/Wizard, 2000)
Dawn: the Return of the Goddess (Sirius Entertainment, 1999–2000)