Paul Johnson orbited the peripheries of the British comic book industry in the early 1980s, self-publishing and appearing in short-lived publications such as Pssst! and Escape. His first major comics work was the graphic novelLondon's Dark[1] but he came to international attention when he painted the art on The Road to Nowhere, the fourth and final chapter of The Books of Magic mini-series, written by Neil Gaiman and released by DC/Vertigo in 1993.
Johnson worked abroad for Marvel Comics (Interface, Hellraiser, Children of the Voyager), DC Comics (Mercy, Invisibles, Legends of the Dark Knight) and Dark Horse Comics (Aliens) before working in Britain's home-grown industry for Crisis, 2000 AD, and the Eaglemoss publication Spinechillers.
In 2000 Johnson was awarded a grant by the Arts Council of Great Britain[citation needed] to run a series of comic book workshops with Ed Hillyer (also known as Ilya) at Great Ormond Street Hospital, resulting in the publication of Hospitales, which was distributed free of charge in hospitals across the UK.[citation needed]
In addition to his interest in comics, Johnson wrote regularly for the IPC music magazine Uncut from 1999 to 2004.
Influenced by the work of European comics artists such as Moebius (Jean Giraud), Hugo Pratt, Alberto Breccia and Lorenzo Mattotti, Johnson struggled to find work that interested him as most commercial publishers failed to make the jump from producing superhero comics to the more esoteric genres of their continental counterparts.
Disillusioned with the opportunities available to him,[citation needed] Johnson retrained as an acupuncturist and herbalist. He is now in private practice and lectures regularly at LCTA, England's largest college dedicated to teaching Traditional Chinese Medicine.[citation needed] He is the chief presenter on How To Locate Acupuncture Points - The Definitive DVD, released in 2008.[citation needed]
The Spinechiller Collection #1 (illustrations to Horror in the Centre Ring, 7 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #2 (spot illustration to Glowing Ghost)
The Spinechiller Collection #3 (illustrations to The Cave Dwellers, 7 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #5 (illustrations to A Dead Man’s Chest, 7 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #7 (spot illustration to Spooky Submarine)
The Spinechiller Collection #8 (illustration to Circus Puzzle, 3 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #10 (illustrations to Bugged!, 7 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #12 (illustrations to Nature’s Way, 7 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #15 (spot illustration to Tunnel Spooks Taxis; illustration to Ley Lines, 2 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #16 (illustrations to What’s The Matter With Martin?, 7 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #18 (spot illustration to The Booya Stones)
The Spinechiller Collection #20 (illustration to Nazca Lines, 2 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #21 (illustrations to The House on Sparrow Lane, 7 pages; The Roswell Incident, 2 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #23 (illustrations to The Storm, 7 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #24 (illustration to Sitting Bull, 2 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #26 (illustration to Atlantis, 2 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #27 (illustrations to All The Time in the World, 7 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #31 (illustrations to Spiderbites, 7 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #35 (illustrations to Bungalow 14, 7 pages; spot illustration to Spectral Samurai)
The Spinechiller Collection #46 (illustrations to Grim Reaper, 7 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #49 (spot illustration to Things That Go Bump; The Money Pit, 2 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #50 (illustrations to Night Cries, 7 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #51 (illustration to Dreamtime, 2 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #53 (spot illustration to The Death’s Head/ Hill of Demons)
The Spinechiller Collection #54 (illustration to Face on Mars, 2 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #55 (illustrations to Monster Bait, 7 pages; Amelia Earhart, 2 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #57 (illustrations to Night of the Wolf, 7 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #59 (illustrations to In The Flesh, 7 pages)
The Spinechiller Collection #60 (spot illustration to Herne The Hunter)
Card games
Paul Johnson was one of the contributing artists for Dredd: The Card Game, a collectible card game released by Round Table Productions back in 1999. He created the art for the following cards:
