James Stokoe is an artist with a style that is both full of detail and fantastical in nature. The expressiveness and grotesque work he displays perfectly looks like a weed trip. Stokoe’s brand certainly evokes taking it easy while worshipping the absurd monstrosities. By just one token he can be both hard to take seriously and brilliantly imaginative. He really doesn’t seem to want to be big, just showcase his style the way he wants it to.
How Do You Say Yosh?
Stokoe’s early days in art begins as a young adult who meets people through fandoms. Making his debut in anthologies, James Stokoe quickly becomes acquainted with a number of people. The first are Corey Lewis and Stokoe’s eventual wife Marley Zarcone as they collaborate on a license comic that doesn’t last two issues. Despite this setback, the three push each other to get their names out with their gonzo art styles. Stokoe’s many ideas practically take lives of their own, often with one idea taking precedent over another. After a pitch for Heavy Metal Magazine falls through, Stokoe meets Brandon Graham at Image Comics. All four them would eventually meet an Image’s anthology Popgun; coming together they form Yosh Comics to bounce ideas off one another.
James Stokoe: The Dudeist
Yosh Comics seems to pay off for Stokoe as his experiences with the others lead to his first solo publication. Wonton Soup at Oni Press is both similar and unlike what comes during Stokoe’s career. From what readers can see, Stokoe presents a relaxing attitude towards the larger than life. I can’t help but feel Johnny Boyo relates to Stokoe’s overall attitude. There is an entire universe that seems dangerous with little details that can seem extremely important. Like revolutions go on constantly with despots which might lead to philosophical debates; only for things to take a Big Lebowski attitude with everything I just described being a metaphorical effect of spice. Does Stokoe do art while high on marijuana?
But then there’s the second volume of Wonton Soup, when where Boyo’s co-trucker gets a backstory. It’s here that I see what goes into later work by Stokoe, love towards fascinating creatures. Okay yes this is a controversial first example since Deacon implies to be in love with a milking animal. Other than that he and possibly Stokoe show a rejection of commodifying labors of passion and love. Besides if Kyle Baker is any indication, mainstream comic companies don’t exactly favor underground art styles. But that’s no reason to get frustrated, even after Stokoe’s rejections of titles like a Wonton Soup spin-off, it’s okay to just abide.
Living In A World Of Monsters
James Stokoe’s most notable series would have to be Orc Stain; it is what he bases his website around. In that series’ initial publication by Image, Stokoe introduces a world of orcs and their cultures. Some people are all too familiar with orcs being the brutish buffoons; but in this series Stokoe develops the concept with layers. When an orc warlord is ready to unite the tribes, the only thing standing in his way are orcs that aren’t morons. Which is where the one-eyed protagonist comes from, being shorter than the average orc and disabled leads to underestimation. But through this “little guy” readers see the world and cultures that adds color between orcs and other creatures. With the world telling the story however, publication ceases on Image. Now fans have to go on the James Stokoe Patreon to find new pages.
James Stokoe Makes Himself Seen
After all of these efforts how can Stokoe find commercial work that can fit with him? Wouldn’t you know it but instead of expending too much effort on creating a world to upend itself, he finds work in an existing one; no it’s not in superheroes, but with kaiju. After first encountering Godzilla in cover art he gets the chance to explore the eras of the King of the Monsters. Godzilla and his rivals are both things of horror and fascination, not unlike the comic industry. What does a someone do and what lengths does he do to get himself an acknowledgement from the indifference of it all? That is the plot of Godzilla: The Half-Century War.
Short But Sweet
With this success Stokoe finds himself getting a little more work in the industry. While Stokoe was still working on Half Century War he was also involved in a Kickstarter project with Mark Andrew Smith, Sullivan’s Sluggers. It’s a decent piece about putting out effort after a losing streak when lives are on the line. Unfortunately creative differences can get in the way; according to Smith, Stokoe’s lack of schedule commitments approach to illustration didn’t suit Smith’s goals. Stokoe didn’t even want anything to do with the project after this. …Wait does this mean I violated his wishes?
Well anyway, after this Stokoe’s mainstream work is usually short. Stokoe’s art style is a little too busy for long running series. His go-with-the-flow attitude combines with this art to create moments of surrealism. It certainly fits characters like Moon Knight who deals with psychedelic situations. With all of the detail and warping physics in play, this is probably for the best as characters and reader could disorient.
Danger In Reverence
Oddly enough James Stokoe uses that feeling in Dark Horse for a project involving Aliens. Aliens: Dead Orbit is a simple story that is practically a great tribute to Ridley Scott’s original movie. Rather than build off the mythology, Stokoe keeps to the spirit of the source material. Only unlike Aliens, the crew are aware of the threat of the Xenomorphs and don’t have any equipment to deal with just one of them. Any semblance of the creatures terrorizes the crew which makes the impact of their presence all the more mortifying.
James Stokoe Reflection
With so much work under his belt, Stokoe goes back to indie comics with Sobek. Calling back to his love of monsters to the point of worship, this one-shot is practically a parody of the idea. The titular Egyptian God is indifferent to both his worshippers and the damage to his temple. While he does participate in the conflict, he’s as much a chill-bro as Stokoe. Sobek goes at his own pace, often sleeping in between trips and only gets in on the action when he’s at stake.
All of this works as a two-way look at admiration. Sobek as a Stokoe stand-in can very well represent how people admire Stokoe for his creativity and ideas. But at the same time, Stokoe won’t act just on behalf of his biggest fans. Another way comes in how Stokoe’s own admiration for comics and art won’t always be rewarded. But again that’s okay, keeping healthy boundaries between who and what you love is essential to everyday life.
Stokoe Today
As of right now James Stokoe finds what he wants to do with people who both admire him and set realistic goals. James Tynion IV for example hires Stokoe for an origin story for one of his characters at DC. When examining the methods and motivations of the Clownhunter, an absurdly grotesque point-of-view is perfect when it comes to trauma. Add that to a solo tribute to kung fu movies in Orphan and the Five Beasts and you could could go gonzo. Just be sure to keep your expectations low, overhyping something can lead to disappointment.
What do you all think? Is James Stokoe a mad genius monster man who brings fictional worlds character? Or is he just some slacker like Smith says he is? Thanks for coming to the end and as always remember to look between the panels.