iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

300 pages would be pretty scary. Next project of that size, just go Nordic Noir, and everything is just five shades of blue-gray.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Ha! It’s kinda nice, to be honest. It’s annoying when that conversion to CMYK really doesn’t work without extra labor, but that’s usually pretty rare. (I’m allergic to super bright, saturated colors, I think!)

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I used to be team CMYK all the way, but lately, knowing that digital promo is just as important as the actual book in print, I’ve been working in RGB and converting at the last minute. Mostly because I like doing my color in HSL/HSB.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Have you tried Ewok poop coffee? There was no strategic purpose to the Imperial presence on Endor, the Emperor just really, really likes his coffee.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

A comic about realizing that I have been chosen for a great destiny: squishing silverfish.

A comic in three parts. This is panel 1. A scene in soothing risograph colors, depicting a middle aged man in front of a washing machine and dryer. On the floor in front of him is a rubber mallet.

Panel 2. The man is holding the rubber mallet dramatically.

Panel three. An over the shoulder shot of the same guy holding the rubber mallet. You can see that there’s a squished bug on it.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Thanks Dave! Hope life in CT is treating you well!

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

An enterprising teacher could have totally tricked me into learning about the Panama Canal by accidentally mis-shelving a few books next to Tintin, or Greek mythology, or anything with dragons on the cover.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

It's kind of funny to think that as kids, many of us had favorite number sequences in the Dewey Decimal system! There were a few shelves that, no matter the title or author, their book was coming home with me!

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

In my formative years, I borrowed my elementary school’s copies of D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths and Greek Myths so often, that a relative took pity on the librarians & bought me my own copies. Periodically that formative experience bubbles up again (by which I mean constantly). Support libraries!

Two kids in the foreground hold ravens. They look quite pleased about it, as they should. Behind them stand Thor (who looks like a bright orange bear) and Odin (who looks like a weather beaten scarecrow). In the background are some trees and a stave church.)

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

I love when a comic achieves such cultural inertia that the cartoonist can just throw glorious non sequiturs into the world.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

First Democrat that commits to banishing Trump (and his cabinet), Netanyahu, and Putin to the Phantom Zone gets my vote.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Or when it’s a book (movie/album) you absolutely love, and then you read it again years later, and it does nothing. (Distinct from when you discover the author is loathsome, and you can’t ever get past it.)

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

I’m not sure if you’re a beer drinker, but there are lots of great pubs, my personal favorites being The Ship and Shovell, The Harp (in Covent Garden), The Nell Gwynne (near the theater district), & The Cumberland Arms (near Olympia). Also Kew Gardens! A super cool wrought iron Victorian greenhouse!

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Food-wise, pick a regional cuisine, and look for that neighborhood! I’ve had amazing Indian, Thai, Chinese, Persian… I don’t have specific recommendations for food other than it’s such a huge culturally diverse city that there’s no shortage!

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

The V&A is really interesting, in that it’s all over the place. It’s ancient at the bottom, and mid-century at the top. Lots of neat industrial and graphic design. The Tate Modern is fine (I’ll admit, modern art is kinda boring to me), but the walk across the Millennium Bridge is neat.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Most of the museums in London are free, which makes going to see something really specific totally acceptable. The British Museum is amazing (though slightly tough to overlook the colonialism)! The London Natural History Museum is amazing; architecturally and content-wise.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

I was at a friend’s house on Halloween, and Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon came Trick-or-Treating with their daughter.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Nice! I’ll definitely give it a listen!

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

When I was a wee lad of 21, I thought I wanted to be a political cartoonist. I had a weekly strip in the school paper that was so baroque that I genuinely don’t know what I was talking about, when I look back upon them. Anyway, I periodically dip a toe back into political commentary…

A single panel comic. A white middle aged man is gleefully writing a letter at a desk. The word balloons read:

“DEAR PRIME MINISTER JONAS GAHR STORE, MY NAME IS BRYANT. I AM 52 3/4 YEARS OLD, & I HAVE BEEN EVER SO GOOD THIS YEAR.

I KEPT MY ROOM TIDY. I ATE MY VEGETABLES, & I PREVENTED SEVEN OR EIGHT WARS. I WOULD LIKE A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE, OR A NEW BICYCLE, OR A BB GUN.

AND MAYBE ONE FOR MY LITTLE BROTHER.

BUT NOT AS GOOD.”

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Thanks Shel! I really appreciate it! I can’t wait to get my copy of Swords—I love the art you’ve curated for it!

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

Thanks! I definitely want to draw more of them at some point. And I’ve still been working on a game/setting based on them.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

I genuinely don’t think I’d be the illustrator and cartoonist I am today without the Oh, The Beating Drum! comics I did for Worlds without Master!

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

I highly recommend the whole Worlds without Master run. Lots of great games, illustrations, comics, and miscellany. Comics and illustrations from Swords without Master RPG art director @portablecity.bsky.social. From Barbarian Lord and Hellboy artist @barbarianlord.bsky.social.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

You should totally back this project! It’s got swords! It’s got sorcery! It has cool fantasy art, and fancy dice, and eidolons!

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

My biggest issue with making comics is that by the time I get close to finishing one, my style has mutated enough that I want to redraw all the earliest pages. (I abandoned a GN 125 pages in because I kept endlessly redrawing pages from it! I now stick to short works.)

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

A modest proposal: a few years from now, once the big players are “vacationing” in the Netherlands (btw, we went to The Hague & Delft this summer, & loved it!), everyone who voted for this chud & his lickspittles goes on a peace corps apology tour. Just to see what their political nihilism wrought.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

I’m assuming that for Epimas, everyone is following Swords without Master on Kickstarter www.kickstarter.com/projects/unw..., and playing something weird. (Like an RPG made from the little placemat games you find in roadside diners.)

kickstarter.com

Coming soon: Swords Without Master

A ttrpg of strange sorceries, brutal violence and astounding wonder by Epidiah Ravachol.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

A practice illustration for a book project I’m working on. A few years back, I took a road trip around the Pacific Northwest. I was really enamored with the unusual geography of the Oregon coast, which inspired this illustration. All drawn in Affinity Designer on the iPad.

“Dip a Toe in the Briny Deep” An illustration of a seascape. In the distant background are several rounded islands covered in trees. In the middle ground is a boat that looks suspiciously like The Orca from Jaws. In the foreground, a mermaid leans against a rock looking at her phone. There are several seagulls there too, because seagulls are awesome. It’s mostly blues, and greens, with orange and red notes.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Solar and wind power are liberal scams, so we're putting our money on Gramulax the Magnificent, and his magic energy beans.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Want to increase consumer spending? Want to boost innovation by untethering healthcare from employment? Want to save tax-payer money? Want to treat people with dignity and compassion? If only there was a way to do all of those things... oh wait, there is. Single-payer health care. masscare.org

masscare.org

Mass-Care – Massachusetts Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Will you be the 666th follower of this kickstarter‽ (I like that my computer autocorrects to an interrobang.) It's a really fun game!

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

A 9 pm address to the American people? How many souls of dead psykers will it take to keep him from dozing off mid rambling, racist tangent?

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

I haven’t read this article yet, but I’m assuming it’s a push for single payer healthcare, debt cancellation, and raising the minimum wage.

A screenshot of a Wall Street Journal article, titled “White House Hunts for Ways to Lower the Cost of Living”.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Is anyone going to Arcanecon in Northampton? There are a bunch of cool games I want to check out—hopefully space is still available!

A nebbish man walks to the right (his left), holding a sword in one hand and a torch in the other, trailed by a slime monster with too many eyes.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Definitely! I haven't been playing enough RPGs lately. I think I'm going to try to check out Arcane Con this year. Are you all heading down for that?

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Prince Valiant uses the coin flip pool for resolution, right? I think I've only played that one once!

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Oof… sorry for the typos in the alt text.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

It’s the Great Joust. Except one guy is definitely riding a chicken. Drawn in three parts, mostly just to make it entirely unwieldy to work on.

I knight holding a lance in one hand feeds corn to a giant chicken wearing a saddle. What nonsense is this? Is the chicken some sort of fantastic mount? Also there is a young child with a pageboy haircut holding a shield. They’re probably a page. In context that’s pretty obvious. The background is a fantasy tableau of blues and greens, with hints of warmer colors. It’s part one of a triptych.

The middle panel of a triptych. In it, two folks in medieval garb (wimples and pointy hats) are smiling. One holds a laurel, the other a golden circlet. Technically, it’s a white circlet, but only to provide more contrast against the background. They’re surrounded by three pointy dogs. Whippets, or something. I’m not a dogologist, so I kinda just went for comedic effect. In the background is a cartoonish castle of pointy spires, ramparts, and crenellation.

The third part of the triptych. A large knight holds a lance in one hard. Before them is a skinny black horse with jaunty orange decorations in its mane. It looks way too skinny. I sort of drew it as an homage to Mary Blair, so the horse is definitely less than functional. To the knight’s left is also a page holding a shield.

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Reposted by Bryant Paul Johnson

Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Nova Cromlec might be famous for its monsters, but did you know it also has thousands of miles of pristine coastlines, lovely green hills, and charming villages? And monsters. Lots of monsters. Nova Cromlec: coming soon to an inter dimensional portal near you!

Three kids dressed in modern clothing stand in from of a fantasy backdrop: a castle looming over a stepped hill. The kid on the left is stepping through a red portal. He’s dressed like a teenaged metal head, and holds a glowing skeleton key. The kid in the center is wearing a green sweater and slacks. He is holding a backpack with sword sticking out from it. The kid on the right is wearing a red hoodie. She’s holding a spear.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

I've definitely seen others that are more gothic... I'll try to remember where I saw them! (The downside of seeing things in passing on Instagram is that I can never remember the specifics.)

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

@elisabethalba.bsky.social Has several tarot decks that might fit this bill! (Including one with amazingly cute woodland critters!) www.albaillustration.com/whimsy-woods...

albaillustration.com

Whimsy Woods Tarot — Elisabeth Alba Illustration

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

If you don't go out preaching the good word, the Duolingo owl gets really sad.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Proselytizing is gamefied empathy. (Sorry, I was just thinking about that so-called Christian dude railing against empathy.)

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Wow, thank you! I hope to do more comic stuff in the future. I'll try my hardest to not draw all the hidden details. Also, I saw that my friend Matt did one of the variant covers for your Ghostbusters comic! (I met him a million years ago when he was a docent at the Words and Pictures Museum.)

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

That what I should do, but never actually seem to. Most of my stuff these days is just illustration, so I almost always prioritize the art. I've let my comics skills atrophy!

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

My favorite thing to do is edit the text so that the word balloons don't cover that perfect hand that came out exactly how I wanted it to.

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Bryant Paul Johnson @bryantpauljohnson.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

Adobe asked me to fill out a survey on AI tools. I’d urge any graphic artists to make it clear that AI tools are bad for everyone. They’re bad for artists who lose revenue. They’re bad for clients who want images that effectively communicate. And they train an audience to expect visual garbage.

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