By and photos copyright Owen Quinn
The wonder of comics is ever expanding as we learn about the people behind the stories we open weekly/monthly.
I have a great love of Aliens so when the Coffee and Heroes comic book shop announced they had a signing with comic book writer, Phillip Kennedy Johnson to say I was excited was like saying Ripley hates facehuggers; pretty obvious.
As an Emmy nominated writer from Washington DC, Kenneth is someone I’ve never heard of and yet I was already super familiar with his work without realising. He is an accomplished musician who plays the trumpet. He has his own band and performed as a trumpet player with The U.S. Army Field Band of Washington, DC and the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and has also performed with the Moscow Ballet, Dallas Opera, Washington Symphonic Brass, and Benny Goodman Orchestra.
But as an Alien fan, I collected the Marvel Alien comic book series which together with its stunning covers was a treat to collect and read. Johnson was charged for writing it so out came my issues of Alien for signing. He also has written for Hulk Age of Monsters, Batman and Robin, Carnage, 007, Captain America, Green Lantern and Superman to name just a few.
So off I went with nearly all my Alien issues, a Batman and Robin or two, Marvel ZombIes issue 1 and Carnage Forever, a couple of which were Christmas presents.
We chatted about how he broke into the industry and his various works. He was so laid back and chatty. He was quite happy to talk with fans at length who turned up to meet him. I gained a greater appreciation of the art as a writer myself.
What I liked about Phillip is that he didn’t rush people. He looked at the cover and ensured that the right colour of pen suited that particular cover. As many Alien covers are dark, he would choose a silver pen but where black suited like Marvel Zombies and Carnage Forever, he went for that. Attention to detail like that is a glimpse into how he writes and approaches a story. You know that if something doesn’t feel right and we all know how that feels, he will take it from a different approach to make it palatable to the reader.
Hulk Age of Monsters is on my list to get and if he comes again, then I’ll be bringing the couple of issues of Alien I forgot to bring with me that day for signing.
Phillip, for me, is the epitome of how to treat people right, fans or not. I’d highly recommend his work if you haven’t seen it before or go meet him the next time he does a convention or signing. Awesome guy and a great talent.
The Time Warriors and Beyond 