First released in January of 2023, Hush Ronin is a samurai fantasy epic that combines the paranormal, mythological flair of books like Hellboy and B.P.R.D with the grayscale aesthetic of a classic Akira Kurosawa film. It weaves its way through myth, legend and history to follow the life and adventures of Minogawa Shoji, a young samurai turned ronin by the death of his family and the treachery of his Shogun uncle.

Issue 3, Wind and Sea, is currently in production, but issues 1 and 2, Sword and Stone and Blood and Sand are both available in my Swag Shop, over 100 pages of paranormal, mythological samurai awesomeness! Get your copies here and support me and my work directly!

In 2022, I got invited to the horror prom by none other than Matthew Wilding of Sequential Decay, who would be my museum contact on the Impassioned Destruction exhibit (still on display in Boston, BTW). Old Devils is an exciting and terrifying adventure into demonology and urban legend seen through the lens of a washed up reality TV ghost chaser turned club promoter and True Believer confined to a wheelchair after a violent encounter with the supernatural. The first issue released in early 2025 (signed copies available for purchase here) and issue 2 successfully funded on Kickstarter in late October of the same year. Production is currently underway. Enjoy this sampling of artwork from both issues!

Begun in 2011 as a series of illustrations made on an iPhone 4 (yes, you read that correctly), Astronaut Ninja has since evolved and expanded to become a major facet in the story and universe set forth by the Hush Ronin comic book series. Later launched as a webcomic in 2016, the eponymous Astronaut Ninja and his evil twin brother, Warlock Ninja are continuing their adventures through a series of illustrations made in earnest of a relaunch of the entire storyline later in 2026.

In the meantime, you can enjoy those illustrations and part of issue 2 of the original 2016 webcomic right here, and the first part still exists out there on Tapas, as well.

Purchase your copy of One True LoveTODAY in my Shop!

One True Love is a visual love letter to 1960s Los Angeles and that transitional phase between the classic film noir era, and the counter culture catalyst to neo noir. Peter & Paul, after knocking over a heist on the outskirts of Las Vegas, find themselves on the run and laying low in sunny California. Capitalizing on the success of their childhood friend, Matthew, now a B-list actor in Hollywood, the three friends just need to keep a low profile until the wave of pursuit passes them by. But, when Matthew’s daughter, Amber, enters the scene, laying low becomes a tall order for so many bruised egos confined to quarters together.

I began collaborating with writer Mario Candelaria on this project back in February 2020. Envisioned even back then as a landscape format book, I quickly cranked out 6 inked pages which were subsequently pitched and…Unilaterally failed to find a home owing to one reason or another. Fast forward to Summer 2023 when Mario and I successfully campaigned to have the book funded via Kickstarter. Shortly after funding, the proposed 80 page graphic novella was expanded by more than 25%, making it a whopping 104 page crime/romance epic.

I completed production on One True Love in early 2025. The digital version of this 111 page book is currently available in my Swag Shop, and the print edition will be arriving in backers and readers hands in early 2026.

In September 2025, I began a series of Transformers fan art pieces, the timelapse videos for which have been featured on my YouTube channel. While this is only a sampling of the more than thirty pieces completed so far, this collection comprises my favorites from the series, either for their highly kinetic composition of storytelling value. For questions, inquiries or commissions, please click here.

In addition to my work as a graphic novelist, I also create a lot of singular, more illustrative pieces. Whether it’s the cover image for a novel (or a comic), or a single image composed to convey the underlying societal/cultural/emotional complexities of the Boston Tea Party, my work tends to cover a broad range of historical, emotional and genre contexts. As a strident proponent for the power of composition to activate all aspects of an image and convey intentionality and design sensitivity, I am always ready to leap at the challenges presented by telling a complete story with a single image. —JS

Begun as a prose novel in 2004, Meatwater is a labor of love that has been in a constant state of evolution for more than 20 years. Finally, those efforts of revision and reinvention have come to a head as I prepare to launch Meatwater as a webcomic in 2025.

At once a family drama and noir crime story, Meatwater is also a composite (largely but still partially) fictional biography of three of the greatest minds in 20th century close up card magic: Ricky Jay, Perci Diaconis and Dai Vernon. The story follows the life and adventures of Sheldon Meatwater, a young Jewish boy growing up in Brooklyn who is one day plucked from a life of near constant torment and abuse and into a world of secrets and magic. Along the way, we meet a wonderfully expansive cast of colorful characters and events.

In Spring 2023, I was contacted by Revolutionary Spaces, the pre-eminent Boston history museum, about creating a number of illustrations for their forthcoming exhibit centered around historical instances of property damage, entitled Impassioned Destruction.

Overseen by renowned exhibit designer, Helen Riegle, with special 3D augmentation by veteran designer, Will Twombly, the project took shape very quickly. Beginning in early April 2023 and completing the last of the revisions by end of May, the final pieces went to print with the exhibit itself going live just in time for the Independence Day holiday on July 4th. Impassioned Destruction was initially slated for an 18 month run, and remained on display at the Old State House in Boston from June 2023 through December 2025.

My artwork from the Impassioned Destruction exhibit was featured in the New York Times (12/15/23) in an article commemorating the 250th Anniversary of The Boston Tea Party. Check it out HERE!

Hallowed North is a comic book mini-series/original graphic novel written by Jeremiah Espinoza, with line art and colors by J. Schiek, lettered by Matt Krotzer and edited by Leland Bjerg. It explores the troubled territory of mental illness, specifically depression, as it is manifested and personified by an anthropomorphic monster that seeks to tear down protagonist, Ben Ramos, from the inside. Ostensibly a horror story, Hallowed North is also a fantasy epic, in the grand tradition of JRR Tolkien, George RR Martin and others, with a diverse cast of characters centered around a Latinx protagonist. Issues 1 and 2 have already been released via Kickstarter, with a third to (hopefully) begin production in mid to late 2023.

UPDATE (01/26/2025): Unfortunately, with the recent allegations leveled at Mr. Gaiman, I’ve suspended work on this project indefinitely. I had paused the project through 2024 for a number of reasons, personal and professional. While I am in no position to corroborate the aforementioned allegations, this was only ever a fan art outlet to begin with and the waning reputation of Mr. Gaiman and his attendant works is such that I think it difficult for this project to find a suitable audience in the near or distant future. I stand by the quality of the work presented here, I am re-examining my own past enjoyment of Gaiman’s considerable body of work and whether my enjoyment of it is in any way enabling the prolonged suffering of others. I am leaving these up as examples of my illustrative abilities, such as they are, not as a statement of affinity or apathy for Mr. Gaiman’s alleged actions. It is disappointing, to say the least, and absolutely horrific if true. My heart goes out to those affected by these actions.

In February 2021, I began on a small personal project (sort of a palate cleanser between other larger projects) to depict the Major Arcana of the Marseilles Tarot deck with characters and events from Neil Gaiman’s wonderful Sandman comic book series. These were embarked upon as an exercise of personal enrichment and amusement, which they certainly have been, even as the project has expanded to include the entirety of the 78 card deck. I will continue to post new cards here as they develop, but in the meantime, I hope you will enjoy what I’ve made so far.

The Yankovic Theorem is a forthcoming short, written by Christian DeMatteo, with line art by J. Schiek, colors by Avanish Sathianathan and letters by Kevin Lintz. It will appear in the third volume of Fugitive Poems continuing Containment Breach anthology series. Collected here are a number of J’s finished inks for the short, which is an overt homage to 1980s wacky scifi, a la Weird Science and The Peanut Butter Solution, with a subtle nod to both Weird Al Yankovic and Frankie Yankovic, particularly for their work with the accordion.

I discovered very early on in my comic book career that, however passionate I was about my own characters and projects, critical response (and cashflow) were significantly more pronounced when I posted work of established characters and IPs. Please note that none of this posted work was done for profit, really I made it to bolster my portfolio and have some fun with some of my treasured childhood heroes and villains. I publish them here for display purposes only. However, if you have any questions about this or any of my other work, please shoot me a message. As ever, thanks for stopping by!

Together Forever began as a three page short for the HyperEpics.com webcomic platform. It was both my first professional zombie comic, and the first of what has been a career long series of partnerships with writer J. Michael Donohue (Addison Grove, Morsels). In 2024, we recombined our efforts to produce an expanded version of our original three page shot which culminated in the full length one shot, Together Forever from JMD Comics, currently available in my Swag Shop! You can also read the original three page version right here!

Together Forever One Shot

Written by. J. Michael Donohue

Line Art by. J. Schiek

Colors by. Roman Stevens

Lettering by. Justin Birch

Together Forever (Original 3 Page Short)

Written by. J. Michael Donohue

Line Art, Colors & Lettering by. J. Schiek

The Lion And The Unicorn began life, as many I’m sure will know, as a 17th century nursery rhyme about King James I of England and Scotland. What is perhaps less well known is that it was later used as an assignment by comics artist Kit Seaton in her Sequential Art class at Cal State Fullerton. I was attempting to crash that class in the Fall semester of 2018. Though I wasn’t enrolled, I considered myself on the hook to do the homework, which, in this case, included making a two page Sharpie comic that made use of The Lion And The Unicorn nursery rhyme as narration for whatever story we wanted to put down on paper. Some took the assignment more literally, and though my original idea involved a 17th century hired assassin, something else happened in my brain along the way and this other story about pugilism and racial inequality took a foothold that would not let go. It did moderately well in the homework critique, and though I ultimately wasn't able to get a spot in the class—although I would get to teach it for a day in Fall 2019—the idea stuck with me. In Summer 2019, I sat down and made the effort to make a nicer, more cleaned up version on my iPad, which I subsequently submitted to the Platform Comics Short Comic Competition. Much like the homework critique, it did moderately well. I didn’t win, but I did make it as a Finalist.

Shown here are both my cleaned up version and the original Sharpie comic that I dutifully pinned to the cork board wall in Kit’s class. It’s rare that my brain operates with such succinct clarity of purpose, but I’m glad that it did here. And if you enjoyed this piece, I’m all the more glad for it.

Copyright. 2018 J. Paul Schiek. Art and lettering completed in Procreate on iPad Pro.

One of several collaborations made with Tony Fabro (Three Panel Crimes) perpetrated in 2019. All artwork, including cover and lettering, created by J. Paul Schiek in Procreate on iPad Pro. Story and editing by Tony Fabro.

Long story here. In Spring of 2019, I was approached by a woman named Nancee who wanted to commission a piece for her dad, whose older brother was lost and presumed dead in 1944, during a fairly routine Navy training mission off the coast of Florida, out over the infamous Bermuda Triangle. Nancee’s dad, had, of course, reached an advanced age, and while there wasn't a deadline to speak of, time was very much of the essence. Well, as it happens, Nancee herself wasn’t in the best of health, and near around the time I completed this 9 panel grid chronicling my imagined version of the details (it’s a MUCH longer story than I’ve related here), her medical prognosis wasn’t…Well, it wasn't good. Like, at all. I was able to get the piece to Nancee and by Nancee to her dad, and that makes me happy inside. That’s actually them in the last panel. I wanted the reader to be able to track Nance’s dad throughout which is why he carries that slingshot in his back pocket well into adulthood. And the little girl in the plaid dress is Nance, herself; a comics, horror and Sether loving lady who never hesitated to drop the dime where a good time was on the line. I haven’t heard from her in a few months now, and the way things were going, I fear the worst. Nonetheless, it is important we remember, and everyone who reads Last Flight Of The Phoenix is complicit in an act of memory, more than seventy five years old.

Copyright 2019 J. Paul Schiek. Art and lettering completed in Procreate on iPad Pro.

Robotique: Life In The Age of Rude Mechanicals is a collection of visual development art for a graphic novel of the same title. Composed back in 2012, the illustrations both inspire and accompany a three part epic, set in the distant and contemporaneous past, as well as a grim future that is the sum total of both the former. Picture Pinocchio done in the style of Blade Runner.

The whole collection is still available for purchase in both hardcover and trade paperback. Makes a lovely conversation piece for the old coffee table. Click here for details.

Forced by the Nazis to create an invincibility serum, Dr. Jedediah Cranium bravely drinks his own untested formula to keep it out of enemy hands. The serum works, but for Jed’s subsequent decapitation, all might have been well. But since head and body were both protected by the invincibility serum, Jed’s body lives on as a headless Nazi super soldier. Transcending time and genre all at once, Jed’s adventures find him facing off against every known enemy and disaster of the latter half of the 20th century.

Created in 2004, Jed The Flying Head marks my longest running continuous creative endeavor. Since its inception it has gone from comic book to animated series back to comic book, radio drama, live action series, pretty much everything but a musical and an interpretive dance. Its current form is as a webcomic on Tapas, though admittedly, it has been a while since I’ve finished a page for output.