Dapper gents and sinister gals from the magnificent Paul X Johnson

Date
25 June 2012

As far as I can tell there are three seriously great things about Paul X Johnson. Number one, he lives by the sea (the ocean’s great people). Number two, his middle initial is X. Number three, he’s a Bladerunner fan and his portrait of famously-stunning android Rachael is about one of the finest pieces of fan-art I’ve laid eyes on. Add to that a portfolio of consistently stunning work (ok so technically that’s four things) and you’re on to a total winner of an illustrator.

Working in gouache and ink in a style deeply evocative of 1950s poster art, Paul has created a world full of questionable characters inhabiting an ambiguous age in which murderous heroines masquerade as men, war widows begin to peel away with their wallpaper and moustachioed gents recline on the beach to watch cruise ships sink with nothing but their best gal and their pet panther by their side. Awesome stuff.

Did I mention his middle initial is X…

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Paul X Johnson Rachael

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Paul X Johnson Time Flies

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Paul X Johnson Maneater

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Paul X Johnson Humans are Such Easy Prey

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Paul X Johnson Mugshot

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Paul X Johnson Scratching the Surface

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Paul X Johnson Portrait of Sarah Battaglia

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About the Author

James Cartwright

James started out as an intern in 2011 and came back in summer of 2012 to work online and latterly as Print Editor, before leaving in May 2015.

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