Joshua Middleton (sometimes credited as Josh Middleton) is an artist and designer working in the animation, film, comics, and book industries. In 2004 he was nominated for an

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

as "Best Cover Artist" for his work on

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

's '' NYX'', ''

X-Men Unlimited ''X-Men Unlimited'' was the title of three comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The purpose of this title was to run stories that fit between the main X-Men comics. The stories included all characters (heroes and villains) from the X-tit ...

'', and ''

New Mutants The New Mutants are a group of fictional mutant superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, generally in association with the X-Men. Originally depicted as the teenaged junior class at the Xavier Institute, subs ...

''.

Career

Middleton started his career as a comic book artist in 2000 as penciler for

CrossGen Cross Generation Entertainment or CrossGen was an American comic book publisher and entertainment company that operated from 1998 to 2004. The company's assets were acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2004, and designated to Disney Publishing ...

's ''

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

'', written by

Barbara Kesel Barbara Randall Kesel (born October 2, 1960) is an American writer and editor of comic books. Her bibliography includes work for Crossgen, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, and Marvel Comics. Biography Barbara Kesel init ...

. After that, he joined a small independent British publisher,

Com.x Com.x is a British comic publishing company. History 2000–2002 Com.x was founded in 2000 by Eddie Deighton, Russell Uttley and Neil Googe. Deighton later described how the group came together in 1999: The company published a number of ti ...

, planning to release there his

creator-owned In the United States, creator ownership in comics is an arrangement in which the comic book creator retains full ownership of the material, regardless of whether the work is self-published or published by a corporate publisher. In some fields of ...

series ''

Sky Between Branches The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In th ...

'', but only did a preview issue in early 2002, along with some other work for the publisher. After contributing covers and short stories to

's ''

'' series beginning in late 2002, he signed an exclusive contract in 2003, and created '' NYX'' with

Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books ...

as writer, but left the title after four issues in 2004 when his contract ran out. Following his stint at Marvel he signed exclusively with

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

in 2004. His first DC series was '' Superman/Shazam: First Thunder'', a miniseries that launched in September 2005. Along with illustrating some short stories and single issues, Middleton also served as regular cover artist for the

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

series '' American Virgin'' and DC Comics' ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

'' ongoing series. Middleton worked as one of the conceptual artists on the 2005 science fiction film '' Serenity''. Since then he has been working as an artist for

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 1 ...

. Middleton began working for WB Animation in October 2009 as a character designer, but was quickly promoted to be an art director for the '' Green Lantern: The Animated Series'', where he has worked hand-in-hand with

Bruce Timm Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, and producer. He has contributed to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) and the subseque ...

to carve out the look and feel of the first Warner Brothers' CG television series. In addition to his comic book work, Joshua Middleton has illustrated book covers for several major publishers, including Scholastic,

Abrams Abrams may refer to: * Abrams (surname), a list of notable people with the surname * '' Abrams v. United States'', 250 U.S. 616 (1919), U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding free speech during times of war * M1 Abrams, main battle tank * Abrams, W ...

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

Tor Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor River, Western New Guinea, Indonesia Sc ...

, and

Disney Press Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW), formerly known as The Disney Publishing Group and Buena Vista Publishing Group, is the publishing subsidiary of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Its imprints inclu ...

. Middleton has also served as a conceptual artist/illustrator for feature films produced by

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...

Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, ac ...

, and

Sony Pictures Animation Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio's films are distributed worldwide by So ...

. In late 2010, Middleton decided to leave animation and return to his work in comics. Middleton has been the cover artist for the ''

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). The character is a pastiche of Namor. Initially ...

'' and ''

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. Although the character Betty Kane was introduced into publication in ...

'' series for DC Comics. He drew the 1980s variant cover for ''Action Comics'' #1000 (June 2018).

Bibliography

*''

'' #1–6 (with

, 2000) *''

Primal Primal may refer to: Psychotherapy * ''Primal'', the core concept in primal therapy, denotes the full reliving and cathartic release of an early traumatic experience * Primal scene (in psychoanalysis), refers to the witnessing by a young child of ...

'' #nn (with Russell Uttley and

Ben Oliver Ben Oliver is a British comics artist who has worked for '' 2000 AD'' on ''Judge Dredd'' as well as providing art for '' The Authority'', '' The Losers'', and ''Ultimate X-Men'' Biography Ben Oliver lives in Bristol, his first professional wor ...

, 2002) *''

'' (

): ** "Sacrificial Worlds" (with

Kaare Andrews Kaare Andrews is a comic book writer, artist and filmmaker from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. His work includes '' Spider-Man'', '' Iron Fist'', '' Renato Jones'', and '' Incredible Hulk''. Andrews has a diverse drawing style, which ranges from hyper ...

, in #37, 2002) ** "Fear" (with

Nunzio DeFilippis Nunzio DeFilippis is an American writer of comic books and television. He writes with his wife, Christina Weir, whom he met while they were both students at Vassar College. The two have written for two seasons on HBO's '' Arli$$'', and have sold ...

and Christina Weir, in #42, 2003) *''

'' #0 (script and art, Com.x, 2002) *'' NYX'' #1–4 (with

, Marvel, 2003–2004) *''

Street Fighter , commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...

'' #11 (with Ken Siu-Chong,

UDON Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...

, 2004) *'' Wildstorm Winter Special'': "The Survivor" (with Bruce Jones, one-shot,

Wildstorm Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wilds ...

, 2004) *'' Superman/Shazam: First Thunder'' (with

Judd Winick Judd Winick (born February 12, 1970) is an American cartoonist, comic book writer and screenwriter, as well as a former reality television personality. He first gained fame for his stint on MTV's ''The Real World: San Francisco'' in 1994, before f ...

, 2005–2006) *''

Fables Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular moral ...

'' #53: "Porky Pine Pie" (with

Bill Willingham William Willingham (born 1956) is an American writer and artist of comics, known for his work on the series ''Elementals (Comico Comics), Elementals'' and ''Fables (comics), Fables''. Career William Willingham was born in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. ...

, 2007) *'' Outsiders: Five of a Kind: Metamorpho/Aquaman'': "Rogue Elements" (with

Tony Bedard Antony J. L. Bedard is an American writer and editor who has worked in the comic book industry from the early 1990s through the present. He is best known for his work at CrossGen Comics, where he was under exclusive contract, and for his run writi ...

and

G. Willow Wilson Gwendolyn Willow Wilson (born August 31, 1982) is an American comics writer, prose author, and essayist. Her best-known prose works include the novels ''Alif the Unseen'' and '' The Bird King''. She is most well known for relaunching the '' Ms. Ma ...

, one-shot, DC Comics, 2007) *''

Convergence Convergence may refer to: Arts and media Literature *''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen *Convergence (comics), "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics: **A four-part crossover storyline that ...

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

'' #1–2 (with

Larry Hama Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an People of the United States, American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s. During the 1970s, he was seen in minor role ...

, miniseries, DC Comics, 2015)

Covers only

*''

'' #40, 47, 49 (

, 2003) *''

'' #1–6 (Marvel, 2003) *'' Runaways'' #11–12 (Marvel, 2004) *'' NYX'' #5–7 (Marvel, 2004–2005) *'' Majestic'' #1 (

, 2005) *'' Serenity'' #3 (

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

, 2005) *'' Gotham Central'' #36 (

, 2006) *'' American Virgin'' #4–14 (

, 2006–2007) *''

All-Flash ''All-Flash'', originally published as ''All-Flash Quarterly'', was a comic book magazine series published by All-American Publications and later National Periodicals (DC Comics) featuring superhero Jay Garrick, the original Flash. The series was ...

'' vol. 2 #1 (DC Comics, 2007) *'' JLA: Classified'' #50–54 (DC Comics, 2008) *''

'' #34, 36–43, 45–51 (DC Comics, 2008–2009) *'' Vixen: Return of the Lion'' #1–5 (DC Comics, 2009) *''

The War that Time Forgot ''The War that Time Forgot'' was a comic book feature published by DC Comics beginning in 1960 in the title ''Star Spangled War Stories'', created by Robert Kanigher, Ross Andru and Mike Esposito. It ran for eight years, ending in 1968 and return ...

'' #8 (DC Comics, 2009) *''

'' vol. 3 #30 (DC Comics, 2009) *''Wonder Woman'' #611, 614 (DC Comics, 2011) *''

Green Arrow Green Arrow is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Mort Weisinger and designed by George Papp, he first appeared in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 in November 1941. His secret identity, real name is Olive ...

'' vol. 5 #13–14 (DC Comics, 2011) *''

'' vol. 8 #1-present (DC Comics, 2016–present) * ''Action Comics'' #1000 (DC Comics, 2018)

References

External links

*
Joshua Middleton's Blog
*
Joshua Middleton
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics

at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators {{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Joshua American comics artists American conceptual artists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)