Jo Chen (; born July 4, 1976) is an American

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

artist and writer best known for her highly detailed painted comic book covers. In the Japanese comic industry she is also known by the pen name TogaQ and is known as Jun Togai ("Togai Jun" 咎井淳).

Early life

Chen was born in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in late 1994.

Career

Working professionally in the Asian comic book industry since age fourteen, she began her career in the U.S. comic book industry with her art work for the Racer X mini-series, part of the

Speed Racer ''Speed Racer'', also known as , is a Japanese media franchise about Auto racing, automobile racing. ''Mach GoGoGo'' was originally serialized in print in Shueisha's 1966 ''Shōnen Book''. It was released in tankōbon book form by Sun W ...

series published by Wildstorm/DC Comics in 2000. She established herself producing interiors and covers for titles including '' Darkminds: Macropolis'', '' Battle of the Planets'', ''

Robotech ''Robotech'' is a science fiction franchise that began with an 85-episode anime television series produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production and first released in the United States in 1985. The show was adapted from ...

'', '' Fight For Tomorrow'', '' Taskmaster'', '' The Demon'', ''

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

'', and '' (Batman &) Robin''. Currently she is most well known to American comic readers as the cover artist of '' Runaways'', and Joss Whedon's '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 ''and the current ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine'' is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics from 2011 to 2013. It is the sequel to the '' Season Eight'' comic book series, a canonical continuation of the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...

'' comics published by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops know ...

. She will also participate on the Whedon-Dark Horse ''

Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

'' book. In other media, Chen has also produced packaging artwork for Microsoft's popular ''

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

'' ''

Fable Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that illustrat ...

'', '' Fable: The Lost Chapters'', '' Fable II'' and ''

Fable III ''Fable III'' is a 2010 action role-playing open world video game, developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The third game in the ''Fable'' series, the story focuses on th ...

'' RPGs, and done covers for PlayStation Magazine (a Final Fantasy cover for the January 2002 issue and a Tomb Raider cover for the February 2003 issue). Under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

TogaQ, she and author Kichiku Neko (aka, Narcissus) created the

yaoi ''Yaoi'' (; ja, やおい ), also known by the '' wasei-eigo'' construction and its abbreviation , is a genre of fictional media originating in Japan that features homoerotic relationships between male characters. It is typically created ...

doujinshi , also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of ''doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created by ...

-turned manga series, ''In These Words''. The title was eventually picked up by Japanese publisher,

Libre Publishing , formerly known as from 2006 to 2016, is a Japanese publishing company owned by Animate. Libre primarily publishes ''yaoi'' and teens' love manga and light novels, which are run in their magazines ''Magazine Be × Boy'' and ''Be × Boy Gold'' ...

and serialized in the

comic anthology, ''Be x Boy Gold''. She is the younger sister of artist Christina Chen, and lives with her family outside of Washington, D.C.

Bibliography

Interior work

* '' Racer X'' #1-3 (DC/Wildstorm, 2000). 3-issue miniseries. * '' Darkminds: Macropolis'' #1-4 ( Dreamwave, 2002). By Jo Chen and Christina Chen. * ''

: Love and War'' (DC/Wildstorm, 2003). Jo Chen drew "Little White Dragon", a back-up story included in every issue of the miniseries. Also drew a cover for the back-up story of #6. * '' Battle of the Planets / Witchblade'' ( Top Cow). Jo Chen assists her sister Christina Chen in the pencils of this one-shot crossover. Talking about the series in ''The Pulse'' in 2002, she said "Christina is the lead artist and I am only assisting with some minor peripheral characters that pop up in a panel crowd scene." * '' The Other Side of the Mirror'' volumes 1 & 2 (TokyoPop (English version), JPOP (Italian version), 2007–2008) * '' Speed Racer & Racer X: The Origins Collection'' trade paperback collection of DC/Wildstorm series (IDW Publishing, 2008) * ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight'' is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics from 2007 to 2011. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', and follows the events of that ...

: Always Darkest'' (Dark Horse Presents, Dark Horse 2009) * '' In These Words'' volumes 1 and 2 (Digital Media: 801 Media (English version), Libre Publishing (Japanese version), TokyoPop (German version), Taifu Comics (French version), ImageFrame (Korean version), Guilt Pleasure (Chinese version), HongSamut (Thai version) by Jo Chen (TogaQ) and Kichiku Neko. * '' Cruel to be Kind'' Guilt Pleasure (Chinese and English versions) by Jo Chen (TogaQ) and Kichiku Neko 2010. * ''Father Figure'' Guilt Pleasure (Chinese and English versions), Libre Publishing (Japanese version), ImageFrame (Korean version) by Jo Chen (TogaQ) and Kichiku Neko 2010 - 2014. * ''Maybe Someday'' Guilt Pleasure (Chinese and English versions), Libre Publishing (Japanese version), ImageFrame (Korean version) by Jo Chen (TogaQ) and Kichiku Neko 2015.

Cover work

* '' Speed Racer Presents: Racer X: #1'' (DC/Wildstorm, 2000). * '' Darkminds Macropolis: #1-#5'' (Image and Dreamwave Productions, 2001-2003). * '' Warlands: The Age of Ice: #2'' (Dreamwave Productions, 2001). * '' Battle of the Planets: Battle Book'': #1 (Top Cow, 2002). * '' Darkminds Macropolis: trade paperback'' (Dreamwave Productions, 2003). * '' The Demon: Driven out'' #1 (DC Comics, 2003). The cover of the #2 of this miniseries was drawn by her sister, Christina Chen. * '' Fight for Tomorrow'' #5 (DC/Vertigo) * '' Robin'' #115-117,119-120 (DC Comics) * '' The Taskmaster'' #2 of mini-series (Marvel, 2002). * '' Runaways'' Vol. 1 #1-6, 8-10, 13-18 (Marvel, 2003–2004) & Runaways Vol.2 #1-6, 9-10 & 19-30 (Marvel, 2005–2008). * '' World Mythology: An Anthology of the Great Myths and Epics (third edition)'' (NTC Publishing Group, 2004) * '' Thor: Son of Asgard'' #7-12 (Marvel, 2004–2005) * ''

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 ...

''. Jo Chen has done several covers for the "power foil" variant covers of the Street Fighter comic-book series produced by the

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 ...

studios. Some of these covers were also used in some Street Fighter merchandising (at least in prints and control pads). * '' Serenity: Those Left Behind'' #2 - Kaylee (Dark Horse, 2005). * '' Eva: Daughter of the Dragon'' (Dynamite Entertainment, 2007). * ''

'' #1-10, 16-30 (Dark Horse, 2006-2010). * '' Serenity: Better Days'' trade paperback edition (Dark Horse, 2008). * '' Rex Mundi (Dark Horse Comics)'' #16 (Dark Horse, 2009). * ''

Incarnate Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...

'' #1-3 (Radical Publishing, 2009-2010). * '' Darkstalkers Tribute'' hard and trade paperback covers (UDON Entertainment, 2009). * '' Star Wars: Invasion'' #1-6 (Dark Horse, 2009-2010). * '' Roaming Cadenza (A Bard's Folktale)'' Kindle edition (Aramis Barron, 2010). * '' Serenity: Float Out'' one-shot (Dark Horse, 2010). * '' Serenity: Better Days'' hard cover edition (Dark Horse, 2011). * '' From the Pages of Hellboy: B.P.R.D. The Dead Remembered'' #1-4 (Dark Horse, 2011). * '' Samurai's Blood'' #1-6 (Benaroya Publishing - Image, 2011). * '' Kull: The Cat and the Skull'' #1-4 (Dark Horse, 2011). * ''

'' #1 (Dark Horse, 2011). * ''

Angel and Faith ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine'' is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics from 2011 to 2013. It is the sequel to the '' Season Eight'' comic book series, a canonical continuation of the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Sl ...

'' #1 (Dark Horse, 2011). * '' Superman: Grounded Vol 1 #707'' (DC Comics, 2011). * ''

Volume 1: Freefall TPB'' (Dark Horse, 2012). * ''

Volume 2: On Your Own TPB'' (Dark Horse, 2012). * ''

Volume 3: Guarded TPB'' (Dark Horse, 2013). * ''

Volume 4: Welcome to the Team TPB'' (Dark Horse, 2013). * ''

: Spike—A Dark Place TPB'' (Dark Horse, 2013). * ''

Volume 5: The Core TPB'' (Dark Horse, 2014).

References

External links

* *
Jo Chen
at

deviantART DeviantArt (historically stylized as deviantART) is an American online art community that features artwork, videography and photography, launched on August 7, 2000 by Angelo Sotira, Scott Jarkoff, and Matthew Stephens among others. DeviantArt, ...

Preview
of the ''Robotech: Love and War'' miniseries, with several pages of the back up stories drawn by Jo Chen.

- NY Magazine previews Jo's short story from TokyoPop's release of '' The Other Side of the Mirror''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Jo 1976 births American female comics artists American comics writers American people of Taiwanese descent American women artists of Chinese descent Living people Female comics writers Artists from Taipei Women manga artists 21st-century American women