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Kim Jung Gi (1975–2022), influential comic book artist

by Linnea Crowther

Kim Jung Gi was a South Korean comic book artist known for creating large drawings for live audiences.

A love for detail

Kim illustrated the comic “Tiger the Long Tail” with writer Seung-Jin Park, as well as illustrating titles including “SpyGames” and “McCurry, NYC, 9/11.” He also drew covers for Marvel Comics’ “Civil War II,” contributed artwork to the video game “League of Legends,” and published his own sketchbooks, packed with drawings. But what connected fans with Kim most deeply was his live sessions, in which he would quickly create large, intricate drawings in front of crowds at conventions and galleries. He drew from his imagination and memory without any reference material, typically creating a drawing with some components in mind but improvising large parts. Kim talked to his audiences as he worked, joking as well as illuminating what he was working on and how he did it.

Notable quote

“I’ve always drawn from memory; whether it was something I heard from people around me, or the animals I’ve seen from TV, or the scenes I saw from a movie. My drawings were always based on the things I saw or the things I heard, and it was only later that I found out that my method was different from other artists. Looking back, all the things I did for fun was actually a great training for me.” —from a 2018 interview for Visual Atelier 8

Tributes to Kim Jung Gi

RIP Kim Jung GiThis is absolutely shocking. The most supernaturaly gifted artist I’d ever seen. If you’re unfamiliar, look up a video or two and be amazed.

Posted by Joe Jusko on Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Goodbye master. Kim Jung Gi(7 February,1975- 3 October, 2022)
“[When I was in the military], I would draw in my…

Posted by Abhinandan Banerjee on Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Just heard that Kim Jung Gi has passed away at age 47. Shocked and saddened. His work will live on. Legend. ♾

Posted by John Picacio on Wednesday, October 5, 2022

No words. Thank you Kim Jung Gi for the joy of watching you draw. For the record… NO ONE in the history of the world, as…

Posted by Tom Fluharty on Wednesday, October 5, 2022

And now the unbelievably talented, generous soul, Kim Jung Gi.No words.

Posted by Bill Sienkiewicz on Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Full obituary: Los Angeles Times

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