Joseph Michael Linsner

Creator, writer, and artist of Dawn Joe Linsner has led a career virtually unparalleled in the comics industry today. Joe's work as co-founder of Cry For Dawn Productions in 1989 made a tremendous impact on horror comics and the direction of self-publishing in the '90s. In 1993, Joe played an instrumental part in helping to found Sirius Entertainment, Inc., where he currently acts as Art Director for the publisher's ever-growing line of creator-owned titles. When his first issue of Dawn was released in 1995, it topped the charts at number five, beating out fan-favorite titles from some of the biggest publishers in the industry, including DC, Marvel and Image. Since then, Joe has collaborated with Randy Bowen on the first Dawn statue and with Fewture Models on the 10th Anniversary Dawn Statue, worked with McFarlane Toys to create the Dawn action figure, and is currently finishing up his second Dawn mini-series, Dawn: Return of the Goddess.

QUOTE BY JOE LINSNER FROM "THE PORTABLE DAWN"

"Dawn" is my introspective exploration of the feminie angelic sensual Goddess principle. Through one rediculous twist of fate or another, I have been given the rare privilege of chasing my dreams on the printed page. For as long as I can remember, I've been transfixed, bewitched and haunted by the ideal of feminine beauty. I am a heterosexual male and like most guys, I enjoy looking at pretty women. But for me, it's always gone so much deeper than simple lust. I have very clear memories of being four years old and having my senses set afire by an array of images as diverse as Ann-Margrock on the Flintstones to the Vargas girls in my father's Playboys. At that point in my life, I had absolutely no idea what "sex" was, but knew that I worshipped women. Sneaking a peek at the luscious ladies in the aformentioned Playboys, I didn't realize that the imagery was suppose to lead to something else, to sexual thoughts. I thought the supreme encounter with a member of the opposite sex would simply involve admiring her beauty.

Naturally, my horizons broadened once puberty hit. It might seem absurd to some people that I take this as seriously as I do, but my art is my religion. I worship at the altar of my draftsman table.

I personally feel the world would be a better place if everyone took a fresh look at their lives with an open mind, and on a blank page crafted their own mythologies from what they have experienced. Dawn and her accompanying mythos is very much a reflection of my own life experiences. I have seen things, and this is how I define them in terms that make sense to me. This is my gallery of sacred symbols.

Dawn has gone through many changes, just as I have. My bond with her has waxed and waned, but I know that for as long as I am able to connect to that facet of the Goddess within me, I will continue producing Dawnwork.

JOSEPH MICHAEL LINSNER, MAY 2000

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