ONE Day Until Comic Con Revolution!

Big news! This weekend, at Comic Con Revolution in Ontario, CA, we will be doing a live podcast panel with guest Dave Johnson. The panel will be on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. in Room 200AB.

Let’s explore Dave’s biography because, if you’re unaware, he’s contributed quite a bit to the comics industry.

If you’ve picked up a comic in the last twenty-five years and thought, “Okay, wait, I need to look at this cover for a second before I open it,” there’s a decent chance you were looking at the work of Dave Johnson.

Johnson is one of those rare artists who has shaped the visual identity of modern comics without always being the loudest name on the marquee. He got his start in the industry in the late ’80s, cutting his teeth on titles like 100 Bullets (with Brian Azzarello), where his moody, design-forward covers didn’t just sell the book—they defined it. That run alone turned him into one of the most in-demand cover artists in the business.

And that’s really his lane: covers. Not as an afterthought, not as marketing wallpaper, but as a storytelling discipline all its own. Johnson approaches a cover like a graphic designer with a narrative brain; bold composition, clever symbolism, and just enough attitude to make you feel like you’re in on the joke.

Over the years, he’s worked across pretty much every major publisher—DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and beyond—bringing that same instantly recognizable style to everything from superheroes to crime to satire. His work doesn’t just represent a book; it interprets it.

Which is why, even if you don’t know his name off the top of your head, you absolutely know his work. He’s the guy who makes you stop mid-scroll, mid-shelf, mid-con floor and go, “Okay…that’s cool.”

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And then there’s his own series, Pop Kill…which feels like the moment where everything Dave Johnson has been harboring inside himself finally explodes onto the page in long-form storytelling.

Co-created with Jimmy Palmiotti, Pop Kill is a neon-soaked, hyper-stylized fever dream of a comic, set in a world where soda corporations don’t just compete…they go to war. Assassins, corporate espionage, weaponized branding—it’s capitalism with a body count, wrapped in colors so loud they practically hum.

Now, to be clear, Dave Johnson isn’t handling interiors on Pop Kill. He’s doing what he does best: setting the tone from the outside in.

But with Pop Kill, he didn’t just show up with his own covers—he basically brought the Avengers of cover artists with him.

We’re talking names like Brian Stelfreeze, Amanda Conner, J. Scott Campbell, Adam Hughes, and Brian Chiarello…which is less of a “variant cover lineup” and more of a “who’s who of artists that other artists study.”

And that doesn’t happen by accident.

That’s the kind of list you get when the person making the call is deeply respected by their peers. When other top-tier artists don’t just say yes to the project, they want to play in that sandbox. It feels less like a marketing strategy and more like a group of friends showing up for each other, each taking a swing at the same wild, candy-colored world.

The result is that Pop Kill doesn’t just have great covers; it has a conversation happening across them. Each variant feels like a different interpretation of the same chaotic universe, filtered through completely distinct artistic voices, all orbiting around Johnson’s original tone.

Which, in a way, is the most Dave Johnson thing imaginable: build the vibe so strong that everyone else wants to riff on it.

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And because this is the Superfan Podcast, where the whole point is what creators love outside of comics, Dave’s fandom pick tells you just as much about him as his work does. He’ll be diving into Fandango, the 1985 cult classic directed by Kevin Reynolds and starring a very young Kevin Costner. It’s a road trip movie about friendship, rebellion, and that strange, fleeting moment between college and “real life”—equal parts chaotic, heartfelt, and a little offbeat. Which, honestly, tracks. Come to the panel to find out why!

For more information (is there more?!) about Dave Johnson and his work, follow him on social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube.

On the Superfan Podcast, we talk to the people who make the comics you love about the things that they love... that are not comics. Season One of the Superfan Podcast is now streaming, featuring Rodney Barnes on Stephen King, Marc Guggenheim on Billy Joel, Kelly Sue DeConnick on Alan Alda, Matt Kindt on John le Carré, Marjorie Liu on gardening, and Patrick McDonnell on Frank Zappa!

Season Two of the Superfan Podcast is wrapped up! Wow, that was a quick six weeks. Jim Rugg kicked it off with his passion for wrestling. Then Maia Kobabe waxed on about K-pop! Johnnie Christmas bit deep into Midnight Mass, and Paul Pope took us back to his teenage years when he first discovered Rowland S. Howard. Last week, Erica Henderson introduced our audience to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld.

You can find us on the socials at Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook, and X! You can also listen to the podcast on our YouTube channel, as well as wherever your other favorite podcasts are found.

Special thanks to our sponsor, the amazing Fanbase Press! Fanbase Press is a GLAAD Media Award-winning and Eisner and Harvey Awards-nominated comic book publisher that celebrates super fandoms and creates new ones! #StoriesMatter.