Lemire was born and raised in Woodslee, Ontario inEssex County, nearLake St. Clair.[6] Lemire attended film school, but decided to pursue comics when he realized that filmmaking did not suit his solitary personality.[7]
Lemire serialized a science-fiction strip calledFortress in the quarterlyUR Magazine.
In 2006 Lemire's work was included in an international symposium gathering artists, scholars, curators, publishers, librarians, critics, and writers at theBanff Centre. Lemire's work was part of the "Comic Craze" exhibit, which showcased Canadian comics and narrative fiction.[1]
In June 2011 it was announced that visual effects artist John Dykstra will direct an adaptation ofEssex County entitledSuper Zero.[8]
2012 saw the publication of a new graphic novel from Top Shelf calledThe Underwater Welder, which was released to critical acclaim.[9][10][11]
In December 2015, it was announced that First Generation Films had optioned the rights toEssex County to develop the graphic novel as a television series from Canada's CBC.[12] Aaron Martin was set as writer and showrunner, as well as executive producing with Lemire.[13]
In October 2020, Lemire revealed that the show will commence filming in 2022 as a six-episode mini-series with himself serving as writer, showrunner, and producer.[14] The series,Essex County, premiered on March 19, 2023, onCBC Television.
Lemire wrote and illustrated the full-colour Vertigo seriesSweet Tooth, published September 2009 to January 2013.[15][16]
In May 2020, Netflix confirmed the release of the movie adaptation ofSweet Tooth as a series of eight episodes. Susan and Robert Downey Jr. take part in the project through their own production company Team Downey. While on set during the filming of the pilot in New Zealand, Lemire was hit with an inspiration for how to revisit the world ofSweet Tooth in comics, which led to the 2020 six-issue miniseriesSweet Tooth: The Return.[17][18]
Further into the launch of The New 52 Lemire took over the writing duties onJustice League Dark with issue #9, while leaving Frankenstein: Agent of S.H.A.D.E. to newcomerMatt Kindt.[27][28] He continued to writeAnimal Man into 2012, including teaming up withSwamp Thing writerScott Snyder for a crossover between the two books called "Rotworld."[29][30] In February 2013, Lemire replacedAnn Nocenti as the writer ofGreen Arrow. His work on the title, which had not been well-received under previous writers, was widely praised by critics and fans, and lasted until September 2014.
Lemire wroteTeen Titans: Earth One, an original graphic novel with art byTerry andRachel Dodson published by DC Comics in November 2014.[36][37] As part of DC'sEarth One line,Teen Titans: Earth One takes place in an alternate continuity-free universe that re-imagines DC's characters.[38]
After his exclusivity contract with DC came to an end, Lemire began working with other publishers.[39] At the 2014New York Comic Con, it was announced that Lemire would be writingAll-New Hawkeye, his firstMarvel Comics title, with artist Ramón Pérez, which began in March 2015, a follow-up to Matt Fraction's and David Aja's acclaimed run.[40] The series ran for five issues until September 2015 before being relaunched as part of All-New All-Different Marvel.
Bleedingcool reported in April 2015 that Lemire had signed an exclusivity contract with Marvel, which excluded his creator-owned work with Image and Dark Horse Comics, as well as his work with Valiant Entertainment.[41]
In June 2015, Lemire was announced as a writer for three titles in theAll-New, All-Different Marvel branding:All-NewHawkeye, with artist Ramón Pérez,Extraordinary X-Men, with artist Humberto Ramos, andOld Man Logan, with artist Andrea Sorrentino.[42] Three months later, it was announced he would pen the relaunchedMoon Knight title, with artist Greg Smallwood.[43] His work on the character served as inspiration for the 2022Disney+television series adaptation.[44] Series directorsAaron Moorhead andJustin Benson said of the Lemire/Smallwood run's influence:
“When we got together [...] and we cracked open that run in particular, that was when the visuals of the show really crystallized for us [...] The highly formal composition, the bright colors — there’s actually a sense of match cutting, so it even informed our editing a little bit. The blending of realities and all of that, that was a big, big part of it. That’s why we just obsessed over that run.”
— Aaron Moorhead
“There’s obviously a pretty big focus on human emotion in that run in ways that are not kinetic on the page [...] That’s why we respected it even more. It’s so hard to just have two people in a panel just having an emotional moment, but that was obviously a big inspiration for the show.”
— Justin Benson
Extraordinary X-Men, billed as the flagship X-Men title, features a team led by Storm, deals with the fallout of the Terrigen Mist, and launched in November 2015.[45][46]All-New Hawkeye debuted in November 2015, continuing with the story-line established in Lemire's and Pérez's previous run on the title.[47]Old Man Logan launched in January 2016, and features a future version ofWolverine.[48]
In December 2014, Lemire launchedThe Valiant, a four-issue limited series, featuring characters from all over the Valiant line, co-written withMatt Kindt with art byPaolo Rivera.[49] His first work forValiant Comics, the series sets the stage for the Valiant Universe moving forward.[50]
Spinning out ofThe Valiant, Lemire began writing the ongoing seriesBloodshot Reborn alongside artist Mico Suayan, with the first issue being released in April 2015.[51] The series features Bloodshot, a character Lemire approached by distilling the issues he had him and twisting the prototypical action hero into a more emotionally-driven story.[52] The second story arc, starting with issue 6 in September, featured art by Butch Guice.[53] The third arc, debuting with issue 10 in January 2016, began publishing in the Valiant Prestige format, with art by Lewis LaRosa.[54]
In March 2015, Lemire launchedDescender, a creator-owned science fiction series with art byDustin Nguyen, from Image Comics.[55] Announced on San Diego Comic-Con 2014, the ongoing series follows a robot named Tim-21 through his adventures in space.[56][57] The series is Lemire's first creator-owned ongoing series not illustrated by himself.[58]Descender ran thirty-two issues from March 2015 to July 2018. A sequel series,Ascender, set ten years after the original series, launched April 2019.[59]
In January 2015, Sony Pictures acquired the movie rights toDescender after a competitive bidding war.[60] Josh Bratman is producing, with Lemire and Nguyen serving as executive producers.[61] Jesse Wigutow, writer of theTron: Legacy sequel, was announced as the screenwriter adaptingDescender in February 2016.[62]
In July 2014, Dark Horse Comics announced a new creator-owned superhero series written by Lemire with art by Dean Ormston, titledBlack Hammer, set to be released in March 2015.[63] However, in April 2015 Lemire stated that the series had been delayed indefinitely due to a cerebral hemorrhage suffered by Ormston.[64] In February 2016 it was announced that the series would be launching on July of that same year.[65][66] In 2017 it won the Eisner award for Best New Series.[67]
In 2017, Jeff Lemire launchedThe World of Black Hammer, a series ofBlack Hammer spinoff titles.[68]
In 2018, the title was optioned as a "multiplatform franchise" byLegendary Entertainment, with television and film adaptations in the works.[69]
Plutona, a five-issue limited series from Image Comics co-written with artist Emi Lenox, was released in September 2015 to critical acclaim.[70][71] Announced at Image Expo 2015, the series follows a group of kids who find the body of a dead superhero in the woods, and features colors byJordie Bellaire.[72] Lemire will be drawing backup stories featuring the last adventures of Plutona.[73]
In September 2013,Simon & Schuster acquired world rights to Lemire's newest graphic novel,Roughneck, for publication in 2016.[74] The graphic novel, which Lemire wrote, illustrated, and painted, follows a former hockey player's slide into depression as interrupted by the arrival of his sister, and was scheduled to be published in October 2016.[75][76] Comparing the project toEssexCounty, a book that found success in the mainstream literary world, Lemire stated that he chose Simon & Schuster because he wanted to find a publisher that would treatRoughneck as a novel instead of a comic, with his goal being finding success outside of the direct market.[76]
AD: After Death, a graphic novel written byScott Snyder and illustrated by Lemire, was announced at Image Expo 2015 for release on November of that same year.[77]
In March 2017, Lemire released a new ongoing series titledRoyal City throughImage Comics. He is the sole writer and illustrator. The series follows Royal City resident the Pike family, who live with the ghost of the young Tommy Pike, who "is quite literally haunting them all still and holding them all back."[79] Lemire originally intended the series to be much longer. He later said of the series' premature ending:
Of all the books I have done, this one feels like a failure of sorts. I had huge ambitions for theRoyal City series. I wanted it to be a place where I could tell all sorts of stories and a place that I could return to throughout my career, and check in on the characters at different points in their lives. But the truth is, the schedule of trying to write, draw and watercolor paint a monthly comic myself, while also writing all my other series for other artists, was just too much. I can do a lot, but doing that really pushed me to exhaustion and I had to wrap upRoyal City sooner than I wanted just to keep my sanity.[80]
Royal City is set to continue in Fall 2023.[81][82]
In October 2019,TKO Studios releasedSentient as both a six-issueminiseries and anoriginal graphic novel. Written by Jeff Lemire with art by Gabriel Hernández Walta,Sentient was nominated for theEisner Award for Best Limited Series in 2020.[83]
On February 16, 2021, writer Jeff Lemire and artistJock'sSnow Angels launched as acomiXology Original.[85] It is a ten-issuelimited series divided into two miniseries of four and six issues respectively. Additionally, a prose short story written by Lemire was released on Amazon's Kindle and Audible to tie in with the comic's release.[86] The series was republished in trade paperback form by Dark Horse Comics in 2022.[87] The series won the Best Digital Comic Eisner Award in 2022.[88]
Lemire originally announced this series in his newsletter,Tales from the Farm, in January 2021 before the official announcement the following June.[89][90] It is a five-issue monthly miniseries, published by Dark Horse Comics. Written and drawn by Lemire, the story follows a man looking for his daughter ten years after she originally went missing. The first issue was published September 8, 2021.
In early September 2021, Lemire announced hisTales from the Farm email newsletter would be moving toSubstack, where he would be serializing a new story,Fishflies.[91] It began September 10, with Lemire projecting the series to run about five hundred pages, with each update being around five pages long.[92]
In addition to theWorld of Black Hammer stories published with Dark Horse Comics, Lemire will be debuting new stories through hisTales from the Farm newsletter. Several are already in the works.[91]
This was initially announced as collaboration with illustrator Andrea Sorentino codenamed "Project Bark".[93] It was published as a six-issue miniseries by Image Comics beginning on September 15, 2021.[94]
In hisTales from the Farm newsletter, Lemire has said he and Sorrentino are already at work on their next project afterPrimordial, teasing an announcement to coming in the Fall of 2021. Lemire claimed it will be "the most ambitious thing he and I have done together."[95] In November 2021, Lemire announced the project asThe Bone Orchard Mythos, a "shared horror universe of interconnected stories taking place across multiple books and in different formats" from him and Sorrentino at Image Comics. The first three books will be a graphic novel in June 2022 calledThe Passageway, a mini-series in Fall 2022 calledTen Thousand Black Feathers, and another hardcover graphic novel in mid-2023 calledTenement, with aFree Comic Book Day prelude issue debuting in May 2022.[96]
In May 2020, Jeff Lemire and Matt Kindt announced the opening of aKickstarter crowdfunding campaign for a graphic novel entitledCosmic Detective, for which they will be writers with David Rubín on board as artist.[97] The book was completed in November 2021, with the digital edition releasing in December 2021 and the physical edition was released in summer of 2022.
Lemire announced plans to re-team withDescender andAscender illustratorDustin Nguyen for a project initially known under the working title ofProject Pavement.[98][95] The project's name was eventually revealed to beLittle Monsters, an ongoing series at Image Comics, and the first issue came out in March 2022.[99]
Originally announced under the codenames "Project Jackknife" and "Project Headlights,"Phantom Road is a collaboration with artist and co-creator Gabriel Hernández Walta, coloristJordie Bellaire, and letterer Steve Wands, which Lemire calls "ambitious" and a "longer story" with at least three different story arcs,[93] currently planned for a November 2022 release.[95]Phantom Road was formally announced December 22, 2022, as an ongoing horror series described by the publisher as "Mad Max: Fury Road meetsThe Sandman", which will follow Birdie, a young woman from a car crash, and Dom, a truck driver, on a nightmarish road trip. Lemire said he wanted to do something with the scope ofPreacher,The Sandman andThe Walking Dead.[100]
Lemire has also been nominated for anIgnatz, a Harvey, and multiple other Eisner Awards (most recently forBarbalien: Red Planet by Dark Horse).[106]
In 2011Essex County was selected as one of five titles forCanada Reads, with the theme of "The Essential Canadian Novels of the Decade." Its celebrity champion wasSara Quin.[107]Essex County was eliminated in the first round, but later placed #1 in a "People's Choice" poll with more votes than all other books combined.[108]
Black Hammer – Volume 2: The Event #7–11, #13 (tpb, 176 pages, 2017,ISBN1506701981)
Black Hammer: Age of Doom #1–12 (w, withDean Ormston, April 2018 – September 2019) collected inBlack Hammer Library Edition Volume 2 (hc, 400 pages, 2020,ISBN978-1506711850)
Black Hammer – Volume 3: Age of Doom, Part One #1–5 (tpb, 136 pages, 2019,ISBN1506703895)
Black Hammer – Volume 4: Age of Doom, Part Two #6–12 (tpb, 192 pages, 2019,ISBN1506708161)
Black Hammer: Streets of Spiral (tpb, 128 pages, 2019,ISBN1506709419) collected
Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise (w, one-shot, with Emi Lenox, December 2018) collected inBlack Hammer Library Edition Volume 2 (hc, 400 pages, 2020,ISBN978-1506711850)
"Horrors to Come" (w, short story, with David Rubín inFree Comic Book Day 2019: Stranger Things / Black Hammer, May 2019)
The World of Black Hammer Encyclopedia (w, one-shot, with Tate Brombal and various artists, July 2019) collected inBlack Hammer Library Edition Volume 2 (hc, 400 pages, 2020,ISBN978-1506711850)
Black Hammer / Justice League: Hammer of Justice! #1–5 (w, limited series, with Michael Walsh, July 2019 – November 2019) collected inBlack Hammer / Justice League: Hammer of Justice! (hc, 168 pages, 2020,ISBN1506710999)
Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil #1–4 (w, limited series, with David Rubín, October 2017 – January 2018) collected withBlack Hammer #12 inSherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil (tpb, 152 pages, 2018,ISBN150670526X) andThe World of Black Hammer Library Edition Volume 1 (hc, 256 pages, 2020,ISBN978-1506719955)
Doctor Star and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows #1–4 (w, limited series, with Max Fiumara, March–June 2018) collected inDoctor Star and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows: From the World of Black Hammer (tpb, 128 pages, 2018,ISBN1506706592),Doctor Andromeda and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows: From the World of Black Hammer (tpb, 104 pages, 2021,ISBN978-1506723297), andThe World of Black Hammer Library Edition Volume 1 (hc, 256 pages, 2020,ISBN978-1506719955)
The Quantum Age #1–6 (w, limited series, with Wilfredo Torres, July 2018 – January 2019) collected inThe Quantum Age (tpb, 176 pages, 2019,ISBN1506708412) andThe World of Black Hammer Library Edition Volume 2 (hc, 296 pages, 2021,ISBN978-1506719962)
Black Hammer ’45 #1–4 (w, limited series, with Ray Fawkes andMatt Kindt, March 2019 – June 2019) collected inBlack Hammer ’45 (tpb, 120 pages, 2019,ISBN1506708501) andThe World of Black Hammer Library Edition Volume 2 (hc, 296 pages, 2021,ISBN978-1506719962)
Skulldigger + Skeleton Boy #1–6 (w, limited series, withTonci Zonjic, December 2019 – January 2021) collected inSkulldigger + Skeleton Boy (tpb, 168 pages, 2021,ISBN9781506710334) andThe World of Black Hammer Library Edition Volume 4 (hc, 288 pages, 2022,ISBN978-1506726014)
Colonel Weird: Cosmagog #1–4 (w, limited series, withTyler Crook, October 2020 – January 2021) collected inColonel Weird: Cosmagog (tpb, 112 pages, 2021,ISBN9781506715162) andThe World of Black Hammer Library Edition Volume 3 (hc, 248 pages, 2021,ISBN978-1506719979)
Barbalien: Red Planet #1–5 (w [with Tate Brombal], limited series with Gabriel Hernández Walta, November 2020 – March 2021) collected inBarbalien: Red Planet (tpb, 120 pages, 2021,ISBN9781506715803) andThe World of Black Hammer Library Edition Volume 3 (hc, 248 pages, 2021,ISBN978-1506719979)
Black Hammer: Reborn #1–12 (w, withCaitlin Yarsky, Malachi Ward, Matthew Sheean, and Rich Tomasso, June 2021 – May 2022)
Black Hammer Volume 5: Reborn Part One #1–4 (tpb, 112 pages, 2022,ISBN978-1506714264)
Black Hammer Volume 5: Reborn Part Two #5–8 (tpb, 112 pages, 2022,ISBN978-1506715155)
Black Hammer Volume 5: Reborn Part Three #9–12 (tpb, 104 pages, 2022,ISBN978-1506720159)
The Unbelievable Unteens #1–4 (w, limited series, with Tyler Crook, August 2021 – January 2021) collected inThe Unbelievable Unteens: From the World of Black Hammer Volume 1 (tpb, 128 pages, 2022,ISBN978-1506724362) andThe World of Black Hammer Library Edition Volume 4 (hc, 288 pages, 2022,ISBN978-1506726014)
The Last Days of Black Hammer (w, limited series with Stefano Simeone, 110 pages, Substack, January 2022 – ) republished by Dark Horse asThe Last Days of Black Hammer: From the World of Black Hammer (tpb, 136 pages, 2023,ISBN9781506731124)
Berserker Unbound (w, limited series, withMike Deodato, August 2019 – November 2019) collected inBerserker Unbound (hc, 136 pages, 2020,ISBN9781506713373)
Mazebook (writer/artist, limited series, September 2021 – January 2022) collected inMazebook (hc, 256 pages, 2022,ISBN9781506723662)
Snow Angels (w, 10-issue limited series, withJock,ComiXology Originals, February – November 2021) republished by Dark Horse Comics as:
Animal Man vol. 2 #0–29, Annual #1–2 (w [with Scott Snyder]/a, with Travel Foreman, John Paul Leon, Steve Pugh, Alberto Ponticelli, Timothy Green II, Francis Portela, Rafael Albuquerque, and Cully Hamner, September 2011 – March 2014)
Justice League Dark #9–23, 0, Annual #1 (w, May 2012 – August 2013) collected inJustice League Dark: The New 52 Omnibus (hc, 1648 pages, 2021,ISBN978-1779513137)
Volume 2: The Books of Magic #7–13 (tpb, 224 pages, 2013,ISBN1-4012-4024-0)
Volume 3: The Death of Magic #12–21 (tpb, 192 pages, 2014,ISBN1-4012-4245-6)
Swamp Thing #12, 17 (w [with Scott Snyder] with Marco Rudy and Andrew Belanger, October 2012 – April 2013) collected inSwamp Thing Vol. 3: Rotworld (tpb, 208 pages, 2013,ISBN978-1401242640),Swamp Thing By Scott Snyder: Deluxe Edition (hc, 512 pages, 2015,ISBN978-1401258702),Animal Man by Jeff Lemire Omnibus, and Swamp Thing: The New 52 Omnibus (hc, 1160 pages, 2021,ISBN978-1779508140)
Volume 5: The Outsiders War #25–31 (tpb, 176 pages, 2014,ISBN1-4012-5044-0)
Volume 6: Broken #32–34, Green Arrow: Future's End #1, Secret Origins #4 (tpb, 128 pages, 2015,ISBN1-4012-5474-8)
Green Arrow By Jeff Lemire & Andrea Sorrentino Deluxe Edition #17–34, 23.1: Count Vertigo, Green Arrow: Future's End #1, Secret Origins #4 (hc, 464 pages, 2016,ISBN978-1401257613)
Constantine #1–4 (w, with Ray Fawkes (w), Renato Guedes (a) & Fabiano Neves (a), March 2013 – June 2013)
Volume 1: The Spark and the Flame #1–6 (tpb, 144 pages, 2014,ISBN1-4012-4323-1)
Sweet Tooth: The Return #1–6 (w/a, limited series November 2020 – April 2021) collected inSweet Tooth: The Return (tpb, 152 pages, 2021,ISBN978-1779510327)
Dark Nights: Death Metal - The Last Stories of the DC Universe #1: "Green Lantern in "Last Knights"" (w, one-shot withRafael Albuquerque, December 2020) collected inDark Nights: Death Metal: War of the Multiverses (tpb, 176 pages, 2021,ISBN978-1779510068)
Green Arrow 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1: "The Last Green Arrow Story" (w, one-shot with Andrea Sorrentino, June 2021)
Robin & Batman #1–3 (w, Dustin Nguyen, November 2021 – January 2022) collected inRobin & Batman (tpb, 144 pages, 2022,ISBN978-1779516596)
Swamp Thing: Green Hell #1–3 (w, limited series with Doug Mahnke, December 2021 – May 2022)
Plutona #1–5 (w, withEmi Lenox, five-issue miniseries, September 2015 – January 2016) collected inPlutona (tpb, 152 pages, 2016,ISBN9781632156013)
A.D. After Death Books 1–3 (a, withScott Snyder, 3 books, November 2016 – May 2017) collected inA.D. After Death (hc, 256 pages, 2017,ISBN9781632158680)
Sentry: Man of Two Worlds #1-5 (tpb, 112 pages, 2018,ISBN1-30291-338-7)
ImmortalHulk: The Threshing Place #1 (w, one-shot, withMike Del Mundo, September 2020) collected inImmortal Hulk: Great Power (tpb, 112 pages, 2021,ISBN978-1302931179)
Sentient (December 2019) In 2020Sentient became the first title from TKO to be nominated for anEisner Award, when the series picked up a nomination for Best Limited Series.
Book of Death: The Fall of Bloodshot #1 (w, withDoug Braithwaite, July 2015) collected inBook of Death: The Fall of the Valiant Universe (tpb, 112 pages, 2016,ISBN1939346983)
4001 AD: Bloodshot #1 (w, with Doug Braithwaite, June 2016), collected in4001 A.D.: Beyond New Japan (tpb, 112 pages, 2016,ISBN1682151468)
Bloodshot U.S.A. #1–4 (w, with Doug Braithwaite, October 2016 – January 2017) collected inBloodshot U.S.A. (tpb, 112 pages, 2017,ISBN1682151956)
Divinity III: Komandar Bloodshot #1 (w, withClayton Crain, December 2016) collected inDivinity III: Heroes of the Glorious Stalinverse (tpb, 112 pages, 2017,ISBN1682152073)
Bloodshot Salvation #1–12 (September 2017 – August 2018)
Strange Adventures vol. 2 #1: "Ultra the Multi-Alien: The Life and Death of Ace Arn" (writer/artist, one-shot, May 2011) collected inStrange Adventures (tpb, 160 pages, 2014,ISBN978-1401243937)
