| Don Lomax | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1944-09-14)September 14, 1944 (age 80) Illinois, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Writer, Artist,Inker |
Notable works | Vietnam Journal |
| Spouse(s) | Zenaida |
| www.lomaxcomics.com | |
Don Lomax (born 1944) is an Americancomic book writer/artist best known for his long-running comicVietnam Journal. A veteran of theVietnam War, much of Lomax's adrenaline-fueled work centers on the military experience, and its gritty, unflinching depiction of the reality of war, specifically in Vietnam.
Growing up inBushnell, Illinois, Lomax's artistic influences includedJack Davis andBerni Wrightson,[1] as well as the war comicsTwo-Fisted Tales andBlazing Combat.[2]
Drafted into theU.S. Army in the fall of 1965, Lomax did his basic training atFort Knox. In the fall of 1966, he was shipped out toVietnam on theUSS General John Pope,[2] deployed to the 98th Light Equipment Maintenance Company. During his tour of duty, Lomax made notes and sketches which later were incorporated intoVietnam Journal. According to Lomax, the War ". . . opened my eyes. Before I went into the war I trusted everybody, and when I came out I trusted nobody or the government."[2]
Lomax's first professional comics work wasAtilla the Frog forHeavy Metal magazine in 1979.[1] In the early 1980s, he published comics stories in magazines likeCavalier andHustler Humor, as well as contributing toFantagraphics'Anything Goes!. Lomax supplied art forPacific Comics'Twisted Tales, and for back-up stories inFirst Comics titles likeAmerican Flagg!,Starslayer, andThe Black Flame.
In1987, after doing some work for the fledgling publisherApple Comics, Lomax pitched Apple editorMichael Catron his proposal forVietnam Journal. Given the concurrent success of Vietnam-related films likePlatoon andFull Metal Jacket, Catron agreed to Lomax's proposal.[2] Between 1987 and 1991, Apple published 16 issues ofVietnam Journal, which then spawned a selection of limited series and one-shots.Vietnam Journal tells the fictional adventures ofwar correspondent Scott "Journal" Neithammer.
During this period, Apple also published Lomax's four-issue limited seriesHigh Shining Brass, collecting the Vietnam War stories of Robert Durand.
Vietnam Journal collections were published by Apple Comics in 1987 and 1991.[3] The publisher went bankrupt in 1994; right at that time Lomax published newVietnam Journal material in the short-livedDark Horse Comics seriesHarvey Kurtzman's The New Two-Fisted Tales.Vietnam Journal was later revived as a monthly full-page strip from 2002 to 2006 byGallery.
Vietnam Journal collections were re-issued byiBooks in 2004, and were nominated for a 2004Harvey Award for Best Domestic Reprint Project.[4] Lomax was at the time continuing theVietnam Journal series and posting it on his website in five-page increments twice a month. The entireVietnam Journal series was re-issued in graphic novel form throughTransfuzion Publishing.
Lomax'sDesert Storm Journal, published in 9 issues by Apple Comics from September 1991 to March 1993, covered theGulf War. Scott "Journal" Neithammer gets caught up in the war betweenthe Pentagon and the press, and heads off into the desert on his own, getting an unwelcome first-hand taste of the fury of American firepower. In 2004, iBooks published Lomax'sGulf War Journal, collecting material fromDesert Storm Journal.
Years later, Journal once again finds himself dealing with the war in Iraq with the launching ofOperation Iraqi Freedom.
Vietnam Journal: Series Two, featuring all-new material by Lomax, was published for 15 issues byCaliber Comics starting in 2017.
In 1992–1993, Lomax wroteMarvel Comics' Vietnam comicThe 'Nam, as well as providing inks for their comicSleepwalker,The Punisher, and others.
He has also had comics and cartoons appear in dozens of national magazines, includingEasyriders,Heavy Metal,CARtoons, various truck magazines, and numerouspornographic magazines.
His weekly comic, "Boomer Hayes" is created in collaboration with Steven Calitri ofAmerican Towman Magazine.
Some of Lomax's recent and ongoing projects includeGuard Tales, a nonfiction strip aboutNational Guard of the United States soldiers published inGX Magazine;Knights of the Road, a nonfiction strip abouttruck driver heroes, published inOverdrive Magazine;Above and Beyond, true stories oflaw enforcement personnel, published byPolice and Security News; andThe Boys in the Basement, a strip published inModel Railroading Magazine from 1998 to 2006.
Lomax lives inIllinois with his second wife Zenaida ("Zeny"). He has four children, two of whom have also served in the military.[2][5]
| Preceded by | The 'Nam writer 1992–1993 | Succeeded by N/A |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
