Luna Brothers

Luna Brothers

Joshua Luna (left) and Jonathan Luna (right) at a signing at Midtown Comics Grand Central, May 13, 2010.
Born Jonathan and Joshua Luna
(1978-12-10) December 10, 1978 (Jonathan)
(1981-01-09) January 9, 1981 (Joshua)
California
Nationality American
Area(s) Writer, artist
Notable works
 Ultra
Girls
The Sword
http://www.lunabrothers.com

Jonathan Luna (born December 10, 1978[1]) and Joshua Luna (born January 9, 1981[1]), professionally known as the Luna Brothers, are American comics artists. They have created three series together: Ultra, Girls, and The Sword, and provided art for Marvel Comics' Spider-Woman: Origin.

Although early in their career they shared both writing and art duties in their work, their collaboration evolved to the point where, after writing plots together, Joshua primarily scripts the dialogue, and Jonathan does all the art.[1]

The Lunas prefer to concentrate on female characters such as Spider-Woman, Red Sonja and their own creations, Ultra, Girls and The Sword, explaining, "Women are beautiful, smart, and strong, and we like to work on characters like that. It’s also fun to see women do amazing things like jump over buildings."[2]

Early lives

The Lunas were born in the United States to Filipino parents.[2] Their earliest interest in comics were through publications like Mad magazine, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Uncanny X-Men, and in particular, creators such as Mort Drucker, Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri and Adam Hughes.[1] In their teens they were enthusiastic fans of fellow Filipino comics creator Whilce Portacio, and his creation, Wetworks.[2]

The Lunas eventually took a hiatus from comics, and attended Savannah College of Art and Design, where they earned Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees,[2] with Jonathan graduating in 2001, and Joshua in 2003. Their interest in the medium was reignited when they noticed works such as Garth Ennis's Preacher, which inspired them to work in mature genres other than superheroes, as typified by the material published by Vertigo Comics.[1]

Career

The Luna brothers sent Ultra to Image Comics publisher Erik Larsen as a blind submission, which consisted of a synopsis and five-page sequence.[1] Image published Ultra as a miniseries between 2004 and 2005.

Girls was also published by Image and ran, between May 2005 and April 2007. In October 2007, the brothers put out a limited series, again for Image, called The Sword.[3][4] Joshua Luna began a solo project, Whispers, at Image in January 2012.[5] Similarly, Jonathan Luna pursued his own project for Image with fellow writer Sarah Vaughn in their series Alex + Ada, released in 2013.[6]

The Lunas have expressed a preference for working on their own creations, but have stated that if given the opportunity, would like to work on Superman, Supergirl, Batman and Spider-Man.[2] Joshua has also expressed an interest in one day writing movie screenplays.[1]

Television

In 2006, a pilot episode was made for a proposed Ultra television series. The pilot was produced by Barbara Hall. It featured Lena Headey as Ultra (renamed Penny Penalosa) and Peter Dinklage and was directed by Helen Shaver. While CBS and the CW expressed an interest in the series, neither decided to carry it.[7]

Film

Lakeshore Entertainment is developing the film adaptation of The Sword with David Hayter writing the film's script.[8]

Technique and influences

Jonathan Luna has expressed an appreciation for horror works such as The Walking Dead, The Descent and I Am Legend. The Lunas have also cited TV shows such as True Blood and The Sopranos as inspirations.[1]

Early in their career they shared both writing and art duties in their work, as seen in the first several issues of Girls, which they have described as a transition point in their collaborative process. Today, they both collaborate on plots, but Joshua primarily scripts the dialogue, and Jonathan does all the art.[1]

When illustrating their work, Jonathan Luna uses 14 x 17 Strathmore bristol board, which he cuts into 11 x 17 pieces on which to draw. He draws using a 2H pencil, and after inking his pencils with a Micron pen, he edits his line work on a graphics tablet.[1]

Bibliography

Comics work:

Joshua Luna

Jonathan Luna

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Interview with the Luna Brothers at Midtown Comics; YouTube; May 13, 2010
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Dizon, David. "Luna Brothers conquer US comic book scene", ABS-CBNNews.com, October 31, 2008
  3. ↑ "Luna Brothers return with The Sword in October". Newsarama. July 18, 2007
  4. ↑ "The Lunas Tease 'The Sword'". Newsarama. October 12, 2007
  5. ↑ Richardson, Walter. "Review: Whispers #1". Multiversity Comics. January 13, 2012
  6. ↑ "Interview: Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn talk ALEX + ADA". Comic Vine News. December 9, 2013
  7. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0757354/
  8. ↑ http://variety.com/2013/film/news/david-hayter-the-sword-1200556067/

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jonathan Luna.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joshua Luna.

Interviews

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