Joe Quesada Launches Drawing the Line Somewhere Art Book on Zoop

Joe Quesada, the longtime Marvel editor and executive who recently launched Amazing Comics, is working with Zoop to create and crowdfund a career-spanning hardcover art book, ComicBook can report exclusively. Quesada’s first-ever crowdfunding campaign will be launching soon on the indie art platform, where creators like Jason Copland, Howard Chaykin, and Jim Starlin have previously launched projects. Titled Drawing the Line Somewhere, the book will feature detailed scans of Quesada’s black-and-white pencils and inks, some process work, and an unfiltered look into his raw artwork over the course of four decades.  Drawing the Line Somewhere features all the characters you would expect from the big two, as well as Quesada’s creator owned and independent work over the years. For anyone looking to get a closer look at one of the comics industry’s art legends, this is a book that cannot be missed.

The pre-launch page is up now, so fans can sign up for launch alerts, early bird specials, and to be first for some of the campaign’s limited rewards, such as signatures, sketch opportunities, and other exclusives. Zoop expects the campaign to be one of their biggest to date.

Quesada, who first gained notoriety on 1990s Valiant comics, also co-created the character of Azrael with Dennis O’Neil in the miniseries Batman: The Sword of Azrael. In 1994, he started Event Comics, an indie publisher where he and Jimmy Palmiotti made Ash. 

Event Comics was fairly short-lived — not because Ash wasn’t selling, but because in 1998, Quesada and Palmiotti took over the Marvel Knights imprint at Marvel Comics. Shortly after, Quesada was tapped to serve as editor-in-chief at Marvel — a role he held from 2000 until 2010. He continued in various upper-management jobs at Marvel until 2022.

Throughout his time at Marvel, Quesada continued to draw — mostly covers, but he notably provided pencils for prestige projects like Kevin Smith’s run on Daredevil and the controversial Spider-Man story “One More Day.”

For Amazing Comics, Quesada is partnering with both Mad Cave Studios and European publishing house Dupuis. The company’s first title will be Disciple, a series written by Quesada and Charles Dorfman that also features artwork by Quesada, colors by Richard Isanove, inks by Wade von Grawbadger, and lettering by Joe Caramagna.  

Quesada also has a first-look deal at Amazon Studios, where he is developing several television projects with Pressman Films. He also recently wrote and directed his first short film, Fly. Drawing the Line Somewhere will drop later this year, with Zoop handling the printing and distribution.