John Kovalic
John Kovalic (born Robert John Kovalic, Jr. On 24 November 1962) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, and writer.
Also recorded as Robert John Kovalic, Jr.
John Kovalic
Niccolò Caranti · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- John Kovalic
- Born
- 24 November 1962
- Birthplace
- Manchester, England
- Occupation
- Cartoonist, illustrator, and writer
- Spouse
- Judith Heise
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- visual arts · book illustration · illustration · game
- Languages
- English
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Documentary connections
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q606286 · wikipedia · John Kovalic
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — John Kovalic • Born — 24 November 1962 • Birthplace — Manchester, England • Occupation — Cartoonist, illustrator, and writer • Spouse — Judith Heise • Children — Lewis Robert-John Kovalic
Career
Career
Born in Manchester, England, Kovalic is best known for his Dork Tower comic book, comic strip, and webcomic, and other humorous work set in and about the fantasy role-playing game genre, such as The Unspeakable Oaf. He has illustrated board and card games for several companies, including Steve Jackson Games (notably the Munchkin card game, plus its many expansions and derivatives, and Chez Geek and its derivatives), Cumberland Games & Diversions (Pokéthulhu), and the third edition of Fantasy Flight Games's Mag Blast. He was also the sole illustrator for the "Super Deluxx" edition of Kobolds Ate My Baby! and has subsequently occasionally featured supplemental KAMB material in the Dork Tower comic book. Kovalic is a co-founder and co-owner of Out of the Box Publishing. He is also the company's art director and designer of the 2003 trivia party game Whad'Ya Know?, based on Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know?, as well as the illustrator of Apples to Apples. Kovalic is an editorial cartoonist for the Wisconsin State Journal. His work has appeared in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and he continues to freelance for Milwaukee's The Daily Reporter. He has also worked for CARtoons Magazine. He is also the writer of the comic Doctor Blink Superhero Shrink, which is penciled and inked by Christopher Jones and colored and lettered by Melissa Kaercher.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1962
John Kovalic born at Manchester.
List of games illustrated
Kovalic has provided illustrations for large number of games, including: • 10 Days series • aBRIDGEd • Apples to Apples series • Backseat Drawing • Blink • Bosworth • Button Men: Dork Victory • Cash n' Guns Second Edition • Chain Game • Chez Geek series • Cineplexity • Cloud 9 • Cover Up • Creatures and Cultists • Creepyfreaks • Dork 20 • Dork Tower: The Boardgame • Dungeonville • Easy Come, Easy Go • Escape from Elba • Fish Eat Fish • Gold Digger • Illuminati: New World Order series • Kobolds Ate My Baby! • Letter Flip • Letter Roll • Mag Blast • Mix Up • Munchkin series • Munchkin Quest • My Dwarfs Fly • My Word! • Ninja Versus Ninja • Nutty Cups • Party Pooper • Pepper • PokeTHULHU • Quitch • Rock • ROFL! • Shape Up • ShipWrecked • Snorta • Squint • Tutankhamen • Wallamoppi • Warhamster Rally • Whad'Ya Know? • Wheedle • ZenBenders series
![Author: Peter Verrant hosted on Flickr [1] Released under Creative Commons 2.0. Cropped and lightened by Appraiser.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Kovalic.jpg/584px-Kovalic.jpg)
Author: Peter Verrant hosted on Flickr [1] Released under Creative Commons 2.0. Cropped and lightened by Appraiser.
Appraiser at English Wikipedia
John Kovalic a Lucca Comics Games 2014.
Niccolò Caranti
Honors
Kovalic's cartoons are multi–Origins Award–winners and have been nominated for two Harvies—for best cartoonist and the special award for humor in comics. USA Today called Kovalic a "Hot Pick". In 2003, Kovalic became the first cartoonist inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming's Hall of Fame. Kovalic has thrice been a guest of honor—in 2003, 2007, and 2008—at the science, science fiction, and fantasy convention CONvergence., and on multiple occasions at Warpcon in Cork, Ireland.
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article John Kovalic, revision 1336003664 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q606286: John KovalicWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
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John Kovalic is recorded as comics artist, writer, illustrator, editorial cartoonist and caricaturist.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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