Jim Lee, publisher and chief creative officer of DC Comics, called Kim “one of the absolute greats” in a series of tweets remembering the Korean artist, who occasionally designed covers for DC series and participated in drawing workshops through the was a truly phenomenal talent whose pen and brush wizardry captivated and inspired millions of fans around the world,” Lee tweeted. While in Paris, he completed a Batman-themed illustration featuring the Dark Knight, Catwoman and several of the superhero’s best-known foes, as well as a work of art inspired by soccer for the Paris Saint-Germain F.C. “It’s miserable when you can’t draw what you have in your head,” he said in a June interview.Īt the Daniel Maghen Editions gallery, where he was exhibiting work in Paris before his death, a line of fans wrapped around the block for a chance to sit on the floor and watch him as he worked. With his students, he emphasized the ability to ” visualize the moment,” melding observations from their daily lives with images in their imagination. He also taught in formal academic spaces, lecturing at universities about manhwa. Kim Jung Gi used conventions and gallery visits to demonstrate his art live, teaching viewers as he created. He told the arts publication Visual Atelier that for his most sweeping pieces, he had about “60% of the image in (his) head” and improvised the rest. He’d create scenes using visual snippets he’d collected and committed to memory, then apply to paper. Known for his live drawing sessions, Kim covered blank canvases with impossibly detailed scenes that he drew often without a reference image. He was transported to a hospital, where he died, according to a statement shared on his verified social media accounts.Ī lifelong artist, Kim got his start drawing in the South Korean comics publication Young Jump before he created his own manhwa, a style of South Korean comic, called “Tiger the Long Tail,” or “TLT.” The artist was in Paris for an exhibition of his work when he experienced chest pains, shortly before he was meant to fly to New York, where he was supposed to appear at Comic Con. Kim, an influential comic artist, died suddenly this week, his US agent told CNN. He narrated as he worked, sharing his process with his rapt fans as he created a fully realized piece of art before their eyes. The acclaimed South Korean artist crafted sprawling, intricately detailed scenes with unbelievable speed, often before a live audience. What takes many artists weeks or months to create took Kim Jung Gi mere hours.

Death and life comic