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Jey Parks

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Jey Parks
Born
United States
Other namesJenny Parks
EducationCalifornia College of Arts,
University of California, Santa Cruz
Occupation(s)Comics artist, fan artist, scientific illustrator
Known forDoctor Mew, The Catvengers, Star Trek Cats, Star Trek: The Next Generation Cats

Jey Parks is an American comics artist, fan artist and scientific illustrator. Parks is most known for their fan art pieces Doctor Mew (Doctor Who's the Doctor as cats) and The Catvengers (the Avengers also as cats) and their books Star Trek Cats and Star Trek: The Next Generation Cats.

Background

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Parks started drawing cat versions of people since about age 11 or 12.[1][2] Around 12, they loved The Phantom of the Opera and had a running gag about The Phantom of the Cats. Eventually, they drew the characters as cats.[3] A few years later, Parks became obsessed with the British television series Doctor Who. Around 2008, Parks began drawing more realistic Doctor Who cats.[2]

Parks has a Bachelor's degree (BFA) in Illustration from the California College of Arts and a graduate degree in scientific illustration from the UC Santa Cruz.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Previously, Parks drew wildlife like big cats, birds, dinosaurs, fruit bats, insects, and plants.[7] Their work can be found via iPhone apps for the National Park Service.[9] Parks would regularly attend conventions as C2E2, San Diego Comic-Con, and WonderCon.[12]

Parks' art is drawn and painted digitally via Paint Tool SAI and Photoshop.[3][9][13] Parks creates their art digitally with a Cintiq graphics tablet via Photoshop.[1][9] Their fan art career took off with a table at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con where they had Doctor Mew buttons and posters as well as when Doctor Mew went viral.[14] Parks became famous due to Doctor Mew.[4][5][6][7][8][10][11] Later, Parks created other fan art pieces as The Catvengers.[1][13][15][11] Doctor Mew represented their most prominent work until Star Trek Cats in 2017.[14][10][12] In March 2018, Star Trek Cats was followed-up with Star Trek: The Next Generation Cats.[16] Parks also has a Patreon account.[10][12]

Works

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A commissioned piece depicting a cat as an East German Interkosmos cosmonaut.

Books

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Title Publisher Publication date
Star Trek Cats Chronicle Books 28 February 2017
Star Trek: The Next Generation Cats Chronicle Books 27 March 2018

Comics

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Marvel Comics Senior Editor Steve Wacker found Jey Parks at their booth at San Diego Comic-Con and approached them to do animal variant covers for Marvel and they said "Absolutely!"[17] Parks has done animal variant covers for issues Iron Man #23, The Superior Spider-Man #27, Thor: God of Thunder #19, and Wolverine and the X-Men #1.[18][19][20][21][1][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][10][31] On May 13, 2013, Tumblr user sparkysmachine dressed their cat Sir Didymus to match the Thor: God of Thunder #19 animal variant cover. The "mini-Mjolnir and shoulder-thingies" were printed on their PrintrBot Jr. 3D printer.[32][33] On October 29, 2014, to celebrate National Cat Day, Marvel Comics reposted Parks's animal variant covers on their Facebook page.[34][28]

Fan art

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Parks's notable works include Doctor Mew, The Catvengers, and Star Trek Cats. Others have included Batman, Deadpool, Dexter, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Hannibal, Harry Potter, How to Train Your Dragon, The Hunger Games, The Lord of the Rings, Sherlock, Spider-Man, Star Wars, Stranger Things, Superman, Supernatural, The Walking Dead, and Wonder Woman.[1][6][2][14][10][35][36][12] Commissions have included John Hodgman and Gates McFadden as a Doctor Beverly Crusher cat.[7] In 2014, Parks presented a gouache painting of Captain America at the Cat Art Show in Los Angeles, California.[1]

Reception

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Newsarama's Chris Arrant called Jey Parks a "noted cat painter."[17] Visual News's Jessica Czeck said Doctor Mew made Jey Parks "internet famous."[6] Bleeding Cool's Rich Johnston pointed out Parks was CatConLA's "[o]ne of the most sought-after artists."[23] Catster's Phillip Mlyner noted they were "a cat illustrator par excellence."[2] Petslady.com's Laurie Kay Olson deigned their work "delightful, entertaining, and more than just a little bit, well, catty."[10] In October 2015, Outlaw Kritters staff selected Parks as the featured artist of the week.[13] Reviewing Star Trek Cats in a thirty-year retrospective, GeekDad's Jules Sherred referred to them as "a great illustrator."[37]

Personal life

[edit]

Parks has a female black domestic short-haired cat named Mab and a male tuxedo cat Mamoko.[3][7][2][14][13] In 2013, they lived in San Francisco, California.[4][5][6][8][2] In 2016, they lived in Denver, Colorado.[14][10][38]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Burton, Bonnie (February 13, 2014). "Artist reimagines Spock, Sherlock, Time Lords, and Avengers as cats". CNET. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Mlyner, Phillip (19 November 2013). "Illustrator Jenny Parks Turns TV Characters Into Cats". Catster. Lumina Media. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Green, Lucas (21 November 2016). "Cats as Superheroes by Jenny Parks". Vilingstore. vilingstore.com. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Boudoux, Joséphine (22 May 2013). "Jenny Parks, a drawer who transforms cats into superheroes!". Yummypets. yummypets.com. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  5. ^ a b c California College of Arts staff (16 May 2013). "Design You Trust: Cats as Superheroes By Jenny Parks". California College of Arts. cca.edu. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e Czeck, Jessica (May 15, 2013). "Feline Fantasies: Cat Superheroes by Jenny Parks". Visual News. Archived from the original on 29 July 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d e Hatheway, Cameron (June 12, 2015). "Catvengers, Assemble! The CatConLA Interview With Jenny Parks". Bleeding Cool. Rich Johnston. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  8. ^ a b c Maan (23 August 2013). "Catvengers: Dazzling Illustration By Jenny Par". Downgraf. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  9. ^ a b c d Nelson, Noah J. "Fantastic Fan Art Mash-Up: Doctor Mew". Turnstyle News. turnstylenews.com. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h Olson, Laurie Kay (16 December 2017). "Jenny Parks Cat Art Is Feline Nerdvana!". Petslady.com. Halcyon Solutions Inc. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  11. ^ a b c UCreative staff (14 May 2013). "You! Be Inspired! – Cat Heroes by Jenny Parks". UCreative. UCreative Network. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  12. ^ a b c d Wieland, Rob (14 March 2017). "The serious absurdity (and purrfection) of Jenny Parks and 'Star Trek Cats'". Nerdist. Legendary Entertainment. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  13. ^ a b c d Outlaw Kritters staff (18 October 2015). "What Do Jenny Parks and Dr. Who Have in Common?". Outlaw Kritters. outlawkritters.com. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  14. ^ a b c d e Nevin, Will (2 March 2017). "The serious absurdity (and purrfection) of Jenny Parks and 'Star Trek Cats'". OregonLive.com. Advance Publications. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  15. ^ Santoso, Alex (22 August 2013). "Catvengers Assemble". Neatorama. neatorama.com. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  16. ^ Raugust, Karen (10 April 2018). "Licensing Hotline: April 2018". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz, LLC. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  17. ^ a b Arrant, Chris (January 31, 2014). "Marvel Covers Go To The Dogs … Cats, and a Bunch of Other Animals". Newsarama. Purch Group. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  18. ^ Admin (February 7, 2014). "Previews of New Warriors #2, Wolverine and the X-Men #1, Magneto #1, Guardians of the Galaxy #12 & Uncanny Avengers #17". Flickering Myth. Flickering Myth Limited. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  19. ^ Admin (February 25, 2014). "First Look at Iron Man #23.NOW". Flickering Myth. Flickering Myth Limited. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  20. ^ "First Look at She-Hulk #1, Winter Soldier: The Bitter March #1, All-New X-Men #23 & Superior Spider-Man #27.NOW while Chris Claremont becomes a Nightcrawler again and 50 years of Daredevil". Flickering Myth. Flickering Myth Limited. January 19, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  21. ^ Burlingame, Russ (January 17, 2014). "Thor: God of Thunder #19.NOW Preview Kicks Off The Last Day of Midgard". Comic Book. ComicBook.com. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  22. ^ Hunsaker, Andy (February 6, 2014). "First Look: Wolverine and the X-Men #1". CraveOnline. CraveOnline Media, LLC. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  23. ^ a b Johnston, Rich (December 12, 2013). "Marvel Cancels A+X, A Return For Death's Head? And Possible New Avengers Spoilers For March…". Bleeding Cool. Rich Johnston. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  24. ^ Johnston, Rich (January 3, 2014). "Cover Variance: Lots Of Marvel Covers… And A Couple Of DC Ones Too. You Know, For Balance". Bleeding Cool. Rich Johnston. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  25. ^ Lovett, Jamie (January 16, 2014). "Superior Spider-Man #27.NOW Preview From Marvel Comics". Comic Book. ComicBook.com. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  26. ^ Lovett, Jamie (February 6, 2014). "Wolverine & The X-Men #1 Preview: School's Back In Session". Comic Book. ComicBook.com. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  27. ^ Lovett, Jamie (February 24, 2014). "Iron Man #23.NOW Preview: Malekith Strikes". Comic Book. ComicBook.com. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  28. ^ a b Lovett, Jamie (October 29, 2014). "Marvel Celebrates National Cat Day With Cats Dressed Up Like Superheroes". Comic Book. ComicBook.com. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  29. ^ Newsarama staff (January 3, 2014). "MARVEL Variants to Start the New Year in Style". Newsarama. Purch Group. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  30. ^ Newsarama staff (January 17, 2014). "THOR: GOD OF THUNDER #19.NOW First Look Teases 'Last Day of Midgard'". Newsarama. Purch Group. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  31. ^ Seitz, Dan (February 5, 2014). "Comics of Note, February 5th". Uproxx. Woven Digital. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  32. ^ Reading, Caleb (August 21, 2013). "Funny, Sexy, And Awesome Cosplay Of The Week". Uproxx. Woven Digital. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  33. ^ sparkysmachine (May 13, 2013). "Sparky's Machine, I dressed my cat, Sir Didymus, up as Thor, to..." Sparky's Machine. Tumblr. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  34. ^ Jorgensen, Cari (November 3, 2014). "Cats Take Over Marvel Universe". CatChannel.com. I-5 Publishing, LLC. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  35. ^ Pahle, Rebecca (15 May 2013). "Attention, Internet: Artist Has Drawn The Avengers, Loki, Katniss, Batman, and More As Cats". The Mary Sue. The Mary Sue, LLC. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  36. ^ Romano, Andrea (January 29, 2014). "Beam Them Up, Kitty: Artist Draws Adorable 'Star Trek' Cats". Mashable. Mashable Inc. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  37. ^ Sherred, Jules (25 September 2017). "Stack Overflow: 30 Star Trek Books to Celebrate 30 Years of 'The Next Generation'". GeekDad. geekdad.com. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  38. ^ StarTrek.com staff (27 September 2017). "FIRST LOOK: The Next Generation Cats". StarTrek.com. CBS Studios Inc. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
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