Planet Joey
Planet Joey is a comic strip about an imaginative 11-year old boy whose world is turned upside down when his family moves from bustling Toronto to the remote fictional town of Cold Springs in northern Manitoba.
Cartoonist David Brown explores through the protagonist Joey, many of the issues the average elementary school kid faces daily: gaining acceptance in a new community, keeping up those marks, the struggle to succeed at sports while also pondering the greater world at large. He does this surrounded by a rather interesting and absurd set of characters conjured up to help cope and guide him through many familiar circumstances.
Planet Joey appeals to adults and children alike. Children, pre-teens and teens enjoy and relate to the kid-centric themes and the overall artistic style. Adults enjoy the social commentary that is a common thread in the strip.
The Artist
David Brown is the creator, author and cartoonist behind Planet Joey. An award-winning Art Director, David has worked for over 25 years in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as an illustrator, designer and Art Director in both the corporate and agency worlds.
At the time of its official launch onto the interwebs in September 2020, the comic strip had been in the making for two decades. While the visual style of the main character – and his name – are inspired by the cartoonist’s red-headed nephew, the schoolyard escapades, sporting misadventures and imaginary friends are drawn from David’s humble youth growing up in the small town of Thamesford in rural southwestern Ontario.
Since first staining his fingers with newsprint ink while lying on the living room floor reading the London Free Press Saturday colour comics in the late 1970s, David has been dreaming of bringing his own newspaper-style comic strip to life. Planet Joey is the culmination of that journey inspired by the legendary strips of that time, including Peanuts, BC, Broom Hilda, Shoe, Calvin & Hobbes, Tintin; contemporary strips like The Norm and Phoebe and Her Unicorn, and animated cartoons such as Bullwinkle & Rocky, Underdog and The Pink Panther, which all serve as an inspiration to his current work.
David currently resides near Guelph, Ontario with his wife Teri and two children, Brody and Ruby.