Joe is, and will likely always be a “wonder junkie”. A fascination with the awe-inspiring moments in fantastic fiction led him to aspire to be a comic book artist (like so many of us!), but over the years his true calling became clearer: storytelling in its many different forms. This path took an unexpected turn though, when Martin King, his (and many others) mentor and friend passed away suddenly in 2005. Moved to help continue Martin’s legacy, Joe returned to Atomic City Comics as a comic book salesman. The store Martin had poured heart and soul into seemed an all-too-appropriate place for Joe to study what people thought and felt concerning the comics medium.
Flashing forward to the present finds Joe working on no less than three concepts for comics publication (both as a writer and as artist), writing comics reviews and commentaries for the re-dedicated Atomic City website, managing the store he spent many youthful years irritating the staff of, and co-hosting The Werd Podcast (a regular roundtable discussion show centering around all things pop-culture) with Chris Ryons.
Joe can usually be found at Atomic City ranting critically about the things he loves and hates about the comics industry to any who will listen (something that earned him the surname of Ha-Tor by friends!) and generally recommending the various books he thinks “got it right”. At the time of this writing, Joe is eagerly awaiting his marriage to the love of his life, Nora, and watching their two dogs lounge in the sun while he’s chained to either his drafting table or the computer.
