About

Joan is an independent editor and packager of commercial nonfiction & genre fiction. She specializes in graphic novels, managing their creation for writers, artists, literary agents, and publishers. For more details, see Services.

She grew up in Northern California by way of Kentucky and West Africa, earning a BA in visual arts at Brown University with coursework at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her postcollegiate comics career started with short stories and illustrations in the pages of Girljock Magazine, Gay Comix and The Advocate.

From 1995 to 2010, she was an editor at DC Comics. As a senior editor at the Vertigo imprint, she acquired and edited original graphic novels. Her titles include Cairo, the Harvey Award-winning Cuba: My Revolution, Revolver, Bigg Time, and the upcoming Gone to Amerikay and Bad Houses. For more on selected titles, please see Book Projects.

As a DC Universe and Vertigo editor, she edited numerous ongoing and limited series including The Flash, Birds of Prey, Batman and the Outsiders, and Swamp Thing. The Vertigo horror anthology Flinch won Best Graphic Story from the International Horror Guild; the Justice League miniseries Vixen: Return of the Lion won a Glyph Comics Fan Award. As managing editor of DC’s all-ages comics, she also worked extensively with Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network animation creators and properties.

Joan’s illustrations have appeared in the Village Voice, Ms. Magazine, and Women’s Review of Books, among others. To see clips, please stop in at the Gallery.

She is the creator of the weekly comic strip Bitter Girl, distributed by Q Syndicate.

She lives in New York City.