John Howe, illustrator and concept artist, Golden Romics

Peter Jackson’s visionary illustrator and concept artist for the first time in Rome: The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Rings of Power

John Howe, illustrator, concept artist and art director for cinema and publishing, was awarded the Golden Romics during the XXX edition of the Festival scheduled from 30 March to 02 April at Fiera Roma.

Born in British Columbia but trained in France, John Howe has been Peter Jackson’s lead concept artist since the beginning of his Tolkenian film adventure (in all the films of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit). Among other "Romics-style" films in which he worked as a concept artist: Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Deadly Machines and The Lion and the series The Rings of Power.

A master of fantasy, his unique style is recognized all over the world and exhibitions have been dedicated to him in the USA, Europe, China and Japan. His children’s picture books are published in over 30 countries and his bibliography includes bestsellers such as: A Middle-earth Traveller (2019), Unfinished Tales (2021) and The Great Book of King Arthur (2022). His work is regularly featured in the Spectrum Annual and the role-playing version of The Lord of the Rings that he illustrated has sold over a million copies. He creates statues and miniature collectibles for Middle-earth Enterprises and various documentaries have been dedicated to his work, among which the most famous is Hown Howe: There and Back Again that highlights both the dynamic use of color and the great theatricality of his visionary sketches for settings and characters of fantasy cinema and publishing.

John will be the protagonist of a meeting with the public to retrace his career.