Artist Jamie Cosley (Photo by Jay Paul)
If this month’s release of “Solo,” the prequel film about everyone’s favorite intergalactic smuggler and his partner, Chewbacca, has left you jonesing for more “Star Wars,” Mechanicsville cartoonist Jamie Cosley can help you get your fix without a trip to a galaxy far, far away — just Glen Allen.
On May 31, from 6 p.m., the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen will hold a free opening-night reception for “Star Wars — The Light Side Art of Jamie Cosley,” an exhibit of work by Cosley, who produces sketch cards for Topps’ “Star Wars” trading cards, as well as a comic strip for Star Wars Insider magazine that gently pokes fun at Lucasfilm’s beloved characters. (The exhibit runs through July 15.)
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Examples of Cosley's sketches for Topps' "Star Wars" trading cards (Image courtesy Jamie Cosley)
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A playful rendering by Cosley of "Star Wars" arch-villain/antihero Darth Vader (Image courtesy Jamie Cosley)
Before making his way to some of science fiction’s biggest stars, Cosley worked in a more down-to-earth business — selling office furniture. Then the 2008 recession hit, and he lost his job. “My daughter had just been born,” he says, now able to laugh at the timing. With the blessing of his still-employed wife, Kristy, he decided to pursue his passion for drawing, something he says was largely a hobby until then.
In one of his first jobs as a freelancer, Cosley produced comic strips for a magazine aimed at the furniture trade, and when some staffers left to form their own digital magazine, Business of Furniture, they brought him along. “They are, without exception, my best client,” he says.
In between illustration and comic-strip work for paying clients, Cosley is collaborating with his 16-year-old son, Tyler, on a series of picture books about a group of snowmen who come to life when children use vegetables from a magical garden for their noses. (It’s a family affair — the main character of the first book, “Zucchini the Snowman,” was inspired by Cosley’s now-10-year-old daughter, Ava.) “We’ve done three picture books, so it’ll take a while, but that’s a fun project,” Cosley says.
Of course, working in the “Star Wars” universe also has its appeal. Since 2015, using blank cards sent to him by Topps, Cosley has produced original art cards for a dozen or more trading-card sets highlighting the films. “They are all hand-drawn and hand-painted,” he says of the cards, which are randomly inserted into card packs. “When you pull one, you’ve got a true one of a kind.”
Cosley co-created a "Star Wars"-inspired comic strip, "The Light Side," with collaborator Russ Brown. (Image courtesy Jamie Cosley; click upper-right corner to expand)
Similarly unique is his work for Star Wars Insider magazine, in that “The Light Side,” the comic strip he produces with collaborator Russ Brown, is the first to appear in the magazine, which has been around since 1987. “It’s a humor strip, so I can poke fun at the icons that have been around for 30 years,” Cosley says.
For his exhibit at the Cultural Arts Center, Cosley will be displaying original art from “The Light Side,” his own “Star Wars” fan art and some of his trading-card work for Topps. “When they send me the original art cards and the contract, I might do 40 cards, but I get three back that I can sell,” Cosley explains, noting that he tries to keep prices reasonable. “I like to price things so that I would be comfortable [buying it myself] if it was someone I really enjoyed, and I wanted to own some of their artwork.”
