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Tom Neely is an artist living in Los Angeles. He is the illustrator of NY Times Best-seller The Last Book On The Left! But before that he was best known for his own creations: the cult-hit indie comic book Henry & Glenn Forever; as well as the Image Comics series The Humans.

Neely’s art has been featured in galleries, magazines, literary journals and on album covers and posters for bands such as Isis, Melvins, Groovie Ghoulies, Wolves in the Throne Room, Green Day and John Carpenter. He designed and illustrated the branding and line of merchandise for Psycho Las Vegas festival in 2017. His debut graphic novel, The Blot, earned him an Ignatz Award and made it onto several of the industry’s Best of 2007 lists as well as The Comics Journal’s Best Graphic Novels of the decade 2000-10. In 2012 Neely worked with Roger Langridge on a Popeye series for IDW, and in 2019 Neely returned to write and draw his own Popeye’s Cartoon Club Sunday strip for King Features Syndicate. He also published another book of comic strip poems, Unfinished…, with Silver Sprocket in 2017.

Since 2013 Neely’s work has primarily focused on developing the world of The Humans with his comics partner and co-creator Keenan Marshall Keller. The Humans comic book series’s cult following continues to grow as the sequel series is now being published by Uncivilized Books.

Even while working mostly in the realm of comics and illustration, Tom has continued to work in the realm of fine arts and painting. He recently began experimenting with video art “Motion Paintings” in collaboration with his brother Blake Neely’s music, inventing a new way of creating choreographed watercolor paintings that dance with the music. The Motion Paintings were incorporated into two live performances with the Washington DC Ballet Company at the DuPont Underground in 2023 and 2024. And in 2025 he was hired by Fender Custom Guitars to hand-paint custom guitars Godzilla Guitars for TOHO studios in Japan. Tom is continuing that relationship with Fender today.

Neely is currently working on The Jungle comic book series which will be published by Uncivilized Books in 2025/26, as well as illustrating a book for Simon & Schuster. A 20th Year Edition of The Blot will be published by Uncivilized Books in 2027.

Courses

Fall 2026

• IL213 Ink + Comic Pages