| John Tobias | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 24, 1969 Chicago, Illinois |
| Occupation | Comic book artist, graphic designer, video game designer |
John Tobias (born August 24, 1969 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American comic book artist, graphic designer and video game designer. Along with Ed Boon he is one of the creators of the groundbreaking Mortal Kombat fighting game series.
Tobias was an artist for The Real Ghostbusters comic book series before joining Midway Games. He worked on the original arcade version of Smash TV before finding success with Mortal Kombat.
He was credited with developing the detailed Mortal Kombat storylines and designing its classic characters. Following its arcade debut in 1992, the MK media franchise exploded into an overwhelming phenomenon and merchandising bonanza, spawning a host of additional games, as well as two movies, toy and apparel lines, a comic book series, and a 1996 live tour, among others.
By the end of the 1990s, however, the MK series, due to a few disappointing releases and the ill-received 1997 film Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (the sequel to the successful 1995 original), hit a low ebb. John Tobias, along with other prominent Midway staff members such as Dave Michicich and Josh Tsui, left Midway in 1999 and formed Studio Gigante in 2000.
Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus, published by Microsoft Game Studios, was the first game Studio Gigante created, followed by WWE WrestleMania 21. Studio Gigante ceased operations in 2005 and Tobias now works as a consultant in the games industry.
Despite being one of the original creators of the MK series, Tobias is not mentioned in commentary or descriptions in the "making of" documentaries for Deadly Alliance and Deception, but was referred to as one of "four people who made Mortal Kombat 1." However, he can be seen in the commentaries for Mortal Kombat 3 in the Midway Arcade Treasures 2 collection. In July 2008 it was reported that he would be illustrating a pack-in comic with special editions of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.[1]