Janine Johnston was born and raised in Victoria, B.C. Upon graduating from high school she lived in Vancouver for the next 12 years. She started selling her drawings at age 15, setting up a table outside a used record store called Rockphile in Market Square during the summer. She then became a freelancer, and did everything from murals, logos & tattoo designs, window painting, props for tv, cd covers, photography, game card illustration and decorative painting. In 1993, she went to work for Dark Horse on 'Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi'. Subsequent comics work was 'Blood of Ten Chiefs' for Elfquest and covers for Drew Hayes' 'Poison Elves', at the time self-published under Mulehide Graphics.