The ancient Greeks had their angry gods of wit, strength, speed, lightning bolts and betrayal, and the Norse had their bastion of immortals wielding swords, shields, hammers, lightning and lies, too. Moralistic mythologies that were, arguably, superhero stories for all ages. It wasn’t until 1938 that America gave birth to its first sustainable superhero when [...]
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In October, 2012, I spent three weeks as a Master Artist at The Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, where I helped select, mentor, and impart comix-making wisdom [...]
LOAD Comix 2013
NOTE: Please allow a minute for the gallery of comix to populate above (which you can click thru using the left & right arrows or just click on the actual images). Meanwhile, enjoy the historical recollections below. Thanks! “Dusting off lost lampoons” by Dean Haspiel It was on Facebook that I discovered a SUNY Purchase [...]
Jen Ferguson’s Race Horses + Railbirds
I’ve had the honor of knowing Jen Ferguson for over 20-years. I first met her when I was a waiter in Soho, NY at Nick & Eddie restaurant while on my journey to becoming a professional cartoonist and she a painter. I had the pleasure of dabbling with her on impromptu collaborations, late night bar [...]
Adventure Time: Fionna + Cake #1
Marc Nathan, creator & organizer of The Baltimore Comicon, asked me to draw an exclusive cover for ADVENTURE TIME: FIONNA + CAKE #1 (published by Kaboom!), for his store, Cards, Comics & Collectibles. I’ve never seen the ADVENTURE TIME cartoon or read the comic book but I’ve heard great things about the series. I [...]
The Atlantic Center for the Arts: Residency #147
(NOTE: Please give the website a minute to upload the gallery of pictures and click thru with the left and right arrows.)
JACK KIRBY MAKES ME STUPID
What can be said about the “king of comics” that hasn’t already been said by fans, academics, and much better artists and writers than I will ever be? What can be discussed that isn’t already empirically evident in his work? Jack Kirby was, simply put, the best American cartoonist that ever lived. And, he had [...]
Cuba, La Mia Rivoluzione
CUBA: LA MIA RIVOLUZIONE, the Italian version of my Harvey Award winning graphic novel, CUBA: MY REVOLUTION, written by Inverna Lockpez, colored by Jose Villarrubia, lettered by Patrick Brosseau, edited by Joan Hilty for Vertigo Comics and adapted by Valerio Stive for Bao Publishing, is currently available. Here is what I wrote about the graphic [...]
Vegan Art
After going for a swim at the local YMCA, Jen Ferguson wanted to extend our health kick at a new cafe on Atlantic Avenue [Brooklyn, NY]. It served vegan food and purported to be comic book themed. I have my knee-jerk opinions about Vegan food but I was curious about the comic book aspect. Keep [...]
The Answering Machine
She was my ex-girlfriend’s best friend and she had two baby daughters. One of the last times I saw her, she asked me to take nude photos of her 8-month pregnant body for posterity before giving birth to her first child. No matter how innocent that photo session was, her husband wasn’t happy that we [...]
Surveillance in America: The origin of a book cover
Author Ivan Greenberg and I had such a good time designing his first book cover, THE DANGERS OF DISSENT: The FBI and Civil Liberties Since 1965, that when he asked me to design the cover for his second book, SURVEILLANCE IN AMERICA: Critical Analysis of the FBI, 1920 to the Present, I couldn’t wait. Ivan [...]
KILL FEE
I’m a reasonable professional to work with. I’m an innovative and conscientious collaborator and I always bring my A-game. I’ve learned to know when to leave my ego at the door and step aside to serve the job. I’ve also learned, when push comes to shove, to walk away with dignity. In retrospect, I should [...]
About Room Tone
A literary collection of Dean Haspiel’s prose, process, and essays.
