James Kochalka
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James Kochalka
James Kochalka (born May 26, 1967, in Springfield, Vermont) is an American comic book artist, writer, animator, and rock musician. His comics are noted for their blending of the real and the surreal. Largely autobiographical, Kochalka's cartoon expression of the world around him includes such real-life characters as his wife, children, cat, friends and colleagues, but always filtered through his own observations and flights of whimsy. In March 2011 he was declared the cartoonist laureate of Vermont, serving a term of three years. Early life and early career Kochalka grew up in Springfield, Vermont. He attended the Maryland Institute College of Art and has an MFA in painting. His first published comics work was around 1994. He has cited by cartoonist Daniel Clowes as being a key inspiration in leading him "towards a whole world of comics that enever knew existed." Kochalka strongly believes that simplicity is desirable in comics and says that "craft is the enemy", and has had ...
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Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ranks as the least populous city in the United States to also be the most populous city in its state. A regional college town, Burlington is home to Champlain College and the University of Vermont (UVM). Vermont's largest hospital, the UVM Medical Center, is within the city limits. The City of Burlington owns Vermont's largest airport, the Burlington International Airport, located in neighboring South Burlington. In 2015, Burlington became the first city in the U.S. to run entirely on renewable energy. History Early history to early 20th century Two theories have been put forward regarding the origin of Burlington's name. The first is that it was named after Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, and the second is that the name ...
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Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Comics'' in 1951 and its predecessor, ''Marvel Mystery Comics'', the ''Marvel Comics'' title/name/brand was first used in June 1961. Marvel was started in 1939 by Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin Goodman as Timely Comics, and by 1951 had generally become known as Atlas Comics (1950s), Atlas Comics. The Marvel era began in June 1961 with the launch of ''The Fantastic Four'' and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and many others. The Marvel brand, which had been used over the years and decades, was solidified as the company's primary brand. Marvel counts among List of Marvel Comics characters, its characters such well-known superheroes as Spider-Man, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor (Marvel Comics), Thor, Doc ...
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Frederator Studios
Frederator Studios is an American animation television production studio which is a division of Frederator Networks, Inc. It was founded by Fred Seibert in 1997 with its first series launching in 1998. (Seibert resigned from Frederator in August 2020 after 22 years and on February 23, 2021 announced a new cartoon production company, FredFilms.) The studio focuses primarily on artists who write their own shorts, series, and movies. Their slogan is "Original Cartoons since 1998." The studio has locations in New York City, where Frederator Digital is based, and Burbank, California. History 1983–2012 Before Frederator, in 1983, Fred Seibert founded Fred/Alan, Inc. in New York City with his college friend Alan Goodman; in 1988, Fred/Alan partnered with Albie Hecht in Chauncey Street Productions to produce television programs for Nickelodeon, MTV, A&E, and CBS. The Fred/Alan firm closed down in 1992. Seibert became the president of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons in 1992, and created '' ...
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Brian Ralph
Brian Ralph (born 1973) is an American alternative cartoonist. His illustrations have appeared in ''Wired'' and the ''New York Post''. His debut graphic novel, ''Cave-In'', was nominated for three Harvey Awards, one Eisner Award, and listed as one of the ''Comics Journal'''s "five best comics of 1999". His second graphic novel, ''Climbing Out'', was awarded a Xeric Grant in 2001. His third graphic novel, ''Daybreak'', was published by Drawn & Quarterly in September 2011. Biography Ralph grew up in Metuchen, New Jersey and graduated from Metuchen High School in 1992.Muscavage, Nick"Netflix series ''Daybreak'' an adaptation of Metuchen man's graphic novel" ''Courier News'', February 10, 2020. Accessed February 13, 2020. "Brian Ralph didn't have a label when he attended Metuchen High School. The 1992 graduate played on the football and golf teams, enjoyed skateboarding and loved art.... Ralph, who grew up on New York Avenue in Metuchen, has lived in Savannah, Georgia, for 11 years." ...
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San Diego Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is commonly known simply as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con or SDCC. The convention was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention in 1970 by a group of San Diegans that included Shel Dorf, Richard Alf, Ken Krueger, Ron Graf, and Mike Towry; later, it was called the "San Diego Comic Book Convention", Dorf said during an interview that he hoped the first Con would bring in 500 attendees. It is a four-day event (Thursday–Sunday) held during the summer (in July since 2003) at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego. On the Wednesday evening prior to the official opening, professionals, exhibitors, and pre-registered guests for all four days can attend a pre-event "Preview Night" to give attendees the opportunity to walk the exhi ...
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The Onion
''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is based in Chicago but originated as a weekly print publication on August 29, 1988 in Madison, Wisconsin. ''The Onion'' began publishing online in early 1996. In 2007, they began publishing satirical news audio and video online as the ''Onion News Network''. In 2013, ''The Onion'' ceased publishing its print edition and launched Onion Labs, an advertising agency. ''The Onion''s articles cover current events, both real and fictional, parodying the tone and format of traditional news organizations with stories, editorials, and man-on-the-street interviews using a traditional news website layout and an editorial voice modeled after that of the Associated Press. The publication's humor often depends on presenting mundane, everyday events as newsworthy, surreal, or alarming, such as "Rotation Of Earth Plunges Entire N ...
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SpongeBob Comics
''SpongeBob Comics'' was a comic book series based on the animated TV show ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', published by United Plankton Pictures and distributed by Bongo Comics. It was initially published every two months in the United States beginning in February 2011 and was published monthly from June 2012 to October 2018. History Originally, Stephen Hillenburg authored an educational comic book in 1989, called ''The Intertidal Zone'', while he worked as a teacher of marine science at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California. This comic book depicted ocean life through anthropomorphic sea creatures, as the character of Bob the Sponge, a natural sponge with sunglasses who would become the first prototype of SpongeBob SquarePants. The universe of the ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' series is therefore directly inspired by ''The Intertidal Zone''. Following the launch of the ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' television series in 1999, ''Nickelodeon Magazine'' regularly published in its issu ...
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Highwater Books
Highwater Books was a small but influential independent comic book publisher based in Somerville, Massachusetts, noted for its arty editorial direction and production values under publisher Tom Devlin. Highwater began in 1997 and folded in November 2004 due to financial pressure.Spurgeon, Tom. "Devlin Announces Demise of Highwater," The Comics Reporter (Nov. 17, 2004).
Retrieved July 30, 2008.


Artists published

* Marc Bell * Mat Brinkman *

Slave Labor Graphics
Slave Labor Graphics (SLG) is an independent American comic book publisher, well known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics. Creators associated with SLG over the years include Evan Dorkin, Roman Dirge, Sarah Dyer, Woodrow Phoenix, Jhonen Vasquez, and Andi Watson. Company history Slave Labor Graphics was started in 1986 by Dan Vado,"Newspeak: Slave Labor in California," ''Speakeasy'' #65 (Aug. 1986), p. 4. who remains the company's president and publisher. The first book Slave Labor Graphics published was ''ShadowStar'' #3, a female superhero character previously published independently by some of Vado's friends. The company's first wave of titles — ''Samurai Penguin'', ''Barrabas'', ''Lee Flea'', and ''The Light'' — were all written by Vado, with art by a variety of creators. Other early titles, such as ''Hero Sandwich'' and ''It's Science With Dr. Radium'', were all created by friends of Vado's from high school. Slave Labor Graphics's first major success was ''S ...
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Minicomic
A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term small press comic is equivalent with minicomic, reserved for those publications measuring A6 (105 mm × 148 mm) or less. Minicomics, sometimes called ashcan copies, and sometimes zine comics, are a common inexpensive way for those who want to make their own comics on a very small budget, with mostly informal means of distribution. A number of cartoonists — such as Jessica Abel, Julie Doucet, and Adrian Tomine — have started their careers this way and later gone on to more traditional types of publishing, while other established artists — such as Matt Feazell and John Porcellino — continue to publish minicomics as their main means of production. Overview The term "minicomic" was originally used in the United States and has a somewhat confusing history. Originally, it referred only to size: a '' digest comic'' measur ...
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Alternative Comics (publisher)
Alternative comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream superhero comics which in the past have dominated the American comic book industry. Alternative comic books span a wide range of genres, artistic styles, and subjects. Alternative comics are often published in small numbers as the author(s) deem fit. They are often published with less regard for regular distribution schedules. Many alternative comics have variously been labelled post-underground comics, independent comics, indie comics, auteur comics, small press comics, new wave comics, creator-owned comics, art comics, or literary comics. Many self-published "minicomics" also fall under the "alternative" umbrella. From underground to alternative By the mid-1970s, artists within the underground comix scene felt that it had become less creative than it had bee ...
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Top Shelf Productions
Top Shelf Productions is an American publishing company founded in 1997, originally owned and operated by Chris Staros and Brett Warnock and a small staff. Now an imprint of IDW Publishing, Top Shelf is based in Marietta, Georgia. Top Shelf publishes comics and graphic novels by authors such as Alan Moore, Craig Thompson, James Kochalka, Andy Runton, Jeffrey Brown, Nate Powell, Eddie Campbell, Alex Robinson, Jeff Lemire, and Matt Kindt. History The company was founded by Chris Staros and Brett Warnock after discussions between the pair at the 1997 Small Press Expo. Previously, Warnock had used the Top Shelf name as the title for a self-published anthology, whilst Staros had worked in the industry representing Eddie Campbell in the United States and self-published a number of comics-based zines. The partnership evolved from combining Warnock's design skills and marketing abilities with Staros' talents for editing and book-keeping. The duo started publishing under the name Pri ...
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