Archer Prewitt (born 1963 in

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city; the population was 28,602 at the 2020 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the prin ...

) is an American musician and

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

associated with the independent music scene in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Biography

Music

Prewitt enrolled in the

Kansas City Art Institute The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) is a private art school in Kansas City, Missouri. The college was founded in 1885 and is an accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and Higher Learning Commission. It has approxi ...

and began drumming in the band

Tunnel Dogs A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

and then Mudhead. Archer also played bass in Kansas City local favorites the Bangtails. A song by the Bangtails appears on the 2020 compilation ''Strum & Thrum: The American Jangle Underground 1983-1987''. He then co-founded

The Coctails The Coctails were a musical group from Chicago, who formed while its members were attending the Kansas City Art Institute. The band was active from about 1988 to 1995, with reunions in 2000 as the last band to play on stage at Lounge Ax before th ...

, who moved from Kansas City to Chicago after their first album (1989) and went on to release six albums in all by the time they played their last show on New Year's Eve 1995/96. By then Prewitt had also been involved with a new project,

The Sea and Cake The Sea and Cake is an American indie rock band with a jazz influence, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The group formed in the mid-1990s from members of The Coctails (Archer Prewitt), Shrimp Boat (Sam Prekop and Eric Claridge), an ...

, who have released several critically acclaimed albums. Concomitant with his work in The Sea and Cake, Prewitt produced several solo releases.

Comics and illustration

In addition to his music, Prewitt is a freelance illustrator, cartoonist, and comic book

colorist In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates. Since the late 20th century it is ...

. His first professional illustrations were for the ''Kansas City Star'' while he still lived there. In 1992, he started drawing and self-publishing his ''Sof' Boy''

mini-comic 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&n ...

, while also working as a colorist for

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 Co ...

. ''Sof' Boy'' has subsequently been published by

Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hardcov ...

and

Fantagraphics Books Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was found ...

. Another Prewitt character is Funny Bunny, who has made several appearances in diverse publications, including Mome. Prewitt's work has appeared in '' Zero Zero'', ''

Drawn & Quarterly Drawn & Quarterly is a publishing company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, specializing in comics. It publishes primarily comic books, graphic novels and comic strip collections. The books it publishes are noted for their artistic content, ...

'', ''

Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'' is an American literary journal, founded in 1998, typically containing short stories, reportage, and illustrations. Some issues also include poetry, comic strips, and novellas. ''The Quarterly Concern'' i ...

'', and ''

BLAB! ''Blab!'' was an anthology edited by Monte Beauchamp that featured a mixture of alternative comics and illustrated features focused predominantly on illustration, graphic design, and Lowbrow (art movement), lowbrow art. The first two issues (198 ...

''. Prewitt was nominated for a 1998

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

for Best Colorist for the 1997 publication of ''Sof' Boy and Friends #1,'' published by Drawn & Quarterly.

Discography

*''In the Sun'' (Carrot Top Records /

Hi-Ball Records A highball glass is a glass tumbler that can contain . It is used to serve highball cocktails and other mixed drinks. An example size is diameter by in height. A highball glass is taller than an Old Fashioned glass (lowball), and shorter and w ...

, 1997) *''White Sky'' (Carrot Top Records, 1999) *''Gerroa Songs'' EP (Carrot Top Records, 2000) *''Three'' (

Thrill Jockey Thrill Jockey is an American independent record label established by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards and based in Chicago. History Richards started the label in 1992 with $35,000 of family and personal capital, while ...

, 2002) *''Wilderness'' (Thrill Jockey, 2005)

Bibliography

* "The City That Never Sleeps" (art only), ''Duplex Planet Illustrated'' #2 (Fantagraphics, April 1993) * "Sof' Boy," ''Drawn & Quarterly'' #4 (Drawn & Quarterly, December 1995) * ''Zero Zero'' #7, 8, 14 (Fantagraphics, 1996–1997) * ''BLAB!'' #9 (Fantagraphics, 1997) * ''BLAB!'' #10 (Fantagraphics, 1998) * ''Sof' Boy & Friends'' #1–3 (Fantagraphics, 1997–2004) * ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'' #13: "An Assorted Sampler of North American Comic Drawings, Strips, and Illustrated Stories, &c." (McSweeney's, spring 2004)

References

External links

* *

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

at Allmusic.com
Prewitt bio at Lambiek's Comiclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prewitt, Archer 1963 births Living people American cartoonists American comics artists Comics colorists Musicians from Chicago Artists from Chicago People from Frankfort, Kentucky Alternative cartoonists Kansas City Art Institute alumni Thrill Jockey artists Rock musicians from Kentucky The Sea and Cake members