Denise "Deni" Loubert (born September 30, 1951) Miller, John Jackson
"Comics Industry Birthdays"
''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The public ...

'', June 10, 2005. Accessed July 19, 2011
WebCitation archive
is a Canadian comics publisher, co-founder of Aardvark-Vanaheim, and founder of

Renegade Press Renegade Press was an American comic book company, founded by Canadian Deni Loubert, that operated from 1984 to 1988. Notable titles published by Renegade included '' Flaming Carrot'', '' Ms. Tree'', and '' normalman''. History Loubert was pub ...

. She is the ex-wife of

Dave Sim Dave Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, best known for his comic book ''Cerebus'', his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of self-publishing and creators' rights, and his controversial political and philosophical b ...

, with whom she founded Aardvark-Vanaheim and published ''

Cerebus ''Cerebus'' (; also ''Cerebus the Aardvark'') is a comic book series created by Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim, which ran from December 1977 until March 2004. The title character of the 300-issue series is an anthropomorphic aardvark who takes on ...

'' from issues #1 to #77 (1977–1985). Loubert and Sim met in 1976 and were married from October 6, 1978 to August 20, 1983. The barbarian

aardvark The aardvark ( ; ''Orycteropus afer'') is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlike ...

Cerebus was sketched initially by Sim as a mascot to accompany Loubert's proposed

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

, ''Cerebus,'' so titled when Loubert misspelled

Cerberus In Greek mythology, Cerberus (; grc-gre, Κέρβερος ''Kérberos'' ), often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He was the offspring of the mo ...

, the name of the mythical dog guarding Hades. (The fanzine went unpublished.)Sim, Dave
"Memoir: WHY AN AARDVARK? Part Two,"
CerebusFanGirl. Accessed July 19, 2011.. Aardvark-Vanaheim, managed by Loubert, began publishing other comics besides ''Cerebus'', such as

William Messner-Loebs William Francis Messner-Loebs (; born William Francis Loebs, Jr., February 19, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer from Michigan, also known as Bill Loebs and Bill Messner-Loebs. His hyphenated surname is a combination of his and his wif ...

' ''

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

'' and

Bob Burden Bob Burden is an American comic book artist and writer, best known as the creator of '' Flaming Carrot Comics'' and the ''Mystery Men''. Early life Burden was born the eldest of three siblings in Buffalo, New York. His father worked at Westi ...

's ''

Flaming Carrot ''Flaming Carrot Comics'' was an American superhero comic book created by Bob Burden, featuring the absurd, surreal adventure of the Flaming Carrot. The series first appeared in ''Visions'' #1, a magazine-size comic book publication. Flaming Carro ...

''. After Sim and Loubert's 1984 separation, Loubert started

, which assumed publishing duties for all non-''Cerebus'' Aardvark-Vanaheim titles. Renegade Press operated from 1984 to 1989. Loubert's brother is Michael Loubert, who designed the original map used as the basis of Cerebus's world, Estarcion. Michael Loubert also wrote "The Aardvarkian Age" columns that appeared in early issues of ''Cerebus''.

Awards

In 1987, Loubert was presented with an

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual c ...

. In 2010, she was inducted into the Canadian Comic Book Creator Hall of Fame.

Controversy

In 1987, Loubert accepted an

Steve Ditko Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...

's behalf (Renegade had published ''Ditko's World'' in 1986). Ditko refused the award, phoning Loubert to say, "Awards bleed the artist and make us compete against each other. They are the most horrible things in the world. How dare you accept this on my behalf." At Ditko's behest, Loubert returned the award to the

San Diego Comic-Con 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 co ...

organizers.Bell, Blake. ''Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko'' (Fantagraphics Books, Seattle, Washington, 2008), pp. 165-166. .

Bibliography

* "A Case for Reading," ''The Comics Journal'' #102 (Sept. 1985), pp. 111–112 — editorial about literacy, illiteracy, the Business Council for Effective Literacy, and the Literacy Volunteers of America * "On the Edge" (art by Angela Bocage), in ''

Wimmen's Comix ''Wimmen's Comix'', later titled ''Wimmin's Comix'', is an influential all-female underground comics anthology published from 1972 to 1992. Though it covered a wide range of genres and subject matters, ''Wimmen's Comix'' focused more than other ...

'' #14 (

Last Gasp Last Gasp or The Last Gasp may refer to * Last Gasp (publisher) * ''Last Gasp'' (''Inside No. 9''), a TV episode * '' The Last Gasp'', a 2007 album by Impaled * ''The Last Gasp'' (novel) * "Last Gasp" (song) {{dab ...

, 1989), pp. 23–26 * "Hero Worship" (written with Len Wein), in ''Against the Wind'', edited by

Richard Pini Wendy Pini ''née'' Fletcher, (born June 4, 1951) and Richard Pini (born July 19, 1950) are the husband-and-wife team responsible for creating the well-known ''Elfquest'' series of Comic book, comics, graphic novels and prose works. They are al ...

(New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1992) * "The Former Mrs. Viktor Davis," ''The Comics Journal'' #174 (Feb. 1995), pp. 116–118 * (ed.) ''How to Get Girls (into your Store): a Friends of Lulu Retailers Handbook'' (San Diego, CA:

Friends of Lulu Friends of Lulu was a non-profit, national charitable organization in the United States, which operated from 1994–2011 to promote readership of comic books by women and the participation of women in the comic book industry. Membership was op ...

, 1997)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loubert, Deni Living people 1951 births Canadian publishers (people) Place of birth missing (living people) Canadian comics creators