Eric Reynolds is a

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

-based

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 ...

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

and

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

who is the Vice-President and Associate Publisher for

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 ...

. His work has appeared in '' The Stranger'', ''

The Comics Journal ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing re ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The New York Press ''New York Press'' was a free alternative weekly in New York City, which was published from 1988 to 2011. The ''Press'' strove to create a rivalry with the ''Village Voice''. ''Press'' editors claimed to have tried to hire away writer Nat Hent ...

'' and other publications. He has edited or co-edited ''

The Complete Crumb Comics ''The Complete Crumb Comics'' is a series of collections from Fantagraphics Books which was intended to reproduce the entire body of People of the United States, American cartoonist and comic book artist/writer Robert Crumb's comics work in chrono ...

'', '' Angry Youth Comics'', ''Dirty Stories'' and '' MOME'', and has inked some of

Peter Bagge Peter Bagge (pronounced , as in ''bag''; born December 11, 1957) is an American cartoonist whose best-known work includes the comics ''Hate'' and ''Neat Stuff''. His stories often use black humor and exaggerated cartooning to dramatize the reduced ...

's comics.

Personal history

Reynolds read comics from an early age, and remembers being fascinated by a stack of

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

comics he saw when he was young. Reynolds was moving towards a career in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

when he was in university in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and was managing editor and cartoonist for his university newspaper. In the spring of 1993, he realized that

Fantagraphics 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 ...

published almost all of his favorite comics. He contacted them looking for a job. He got a job a month later, and stayed in Seattle for three months before returning to university. After finishing his degree a semester later, he returned to Fantagraphics and has remained there ever since. Reynolds worked as news editor for ''The Comics Journal'' from 1993, covering such events as the rise of

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

, the

Mike Diana Michael Christopher DianaShepherd, Chuck (August 1994). "Loony Toons: Florida puts the boot to a cartoonist". "The Playboy Forum". ''Playboy'' magazine. Pages 41-43 (born 1969) is an American underground cartoonist. His work, which is largely self ...

controversies and the general downturn in the comic book industry, before moving to marketing and promotion in 1996. As a cartoonist, Reynolds counts

Chester Brown Chester William David Brown (born 16 May 1960) is a Canadian cartoonist. Brown has gone through several stylistic and thematic periods. He gained notice in alternative comics circles in the 1980s for the surreal, scatological ''Ed the Happy Clo ...

and

Daniel Clowes Daniel Gillespie Clowes (; born April 14, 1961) is an American cartoonist, graphic novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter. Most of Clowes's work first appeared in '' Eightball'', a solo anthology comic book series. An ''Eightball'' issue typical ...

as his strongest formative influences, especially Brown's ''

Ed the Happy Clown ''Ed the Happy Clown'' is a graphic novel by Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown. Its title character is a large-headed, childlike children's clown who undergoes one horrifying affliction after another. The story is a dark, humorous mix of gen ...

''. He also counts friends and Seattle residents

, Jim Blanchard,

Jeremy Eaton Jeremy may refer to: * Jeremy (given name), a given name * Jérémy, a French given name * ''Jeremy'' (film), a 1973 film * "Jeremy" (song), a song by Pearl Jam * Jeremy (snail), a left-coiled garden snail that died in 2017 * ''Jeremy'', a 1919 ...

, Pat Moriarity,

Al Columbia Al Columbia (born 1970) is an American artist known for his horror and black humor-themed alternative comics. His published works include the comic book series ''The Biologic Show'', the graphic novel/art book '' Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear ...

Jim Woodring James William Woodring (born October 11, 1952) is an American cartoonist, fine artist, writer and toy designer. He is best known for the dream-based comics he published in his magazine ''Jim'', and as the creator of the anthropomorphic cartoon ...

and others amongst his contemporary influences. His name was given to a character who worked for a comic book publisher in an episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

'' in 2000 by writer and producer Dana Gould. In 2018 he was the recipient of 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 ...

from

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 c ...

Publishing history

*''Slime: the Secret Sex Life of

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation � ...

''.

Eros Comics 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 founde ...

, 1995

References

Sources

*Sandall, Simon. "Eric Reynolds from Fantagraphics talks about his favorite books"
readersvoice.com
(2005-05-07). par
1
http://www.readersvoice.com/interviews/2005/05/eric-reynolds-from-fantagraphics-talks-about-his-favorite-books/
3
http://www.readersvoice.com/interviews/2005/05/eric-reynolds-from-fantagraphics-talks-about-his-favorite-books-2/ 4]

External links

Eric Reynold's blog
at the

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Eric Alternative cartoonists Living people 1971 births