Elen Orr, known as Fly, is a comic book artist, illustrator, activist, and teacher whose art has been published in various magazines and

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) ...

s, including ''

Slug and Lettuce Slug and Lettuce is a chain of bars that operate in the United Kingdom, with a large number located in London and South East England. As of 2017, there are a total of 70 outlets. Hugh Corbett opened the first Slug and Lettuce in Islington in ...

'', ''

Maximum Rock 'N' Roll ''Maximumrocknroll'', often written as ''Maximum Rocknroll'' and usually abbreviated as ''MRR'', is a not-for-profit monthly zine of punk subculture. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and hardcore music, and primarily featu ...

'', ''

World War 3 Illustrated ''World War 3 Illustrated'' is an American comics anthology magazine with a left-wing political focus, founded in 1979 (though the first issue was published in 1980) by New York City comic book artists Peter Kuper and Seth Tobocman,Neil Gaiman, ed ...

'', and

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

, among others. She is also a former member of New York

queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifical ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band God Is My Co-Pilot. Fly came to work in New York in the late 1980s, and got involved with

ABC No Rio ABC No Rio is a collectively-run non-profit arts organization on New York City's Lower East Side. It was founded in 1980 in a squat at 156 Rivington Street, following the eviction of the 1979-80 Real Estate Show. The centre featured an art gal ...

, a social center for punks and artists located at 156 Rivington street in New York City's

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

. She is a member of the

collective, and a contributor to the anthology '' Juicy Mother 2'', edited by

Jennifer Camper Jennifer Camper is a cartoonist and graphic artist whose work is inspired by her own experiences as a Lebanese-American lesbian. Her work has been included in various outlets such as newspapers and magazines since the 1980s, as well as in exhibit ...

, which was published by

Manic D Press Manic D Press is an American literary press based in San Francisco, California publishing fiction (novels and short stories), poetry, cultural studies, art, narrative-oriented comix, children's books, and alternative travel trade paperbacks. It wa ...

in 2007. In 2003, Fly exhibited her art at the

Cartoon Art Museum The Cartoon Art Museum (CAM) is a California art museum that specializes in the art of comics and cartoons. It is the only museum in the Western United States dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of all forms of cartoon art. The permanent ...

in San Francisco, California. She has also produced cover artwork for

Hungry March Band The Hungry March Band is an American brass band with approximately 15-20 active musicians and performers. In performance, the group's size can vary from five to fifty: from a quintet to a large corps of musicians, dancers, baton twirlers, and ...

Adeline Records Adeline Records was an American record label that was formed in Oakland, California in late 1997 and closed in August 2017. History In 1997, Adeline Records was founded by Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer of Green Day, Screw 32's Doug Sangal ...

and Geykido Comet Records. Aside from freelance cover artwork, she has printed many photocopy zines of her artwork and published books. In 1998, Fly had her first book, ''CHRON!IC!RIOTS!PA!SM!'', published by

Autonomedia Autonomedia is a nonprofit publisher based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn known for publishing works of criticism. Staffed by volunteers, they have published over 200 books, usually with 3,000 of each run. Its most renowned book is Hakim Bey's essays o ...

. In 2003, she published a graphic novel-style book named ''PEOPS'', a collection of portraits and stories about people Fly has met. The book was released by

Soft Skull Press Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company distributed by Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Avalon Publishing Group's Shoemaker & Hoard and the independent So ...

, and subtitled "Portraits and Stories of People".Peops by Fly
from

In 2006, she was invited as a guest speaker at the Victoria International Arts Symposium. In December this same year, Fly appeared at the Grace Comics showcase alongside

Elizabeth Merrick Elizabeth Merrick (born 1970) is an American author, best known as the founder and director of the ''Grace Reading Series'' and as editor of the Random House anthology ''This is not chick lit''. Merrick received a BA from Yale University, an M ...

. Aside from visual arts, Fly also engages in the

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

and musical collage art of her band Zero Content (named after one of her comic strips) which can be heard on several Geykido Comet Records Compilations.Rapoport, Lyn
The PEOPs have spoken: Comic book artist and illustrator Fly's brilliant subjects come to life
from ''

San Francisco Bay Guardian The ''San Francisco Bay Guardian'' was a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1966 by Bruce B. Brugmann and his wife, Jean Dibble. The paper was shut down on October 14, 2014. It was relaun ...

'' Previously, she played bass and sang for several years with Craig Flanagin in the band God Is My Co-Pilot, with which she went on tours in the 1990s.Portrait Of The Artist As A Fly
from

Razorcake Razorcake is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that publishes the Razorcake fanzine, a DIY punk rock fanzine published bi-monthly out of Los Angeles, California. It was co-founded by Todd Taylor (former Flipside managing editor) and Sean Ca ...

As of 2020, Fly’s zine archive has been acquired by the

Minneapolis Institute of Arts The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...

References

External links

Official site

at

Lambiek Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ), though since 2007, his son Boris Kousemaker is the current owner. From 1968 to 2015, it was located ...

* http://www.killerbanshee.com/fly/ * http://www.microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/artist/fly/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Fly Geykido Comet Records DIY culture American artists American punk rock singers Living people American anarchists Anarcho-punk musicians Punk comics Year of birth missing (living people) Women punk rock singers

See also

References

External links