Gary G. Dumm (b. c. 1947)
[Dumm entry](_blank)
Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. is an American comic book artist known particularly for his work illustrating the comics of
Harvey Pekar
Harvey Lawrence Pekar (; October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010) was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical ''American Splendor'' comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a ...
.
From
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 ...
until Pekar's 2010 death, he worked on Pekar's autobiographical comic series, ''
American Splendor
''American Splendor'' is a series of autobiographical comic books written by Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the last one in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular interv ...
'', much of the time as an
inker, embellishing the pencils of
Greg Budgett and
Joe Zabel, although he also illustrated some stories on his own. (Dumm has also inked Zabel in other venues, including
Caliber's ''Dancing With Your Eyes Closed'',
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 founde ...
' ''
Real Stuff
Real may refer to:
Currencies
* Brazilian real (R$)
* Central American Republic real
* Mexican real
* Portuguese real
* Spanish real
* Spanish colonial real
Music Albums
* Real (L'Arc-en-Ciel album), ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000)
* Real ...
'', and Zabel's own title ''The Trespassers''.)
Dumm was one of Pekar's most frequent and longest-running collaborators on ''American Splendor''; his no-frills style fit the tone of Pekar's tales of quotidian life. Although Dumm's work was characterized by one reviewer as "ham-fisted," whose characters all look "45" years old, Pekar "had great appreciation for Gary as an artist and as a person. . . . He's also good to work with — he's always on time, and can meet practically any kind of deadline. He's especially good at working large blocks of text into his work without making it seem text-heavy."
[Zabel Joe. "Stepping Out: ST's Joe Zabel Interviews Harvey Pekar," ''Harvey Pekar: Conversations'', edited by Michael G. Rhode (Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2008).]
Dumm also collaborated with Pekar as the primary artist on two full-length books, ''Ego & Hubris: The
Michael Malice
Michael Krechmer (born July 12, 1976), better known as Michael Malice, is a Ukrainian-American author, and podcaster. He is the host of '' "YOUR WELCOME" with Michael Malice'', a video podcast which airs on Podcast One.
Malice's early life was ...
Story'', and ''
Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s, and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships ...
: A Graphic History''.
During the 1980s, Budgett and Dumm worked on stories in ''
Dr. Wirtham's Comix & Stories'', an
underground
Underground most commonly refers to:
* Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth
Underground may also refer to:
Places
* The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston
* The Underground ...
/
alternative comics
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 ...
series published by
Clifford Neal, as well as a number of other alternative and independent comic book series. In the early 1990s, Budgett and Dumm co-wrote and drew stories for
Eternity Comics
Eternity Comics was a California-based comic book publisher active from 1986 to 1994, first as an independent publisher, then as an imprint of Malibu Comics. Eternity published creator-owned comics of an offbeat, independent flavor, as well as so ...
' ''Plan 9 From Outer Space: Thirty Years Later'' and their own
erotic series ''Shooty Beagle'' and ''Woofers & Hooters'' (both with
Eros Comix
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 ...
).
Dumm has also worked on such projects as ''Dennis McGee'' and ''The Miracle Squad''. He contributes a regular strip (illustrated bios of
blues people) to the newsletter ''Music Makers Rag''. His editorial cartoons have been published in ''
Cleveland Scene'', ''
Cleveland Free Times'', and ''
The Plain Dealer
''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday.
As of Ma ...
''. A retrospective of his work was shown at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve in Cleveland.
in May 2020, ''Fire on the Water'' was published by Abrams ComicArts, an imprint of Abrams Books, illustrated by Dumm and written by his long-time friend and fellow Cleveland-resident, Scott McGregor. The book is inspired by a true-life tragedy in 1916, dealing with tunneling beneath Lake Erie.
Dumm says he feels "itchy" when he is not drawing.
Personal life
Dumm married wife Laura, who is also an artist, in 1971. They live on the west side of Cleveland with a "family" of eight rescued stray cats.
["Contributors,"](_blank)
''City Poetry'' #21 (Spring 2008). From c. 1971–1983, Dumm worked as the assistant manager of the Cleveland-based Kay's Bookstore.
Bibliography
As primary artist:
* ''Ego & Hubris: The Michael Malice Story'' (written by Harvey Pekar) (Ballantine Books, 2006)
* ''
Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s, and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships ...
: A Graphic History'' (written by Harvey Pekar and
Paul Buhle
Paul Merlyn Buhle (born September 27, 1944) is a (retired) Senior Lecturer at Brown University, author or editor of 35 volumes including histories of radicalism in the United States and the Caribbean, studies of popular culture, and a series ...
) (Hill and Wang, 2008)
*Contributed a bio-comic on Hugh Hefner to ''Masterful Marks, Cartoonists Who Changed the World'' (written by
Monte Beauchamp) (Simon & Schuster, 2014)
Notes
References
*
Harvey Pekar's Artists
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumm, Gary
Living people
Underground artists
Artists from Cleveland
1949 births
American Splendor artists