Rick Altergott (born 1961)"Artists,"
''Raw, Boiled, and Cooked: Comics on the Verge'', edited by Paul Candler (Last Gasp, 2004), p. 86. is an American

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

cartoonist and illustrator. Altergott is best known for '' Doofus'', a long-running low-brow,

scatological In medicine and biology, scatology or coprology is the study of feces. Scatological studies allow one to determine a wide range of biological information about a creature, including its diet (and thus where it has been), health and diseases s ...

series of strips which chronicle the misadventures of two small-town weirdos, Doofus and Henry Hotchkiss.

Life and career

Altergott got his BFA in film from the Pratt Institute, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. He met and befriended fellow cartoonist and Pratt student

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 typi ...

during his college years. During this period, Altergott and Clowes formed the small press comics publisher Look Mom Comics (inspired by Look Mom Carrots). Altergott's first published work was in the early 1980s, but he didn't really settle into the comics world until late in the decade, when he contributed regularly to the humor magazine ''

Cracked Cracked may refer to: Television * ''Cracked'' (British TV series), a 2008 British comedy-drama television series that aired on STV * ''Cracked'' (Canadian TV series), a 2013 Canadian crime drama series that aired on CBC * "Cracked", a Season 8 ( ...

''. Throughout the 1990s Altergott published the small-press comic ''Douche Bag Dougan'' (the titular hero of which later made an appearance in Fantagraphics Books' '' Zero Zero'' anthology.) Altergott's work has also appeared in Fantagraphics' ''

Duplex Planet Illustrated ''The Duplex Planet'' is a zine edited and published by David Greenberger since 1979. It contains transcriptions of his interviews with elderly residents of senior centers and "meal sites" in the Massachusetts area. For many years, the zine focuse ...

'' and ''

Hate Hatred is an intense negative emotional response towards certain people, things or ideas, usually related to opposition or revulsion toward something. Hatred is often associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust. Hatred is ...

'', where '' Doofus'' was a long-running backup feature repeatedly promoted by

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 reduce ...

. Altergott resides in

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Fal ...

,Altergott page on Fantagraphics website.
Accessed Nov. 26, 2008. with his wife, fellow cartoonist

Ariel Bordeaux Ariel Bordeaux is an American alternative cartoonist, painter, and writer. She is known for the confessional autobiographical minicomics series ''Deep Girl'' and the two-person title (with her husband Rick Altergott) '' Raisin Pie''. Life and ...

. Their collaborative comic book ''

Raisin Pie ''Raisin Pie'' is an American alternative comics series by husband-and-wife duo Rick Altergott and Ariel Bordeaux. Fantagraphics, which marketed the series as "gosh-darned good comics by the domesticated duo of ... Bordeaux ndAltergott", pub ...

'' was published by Fantagraphics Books from 2002 to 2007. In September 2006, Altergott released a serious biblical

minicomic 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& ...

based on the life of

Saint Matthias Matthias (Koine Greek: Μαθθίας, ''Maththías'' , from Hebrew מַתִּתְיָהוּ ''Mattiṯyāhū''; cop, ⲙⲁⲑⲓⲁⲥ; died c. AD 80) was, according to the Acts of the Apostles (written c. AD 63), chosen by the apostles to ...

. In 2008, Altergott and Bordeaux contributed to the anthology ''

Kramers Ergot ''Kramers Ergot'' is a series of anthology-style books of comic art edited by Sammy Harkham. Publication history ''Kramers Ergot'' started as a mini-comic self-published by Sammy Harkham under the imprint Avodah Books. Issues 4 and 5 were publish ...

'' 7. In April 2014, Altergott began work on a weekly comic for ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

'' named " Flowertown USA." (the home town of Doofus). The series lasted through the year. Altergott lived in

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

for a period when Daniel Clowes also lived there. Due to the similarities in their drawing styles, some observers have suggested that Altergott is a pseudonym for Clowes, allowing Clowes to draw in a different,

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as '' Weird Science'', '' Weird Fantasy'', and ''MAD Magazine'' fr ...

-inspired style. This is untrue. Altergott is also friends with

Jaime Hernandez Jaime (sometimes spelled Xaime) Hernandez (born 1959) is the co-creator of the Alternative comics, alternative comic book ''Love and Rockets (comics), Love and Rockets'' with his brothers Gilbert Hernandez, Gilbert and Mario Hernandez (comics), M ...

."Sex Advice From Cartoonists"
Accessed Dec. 24, 2011 .

Quotes

Gilbert Hernandez Gilberto Hernández (born February 1, 1957), usually credited as Gilbert Hernandez and also by the nickname Beto (), is an American cartoonist. He is best known for his ''Palomar''/''Heartbreak Soup'' stories in '' Love and Rockets'', an alterna ...

Bibliography

* '' Doofus'' (2 issues, Fantagraphics, December 1994–Spring 1997) * ''The Doofus Omnibus'' (Fantagraphics, 2002) * (with

) ''

'' (5 issues, Fantagraphics, October 2002–July 2007)

Notes

External links

*
Lambiek.net's Comiclopledia entry

Comic Art Collective page

Comics for Vice magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Altergott, Rick 1961 births Living people American comics artists American comics writers Underground cartoonists