David Heatley (born October 17, 1974) is an American

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 ...

, illustrator, graphic designer, and musician.

Biography

Education

Born in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, th ...

, Heatley graduated from

Teaneck High School , motto_translation = To enrich the mind and improve the character , fundingtype = Public , schooltype = high school , grades = 9– 12 , district = Teaneck Public Schools , enrollment = 1,239 (as of 2021–22) , faculty = ...

in 1993. He graduated from the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

in 2000.

Comics

Though he studied painting and filmmaking at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

, Heatley started drawing comics regularly in the late 1990s. Since then, his comics and illustrations have appeared on the cover of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', in ''

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 ...

'', ''

McSweeney’s McSweeney's Publishing is an American non-profit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. Initially publishing the literary journal'' Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', the company has moved to n ...

'', '' Mome'', and ''

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 publishe ...

'', among others. He has been featured three times in the '' Best American Comics'' series.

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 ...

has published two issues of his solo comic book series, ''Deadpan'', and

Pantheon Books Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint with editorial independence. It is part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.Random House, Inc. Datamonitor Company Profiles Authority: Retrieved 6/20/2007, from EBSCO Host Business Source ...

released his first full-length book, ''My Brain is Hanging Upside Down'', in September 2008.

Music

Heatley's high school band Velvet Cactus Society released two albums on

Shimmy Disc Shimmy Disc is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1987 by Mark Kramer. Before it was sold to the Knitting Factory, artists like Bongwater, Daniel Johnston, Fly Ashtray, Galaxie 500, King Missile, Boredoms, Ruins, Ween, Gwar ...

in the early 1990s. In 2008, he recorded (under his own name) a soundtrack to his graphic novel "My Brain is Hanging Upside Down", featuring a cover of The Ramones song by the same name. The soundtrack was released on WonderSound records.

Personal life

Heatley lives in Jackson Heights, NY, with his wife Rebecca Gopoian (an agnostic, Jewish-Armenian poet) and their two children, Maya and Samuel Heatley.

Inspiration

Heatley lists among his influences

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 ...

Gary Panter Gary Panter (born December 1, 1950) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post-Underground comix, underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of ...

Fort Thunder Fort Thunder (1995–2001) was a warehouse on the second floor of a pre-Civil War former textile factory in the Olneyville district of Providence, Rhode Island. From 1995 through 2001, the space was used as a venue for underground music and events ...

, and

Paper Rad ''Paper Rad'' was an art collective from approx. 2000 until 2008, based on the East Coast in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Providence, Rhode Island. Known for creating comics, zines, video art, net art, MIDI files, paintings, installations, and mu ...

.David Heatley's artist page at Drawger
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Selected works

Books

''My Brain is Hanging Upside Down''
(Pantheon Books, September, 2008, ) * ''Otis Dooda'', written by Ellen Potter, Feiwel & Friends, 2013 * ''Otis Dooda: Downright Dangerous'', written by Ellen Potter, Feiwel & Friends, 2014 * ''Qualification: A Graphic Memoir in Twelve Steps'', Pantheon, 2019

Solo Comics

* ''Deadpan'' #1 (Fantagraphics) * ''Deadpan'' #2 (Fantagraphics)

Collaborative Comics

* ''My Home Birth'' by

Christen Clifford To christen is to perform the religious act of baptism. Christen may also refer to: People Surname * Adolf Christen (1811–1883), court actor, theater director and theater manager * Andreas Christen (born 1989), footballer from Liechtenstein * ...

Anthology appearances

References

External links

*
David Heatley's artist page at Drawger

September 2007 interview on the Inkstuds radio show

October 2008 interview from Comixology

Heatley on comics and graphic design

by

Diane Wakoski Diane Wakoski (born August 3, 1937) is an American poet. Wakoski is primarily associated with the deep image poets, as well as the confessional and Beat poets of the 1960s. She received considerable attention in the 1980s for controversial commen ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heatley, David Alternative cartoonists Underground cartoonists People from Teaneck, New Jersey Oberlin College alumni Teaneck High School alumni 1974 births Living people