Ed Piskor (born July 28, 1982)''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...

'' #1650; February 2009; page 107 is an

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 ...

artist operating out of

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. He is a former student of The Kubert School and is best known for his artistic collaborations with

underground comics Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

pioneers

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 ...

of ''

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 ...

'' fame, and

Jay Lynch Jay Patrick Lynch (January 7, 1945 – March 5, 2017) was an American cartoonist who played a key role in the underground comix movement with his ''Bijou Funnies'' and other titles. He is best known for his comic strip ''Nard n' Pat'' and the ...

who illustrates ''

Garbage Pail Kids ''Garbage Pail Kids'' is a series of sticker trading cards produced by the Topps Company, originally released in 1985 and designed to parody the ''Cabbage Patch Kids'' dolls, which were popular at the time. Each sticker card features a Garbage P ...

''. He has a cult following amongst

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& ...

fans with his series ''Deviant Funnies'' and ''Isolation Chamber''.

Life

Piskor was fascinated by comics throughout his childhood. He was a great fan of mainstream comics such as ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bimonthly per ...

'', but his interest in the alternative comics developed rapidly when, at the age of 9, he saw a documentary that had Harvey Pekar reading one of his ''American Splendor'' stories. After finishing high school, he attended the Kubert School for a year, where he met comics artists including Steve Bissette,

Tom Yeates Thomas Yeates (born January 19, 1955) is an American comic strip and comic book artist best known for illustrating the comic strips '' Prince Valiant'' and ''Zorro'' and for working on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Career Thomas ...

John Totleben John Thomas Totleben (born February 16, 1958 in Erie, Pennsylvania) is an American illustrator working mostly in comic books. Biography After studying art at Tech Memorial in Erie, Totleben attended The Kubert School for one year. He then spent se ...

, and

Rick Veitch Richard Veitch (born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics. Early life Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One of six children, he ...

. His first major comics ''Deviant Funnies'' and the autobiographical ''Isolation Chamber'' are generally marked with

dark humour Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

. In 2003 he started his collaboration with Jay Lynch, and shortly after that with Harvey Pekar. Piskor's first major task with Pekar was illustrating stories of ''American Splendor: Our Movie Year'', which elaborates Pekar's experience after the release of the movie ''

''. Piskor also illustrated Pekar's

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

'' Macedonia'', which was released in 2007 through Villard Books. Piskor's series '' Wizzywig'' deals with Kevin "Boingthump" Phenicle, a young prodigy who becomes fascinated with social engineering, phone phreaking, and eventually computer hacking. As the series progresses, Kevin grows as well as his trials and tribulations with hacking. His endeavors make him legendary; his abilities are feared and also revered by many. The character from the series, Kevin, is a composite of many well known phreaks and hackers such as

Kevin Mitnick Kevin David Mitnick (born August 6, 1963) is an American computer security consultant, author, and convicted hacker. He is best known for his high-profile 1995 arrest and five years in prison for various computer and communications-related crim ...

Kevin Poulsen Kevin Lee Poulsen (born November 30, 1965) is an American former black-hat hacker and a contributing editor at ''The Daily Beast''. Biography He was born in Pasadena, California, on November 30, 1965. Black-hat hacking On June 1, 1990, Poul ...

Joybubbles Joybubbles ( – ), born Josef Carl Engressia Jr. in Richmond, Virginia, was an early phone phreak. Born blind, he became interested in telephones at age four. He had absolute pitch, and was able to whistle 2600 hertz into a telephone, an operato ...

, and many others. In 2009 Piskor collaborated with Pekar on the graphic book ''The Beats: A Graphic History''. The book was published in the UK by Souvenir Press Ltd and drew plaudits from Studs Terkel: “''The Beats'' is as fresh and pertinent as the latest scholarly history, only far more entertaining.” ''The Beats'' tells the story of Jack Kerouac,

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

and John Clellon Holmes who became known as The Beat Generation. This cultural revolution is seen through the eyes of the movement's key figures and its minor characters including

Diane di Prima Diane di Prima (August 6, 1934October 25, 2020) was an American poet, known for her association with the Beat movement. She was also an artist, prose writer, and teacher. Her magnum opus is widely considered to be ''Loba'', a collection of poems ...

Carolyn Cassady Carolyn Elizabeth Robinson Cassady (April 28, 1923 – September 20, 2013) was an American writer and associated with the Beat Generation through her marriage to Neal Cassady and her friendships with Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and other pro ...

Philip Lamantia Philip Lamantia (October 23, 1927 – March 7, 2005) was an American poet and lecturer. His poems were often visionary, ecstatic, terror-filled, and erotic, exploring the subconscious world of dreams and linking it to daily experiences, while s ...

, and others. The startlingly original graphic non-fiction work was highly praised in ''Vanity Fair'': “Editor Paul Buhle’s graphic history ''The Beats''—with riffs from cats such as Harvey Pekar and

Trina Robbins Trina Robbins (born Trina Perlson; August 17, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the first female artists in that movement. In the 1980s, Robbins beca ...

—burns like a Roman candle.” Piskor's Eisner Award winning series, ''

Hip Hop Family Tree ''Hip Hop Family Tree'' is a series of educational and historical comic books written and illustrated by Ed Piskor that documents the early history of hip hop culture. Originating online with ''Boing Boing'', the series was published in print form ...

'', is a historical account of hip hop culture and the artists that have shaped the genre. Piskor has announced that he is writing a new comic for

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

titled ''X-Men: Grand Design'' focusing on the history of the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...

. The first issue of ''Grand Design'' was released in December 2017. Since 2018, Piskor has co-hosted ''Cartoonist Kayfabe!'', a YouTube channel focusing on '90s and independent comics, with fellow Pittsburgh native Jim Rugg. In 2020 Piskor started serializing a graphic novel titled ''Red Room'' on his personal

Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a com ...

page, which is set to be published as a physical book in 2021.

Works

*''Macedonia'', New York, NY. : Villard/Random House, 2007. , *''Wizzywig'', Marietta, Ga. : Top Shelf, 2012. , *''Hip Hop Family Tree,'' Seattle, Washington : Fantagraphics Books, Inc., 2013. , *''X-Men : Grand Design'', New York, NY : Marvel Worldwide, Inc., 2018. ,

References

External links

*
interview with Rob Clough

Profile at ninthart.com

Interview about Macedonia Graphic novel written by Harvey Pekar and Heather Roberson

Review of ''Wizzywig Volume 1: Phreak'' by Brian Heater

Review of ''Wizzywig Volume 1: Phreak'' at Newsarama

Short comic featured in Smith Mag: “My neighbor the dickhead”
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piskor, Ed American cartoonists American comics artists American comics writers Underground cartoonists Eisner Award winners The Kubert School alumni People from Homestead, Pennsylvania Living people 1982 births American Splendor artists Writers from Pittsburgh Artists from Pittsburgh 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American artists