Josh Neufeld (born August 9, 1967) is an

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 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 g ...

known for his nonfiction comics on subjects like

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, international

travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel c ...

, and finance, as well as his collaborations with writers like Harvey Pekar and

Brooke Gladstone Brooke Gladstone (born 1955) is an American journalist, author and media analyst. She is the host and managing editor of the WNYC radio program '' On the Media''. Career Gladstone has covered media for much of her career. In the early 1980s, she ...

. He is the writer/artist of '' A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge'', and the illustrator of '' The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media''.

Biography and career highlights

Born in New York to parents Leonard Neufeld and artist Martha Rosler, Neufeld spent most of his youth in California (San Diego and San Francisco), and then moved back to New York City during his teenage years. He graduated from the

Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, often referred to simply as LaGuardia, is a public high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Square n ...

in 1985 and

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of highe ...

with a B.A. in Art History in 1989.Richardson, Clem
"Comics Artist Has Serious Mission," ''New York Daily News'' (June 23, 2006).
Accessed Feb. 24, 2009. Shortly after graduating from college, he spent over a year backpacking with his then-girlfriend (now his wife) through Southeast Asia and Central Europe, and living for a period in the Czech Republic. As a child, Neufeld's influences were Belgian cartoonist Hergé's ''

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 bande dessinée#Formats, ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one ...

'', Goscinny & Uderzo's ''

Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...

'', and the

Curt Swan Douglas Curtis Swan (February 17, 1920 – June 17, 1996) was an American comics artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans call the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 195 ...

- Murphy Anderson issues of ''Action Comics'' and ''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

''. Later in life, as he gravitated toward alternative comics, Neufeld was inspired by the writing and work of

Scott McCloud Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. He is best known for his non-fiction books about comics: ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and '' Making Comics'' (20 ...

, Chris Ware, and Dan Clowes; and the real-life stories of Joe Sacco, Harvey Pekar, and David Greenberger. In 2010, Neufeld was invited to act as a representative of the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

's Speaker and Specialist program, which sends Americans abroad as cultural "ambassadors." In March 2010, Neufeld spent two weeks in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

as part of the program; in October he visited

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

, and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

/ Palestine as part of the same program. Neufeld was a 2012–2013

Knight-Wallace Fellow The Knight-Wallace Fellowship (previously known as the NEH Journalism Fellowship and the Michigan Journalism Fellowship) is an award given to accomplished journalists at the University of Michigan. Knight-Wallace Fellowships are awarded to repor ...

in journalism at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

; he was the first so-called " comics journalist" to be awarded a Knight-Wallace Fellowship. In October 2014, Neufeld was a Master Artist at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, where he led a three-week residency for mid-career cartoonists. Neufeld is also a comics educator. He is on the faculty of the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

, and the summer faculty of

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

. He is the lead faculty mentor for the Comics & Graphic Narratives concentration at the Solstice Low-Residency MFA Program of

Pine Manor College Pine Manor College (PMC) was a private college in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1911 and was historically a women's college until 2014. It currently serves fewer than 400 students, many of whom live on the 40-acre campus. Origin ...

. He was a visiting professor at CUNY Queens College in the spring of 2017, and returned in the same role in Spring 2020. Neufeld currently resides with his wife, the writer Sari Wilson, and their daughter, in

Brooklyn, New York 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 ...

Works

Creator-owned titles

Neufeld was awarded a 2004 grant from the

Xeric Foundation The Xeric Foundation is a private, nonprofit corporation based in Northampton, Massachusetts, which for twenty years awarded self-publishing grants to comic book creators, as well as qualified charitable and nonprofit organizations. The Xeric Fou ...

for his graphic novel, ''A Few Perfect Hours (and Other Stories From

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

)'', a collection of real-life stories about his travel experiences. He is the creator of the

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series ''The Vagabonds'' (published by

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 ...

), and co-creator (with high school friend Dean Haspiel) of '' Keyhole'' ( Millennium/Modern and Top Shelf Productions) and (with R. Walker) ''Titans of Finance: True Tales of Money and Business'' (Alternative Comics).

A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge

In 2005, shortly after

struck the Gulf Coast, Neufeld spent three weeks as an

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the des ...

volunteer in Biloxi, Mississippi. The

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in Reverse ...

he kept about that experience turned into a self-published book, ''Katrina Came Calling'' (2006). Later, Neufeld was asked to write the introduction to a book called ''Signs of Life: Surviving Katrina'', a collection of photos of the hand-made signs that appeared in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina. Profits from sales of the book went two organizations still working in the area: Common Ground Relief and Hands On Network. In 2007–2008, Neufeld wrote and drew '' A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge,'' an online graphic novel serialized on

SMITH Magazine ''Smith Magazine'' is a U.S.-based online magazine devoted to storytelling in all its forms. ''Smiths content is participatory in nature, and the magazine welcomes contributions from all its readers. The magazine has made a name for itself with i ...

. ''A.D.'' tells the real stories of seven New Orleans residents and their experiences during and after Hurricane Katrina. ''A.D.'' received extensive press coverage, including in such venues as the ''Los Angeles Times'', the ''New Orleans Times-Picayune'', the ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', ''Rolling Stone'', Wired.com, BoingBoing, the ''Toronto Star'', and National Public Radio's "News & Notes". Through this work, and his later collaboration, ''The Influencing Machine'', Neufeld leads an intense reflection about the way the media treats information.Kuhn-Kenned, Fleur & Daniel Kennedy
"L'oeil du Cyclone,"
''L'Intermède'' (Feb. 2015) In May 2008, it was announced that a four-color hardcover edition of ''A.D.'' would be published by Pantheon Graphic Novels. The book included 25% more story and art, as well as extensive revisions to the material from the webcomic.Jaffe, Sarah
"Webcomics: Josh Neufeld & ''A.D.'', Newsarama (Jan. 29, 2009).
Accessed Apr. 20, 2009. Debuting on August 18, 2009, shortly before Hurricane Katrina's fourth anniversary, ''A.D.'' went on to become a ''New York Times'' bestseller.

Other publications

His comics have also been published in The Atavist, Cartoon Movement, '' World War 3 Illustrated, FSB, NEA Arts, mMode'' magazine, ''ReadyMade,

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 cr ...

The Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...

, In These Times'', and many other venues. Neufeld's illustrations have appeared 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 ...

'', the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'', '' Nickelodeon Magazine'', the ''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internationa ...

'', the ''

Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial mix is focu ...

'', ''

New York Press ''New York Press'' was a free alternative weekly in New York City, which was published from 1988 to 2011. The ''Press'' strove to create a rivalry with the '' Village Voice''. ''Press'' editors claimed to have tried to hire away writer Nat Hen ...

'', ''ShuttleSheet'', and many other publications. Neufeld is one of the founding members of the online comics collective ACT-I-VATE. In 2014 he joined the comics collective Hang Dai Editions (of whose founding members was his long-time friend Dean Haspiel). Neufeld co-wrote the " motion comics" element of the

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast '' ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include morning news-talk show '' Good Morning America'', '' ...

documentary '' Earth 2100'', which premiered on ABC on June 2, 2009. Neufeld worked on the sections of the documentary dealing with the fictional character "Lucy," who witnesses the apocalyptic effects of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

and societal upheaval during the course of the 21st century. His comics were introduced in France through Angoulême's International Comic Festival in 2012 and 2015.

Collaboration

Neufeld was a long-time artist for Pekar’s '' American Splendor'', and has collaborated with many writers from outside the comics world, including poets, memoirists, and theatre groups. Other comics writers Neufeld has illustrated stories for include Pekar's wife Joyce Brabner (in ''American Splendor''), and Greenberger in '' Duplex Planet Illustrated'' (published by Fantagraphics), R. Walker (in ''Titans of Finance''), and Peter Ross (in a self-published mini-comic called ''Mortgage Your Soul''). Neufeld's collaborations with writers from outside the traditional comics world tend to be formalist and experimental in spirit. He has adapted a number of poet Nick Flynn's pieces into comics, which have appeared in various literary journals and websites. Neufeld is an Associate Artist with the New York-based theatre collective

The Civilians The Civilians is an investigative theatre company in New York City founded in 2001 by Artistic Director, Steve Cosson. The Civilians artists pursue their inquiries using interviews, community residencies, research, and other methods. Working with ...

, and has adapted portions of a number of their plays into comic book form. He has also collaborated with writer

Eileen Myles Eileen Myles (born December 9, 1949) is a LAMBDA Literary Award-winning American poet and writer who has produced more than twenty volumes of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, libretti, plays, and performance pieces over the last three decades. No ...

, and Neufeld's mother, artist Martha Rosler. A special issue (subtitled "Of Two Minds") of Neufeld's comics series ''The Vagabonds'' was dedicated to his many collaborations. Most recently, Neufeld collaborated with journalist

, co-host of

WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that ...

radio's '' On the Media''. Their book, published by

W.W. Norton W. W. Norton & Company is an American publishing company based in New York City. Established in 1923, it has been owned wholly by its employees since the early 1960s. The company is known for its Norton Anthologies (particularly ''The Norton An ...

, is titled '' The Influencing Machine'' and was released in May 2011. Gladstone describes the book as "a treatise on the relationship between us and the news media, . . . a manifesto on the role of the press in American history as told through a cartoon version of ethat would preside over each page."

Selected bibliography

Neufeld's website
features a complete bibliography.

Graphic novels and creator-owned works

* ''The Vagabonds'' (issues #1-2

, 2003–2006; issues #3–6 Hang Dai Productions, 2014-2018) * (as co-editor with Sari Wilson) ''Flashed: Sudden Stories in Comics and Prose'' (Pressgang, 2016) * (with

) '' The Influencing Machine'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 2011) * '' A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge'' (

2007–2008;

Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...

, 2009) * ''A Few Perfect Hours (and Other Stories From Southeast Asia & Central Europe)'' (self-published through a grant from the

, 2004) * (with writer R. Walker) ''Titans of Finance'' (

, 2001) * (with Dean Haspiel) '' Keyhole'' (issues #1-4 Millennium/Modern, 1996–1997; issues #5–6 Top Shelf Productions, 1998; issue #7 ("Keyhole 25") Hang Dai Productions, 2021)

Comics journalism stories

* "Kansas City and the Case for Restitution Medicine," ''Harvard Public Health'' magazine (Fall 2022) * “Vaccinated at the Ball: A True Story About Trusted Messengers,” '' The Journalist's Resource'' (June 13, 2022); reprinted in the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

'' Sunday edition * “Clean Slate: A Student-Debt Forgiveness Story,” ''The Emancipator (website), The Emancipator'' (Apr. 24, 2022) * “A Tale of Two Pandemics: A Nonfiction Comic About Persistent Racial Disparities,” ''The Journalist’s Resource'' (Nov. 16, 2020) * “Supply Chain Superhero,” ''PANDEMIX: Quarantine Comics in the Age of ‘Rona'' (July 2020) * "A Brief Introduction to Differential Privacy: A Data Protection Plan for the 2020 Census,” ''The Journalist's Resource'' (Mar. 23, 2020) * "A Graphic Guide to the 2020 US Census," ''The Journalist's Resource'' (Dec. 2, 2019) * "Still Life: Thinking Outside the Casket," ''The Nib'' (Nov. 8, 2018) * "The Trump-Russia memos: a graphic account of the so-called ‘dossier’ that had the media world buzzing," ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (Fall 2017) * "Why We Break Our Stuff Accidentally-on-Purpose," ''Harvard Business School Working Knowledge'' (March 29, 2017) * "Costumed Chaos in Times Square: The infamous street Elmos of NYC fight for their right to take selfies with tourists," ''The Nib'' (Sept. 26, 2016) * "The Secret Life of Emojis," ''The Boston Globe'' (March 11, 2016) * (with Adam Bessie) "A Scanner Constantly,” ''Pacific Standard'' (Feb. 8, 2016) * (with Alia Malek and Peter van Agtmael) "The Road to Germany: $2400," ''Foreign Policy'' (Jan./Feb. 2016) * (co-written with Michael Keller) "Fare Game: Taking the Rating Economy for a Ride," ''Al Jazeera America'' (Dec. 19, 2015) * "Where are they now? Revisiting 4 Katrina survivors 10 years later," ''Splinter News, Fusion'' (Aug. 28, 2015) * (with Adam Bessie) "Notification: You’ve Got Cancer," ''The Boston Globe'' (July 2, 2015) * (with Martha Rosler) "Gift to the World,” ''The Art of Saving a Life'' (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Feb. 2015) * "Crossing the Line: Racial Profiling at the U.S. Border," ''Medium/The Nib'' (Jan. 5, 2015) * (co-written with Michael Keller) "Terms of Service: Understanding Our Role in the World of Big Data," ''Al Jazeera America'' (Oct. 30, 2014) * (with Adam Bessie) "The School is Not a Pipe" ''Truthout'' (Feb. 7, 2014) * "SuperStorm Stories: a Red Hook Family," ''Medium/The Nib'' (Oct. 29, 2013) * "Türk Cayi,” ''The Journal of the Knight-Wallace Fellows of the University of Michigan'' (2013) * "Adventures in Comics Journalism," ''Mint (newspaper), Mint'''s "The Small Picture" (2013) * "The Bitumen Junket," ''The Journal of the Knight-Wallace Fellows of the University of Michigan'' (2012) * (with Tori Marlan) "Stowaway," ''Atavist'' (May 2012) * "Bahrain: Lines in Ink, Lines in the Sand," '' Cartoon Movement'' (Dec. 8, 2011) * (with Martha Rosler) "Scenes From an Illicit War: From Planet Invisible," ''System Error: War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning'' (Silvana Editoriale, 2007) * (with Harvey Pekar) "Global Warming," '' American Splendor'' (vol. 2) #2 (Vertigo, 2008) * (with R. Walker) "Titans of Finance: Hoodoo," ''Drawn Bits'' (2002) * (with R. Walker) "Titans of Finance: The Comic Book Villain," ''Small Press Expo, EXPO 2000'' (2000) * (with Harvey Pekar) "Stupid Capitalists," ''Green Magazine'' (Winter 2000) * (with R. Walker) "Titans of Finance: Look the Part," ''SPX’99: The Comic'' (1999) * (with R. Walker) "Titans of Finance: Ask Jay," ''Small Press Expo'' (1997) * (with Harvey Pekar) "Andy Statman," ''The Village Voice'' (1996)

Awards

* 2018 Council for Advancement and Support of Education, CASE Circle of Excellence Award (Bronze Medal: Writing for the Web). For “The Story of Why Humans Are So Careless with Their Phones” (''Harvard Business School Working Knowledge'') * 2018 American Society of Business Publication Editors (National First Place Award). For “The Story of Why Humans Are So Careless with Their Phones” (''Harvard Business School Working Knowledge'') * 2016 (nomination) One World Media Press Award, One World Media, London, England, UK. For “The Road to Germany: $2400” (''Foreign Policy'') * 2015 Economic Hardship Reporting Project Grant, Institute for Policy Studies, Washington, D.C. For “AD10K” (''Fusion'') * 2015 EPPY Award (Best Innovation Project on a Website), ''Editor & Publisher'', New York City. For ''Terms of Service'' * 2014 Master Artist, Atlantic Center for the Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida * 2012 Knight-Wallace Fellowship in Journalism at the University of Michigan * 2012 (nomination) Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic ("Bahrain: Lines in Ink, Lines in the Sand") * 2010 (nomination) Harvey Award for Best Previously Published Graphic Album (''A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge'') * 2010 (nomination) Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album-Reprint (''A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge'') * 2010 (nomination) Harry Chapin Media Award in the Book category (''A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge'')"Harry Chapin Media Awards Finalists Announced,"
World Hunger Year, WHY website (April 15, 2010). * 2004 Xeric Award for ''A Few Perfect Hours (and Other Stories from Southeast Asia & Central Europe)'' * (nomination) 1997 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Comic (''Keyhole'' #2) * 1996 CAAP (Chicago Arts Assistance Program) Grant, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs

Notes

References

; Sources consulted
''American Prospect'' online ''A.D.'' feature

; Interviews
''The Journalist's Resource'' interview

NPR "News & Notes" interview

Comicon.com "The Pulse" interview

Sequential Tart interview