Biographix SC (2023- UPoM) comic books

Volume 1 - 1st printing. "Howard Cruse!" Written by Janine Utell. Art by Howard Cruse. Howard Cruse tells the life story of one of the most important figures in LGBTQ+ comics. A preacher's kid from Alabama who became "the godfather of queer comics," Cruse (1944-2019) was a groundbreaking underground cartoonist, a wicked satirist, an LGBTQ+ activist, and a mentor to a vast network of queer comics artists. His comic strip Wendel, published in The Advocate throughout the 1980s, is considered a revolutionary moment in the development of LGBTQ+ comics, as is his inaugurating the editorship of Gay Comix with Kitchen Sink Press in 1979, which furthered the careers of important artists like Jennifer Camper and Alison Bechdel. Cruse's graphic novel Stuck Rubber Baby, published in 1995, fictionalizes his own coming out in the context of the civil rights movement in 1960s Birmingham and was a significant forerunner to contemporary graphic novels and memoirs. Softcover, 5 1/2-in. x 8-in., 224 pages, Text (with B&W Illustrations). Cover price $20.00.

Volume 2 - 1st printing. "Ben Katchor!" Written by Benjamin Fraser. Art by Ben Katchor. The recipient of a 2000 MacArthur fellowship, Ben Katchor (b. 1951) is a beloved comics artist with a career spanning four decades. Published in indie weeklies across the United States, his comics are known for evoking the sensorium of the modern metropolis. In some of his early strips published in the 1980s in the New York Press and Forward, Katchor introduced one of his quintessential characters, Julius Knipl, a real estate photographer. By crafting Knipl as an urban flâneur prone to wandering, Katchor was able to variously demonstrate his absurd humor and linguistic whimsy alongside narratives packed with social critique. Rooted in close analyses of the artist's numerous series and collections, each chapter in Ben Katchor is dedicated to a distinct aspect of the urban experience. Softcover, 5 1/2-in. x 8-in., 128 pages, Text (with B&W Illustrations). Cover price $20.00.

Volume 3 - 1st printing. "George Pérez!" Written by Patrick L Hamilton. Art by George Perez. Cover by Antony Hare. Born in the South Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, artist and writer George Pérez (1954-2022) cut his teeth in the 1970s as an artist at Marvel who worked on lesser titles like The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu and Creatures on the Loose, and then mainstays like Fantastic Four and The Avengers. In the 1980s, Pérez jumped ship to DC where he helped turn The New Teen Titans into a top-selling title and co-created Crisis on Infinite Earths, which marked the publisher's fiftieth anniversary and consolidated its sprawling universe. As writer and artist, Pérez relaunched DC's Wonder Woman, a run that later inspired much of the 2017 film. Though Pérez's style is highly recognizable, his contributions to comic art and history have not been fully acknowledged. In George Pérez, author Patrick L. Hamilton addresses this neglect, first, by discussing Pérez's artistic style within the context of Bronze Age superhero art, and second, by analyzing Pérez's work for its representations of race, disability, and gender. Though he struggled with deadlines and health issues in the 1990s, Pérez would reintroduce himself and his work to a new generation of comics fans with a return to Marvel's The Avengers, as well as attempts at various creator-owned comics, the last of these being Sirens from Boom! Studios in 2014. Throughout his career, Pérez established a dynamic and minutely detailed style of comic art that was both unique and influential. Softcover, 5 1/2-in. x 8-in., 128 pages, Text (with full color Illustrations). Cover price $20.00.

Volume 4 - 1st printing. "Moebius!" Written by Nicolas Labarre. Art by Moebius. Cover by Anthony Hare. The first English-language volume to explore the career of the comics artist who inspired Blade Runner, Akira, and Hayao Miyazaki, this seventh volume in the Biographix Series features Jean Giraud (1938-2012) started drawing comics in the late 1950s for a variety of French comics magazines. Under his real name, he found success in 1963 with the western series Blueberry, written by Jean-Michel Charlier and published in Pilote magazine. In the 1970s, he started producing science fiction works under the name of Moebius, which brought him international success, and which included works such as Arzach. He died in 2012, as a global celebrity in the comics world and a major influence across visual media. Softcover, 5 1/2-in. x 8-in., 144 pages, Text (with full color Illustrations). Cover price $20.00.

Volume 5 - 1st printing. "Chester Brown!" Written by Patrick L Hamilton. Art by Chester Brown. Best known for his alternative comics, Chester Brown (b. 1960) is one of the most acclaimed and influential cartoonists of the last half century. Characterized by often minimalist art and unconventional themes, comics such as Yummy Fur, Ed the Happy Clown, I Never Liked You, Louis Riel, and Paying for It have consistently pushed boundaries and confronted taboos. This first biography provides a critical account of Brown's life and career, highlighting his role in the evolving comics landscape and tracing his journey from self-publishing minicomics on the streets of Toronto to creating award-winning graphic novels. Softcover, 5 1/2-in. x 8-in., 144 pages, Text (with full color Illustrations). Cover price $20.00.

Volume 4 - 1st printing. By J. Andrew Deman. Cover by Anthony Hare. "Chris Claremont!" Chris Claremont (b. 1950) is best known for his landmark sixteen-year author run on Uncanny X-Men. This is the longest author run in Marvel comics history, one that saw X-Men go from a title on the verge of cancellation to one of the most popular comics for over a decade and, eventually, a multibillion-dollar film franchise. The story of Chris Claremont is the story of a creator who achieved popular success whilst making a significant artistic contribution to his chosen medium, including the first African American superheroine, the first Black superhero team leader, the first canonically Jewish Marvel superhero, extensive queer subtext, extensive BDSM imagery, the first superhero team with a strong female roster, and the best-selling single-issue comic of all time. This volume heralds an impressive career and marvels at how Claremont accomplished all of this within mainstream comics. Softcover, 5 1/2-in. x 8-in., 128 pages, Text (with full color Illustrations). Cover price $20.00.