Dan Vado is a comic book publisher and writer, and a fixture of the independent comics community. Vado is the owner, president, and publisher of Slave Labor Graphics

Slave Labor Graphics

Slave Labor Graphics is an independent American comic book publisher, well-known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics.-Company history:...

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Biography

Vado started Slave Labor (SLG) in 1986 and is still its lone owner. The books Vado initially chose to publish were done by his personal friends, many of them acquaintances from high school. Even after more than twenty years in the business, Vado continues to publish books he "genuinely like[s]" rather than what he thinks the market is looking for.

His writing credits include Barabbas (Mirage Studios

Mirage Studios

Mirage Studios is an independent American comic book company founded in 1983 by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, based in Northampton, Massachusetts and best known for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series.-History:...

), Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (DC Comics

DC Comics

DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...

), Bill The Clown (Slave Labor), Extreme Justice (DC), Haunted Mansion (Slave Labor), Hero Sandwich (Slave Labor), Justice League America (DC), and Universal Monsters: Dracula (Dark Horse Comics). He also founded the Alternative Press Expo

Alternative Press Expo

The Alternative Press Expo or APE, as it is more commonly known, is a comics convention. It was founded in 1994 by Dan Vado as an event for self-publishers, independent publishers and alternative cartoonists to showcase their books. It was originally held in San Jose, California. Comic-Con...

, one of the first comics conventions dedicated to alternative comics and self-publishers.

Personal life

Vado is well-known known throughout the comics community for his opinionated, plain-spoken, and humorous nature. He is also an amateur cook with a predilection for "beer can chicken." He lives in San Jose, California

San Jose, California

San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...

, is married, and is the father of two teenage boys.

External links

• Slave Labor Graphics official site