David Lasky
Encyclopedia
David Lasky is an alternative
cartoonist
based in Seattle, Washington.
After spending the bulk of his life in Virginia
, and graduating from the College of William & Mary, Lasky moved to Seattle in 1992. He quickly found a circle of young comic book artists — including Megan Kelso
, Tom Hart
, Ed Brubaker
, Jon Lewis, and Jason Lutes
— drawing and publishing their own work. With them, Lasky aspired to take clichéd or neglected genres of comics and revitalize them with the lessons learned from the first wave of alternative comics.
Lasky's first two full-length comic books, Arrabbiata Comics and Monster City Comics, were created in collaboration with printmaker Paul Bonelli under the name Fistball Productions. In 1993, Lasky won a grant from the Xeric Foundation
to self–publish his comic Boom Boom. With this nudge, Boom Boom graduated from its minicomic
format, added a color cover, and began to take on its mature form as part history, part graphic novel, part surreal cartography. In 1994–1995, Aeon Publications published four issues of Boom Boom. Lasky used the layout style of Jack Kirby
for the James Joyce
biography in Boom Boom #2.
Throughout the 90s, Pulse magazine (a now defunct publication of Tower Records
) published a series of Lasky's comic biographies and musical impressions. These full-page cartoons were collages of image, text and story that stretched the limits of comic art and became a kind of visual essay. Those featured included Beethoven, Bob Dylan
, and legendary saxophonist Lester Young
.
Lasky's contribution to the comic book anthology Two–Fisted Science (written by Jim Ottaviani
) chronicles the life of physicist Richard Feynman
during his time with the Manhattan Project
at the Los Alamos National Laboratory
.
Lasky continued to push the boundaries of traditional comics in his collaborations with Greg Stump
, Urban Hipster (published by Alternative Comics
), which was nominated in 1999 for the Harvey Award
for best new series.
Lasky's latest project is Don't Forget This Song, a graphic novel biography of the Carter Family
, written with Frank Young. (An excerpt of the book was published in Kramers Ergot
volume 4.) The book will be published by Abrams Books.
Lasky has been nominated for numerous Ignatz Awards
, and has also served on the Ignatz Award jury.
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines 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 in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
based in Seattle, Washington.
After spending the bulk of his life in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and graduating from the College of William & Mary, Lasky moved to Seattle in 1992. He quickly found a circle of young comic book artists — including Megan Kelso
Megan Kelso
Megan Kelso is an American comic book artist and writer.Kelso started working in the 1990s, with the minicomic Girlhero, which won her a Xeric Foundation grant in 1993. She has since published several other projects including Queen of the Black Black and The Squirrel Mother...
, Tom Hart
Tom Hart (comics)
Tom Hart is an American comics creator best known for his Hutch Owen series of comics.-Career:Tom Hart began making mini-comics while living in Seattle in the early 1990s...
, Ed Brubaker
Ed Brubaker
Ed Brubaker is an Eisner Award-winning comic book writer and cartoonist. Brubaker first early comics work was primarily in the crime fiction genre with works such as Lowlife, The Fall, Sandman Presents: Dead Boy Detectives and Scene of the Crime...
, Jon Lewis, and Jason Lutes
Jason Lutes
Jason Lutes is an American comics creator. His work is mainly historical fiction, but he also works in traditional fiction...
— drawing and publishing their own work. With them, Lasky aspired to take clichéd or neglected genres of comics and revitalize them with the lessons learned from the first wave of alternative comics.
Lasky's first two full-length comic books, Arrabbiata Comics and Monster City Comics, were created in collaboration with printmaker Paul Bonelli under the name Fistball Productions. In 1993, Lasky won a grant from the Xeric Foundation
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...
to self–publish his comic Boom Boom. With this nudge, Boom Boom graduated from its minicomic
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 or less...
format, added a color cover, and began to take on its mature form as part history, part graphic novel, part surreal cartography. In 1994–1995, Aeon Publications published four issues of Boom Boom. Lasky used the layout style of Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
for the James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
biography in Boom Boom #2.
Throughout the 90s, Pulse magazine (a now defunct publication of Tower Records
Tower Records
Tower Records was a retail music chain that was based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as an international franchise and an online music store....
) published a series of Lasky's comic biographies and musical impressions. These full-page cartoons were collages of image, text and story that stretched the limits of comic art and became a kind of visual essay. Those featured included Beethoven, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, and legendary saxophonist Lester Young
Lester Young
Lester Willis Young , nicknamed "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist. He also played trumpet, violin, and drums....
.
Lasky's contribution to the comic book anthology Two–Fisted Science (written by Jim Ottaviani
Jim Ottaviani
Jim Ottaviani is the author of several comic books about the history of science. His best-known work, Two-Fisted Science: Stories About Scientists, features biographical stories about Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, Niels Bohr, and several stories about physicist Richard Feynman...
) chronicles the life of physicist Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
during his time with the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
at the Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
.
Lasky continued to push the boundaries of traditional comics in his collaborations with Greg Stump
Greg Stump
Greg Stump is an American ski and snowboarding filmmaker.He came to international attention first as a skier in films made by Dick Barrymore, particularly his "Vagabond Skier" shot in New Zealand in 1979. In 1979 Greg Stump had also won the North American Freestyle Championships at Edelweiss Valley...
, Urban Hipster (published by Alternative Comics
Alternative Comics (publisher)
Alternative Comics is a U.S. independent graphic novel and comic book publisher which operated from 1993–2007. Located in Gainesville, Florida, it is owned and operated by its founder, attorney Jeff Mason...
), which was nominated in 1999 for the Harvey Award
Harvey Award
The Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
for best new series.
Lasky's latest project is Don't Forget This Song, a graphic novel biography of the Carter Family
Carter Family
The Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country...
, written with Frank Young. (An excerpt of the book was published in Kramers Ergot
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...
volume 4.) The book will be published by Abrams Books.
Lasky has been nominated for numerous Ignatz Awards
Ignatz Awards
The Ignatz Awards are intended to recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year since 1997, but skipped a year in 2001 due to the show's cancellation after the September...
, and has also served on the Ignatz Award jury.