Tom Spurgeon
Encyclopedia
Tom Spurgeon is an American
writer, historian and editor in the field of comics, notable for his five-year run as editor of The Comics Journal
(1994–99) and his blog The Comics Reporter, which he launched in 2004 with site designer Jordan Raphael.
and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book. He wrote the popular comic strip
Wildwood with his childhood friend Dan Wright. The strip, initially launched as Bobo's Progress, was syndicated by King Features
from 1999 to 2002 and ran in about 80 newspapers.
Spurgeon co-authored an as yet unpublished history of Fantagraphics. Written with Jacob Covey, Comics as Art: We Told You So was initially scheduled for release in 2006. However, a defamation lawsuit launched by Harlan Ellison
against Fantagraphics, claiming they had defamed him in the book, saw publication delayed. Although the suit was settled with no money or apologies changing hands, no new release date for the book was set.
He describes himself as "a big, fat guy", being six feet three inches tall and weighing about 400 pounds.
for Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism.
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
writer, historian and editor in the field of comics, notable for his five-year run as editor of The Comics Journal
The Comics Journal
The Comics Journal, often abbreviated TCJ, is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels...
(1994–99) and his blog The Comics Reporter, which he launched in 2004 with site designer Jordan Raphael.
Books
With Raphael, Spurgeon co-wrote the biography Stan LeeStan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book. He wrote the popular comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Wildwood with his childhood friend Dan Wright. The strip, initially launched as Bobo's Progress, was syndicated by King Features
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
from 1999 to 2002 and ran in about 80 newspapers.
Spurgeon co-authored an as yet unpublished history of Fantagraphics. Written with Jacob Covey, Comics as Art: We Told You So was initially scheduled for release in 2006. However, a defamation lawsuit launched by Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
against Fantagraphics, claiming they had defamed him in the book, saw publication delayed. Although the suit was settled with no money or apologies changing hands, no new release date for the book was set.
He describes himself as "a big, fat guy", being six feet three inches tall and weighing about 400 pounds.
Health
In the summer of 2011, Spurgeon suffered a life-threatening health crisis that necessitated immediate surgery and placed The Comics Reporter web site slightly out of commission for several weeks, attributed to summer vacation. In an essay reflecting on the ordeal, he discussed the experience, relative to his intimacy with and observations of the comics industry, saying, "At this point in my life I'd prefer to read the complete works of a defunct independent comics company from the 1980s than the fruits of the latest top 100 list. I'm sentimental now, and that's a part of it, but I also think there's something to a form that's constantly slipping out of your grasp, that's broader and deeper and weirder and more intense than even the excellent work that sifts to the top."Awards
Spurgeon and the Comics Reporter won the 2010 Eisner AwardEisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism.