Dean Haspiel

More info here: https://imagecomics.com/comics/releases/the-red-hook-vol-2-war-cry-tp



STARCROSS: https://www.webtoons.com/en/super-hero/star-cross/list?title_no=1599


(photo of Dean Haspiel 2019 by Whitney Matheson)


(Photo by Steve Friedman. Taken at Yaddo, Sept. 2019)



http://www.deanhaspiel.com/

Emmy & Ringo award winner, Dean Haspiel created Billy Dogma, The Red Hook, illustrated for HBO's "Bored To Death," was a Master Artist at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, is a Yaddo fellow, a playwright, and helped pioneer personal webcomics via ACT-I-VATE. Dino has written and drawn many comix for Marvel, DC, Image, Archie, IDW, Dark Horse, Heavy Metal, and LINE Webtoon; including The Fox, The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, X-men, Deadpool, Batman, Wonder Woman, Godzilla, Mars Attacks, Creepy, SpongeBob SquarePants, Popeye, and semi-autobio collaborations with Harvey Pekar, Jonathan Ames, Inverna Lockpez, Jonathan Lethem, Stoya, and Stan Lee.

Listen to SCENE BY SCENE WITH JOSH & DEAN, the podcast that breaks down American Splendor the movie, Josh Neufeld & Dean Haspiel's relationship with the late/great Harvey Pekar, and growing up in NYC learning to make comix: http://scenebyscenepodcast.com/

Read THE RED HOOK saga for free at LINE Webtoon:
1) THE RED HOOK: http://www.webtoons.com/en/super-hero/the-red-hook/list?title_no=643
2) WAR CRY: https://www.webtoons.com/en/super-hero/war-cry/list?title_no=1247
3) STARCROSS: https://www.webtoons.com/en/super-hero/star-cross/list?title_no=1599

THE RED HOOK vol.1 New Brooklyn is also available at ComiXology: https://www.comixology.com/The-Red-Hook/comics-series/128047

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deanhaspiel_art/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/deanhaspiel
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deanhaspiel

Artist's Statement:
No permissions. No apologies.

Honors:
-Emmy Award winner for title design work on HBO's "Bored To Death."
-Eisner Award nominee for "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition" and "Outstanding Webcomic."
-Ringo Award winner for "Best Webcomic 2017" for THE RED HOOK
-Yaddo fellow
-Master Artist at The Atlantic Center for the Arts

( Click here for comix, interviews, news, videos, and other essential linksCollapse )

I talk about two of my favorite movies: Once Upon a Time in the West, and Tourist Trap at the Cinemental podcast.

https://cinemental.podbean.com/e/ep006-once-upon-a-time-in-the-west-tourist-trap/

Yesterday around 7pm, I decided to take a break from my drawing table in Gowanus and bike around Prospect Park (my only exercise). There is an inner circle of the park where people jog, walk, bike, scoot, drive, etc. At one point, there is long, ascending hill that makes you pick up speed. It's as thrilling as it can be terrifying. At the end of the hill is a crosswalk that isn't the best place to allow foot traffic but it forces folks on wheels to brake and slow their descent, cutting off their momentum.

As I was slowing down and turning the corner of this fast hill, I saw a few people (some on bikes) waving their hands and shouting for everyone to "SLOW DOWN!" I slowed down. As did most others. A few zoomed by like the cocky speed racers they are. But the reason we were being asked to slow our roll was because there were two people who collided into each other. A man on a bike and a woman on a scooter. She was bleeding from a knot in her forehead and he was bleeding from his elbows, legs, and the back of his head. She was already on her phone crying to her daughter and he could barely stand up. He was dizzy. Slumping over. His bike helmet cracked in half. I immediately turned around towards the fast hill and waved my hands yelling "SLOW DOWN!" to oncoming bikers. Most complied while the speed racers serpentined around the accident, forfeiting compassion for training.

Someone had already called 911 and requested an ambulance but I noticed a cop car sitting idle by the crosswalk 30-yards back from the accident. So, I rode over to the two cops sitting and eating sandwiches. I alerted them to the situation and they gave me a blank stare. I pointed towards the accident where people were clearly waving their hands and the cops bit into their food. A few other people came over to the cops to echo my plea for help and they just looked at each other. So, I rode in front of their car and pointed towards the people who needed assistance, waving at them to drive over. They just sat there. Idle.

I rode back over to the accident and now the hurt people were sitting on the side of the road as people biked and jogged by. There was a group of good samaritans handing over tissues and napkins to help stop the bleeding. We helped calm them down and waited a good 8-10 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. And, THAT'S when the cops decided to mosey on over in their vehicle and stare at the scene. Saying nothing. Doing nothing while the masked paramedics helped the injured woman and man.

A witness asked the cops if they needed a statement. An account of what happened. The cops nodded "No."

To add insult to injury? The cops didn't wear masks.

As I biked away, I tried to understand why the cops were behaving with such indifference. And, it hit me like a medicine ball to the crown. They were fed up. Probably pissed off and feeling down because of all the protests against their profession. And, even though the cops were both people of color, maybe they were making a silent protest of their own. Which doesn't make their apathy right. They have a job to do despite criticism and change.

Cop or not, it's human to help people who are suffering.

I created an original illustration for DJ Ray Velasquez's brilliant pandemic mix, "Curse of The Orange Skull (Masque of The Orange Death Session)"

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.mixcloud.com/grooveselector/curse-of-the-orange-skull-masque-of-the-orange-death-session/

Oliver Sava wrote about my Webtoon series at A.V. Club:

"I’ve enjoyed Dean Haspiel’s print comics, and found his New Brooklyn titles (The Red Hook, War Cry, and STARCROSS) really compelling, both in how he’s building his own superhero universe and how he’s adapting classic superhero storytelling for the vertical scroll format."

Thanks, Oliver!

https://aux.avclub.com/how-did-webtoon-become-a-global-comics-juggernaut-1843201420

The Washington Post: We’d like to see the artwork you’re creating during the coronavirus crisis
By Michael Cavna
May 5 at 7:00 AM

“A lot of bad art is going to come out of this nightmare — including my own — and that’s okay,” Emmy-winning artist Dean Haspiel said a month ago, as more people were isolating and social distancing. His point was that artists should keep creating art — any art — in response to the effects of the pandemic, no matter where it takes you.

Now, The Washington Post would like to see the visual art you’re making while sheltering in place. What are you drawing or painting, sculpting or constructing, weaving or photographing?

Please share images of your artwork using the form below. We’ll pick some of our favorites to share in a future story, along with your comments about your work.

Have you created artwork during the pandemic? We'd love to see it.

CLICK LINK: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/05/05/wed-like-see-artwork-youre-creating-during-coronavirus-crisis/

From Gil Roth's show description:

"Cartoonist and playwright Dean Haspiel checks in from Brooklyn (home of his superhero, The Red Hook!). We talk about making art (good, bad or ugly) during the plague, finding yourself while putting your life on hold, how our social norms may change after the pandemic subsides, the virtue of online comics, bingeing on 1970s comics by Steve Gerber, feeling sad (but not self-pity) when his play, The War of Woo, had to be postponed last month, and more."

http://chimeraobscura.com/vm/covid-check-in-with-dean-haspiel

Alongside Lynda Barry, Jeff Kinney, and other peers, I was interviewed by Michael Cavna for The Washington Post about creating art during a global pandemic.

"5 tips to spark your creativity while working alone, from artists who do it all the time"

Excerpt:

Give yourself creative freedom

Even the professionals can struggle to create when a crisis dominates the headlines, let alone becomes personal. They give themselves permission to fail.

“A lot of bad art is going to come out of this nightmare — including my own — and that’s okay,” says Dean Haspiel, the Emmy-winning illustrator and creator of “Red Hook” comics. The Brooklyn resident has several acquaintances who have had covid-19, including one who died.

Haspiel knows some colleagues who say creating art during a pandemic is frivolous. He strongly disagrees — for him, using one’s creativity can be healthfully addictive.

So he encourages such engagement: “Look around you. Listen to others. Listen to your heart. Take it in. Let it steep. Make the art. Express yourself.”

End of excerpt.

You can read the entire article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/04/06/creativity-brain-tips-mind-isolation-art-quarantine/

I still remember the excitement of running across the street every week to my local newsstand to see what new comic books came out. When comic books were still 25-cents. It's where I discovered Spider-man, Shazam!, The Fantastic Four, Hulk, Marvel Two-In-One, and Star Wars (BEFORE the movie came out). I remember when Iron Man had a nose.

Today marks the first day in my lifetime that new print comics will not be distributed.

Many of my peers are still producing new work for Marvel, DC, Archie, other I.P. and creator-owned fare, but it is a sobering time for our industry. For everyone, everywhere. We have been crippled by Covid-19.

The good news is that comic book shops and certain publishers have libraries of comic books, collections, graphic novels, mini-comix, zines, etc., for sale. If you like comics they have them. Just like when you finish binge watching a TV show and seek recommendations for more TV shows, the same goes for comic books.

Contact your local comic book shop and ask what they recommended from their stock (here's a link to mine: http://www.jhucomicbooks.com/ ). Ask a friend or someone in the industry for recommendations. Not just the new stuff or the popular stuff. What about the stories that got away? The alternative? The unseen? Give 'em a try. Now is the time. And, by doing that, you will help your comics community in more ways than one.

Not to short shrift digital and webcomics, either. I've been a champion of online comix since 2006. And, guess what? Most ALL of my online comics live a second life IN PRINT.

Right now, today, we need to help save our retailers and our beloved industry from collapsing. I know everyone's finances has been hit hard and we need to pick and choose between food, medicine, and other essentials. But, comic books have been essential to me as oxygen; a life force, since I first ran across the street to my local newsstand.

Please do what you can, when you can. Recommend a comic or two to friends and family, every week.

Thank you.

--Dino!