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'm honored to have been asked to contribute to Yaddo's inaugural podcast.

What exactly is Yaddo and why does it matter? Jonathan Ames raises his hand. Plus: Odili Donald Odita on art and activism, and Jonathan Lethem on his secret to success. Contributing artists include Edgar Oliver, Laura Schwendinger, Dean Haspiel, Sam Fader, Michael Snediker and Rory Golden, with music by Joseph Keckler, Tarik O’Regan, Carol Lipnik and Anthony Gatto.

Shadow // Yaddo airs every other Thursday. Tune in as we shine a light on the transformative vision of artists through conversations about art, literature, activism, ecology, inspiration and daily life.

https://www.yaddo.org/pilot-episode-why-yaddo/

My biological daughter Ruby turned 12 last weekend. I have fond memories of being twelve years old. It's the age I met my best friend Mike Hueston and I decided to make comix a career. It was 7th grade at I.S. 44 in Manhattan. Mike was standing alone reading a copy of The Avengers #3. I was a Fantastic Four fan. Soon after becoming fast friends, we saw others like us -- throughout the years -- interested in comics. Eric Waldman, Sean Smith, Josh Neufeld, Delmo Walters Jr., Phil Dejean, Todd Dixon and more. There were a couple of girls who could draw circles around us, Gina Cole and Jennifer Lui, but they never stuck with the graphic narrative format.

Eventually, our posse formed a comic book club that would regularly visit West Side Comics and Funny Business in the upper west side. Downtown had Forbidden Planet (where I learned of Judge Dredd), Village Comics, and Soho Zat (where I discovered Chester Brown's Yummy Fur and Harvey Pekar's American Splendor). We'd gather at Mike's abode and read comics, play Atari video games, the occasional role-playing game (D&D), watch MTV and the 4:30 Movie; Hammer Horror or Kung Fu flicks.

Eventually, we started a self-publishing "company" called Paradox Productions (way before DC Comics' now-defunct imprint). Xeroxed and stapled affairs. Mike came up with Tempest and Micronaut's-inspired The Night Raiders. Sean designed and wrote underground inspired anthropomorphic comics, while Eric Waldman created sci-fi space fantasies Quasar and Vanguard. I was more of a writer-shy artist who wanted to draw other people's property; Shazam and almost any Marvel comic. But I managed to come up with a character of my own called Night Stalker. A tiny ninja with a stick who infiltrated and trashed nefarious domains and yelled "Ingy Wamba." Years later I would incorporate Night Stalker into a Billy Dogma story.

At Music & Art high school I would meet and befriend Larry O'Neil, whose brilliant writing, our collaborations in both comics, video and film (his father was the legendary comics writer/editor Denny O'Neil) would help change my life (leading me to assist Bill Sienkiewicz, Howard Chaykin, and Walter Simonson in 1985), and confirm my dedication to the mediums of storytelling.

Not much has changed since school. Except almost everything.

PANDEMIX: Quarantine Comics in the Age of 'Rona, the anthology I curated and co-edited to help benefit The Hero Initiative and cartoonists in need is doing well.

Click here to get your PANDEMIX download for $5 (or $20 if you're feeling generous). https://www.patreon.com/pandemix/posts

Here are some cool reviews, previews and podcasts, thus far:

PANDEMIX reviewed by Adam McGovern at Hilobrow. https://www.hilobrow.com/2020/07/21/off-topic-20/

PANDEMIX reviewed by Bob Harrison at Pop Culture Squad. https://popculturesquad.com/2020/07/21/pandemix-is-the-comic-anthology-you-need-to-be-reading/

Bleeding Cool preview of Jeffrey Bruandt & Christa Cassano's "Iterations of the Apocalypse." https://bleedingcool.com/comics/iterations-of-the-apocalypse-from-pandemix-comics-out-today/

The Comics Beat preview of Marguerite Dabaie's "It'll All Be Alright." https://www.comicsbeat.com/exclusive-pandemix-anthology-marguerite-dabaie-story/

SmashPages preview of Morgan Pielli's "Protection." http://smashpages.net/2020/07/21/exclusive-read-morgan-piellis-story-protection-from-the-pandemix-anthology/

Newsarama's preview of Mike Cavallaro's Star Wars themed PANDEMIX back cover. https://www.gamesradar.com/comic-creators-band-together-for-covid-19-benefit-anthology-pandemix/

Word Balloon podcast with John Siuntres, Dean Haspiel & Whitney Matheson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq28CUKSM-k

Serch Says podcast with MC Serch, Chuck D, DMC, and Dean Haspiel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fok773_UuIc

Wits' End podcast with Shah Emami and Dean Haspiel. https://witsendpod.com/podcast-episodes/49-dean-haspiel-on-pandemix-web-comics-amp-harvey-pekar

Ellen Lindner talks PANDEMIX and other stuff on Gil Roth's Virtual Memories Show podcast. http://chimeraobscura.com/vm/episode-385-ellen-lindner

Public Book: CAN COMICS SAVE YOUR LIFE? by Hillary Chute
https://www.publicbooks.org/can-comics-save-your-life/

Diamon Bookshelf: Katie's Korner: Graphic Novel Reviews for Schools and Libraries
https://www.diamondbookshelf.com/Home/1/1/20/823?articleID=244784

Girth Radio: My Summer Lair featuring Whitney Matheson (Pandemix: Quarantine Comics)
https://girthradio.com/podcast/my-summer-lair-featuring-whitney-matheson-pandemix-quarantine-comics/

A young artist whom I've never met is dealing with internet toxcity and he reached out to me saying, "The drama, unsolicited criticism and negativity is becoming too much and it's affecting me to a point where I'm now becoming physically sick and mentally ruined. I wanted advice on how you were able to navigate through the negative aspects of your career and what keeps you going not only in this industry, but with your craft?"

Here is how I responded:

Fuck toxic people. KICK THEM TO THE CURB. In reality, they're only a handful of assholes and hold NO SWAY on what you do and who you are. Who you are is an artist who creates, right? CREATE. No permissions. No apologies.

Draw because you have to. NOT because it's cool or will bring you fame and fortune. Because, most likely, it won't. And, besides, fame and fortune shouldn't be the engine that drives your art.

When I was young comix were NOT COOL. And, despite the often negative response towards the medium ("they're power fantasies for 12-year old boys" / "comic books are not literature, they're stupid" etc./etc.), I drew comix anyway. And, little by small comix proved themselves worthy because creators -- throughout the years -- DID THE WORK. We won. The hard part of being excepted globally as a serious medium has happened.

For me, comix is a calling. And that calling is how I discovered my personal pals and peers who stuck with it, too.

And as much as the internet can be a gross version of a popularity contest (and trust me -- I am NOT a popular cartoonist -- I do it because I have to -- I show up to my own party), it shouldn't dictate your creativity. There are long stretches of time where no one will respond to your work. Don't let that discourage you. Keep at it unless you decide it's not for you. And, that's okay, too. I know many people who pursued one career just to abandon it and go on to have three other fulfilling careers.

Making comix shouldn't be mentally draining to your soul. It should be something that revives you. If it doesn't, quit it. No harm. No foul.

Eventually, your work -- IF YOU WORK HARD EVERYDAY -- will find YOUR friends, YOUR allies, and YOUR fans.

Now go draw. Find your posse. Learn from each other. Pave a new path. Make something that means something. Have a blast.

One of my very favorite restaurants in Manhattan recently became a victim of COVID-19. I used to live across the street from La Caridad and grew up on their food. Even though I moved to Brooklyn 23-years ago, I still biked to La Caridad for its amazing fried pork chops, yellow rice and black beans. Their Wonton soup could defeat the flu in one bowl. Alas, the upper west side can no longer support the likes of Chino Latino food. I fear Flor de Mayo is next. I've commiserated with friends and family that money needs to change. The price of things has become untenable. Society needs to alter what things cost so we can support our diverse culinary and creative cultures before places like NYC becomes one giant CVS book-ended by banks with no one around to graffiti.

I had fun talking to Shah Emami about The Red Hook, Pandemix, old school comics, webcomics, my teenage time as a comic book assistant, Harvey Pekar and other cool stuff on the Wits' End podcast.

You can listen here:
https://witsendpod.com/podcast-episodes/49-dean-haspiel-on-pandemix-web-comics-amp-harvey-pekar

John Siuntres talked to me and Whitney Matheson on the WORD BALLOON podcast about PANDEMIX: Quarantine Comics in the Age of 'Rona anthology benefit for The Hero Initiative that we put together, plus more!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq28CUKSM-k