Doug Allen (born February 22, 1956) is an American underground

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

, and

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

. Best known for his long-running comic strip ''

Steven Stephen or Steven is an English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the firs ...

'', Allen has over the years collaborated with long-time friend Gary Leib on music, animation, fine art, and comics, including the two-man

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...

anthology '' Idiotland''.

Work

After attending

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

for a time, Allen graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) 1978 with an illustration degree.Allen bio
Lambiek.net's Comiclopedia. He met Gary Leib at RISD. In addition to the weekly feature ''Steven'', which ran in college and alternative newspapers from 1977 to 1994,Allen entry
, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Allen's comics,

gag cartoon A gag cartoon (also panel cartoon, single-panel cartoon, or gag panel) is most often a single-Panel (comics), panel cartoon, usually including a caption beneath the drawing. In some cases, dialogue may appear in speech balloons, following the com ...

s, and illustrations have appeared in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', '' BLAB!'', '' Zero Zero'', '' Weirdo'', '' Pictopia'', and '' Duplex Planet Illustrated''. In addition to ''Idiotland'', Allen and Leib collaborated on a number of stories in the fund-raising anthology comic ''

Legal Action Comics ''Legal Action Comics'' is a series of comics anthology, comics anthologies edited by illustrator Danny Hellman which features work from many alternative comics artists. The first volume in the series was published in 2001,Hellman, Danny, editor. ...

'' volume 1, published in 2001. Allen's non-comics work includes

Plexiglas Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a synthetic polymer derived from methyl methacrylate. It is a transparent thermoplastic, used as an engineering plastic. PMMA is also known as acrylic, acrylic glass, as well as by the trade names and bra ...

paintings based on

pinball machine Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

art, most of which he produced in the late 1970s; and a more recent series of "fake"

marine art Marine art or maritime art is a form of figurative art (that is, painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture) that portrays or draws its main Sea in culture, inspiration from the sea. Maritime painting is a genre that depicts ships and the sea� ...

paintings, which he sells on his website. Along with Leib, Allen was a founding member of the

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

-nominated band

Rubber Rodeo Rubber Rodeo was an American, Rhode Island–based band active in the 1980s. The band fused Roxy Music-influenced new wave music with country and western influences, and dressed in 1950s-vintage country and western clothing. Their 1984 release ...

from 1978 to 1982. Allen has played

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

for many other bands as well. Allen and his wife and two children live in

Rockland County, New York Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state' ...

Awards

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be a successor to the Kirby Awards, which were ...

nominee 1994 ** Best New Series (''Idiotland'') ** Best Syndicated Strip (''Steven'')

Bibliography

* ''Steven'' (8 issues, Kitchen Sink Press, 1989–1996); followed by ''The Best of "Steven"'' (Kitchen Sink Press, 1998) * '' Idiotland'' (7 issues, Fantagraphics, 1993–1994)

Notes

References

* * Kelly, John. "Idiot of the Savant-Garde: Doug Allen," ''The Comics Journal'' #156 (February 1993), pp. 78–88.

External links

Archive of Doug Allen web site

Allen original art at Comic Art Collective
20th-century American illustrators 21st-century American illustrators American comics writers American comics artists American humorists American comic strip cartoonists American magazine cartoonists American rock musicians Living people Rhode Island School of Design alumni Underground cartoonists 1956 births Rhode Island School of Design alumni in music {{US-cartoonist-stub