Eric Drooker is an American painter, graphic novelist, and frequent cover artist for ''

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 ...

''. He conceived and designed the animation for the film ''

Howl Howl most often refers to: * Howling, an animal vocalization in many canine species * "Howl" (poem), a 1956 poem by Allen Ginsberg Howl or The Howl may also refer to: Film * '' The Howl'', a 1970 Italian film * ''Howl'' (2010 film), a 2010 Am ...

'' (2010).

Biography

Drooker grew up in Manhattan's

Stuyvesant Town Stuyvesant may refer to: People * Stuyvesant family * Peter Stuyvesant (1592–1672), the last governor of New Netherland * Peter Stuyvesant (1727–1805), New York landowner and merchant * Peter Gerard Stuyvesant (1778–1847), lawyer, landown ...

, adjacent to the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

, which was then a working-class immigrant neighborhood with a tradition of left-wing political activism. He attended the

Downtown Community School The Downtown Community School was an American experimental, cooperative, racially integrated school located at 235 East 11th Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York. The school was founded in 1944 and was closed in 1971. ...

in Manhattan's East Village. Drooker developed an early interest in graphic arts and cartoons, particularly the woodcut novels of

Frans Masereel Frans Masereel (31 July 1889 – 3 January 1972) was a Belgium, Belgian painter and graphic artist who worked mainly in France. He is known especially for his woodcuts which focused on political and social issues, such as war and capitalism. He ...

and

Lynd Ward Lynd Kendall Ward (June 26, 1905 – June 28, 1985) was an American artist and novelist, known for his series of wordless novels using wood engraving, and his illustrations for juvenile and adult books. His wordless novels have influenced ...

and the underground comics of

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American artist who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American c ...

. After studying sculpture at

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

, Drooker turned to poster art, creating flyers on local political issues while working as a tenant organizer. His images, done in a striking black-and-white style reminiscent of Masereel and other 1930s expressionist illustrators, were widely copied and reused by others—sometimes for unrelated purposes such as advertising concerts—and were popular enough that he could make a small income selling artwork on the street. During the 1980s, Drooker was further radicalized by his experiences with the police, due to their actions against

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...

in the rapidly gentrifying

Tompkins Square Park Tompkins Square Park is a public park in the Alphabet City portion of East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The square-shaped park, bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and o ...

area and their increasing intolerance of unlicensed street artists and musicians. His first published work appeared in leftist magazines such as ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'', ''

The Progressive ''The Progressive'' is a left-leaning American magazine and website covering politics and culture. Founded in 1909 by U.S. senator Robert M. La Follette Sr. and co-edited with his wife Belle Case La Follette, it was originally called ''La Foll ...

'', and various underground publications such as ''

Screw A screw is an externally helical threaded fastener capable of being tightened or released by a twisting force (torque) to the screw head, head. The most common uses of screws are to hold objects together and there are many forms for a variety ...

''. His work would later be seen in such mainstream publications as ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', and ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''; and his paintings would appear on dozens of covers of ''

''. When ''

World War 3 Illustrated ''World War 3 Illustrated'' is an American comics anthology magazine with a left-wing political focus, founded in 1979 (though the first issue was published in 1980) by New York City comic book artists Peter Kuper and Seth Tobocman,Neil Gaiman, ...

'' was founded by Seth Tobocman and

Peter Kuper Peter Kuper (; born September 22, 1958) is an American alternative comics artist and illustrator, best known for his autobiographical, political, and social observations. Besides his contributions to the political anthology '' World War 3 Illust ...

, who shared Drooker's political beliefs and graphic approach, Drooker became one of the magazine's co-editors and frequent contributors. Eventually he began to sell illustrations to more mainstream publications. He became more widely known as a cartoonist when his short story "L" appeared in '' Heavy Metal''. "L", along with two other stories, made up his first graphic novel, ''Flood! A Novel in Pictures'' (1992); a wordless, dream-like narrative of powerless citizens' struggles with authority in a rapidly deteriorating New York City. ''Flood'' won an

American Book Award The American Book Awards are an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "t ...

. Portions of his ''Flood!'' artwork were used for album covers for the bands

Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...

and

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...

. In 2006, the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

acquired the original art for ''Flood! A Novel in Pictures'', including preliminary drawings, sketches, and cover paintings. The complete ''Flood!'' Archive is housed in the Prints & Photographs Division of the Library of Congress, which is open to the public. In the 1990s, Drooker broadened his scope from graphic arts to painting, creating several covers for ''

'' and a book of illustrations of

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

's poetry, ''Illuminated Poems''. His third book, ''Street Posters & Ballads'', is a compilation of graphics, poems and songs about the

. The book won the 1999

Firecracker Alternative Book Award The Firecracker Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards focusing on small-press publishing. Previously known as the Firecracker Alternative Book Awards (FABs), in the current form they are known as the CLMP Firecracker Awards for Independ ...

for Outstanding Graphic Novel. He designed the animation for the 2010 film, ''

'', a movie based on the epic poem by Allen Ginsberg, who collaborated with Drooker on the book ''Illuminated Poems''. His best-selling book, ''Howl: A Graphic Novel,'' visualizes the poem with animation art Drooker designed for the film.

Cultural references

His painting "Native New York" inspired

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 – February 22, 2021) was an American poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. An author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, and ...

's "Poem #7" from his book ''A Far Rockaway of the Heart''.

Bibliography

* ''Flood! A Novel in Pictures''. (1992 by

Four Walls Eight Windows Four Walls Eight Windows was an American independent book publisher in New York City. Known as 4W8W or Four Walls, the company was notable for its dual commitment to progressive politics and adventurous, edgy literary fiction. History Four W ...

, reprinted 2002 by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...

). * ''Illuminated Poems'' (with Allen Ginsberg). (1992) Four Walls Eight Windows. *''Street Posters and Ballads: A Selection of Songs, Poems, and Graphics''. (1998) Seven Stories Press. * ''Blood Song: A Silent Ballad''. (2002)

Dark Horse Books Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...

(Originally published by Harcourt Inc.). * ''Slingshot: 32 Postcards'' (2008)

PM Press PM Press is an independent publisher, founded in 2007 by a small collective of people, that specializes in radical literature. Previously based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the press relocated to Binghamton, New York, in 2022. Bookstores In ...

* ''Howl: A Graphic Novel'' (with Allen Ginsberg) (2010)

Harper Perennial Harper Perennial is a paperback imprint of the publishing house HarperCollins Publishers. Overview Harper Perennial has divisions located in New York, London, Toronto, and Sydney. The imprint is descended from the Perennial Library imprint foun ...

* ''Naked City: A Graphic Novel'' (2024)

References

External links

Eric Drooker's website: www.Drooker.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drooker, Eric 1958 births Living people 20th-century American illustrators 21st-century American illustrators American graphic novelists American comics writers American comics artists American poster artists Cooper Union alumni Inkpot Award winners American Book Award winners The New Yorker cartoonists 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters 20th-century American sculptors 21st-century American sculptors