Evan Dorkin (born April 20, 1965) is an American

comics artist 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 literar ...

and cartoonist. His best known works are the comic books ''Milk and Cheese'' and ''Dork'', the latter of which features his comic '' Eltingville''. His comics often poke fun at

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significan ...

, even while making it clear that Dorkin is a fan himself. Dorkin also served as a writer on the

Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...

animated series ''

Space Ghost Coast to Coast ''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' is an American live-action/ adult animated hybrid television series created by Mike Lazzo for Cartoon Network and first broadcast in 1994. It takes the form of a surreal parody of talk shows, hosted by a reimagi ...

'' from 1994 to 1999, and created a pilot for an ''Eltingville'' animated series for Adult Swim in 2002.

Life and career

Dorkin was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, and moved with his family to

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

when he was 13 years old. He grew up reading superhero comics (being loyal to

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

over DC), '' Mad'' magazine, and humor titles by

Archie Comics Archie Comic Publications, Inc. (often referred to simply as Archie Comics) is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the village of Pelham, New York. The company's many titles feature the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Jug ...

and

Harvey Comics Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alf ...

. He became even more obsessed with comics when comic book retailer Jim Hanley opened a store location near his high school; Dorkin later ended up working there.Narcisse, Evan
"Milk & Cheese Creator Evan Dorkin Talks About His Weird, Brilliant Career in Comics"
''

Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' () is a design, technology, science, and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the sub-blogs ''io9'' and ''Earther'', which focus on pop ...

''. (July 3, 2018). Dorkin aspired to attend the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

in the animation department, but was not accepted. (He had taken some animation classes at SVA while he was in high school.) Dorkin ended up attending

New York University Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

, but eventually switched his passion from animation to comics. Dorkin's earliest published solo comics were ''Pirate Corp$'' (later renamed ''Hectic Planet''), published first by Eternity Comics and then Slave Labor Graphics from 1987 to 1989; and then a variety of ''Milk & Cheese'' titles, published by Slave Labor Graphics from 1991 to 1997. As well as his comics work, Dorkin and his wife, Sarah Dyer, have written for ''

''. Dorkin drew the

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product, such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper ( tabloid), comic book, video game ( box art), music album ( album ar ...

for several ska

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s and an EP by

Radon Radon is a chemical element; it has symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive noble gas and is colorless and odorless. Of the three naturally occurring radon isotopes, only Rn has a sufficiently long half-life (3.825 days) for it to b ...

in the 1990s. He wrote and produced an animated

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

for

titled ''

Welcome to Eltingville ''Welcome to Eltingville'' is an American adult animated comedy pilot created by Evan Dorkin, as an adaptation of his comic book series '' Eltingville''. It premiered in the United States on March 3, 2002, on Cartoon Network's late night progra ...

'', based on his own characters. He and Dyer wrote some episodes of the '' Superman: The Animated Series'' including the episode "Live Wire", which introduced a new character of the same name. Dorkin wrote the '' Superman and Batman: World's Funnest'' one-shot in 2000 which was drawn by various artists. Dorkin and Dyer worked as freelance writers on the 2006 English-language version of the anime ''

Crayon Shin-chan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshito Usui. ''Crayon Shin-chan'' made its first appearance in 1990 in a Japanese weekly magazine called ''Weekly Manga Action'', which was published by Futabasha. Due to the death of ...

'', where they wrote material for the show's first six episodes. Dorkin co-created ''

Beasts of Burden A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for transportation (e.g. riding horses and camels), while oth ...

'' with

Jill Thompson Jill Thompson (born November 20, 1966) is an American comics artist, illustrator and writer who has worked for stage, film, and television. Well known for her work on Neil Gaiman's ''The Sandman (Vertigo), The Sandman'' characters and her own ''Sc ...

. Dyer has frequently colored Dorkin's art.

Awards

* 2015 Eisner Awards: Won Best Single Issue (or One-Shot) (for ''Beasts of Burden: Hunters and Gatherers'', with Jill Thompson) * 2010 Eisner Awards: Won Best Publication for Teens (for ''Beasts of Burden'', with Jill Thompson) * 2005 Eisner Awards: Won Best Short Story (for "Unfamiliar", with Jill Thompson) * 2002

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

for Best Short Story (for " The Eltingville Club in 'The Intervention'" in ''Dork'' #9, Slave Labor Graphics) * 2002 Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist: Humor (for ''Dork'') * 2001

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 ...

for Best Single Issue or Story (for ''Superman and Batman: World's Funnest'', shared with various artists, DC Comics) * 1998 '' Eisner Award for Best Short Story'' (for "The Eltingville Club in 'The Marathon Men'" in ''Dork'' #4, Slave Labor Graphics) * 1996 '' Eisner Award for Best Short Story'' (for "The Eltingville Club in 'Bring Me the Head of Boba Fett'" in ''Instant Piano'' #3,

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 ...

)

Nominations

* 2011

Anthony Awards The Anthony Awards are literary awards for mystery writers presented at the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention since 1986. The awards are named for Anthony Boucher (1911–1968), one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America. Categori ...

: Nominated for Best Graphic Novel *2002 Eisner Award for Best Humor Publication (for ''Dork'' #9) *2001 Harvey Award: Special Award for Humor (for ''Dork'', ''Superman and Batman: World's Funnest'', etc.) *2000

Ignatz Award The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping a ...

for Outstanding Debut Comic (for ''Dork'' #8) *1999 Annie Award for Best Writing (for ''

'': Episode- "Lawsuit")

Personal life

Dorkin is married to fellow comics writer/artist Sarah Dyer with whom he has a daughter named Emily.

Bibliography

Comics

*'' Rom: Spaceknight'' — (first published art in the letters page of #37)

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

, 1982 *''Jim Higgins Fantastic Fanzine'' — Jim Higgins, 1984 *''Phigments'' — Amazing; Pied Piper Comics, 1987 *''Pirate Corp$'' / ''Hectic Planet'' – Eternity Comics / Slave Labor Graphics, 1987–1989 *'' The Real Ghostbusters'' –

NOW Comics NOW Comics was a comic book publisher founded in late 1985 by Tony C. Caputo as a sole-proprietorship. During the four years after its founding, NOW grew from a one-man operation to operating in 12 countries, and published almost 1,000 comic bo ...

, 1988 *''Wild Knights'' – Eternity Comics, 1989 *'' Milk and Cheese'' – Slave Labor Graphics, 1991–1997 *''

Predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

: Big Game'' –

, 1991 *'' Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey'' (comic book adaptation) – Marvel Comics, 1991 *'' Bill & Ted's Excellent Comic Book'' – Marvel Comics, 1992–1993 *''Predator: Bad Blood'' – Dark Horse Comics 1993 *''Fight-Man One Shot'' – Marvel Comics, 1993 *''Dork!'' – Slave Labor Graphics, 1993–present *'' Instant Piano'' – Dark Horse Comics, 1994 *''Generation ECCH! The Backlash Starts Here'' – Jason Cohen & Michael Krugman,

Fireside Books Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, 1994 *''

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

America Annual'' #8 –

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

, 1994 *'' The Mask: The Hunt for Green October'' – Dark Horse Comics, 1995 *'' Superman Adventures'' #21 – DC Comics, 1998 *''Superman Adventures'' #39 – DC Comics, 2000 *'' Superman and Batman: World's Funnest'' – DC Comics, 2000 *'' Bizarro Comics'' – DC Comics, 2001 *''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

'' vol. 3 #50 – Marvel Comics, 2002 *''Superman Adventures'' #65–66 – DC Comics, 2002 *''Captain America: Red, White & Blue'' HC (two pages) – Marvel Comics, 2002 * '' The Thing: Night Falls on Yancy Street'', four-issue miniseries with artist

Dean Haspiel Dean Edmund Haspiel (born May 31, 1967, in New York City) is an American comic book artist, writer, and playwright. He is known for creating Billy Dogma, The Red Hook, and for his collaborations with writer Harvey Pekar on his '' American Splendo ...

– Marvel Comics, 2003 *''Bizarro World'' – DC Comics, 2005 *''Dose'' – Bankshot Comics, 2007 *'' The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings'' (story "Stray") by Evan Dorkin and

. *''The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft'' (story "The Unfamiliar") by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson. *''The Dark Horse Book of The Dead'' (story "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie") by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson. *''The Dark Horse Book of Monsters'' (story "A Dog and His Boy") by Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, and Jill Thompson. *''

'' (four-issue mini-series) by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson. *''

Hellboy Hellboy is a superhero created by Mike Mignola and appearing in comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. The character first appeared in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various miniseries, one-shots ...

/Beasts of Burden: Sacrifice'' (one-shot) by Evan Dorkin,

Mike Mignola Michael Mignola (; born September 16, 1960) is an American comic book writer best known for creating ''Hellboy'' for Dark Horse Comics, part of a Hellboy Universe, shared universe of titles including ''B.P.R.D.'', ''Abe Sapien'', ''Lobster Johns ...

, and Jill Thompson. *''

Dark Horse Presents ''Dark Horse Presents'' was a comic book published by Dark Horse Comics from 1986 in comics, 1986. Their first published series, it was their flagship title until its September 2000 in comics, 2000 cancellation. The second incarnation was publishe ...

'' vol. 2 #4 (story "Food Run") by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson. *''Dark Horse Presents'' vol. 2 #6 (story "Story Time") by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson. *''Dark Horse Presents'' vol. 2 #8 (story "The View From The Hill") by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson. *''Beasts of Burden: Neighborhood Watch'' (three stories from ''Dark Horse Presents'') by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson. *'' The Eltingville Club'' – Dark Horse Comics, 2014 *''Blackwood'' (four-issue mini-series) by Evan Dorkin,

Veronica Fish Veronica Fish is an American comic book artist and painter best known for her work with Marvel Comics and Archie Comics. Early life Veronica Fish attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City for two years and received a BFA from the Massa ...

and

Andy Fish Andy Fish is a graphic novelist, born Andrew Tiberius Fish, is a comic book artist, illustrator, painter, and educator. He is known for his graphic novels and his series of books on how to illustrate in certain styles. Early life Fish was raised ...

– Dark Horse Comics, 2018 *''Blackwood: The Mourning After'' (four-issue mini-series) by Evan Dorkin, Veronica Fish and Andy Fish – Dark Horse Comics, 2020

Role-playing games

*'' GURPS Fantasy Folk'' *'' GURPS Middle Ages I''

Television

*''

'' (TV series), 1994–1999 ** "Gum, Disease" ** "Girlie Show" ** "Jerk" ** "$20.01" ** "Sharrock" ** "Switcheroo" ** "Cookout" ** "Art Show" ** "Woody Allen's Fall Project" ("Girlie Show") ** "Anniversary" ** "Pilot" ** "Zorak" ** "Hipster" ** "Telethon" ** "Lawsuit" ** "Sequel" * '' Superman: The Animated Series'' (1997–98) ** "Livewire" ** "Monkey Fun" ** "Little Girl Lost" (parts 1 & 2) *''

'' (TV pilot), 2002 *''

Yo Gabba Gabba! ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' is a Children's television series, children's Musical film, musical television series created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz (producer), Scott Schultz and developed by Kay Wilson Stallings. The series is about five cos ...

'' (various episodes), 2007–2013 * ''

Ben 10 ''Ben 10'' is an American media franchise conceived by Man of Action and owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. The franchise, mainly consisting of animated series produced by Cartoon Network Studios, revolves around a young boy named Ben Tennys ...

'' ** "Xingo"

References

External links

Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer's House of FunBig Mouth Types Again
– Dorkin's

LiveJournal LiveJournal (), stylised as LiVEJOURNAL, is a Russian-owned social networking service where users can keep a blog, journal, or diary. American programmer Brad Fitzpatrick started LiveJournal on April 15, 1999, as a way of keeping his high school ...

*
Evan Dorkin
at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
Interview on the Super Live Adventure Podcast Part 1
an
Part 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorkin, Evan 1965 births 20th-century American artists 21st-century American artists American album-cover and concert-poster artists Alternative cartoonists American bloggers American comics artists American comics writers American male bloggers American male television writers American television writers Artists from Brooklyn Artists from Staten Island DC Comics people Eisner Award winners for Best Writer/Artist Eisner Award winners for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition Harvey Award winners Jewish American comics writers Jewish American comics artists Living people Marvel Comics people American role-playing game artists Screenwriters from New York (state)