Elen Orr, known as Fly, is a comic book artist, illustrator, activist, and teacher whose art has been published in various magazines and

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

s, including '' Slug and Lettuce'', '' Maximum Rock 'N' Roll'', '' World War 3 Illustrated'', and

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

, among others. She is also a former member of New York

queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifically ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band God Is My Co-Pilot. Fly came to work in New York in the late 1980s, and got involved with

ABC No Rio ABC No Rio is a collectively-run nonprofit arts organization on New York City's Lower East Side. Founded in 1980 in a squat at 156 Rivington Street, following the eviction of the 1979–80 Real Estate Show, the center featured an art gallery s ...

, a social center for punks and artists located at 156 Rivington street in New York City's

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 ...

. She is a member of the World War 3 Illustrated collective, and a contributor to the anthology '' Juicy Mother 2'', edited by Jennifer Camper, which was published by

Manic D Press Manic D Press is an American literary publisher, press based in San Francisco, California publishing fiction (novels and short stories), poetry, cultural studies, art, narrative-oriented underground comix, comix, children's books, and alternative ...

in 2007. In 2003, Fly exhibited her art at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, California. She has also produced cover artwork for Hungry March Band,

Adeline Records Adeline Records was an American record label that was formed in Oakland, California in late 1997 and closed in August 2017. History In 1997, Adeline Records was founded by Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer of Green Day, Screw 32's Doug Sangal ...

and Geykido Comet Records. Aside from freelance cover artwork, she has printed many photocopy zines of her artwork and published books. In 1998, Fly had her first book, ''CHRON!IC!RIOTS!PA!SM!'', published by

Autonomedia Autonomedia is a nonprofit publisher based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn known for publishing works of criticism. As of the mid-2000s, they were staffed by volunteers and had published over 200 books, usually with 3,000 of each run, and its best known ...

. In 2003, she published a graphic novel-style book named ''PEOPS'', a collection of portraits and stories about people Fly has met. The book was released by

Soft Skull Press Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company that Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Shoemaker & Hoard, and Soft Skull Press. The company published books under b ...

, and subtitled "Portraits and Stories of People".Peops by Fly
from

In 2006, she was invited as a guest speaker at the Victoria International Arts Symposium. In December this same year, Fly appeared at the Grace Comics showcase alongside Elizabeth Merrick. Aside from visual arts, Fly also engages in the

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

and musical collage art of her band Zero Content (named after one of her comic strips) which can be heard on several Geykido Comet Records Compilations.Rapoport, Lyn
The PEOPs have spoken: Comic book artist and illustrator Fly's brilliant subjects come to life
from '' San Francisco Bay Guardian'' Previously, she played bass and sang for several years with Craig Flanagin in the band God Is My Co-Pilot, with which she went on tours in the 1990s.Portrait Of The Artist As A Fly
from Razorcake As of 2020, Fly’s zine archive has been acquired by the

Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the List of largest art museums, largest ar ...

References

External links

Official site

at

Lambiek Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum Bussum () is a commuter town and former municipality in the Gooi region in the south east of the prov ...

* http://www.killerbanshee.com/fly/ * http://www.microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/artist/fly/
Fly papers, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Columbia University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fly Geykido Comet Records DIY culture American artists American punk rock singers Living people American anarchists Anarcho-punk musicians Punk comics Year of birth missing (living people) American women punk rock singers 20th-century squatters