Gary Hallgren (born October 28, 1945) is an American

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

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * Buenos Aires Underground, a rapid transit system * London Underground, a rapid transit system * ...

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 ...

. Illustrations by Hallgren have been "commissioned by publications such 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 ...

'', ''

Men's Health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst Communications, Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries; it is the bestselling men's magazine on American newsstands. Started as a men's health magazin ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Mad'', and ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'', among others."

Biography

Growing up outside of

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the county seat of Whatcom County, Washington, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It lies south of the Canada–United States border, U.S.–Canada border, between Vancouver, British Columbia, ...

, Hallgren studied painting and design at

Western Washington State College Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, United States. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, s ...

. He joined the underground comix scene sometime around 1970, publishing his first narrative story in ''

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea lane between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, near the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Arctic Archipelago of Canada. The eastern route along the Arctic ...

'', a local underground newspaper. In early 1971 cartoonist

Dan O'Neill Dan O'Neill (born April 21, 1942) is an American underground cartoonist, creator of the syndicated comic strip ''Odd Bodkins'' and founder of the underground comics collective the Air Pirates. Education O'Neill attended the University of S ...

invited Hallgren — then based in Seattle — and some other artists to San Francisco to form the

Air Pirates The Air Pirates were a group of cartoonists who created two issues of an underground comic called ''Air Pirates Funnies'' in 1971, leading to a famous lawsuit by Walt Disney Productions. Founded by Dan O'Neill, the group also included Bobby Lon ...

collective. The Air Pirates lived together in a warehouse on Harrison Street in San Francisco.Donahue, Don and Susan Goodrick, editors. ''The Apex Treasury of Underground Comics'' (Links Books/Quick Fox, 1974), p. 153. They teamed up to produce two issues of '' Air Pirates Funnies''. Hallgren's work in ''Air Pirates Funnies'', ''Pollyanna Pals'', imitated

Cliff Sterrett Clifford Sterrett (; December 12, 1883 – December 28, 1964) was an American cartoonist best known as the creator of the comic strip '' Polly and Her Pals''. Biography Born in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, where his father was a druggist, Cliff Sterr ...

's old-time

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

Polly and Her Pals ''Polly and Her Pals'' is an American comic strip, created by cartoonist Cliff Sterrett, which ran from December 4, 1912, until December 7, 1958. It is regarded as one of the most graphically innovative strips of the 20th century. It debuted as ...

''. ''Air Pirates Funnies'' contained parody versions of (among other figures)

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

, which led to a highly publicized lawsuit from

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

.RINGGENBERG, S.C
"Bobby London and the Air Pirates Follies,"
''Comix Art & Graffix Gallery'' (5-12-98). Hallgren also did the cover artwork and stories for a follow-up comic, ''The Tortoise and the Hare'' (

Last Gasp (The) Last Gasp may refer to * Last Gasp (publisher) Last Gasp is a San Francisco–based book publisher with a lowbrow art and counterculture focus. Owned and operated by Ron Turner, for most of its existence Last Gasp was a publisher, dis ...

, 1971) (of which nearly 10,000 issues were soon confiscated under a court order). The initial court decision, delivered on July 7, 1972, went against the Air Pirates, and O'Neill's lawyers appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. O'Neill suggested the other Pirates settle, and leave him to defend the case alone. Hallgren and the publisher, Ron Turner, settled with Disney. Other underground comix to which Hallgren contributed included ''

Comix Book ''Comix Book'' is an underground comic book series published from 1974 to 1976, originally by Marvel Comics. It was the first comic of this type to be published by a mainstream publisher. Edited by Denis Kitchen, ''Comix Book'' featured work by s ...

'', ''

San Francisco Comic Book ''San Francisco Comic Book'' was an underground comix anthology published between 1970 and 1983. Conceived of and edited by Gary Arlington, the anthology highlighted the work of many of San Francisco's top underground talents, including Bill Grif ...

'', and ''Manhunt'' #2 (

Cartoonists Co-Op Press Cartoonists Co-op Press was an underground comix publishing cooperative based in San Francisco that operated from 1973 to 1974. It was a self-publishing venture by cartoonists Kim Deitch, Bill Griffith, Jerry Lane, Jay Lynch, Willy Murphy, Dian ...

, Dec. 1974). From about 1986 to 1988, Hallgren was part of

Upstart Associates Upstart Associates, sometimes known as Upstart Studios, was the name of an artists' studio at 231 West 29th Street in New York City formed in late 1978 by four comic book creators. Those artists were Howard Chaykin, Walt Simonson, Val Mayerik, an ...

, a shared studio space on West 29th Street in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Founded by

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an Americans, American comics artist, comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett an ...

Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned ...

Val Mayerik Val Mayerik (born March 29, 1950) is an American comic book and commercial artist, best known as co-creator of the satiric character ''Howard the Duck'' for ''Marvel Comics''. Biography Early life and career Val Mayerik was born in Youngstown, ...

, and

Jim Starlin James P. Starlin (born October 9, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer. Beginning his career in the early 1970s, he is best known for space opera stories, for revamping the Marvel Comics characters Captain Marvel and Adam Warlock, an ...

; the membership of the studio changed over time, and at the point Hallgren joined, Upstart consisted of Simonson and James Sherman.Cadigan, Glen
James Sherman interview
''The Legion Companion'' (TwoMorrows Publishing, 2003), p. 113. Hallgren left the studio when he bought a house in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. He illustrated the four-issue

limited series In the field of comic books, and particularly in the United States, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined ...

'' Mort the Dead Teenager'', written by

Larry Hama Larry Hama (; born June 7, 1949) is an People of the United States, American comic-book writer, artist, actor, and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s. During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles ...

and published by

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 ...

in 1993–1994. In 1994, Hallgren was one of a number of cartoonists (including

Ivan Brunetti Ivan Brunetti (born October 3, 1967) is an Italian and American cartoonist and comics scholar based in Chicago. Career Noted for combining blackly humorous taboo-laden subject matter with simplified and exaggerated cartoon drawing styles, Brunet ...

)I ALMOST DREW NANCY
by

; in ''Roctober'' magazine, #26 (1999/2000); archived online at MikeLynchCartoons.blogspot.com; retrieved October 25, 2016 who applied to take over the long-time syndicated newspaper strip '' Nancy''.garyhallgren.com gallery
retrieved May 12, 2018 (In 1995, Guy and Brad Gilchrist were given control of the strip.) Hallgren illustrated

Mehmet Oz Mehmet Cengiz Oz ( ; ; born June 11, 1960), also known as Dr. Oz (), is an American television presenter, physician, author, educator and government official serving as the 17th administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sinc ...

's book, ''YOU: The Owner’s Manual: An Insider’s Guide to the Body That Will Make You Healthier and Younger'', published in May 2005 by

William Morrow Paperbacks William Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981, and sold to News Corporation (now News Corp) in 1999. Th ...

. As of May 2006 Hallgren lived in

Granby, Massachusetts Granby is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,110 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metropolitan area, Massachuset ...

and had his studio in

Holyoke Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,247. Loca ...

.Dobbs, Mike
"Air Pirates I Recently Interview,"
''Out of the Inkwell'' (May 2006). Since 2015, Hallgren has been providing art for

Hägar the Horrible ''Hägar the Horrible'' is the title and main character of an American comic strip created by cartoonist Dik Browne and syndicated by King Features Syndicate. It first appeared on February 4, 1973 (in Sunday papers) and the next day in daily ne ...

, a popular newspaper comic strip distributed by

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is an American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product License, licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, columnist, newspape ...

References

Notes

Sources consulted

Gary Hallgren
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 ...

's Comiclopedia

External links

*
Complete list of Hallgren's work for MAD Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallgren, Gary American illustrators American comics artists Western Washington University alumni Underground cartoonists Living people 1945 births