Joe Zabel (born July 7, 1953)Zabel entry
Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. is a

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

writer and artist living in

Cleveland Heights Cleveland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 45,312 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. One of Cleveland's historic streetcar suburbs, it was founded as a Village (United States), village in ...

. He is best known for his work illustrating ''

American Splendor ''American Splendor'' is a series of autobiographical comic books written by Harvey Pekar and drawn by a variety of artists. The first issue was published in 1976 and the last one in September 2008, with publication occurring at irregular interv ...

'', by fellow Clevelander

Harvey Pekar Harvey Lawrence Pekar (; October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010) was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical ''American Splendor'' comic series. In 2003, the series inspired ...

.Rea, Steven (2006-08-17). "From the comic book to the screen". ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

''. p. H1Winn, Steven (2003-08-21). "Every picture tells a thousand stories". ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

''. p. E1 Under the company names Known Associates Press and Amazing Montage Press, Zabel has also published his own series of mystery comics, ''The Trespassers''. Zabel grew up in

Chesterland, Ohio Chesterland is a census-designated place (CDP) in Geauga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 7,074. History A post office called "Chester Cross Roads" was established in 1826, and the name was changed ...

, and attended

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergrad ...

. He broke into comics in 1977, helping to draw a promo ad in an issue of

Power Comics Power Comics was an imprint of the British comics publisher Odhams Press (itself a division of IPC Magazines) that was particularly notable for its use of material reprinted from American Marvel Comics. Appearing chiefly during the years 1967 ...

' ''Cobalt Blue''. Shortly after moving to Cleveland, he began illustrating for ''American Splendor'' in 1985, usually inked by

Gary Dumm Gary G. Dumm (b. c. 1947)Dumm entry
Who's Who of American Comic Bo ...

, and was a regular contributor to Pekar's comics until 1997, illustrating many covers along the way. Zabel also had his work published in anthologies like '' Duplex Planet Illustrated'', ''

Negative Burn ''Negative Burn'' is a black-and-white comics anthology, anthology comic book published beginning in 1993 by Caliber Press, and subsequently by Image Comics and Desperado Publishing. Edited by Joe Pruett, ''Negative Burn'' is noted for its eclecti ...

'', and ''

Real Stuff Real may refer to: Currencies * Argentine real * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Nature and science * Reality, the state of things as they exist, rathe ...

''. Beginning in the 2000s, Zabel turned away from printed comics and begun making online digital comic strips. Zabel's ''Fear Mongers''

horror webcomics Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction ** Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction ...

was used, along with ''

Penny Arcade ''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have establish ...

'', ''

Fetus-X ''Fetus-X'' was a weekly romantic horror comic written and drawn by Eric Millikin and Casey Sorrow. Millikin is an American artist and former human anatomy lab embalmer and dissectionist.Zabel, Joe (June 14, 2004).Cutting Up The Dead: An in ...

'' and '' American Elf'', as an example of using the web to create "an explosion of diverse genres and styles" in

Scott McCloud Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. His non-fiction books about comics, ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and '' Making Comics'' (2006), are made in comic ...

's 2006 book ''

Making Comics ''Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels'' is a book by comic book writer and artist Scott McCloud, published by William Morrow Paperbacks in 2006. A study of methods of constructing comics, it is a thematic se ...

''.McCloud, Scott (2006). ''

'', New York: Harper Collins Publishers. , p. 227. Zabel is also a comics reviewer, having been published in such venues as ''

The Comics Journal ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing r ...

'', ''Subliminal Tattoos'', ''Indy'' magazine, and iComics.com.Zabel entry
Lambiek Comiclopedia. He was the editor-in-chief of ''The Webcomics Examiner'', an online magazine of

webcomics Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...

reviews and interviews.

Notes

References

*
Harvey Pekar's Artists

External links

*
Trespassers websiteJoe Zabel interview
ComixTALK (Jan. 2006) American webcomic creators Comics critics 1953 births Living people American comics artists {{US-comics-creator-stub