Joshua Quagmire
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Joshua Quagmire (sometimes shortened to JQ) (1953-2023) was an American
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 ...
of underground and mainstream
comic books 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 ...
, best known for his creation Cutey Bunny. His comic book work also overlapped with and contributed to the early
furry fandom The furry fandom is a subculture interested in Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic animal characters. Some examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and weari ...
during the 1980s and early 1990s.


Biography

Joshua Quagmire (the name is a
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
) was raised in the
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
area, though he has remarked that his grandfather served in the
Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...
in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
; Quagmire has dedicated a story, "The Last Time I Saw Tommy", to his grandfather. On the few occasions he has drawn himself into a story, he has not shown his own face. He is a frequent guest at the
San Diego Comic Convention San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
. His most enduring work has been the comic ''Cutey Bunny'', which was first published in 1982. Cutey Bunny, a furry
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
ine and a
pastiche A pastiche () is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking ...
of
Go Nagai , better known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of Japanese science fiction, science fiction, fantasy, Japanese horror, horror, and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with ''Meakashi Polikichi'', b ...
's
Cutey Honey is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. First appearing in ''Weekly Shōnen Champion''s 41st issue of 1973, the series ran until April 1974. It follows an android girl named Honey Kisaragi, who transf ...
, appeared in the self-produced underground comic ''Army Surplus Komikz'' from 1982 to 1985 as well as in Cerebus' Unique Story section. The story, writing, and art style recall not only
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
, but the madcap ''
MAD Magazine ''Mad'' (stylized in all caps) is an American humor magazine which was launched in 1952 and currently published by DC Comics, a unit of the DC Entertainment subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. ''Mad'' was founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman an ...
'' and syndicated
comic strips 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 ...
of the 1940s and 1950s, together with a
burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.
sense of both humor and sexuality. Quagmire uses an "ensemble cast" of characters who will tend to show up no matter what the situation or genre; along with Cutey, they include: * Vicky Feldhyser, a
sadomasochistic Sadism () and masochism (), known collectively as sadomasochism ( ) or S&M, is the derivation of pleasure from acts of respectively inflicting or receiving pain or humiliation. The term is named after the Marquis de Sade, a French author known ...
switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...
lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...
fox and sometimes-rival
secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...
to Cutey, whom she lusts after * Taffy, Cutey's little sister * Fatty Tubbins, a cat, and Cutey's friend and companion (who is also frequently credited as Quagmire's
inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. After the penciller creates a drawing with pencil, the inker interprets this drawing by outlining and embellishing ...
) * The Space Gophers, a quintet (or sometimes more) of not exceptionally bright interplanetary-traveling gophers, all of whom are named "Al" * Pandora, a
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
-brogued female robot who travels with the Gophers * Gran'ma Phooby, Cutey's "grandmother", of indeterminate species and dreadful cooking skill * Heidi and Etsuko, a pair of German and Japanese (respectively) scantily clad female elves, typically involved in some nefarious
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...
plot * The Purple Puffle, an odd creature who appears mainly as a background ornament In 1985, the comic was nearly picked up for publishing by
Aardvark-Vanaheim Aardvark-Vanaheim is a Canadian independent comic book publisher founded in 1977 by Dave Sim and Deni Loubert and is best known for publishing Sim's '' Cerebus''. For a brief time, the company also published other titles, sometimes under the n ...
, but the deal fell through and Quagmire continued to self-publish. There are a few projects which Quagmire has done outside this ensemble, such as the more serious CyberFox or the more overtly sexual Bronco Bunny. Quagmire is also fond of introducing caricatures of real personalities to his comics.
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
and
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...
, in character as they were in the popular "'' Road to...''" movies, frequently appear to help Cutey Bunny. A frequent adversary is "Uncle Joe"—quite obviously
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
—and his
marionette A marionette ( ; ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by ...
henchman, "Howdy Ivan". And Cutey, as an American secret agent, is often shown taking orders from a doddering
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
or a sinister
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
. Even fellow comic book writer
Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is an English-born American comic book writer and novelist. Claremont is best known for his 16-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Clarem ...
appeared in one issue, helping unmask a villain who turned out to be
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
in disguise. Although
politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
was never taboo in Quagmire's comics, they have been more emphasized in his recent works. Typically, he has been even-handed in his treatment—he recounts the tale of a
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
friend of his, who, upon reading an Uncle Joe story, could not determine whether it was for or against socialism and said that it seemed to be "anti-every ideology". However, Quagmire has become more pointed in his criticism of
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
and other contemporary leaders based on Quagmire's opposition to war and the current state of world economics and the environment. For example, in a 2004 story, Heidi and Etsuko join the
Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...
, and are dispatched to the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
to search for
weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a Biological agent, biological, chemical weapon, chemical, Radiological weapon, radiological, nuclear weapon, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great dam ...
—and remove the stickers on them which read "Made in U.S.A." However, they succeed only in finding weapons in practically every country in the area ''except''
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. Josh Quagmire's last online project was a comic called "Bunz & Katz" which began running in 2012. The strip is about two alien scouts, Bunz - an alien who has been altered to look like an anime "sailor chick" so as to blend in with "Dirt's" defenders, and her henchbot Katz. Sent to Earth by the all conquering but now hopelessly obsolete and ancient NegaFleet, the two hapless protagonists attempt to prepare the way for Earth's destruction but things just never seem to work out for them. Their interactions with the inhabitants of "Dirt" (as Katz translated "Earth") and their ignorance of Earthly ways make up the majority of the humor along with occasional asides into popular cultural events or politics. The last instalment was posted on May 25, 2023. Quagmire died in May 2023.


References


External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Quagmire, Joshua American comics artists American comics writers 1952 births Living people Underground cartoonists Pseudonymous comics artists Furry fandom people