''Rubber Blanket'' was an alternative comics

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

magazine edited by the husband/wife team of

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 comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

David Mazzucchelli and painter/colorist Richmond Lewis. It was self-published under the banner of Rubber Blanket Press in a deluxe, oversized format from 1991 to 1993 (three issues). While an anthology of different artists, ''Rubber Blanket'' is mostly a showcase for Mazzucchelli's work. In it, he largely turns his back on the

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

work that had made him a fan-favorite, and moved towards a personal storytelling style with bold and more expressionistic artwork. These stories earned Mazzucchelli the 72nd position on '' The Comics Journals list of the best comics of the 20th century.

Publication history

Mazzucchelli had achieved success working on a number of popular titles, including '' Batman: Year One'' for DC Comics and

Daredevil Daredevil may refer to: * A stunt performer Arts and media Comics * Daredevil (Lev Gleason Publications), a fictional 1940s superhero popularized by writer-artist Charles Biro * Daredevil (Marvel Comics character), a Marvel comic book superher ...

for Marvel, when he abruptly left the world of

superheroes A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

(supposedly giving up an offer to draw the popular X-Men series) to make more personal works. He didn't produce any commercial work for a year, and studied underground comix and children's books, and took printmaking classes. In 1991 he published the first issue of the

''Rubber Blanket'' in a deluxe, oversized format. Each issue was 9"x12", and was self-published by Mazzucchelli and Lewis under the imprint of Rubber Blanket Press, based in Hoboken, New Jersey. The name was taken from the rubber blanket used to transfer ink from the printing plates to the printing surface in

offset printing Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on t ...

. The title was meant to indicate that the printing process was integral to the work published therein. ''Rubber Blanket'' was mainly a vehicle for Mazzucchelli to publish his more adventurous work, but it also showcased a few other artists' work:

Ted Stearn TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

's "Fuzz and Pluck", works by David Hornung, some work by Mazzucchelli's wife Richmond Lewis, and the beginning of a translation of the Italian "Happy Birthday, Signora" by

Massimo Semerano Massimo, also Massimino, and Massimine () is a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name: *Massimo Agostinelli (Max Agos) (born 1987), Swiss based Italian American artist, entrepreneur and activist *Massimo Ago ...

and Francesca Ghermandi. "Happy Birthday, Signora" was later continued in the Kim Thompson-edited '' Zero Zero'' from Fantagraphics, starting in issue #19, and renamed "Pop. 666". The chapter that was printed in ''Rubber Blanket'' #3 was reprinted in a new translation in ''Zero Zero'' #20, sometimes referring to the translation Mazzucchelli was involved with. A fourth issue was never published, as Mazzucchelli had noticed that his stories were getting longerfrom 9 pages to 24 and ultimately to 34 pages for "Big Man" in issue #3. Mazzucchelli wanted more space and wanted to dedicate the fourth issue to one long story. That story ended up being '' Asterios Polyp'', which was published as a hardcover graphic novel by

Pantheon Books Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint with editorial independence. It is part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.Random House, Inc. Datamonitor Company Profiles Authority: Retrieved 6/20/2007, from EBSCO Host Business Source ...

in 2009.

Issues

The stories in ''Rubber Blanket'' have never been collected in English. There have been foreign editions that have translated some of these stories in book form. #1991, 48 pages #*"Near Miss" ( David Mazzucchelli) #*"If it Weren't for Men..." ( Richmond Lewis) #*"Beyond the Last Pier" (Art/Story: Lewis; Text/Story: Mazzucchelli) #*"Mope & Grope" (Mazzucchelli) #*"Dead Dog" (Mazzucchelli) #1992, 56 pages #*"Blind Date" (Mazzucchelli) #*"Pyrum Spoth's Theory Of Truth" ( David Hornung) #*"Mope & Grope" (Mazzucchelli) #*"Smiling Joe" (Mazzucchelli) #*"Discovering America" (Mazzucchelli) #*"Beach Boy" (

) #*"Air" (Mazzucchelli) #*"Hey, I'm Serious" (Mazzucchelli) #1993, 72 pages #*"Mope & Grope" (Mazzucchelli) #*"Life o' Bub" (Hornung) #*"Mope & Grope" (Mazzucchelli) #*"Happy Birthday, Signora" (

Francesca Ghermani Francesca is an Italian female given name, derived from the Latin male name '' Franciscus'' meaning 'the Frenchman' It is widely used in most Romance languages, including Italian, French and Catalan, and place of origin is Italy. It is derived ...

)
translated from Italian by Semerano, Ghermandi and Mazzucchelli #*"Big Man" (Mazzucchelli)
The longest story in ''Rubber Blanket'', about a giant discovered washed up on the shore in a rural area.
The story has been said to be "essentially a very well-crafted Incredible Hulk story", but Mazzucchelli says he had intended it as a fable-like story, and not a commentary on superhero stories. #*"Fuzz & Pluck" (Stearn) #*"The Death of Monsieur Absurde"" (Mazzucchelli)

Reception

''Rubber Blanket'' has received much praise, and reportedly made Rob Liefeld's "head blow off". All three issues are long sold out and highly sought after by collectors at high prices. "The short stories in ''Rubber Blanket'' by David Mazzucchelli" ranked #72 on '' The Comics Journals list of the best comics of the 20th century.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * *Mazzucchelli, David & Lewis, Richmond (editors). ''Rubber Blanket'' #3. Rubber Blanket Press, 1993 * Thompson, Kim, ed. '' Zero Zero'' #20.

Fantagraphics Books Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was found ...

, September/October 1996. *

Groth, Gary Gary Groth (born September 18, 1954) is an American comic book editor, publisher and critic. He is editor-in-chief of ''The Comics Journal'', a co-founder of Fantagraphics Books, and founder of the Harvey Awards. Early life Groth is the son ...

, ed. '' The Comics Journal'' #210.

, February 1999. *Shaw, Dash. "TCJ 300 Conversations: David Mazzucchelli & Dash Shaw". ''The Comics Journal'' #300. Fantagraphics Books, December 2009. par
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External links

an overview of Mazzucchelli's oeuvre {{David Mazzucchelli Comics anthologies