Seth Tobocman (born 1958) is a radical comic book artist who has been living in Manhattan'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. Traditionally an im ...

since 1978. Tobocman is best known for his creation of the political comic book

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 ...

'' World War 3 Illustrated'', which he started in 1979 with fellow artist Peter Kuper. He has also been an influential

propagandist Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

for the

squatting Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

anti-globalization The anti-globalization movement or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist m ...

, and

anti-war An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...

movements in the United States. Tobocman's "Edith In Flames. World War 3 Illustrated #45" was listed under "Notable Comics" in The Best American Comics 2015.

Biography

Tobocman grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio; his father was a physics professor at

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

. He grew up reading superhero comics, and his biggest influences, from a storytelling standpoint, were Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. Tobocman graduated from Cleveland Heights High School. In 1970 Tobocman and his childhood friend Peter Kuper published their first fanzine, ''Phanzine'', and in 1971 they published ''G.A.S Lite'', the official magazine of the Cleveland Graphic Arts Society. Moving to New York City, he studied at the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

(along with Kuper).Worcester, Kenton
"Waxing Politick with Seth Tobocman,"
'' The Comics Journal'' #233 (May 11, 2001). Retrieved August 4, 2008. Tobocman created an animation for filmmaker

Antonino D'Ambrosio Antonino Pasquale D'Ambrosio (born June 23, 1971), is an Italian-American author, filmmaker, producer, and visual artist. Writing D'Ambrosio is the author of ''Let Fury Have the Hour: Joe Strummer, Punk and the Movement that Shook the World'' ( ...

's ''Let Fury Have the Hour'' (2012), which chronicles the movement of world citizenship. Tobocman is a member of the radical avant-garde anti-art movement

NO!art NO!art is a radical avant-garde anti-art movement started in New York in 1959. Its founders sought to deliver a shock to the complacent consumerist society around them. The movement was initiated by Boris Lurie, Sam Goodman and Stanley Fisher wh ...

.NO!art Members
NO!art website. Accessed July 1, 2015.

Published work

* ''Understanding the Crash'' with Eric Larsen and Jessica Wehrle (Soft Skull Press, 2010) * ''Disaster and Resistance: Comics and Landscapes for the 21st Century'' (AK PRESS, 2008) * ''Portraits of Israelis and Palestinians For My Parents'' (Soft Skull Press, 2003) * ''War in the Neighborhood'' (Autonomedia, 2000) * ''You Don't Have to Fuck People Over to Survive'' (Soft Skull Press, 1999) * ''Freedom of the Press in Black and White: The Story of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a Black Reporter'' (S. Chicago ARA-ABC Zine Distro, 1999)

Contributions

* ''

The Graphic Canon ''The Graphic Canon: The World's Great Literature as Comics and Visuals'' (Seven Stories Press) is a three-volume anthology, edited by Russ Kick, that renders some of the world's greatest and most famous literature into graphic-novel form. The firs ...

Volume 2: From "Kubla Khan" to the Brontë Sisters to The Picture of Dorian Gray'' (Seven Stories Press, 2012) — illustrations for Frederick Douglass's "The Message from Mount Misery" * ''Three Cities Against the Wall: Palestinian, Israeli And American Artists Protest in Three Cities'' (Vox Pop, 2006) *

Katamine Katamine ( he, קטאמין) is a collaborative musical project that joins a changing cast of artists with the Israeli singer and songwriter Assaf Tager (אסף תג'ר). Today, Assaf Tager collaborate with Uri Frost (guitar), Haggai Fershtman (dru ...

's ''Forest of Bobo'' (2006) —

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, telling the life story of Bobo the bear; each song is accompanied by a drawing in the CD booklet, painted by Tobocman * ''World War 3 Illustrated 1980-1988'' (AK Press, 1989)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tobocman, Seth 1958 births Living people Alternative cartoonists American comics artists American comics writers Artists from Cleveland Artists from New York City Jewish American artists Squatters Cleveland Heights High School alumni 21st-century American Jews

Biography

Published work

Contributions

References

Further reading

External links