Philip Peter Foglio (born May 1, 1956) is 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 ...

and

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 ...

artist known for his humorous

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and

fantasy art Fantastic art is a broad and loosely defined art genre. It is not restricted to a specific school of artists, geographical location or historical period. It can be characterised by subject matter—which portrays non-realistic, mystical, mythi ...

Early life and career

Foglio was born on May 1, 1956, in

Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Moun ...

, and moved with his family to

Hartsdale, New York Hartsdale is a hamlet located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 5,293 at the 2010 census. It is a suburb of New York City. History Hartsdale, a CDP/hamlet/post-office in the town of Gre ...

, where he lived until he was 17. He attended the

Chicago Academy of Fine Arts The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum a ...

in Chicago, Illinois, and was a member of the university's science fiction club, art-directing and co-editing the group's

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

, ''Effen Essef''. He was nominated for both the

Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist The Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist is given each year for artists of works related to science fiction or fantasy which appeared in low- or non-paying publications such as semiprozines or fanzines. A Hugo Award for professional artists is also gi ...

and the

Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation The Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is given each year for theatrical films, television episodes, or other dramatized works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. Originally the award covered both ...

in 1976, and won ''Best Fan Artist'' in 1977 and 1978. After living in the DePaul dorms for a few years, Phil moved to the

Rogers Park Rogers Park is a neighborhood on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and one of the city's 77 municipally recognized community areas. Located north of the Loop along the shore of Lake Michigan, it features green spaces, early 20th-century ...

neighborhood of Chicago and hosted weekly Thursday night meetings of Chicago-area

science fiction fans Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

. He drew the first known

Unix Unix (, ; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multi-user computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, a ...

daemons for a limited series of

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt, or tee for short) is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shir ...

s in 1979. Beginning in 1980, Foglio wrote and illustrated the

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 ...

What's New with Phil & Dixie ''What's New with Phil & Dixie'' is a gaming parody comic by Phil Foglio. ''What's New'' was Foglio's first comic, and it was published in the magazines ''Dragon'' and '' The Duelist'', as well as in print collections and online. Premise Th ...

'' for '' Dragon Magazine'' from TSR Games, satirizing the world of

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

s. The strip ran monthly for three years. In the early 1980s, after some time in Chicago attempting to find work doing

magazine and book illustration, Foglio moved to New York City. He formed the independent

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

company ""

o capitals O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), p ...

with science-fiction writer-artist Connor Freff Cochran (Freff) and science-fiction book editor Melissa Ann Singer. Working with editorial input from

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 ...

, Foglio and Freff wrote and drew a single issue of a science-fiction/historical title called ''D'Arc Tangent'' before ending their collaboration in 1984. He eventually returned to the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago and continued fantasy and science-fiction art. For publisher Donning/Starblaze, Foglio illustrated the ''

MythAdventures ''MythAdventures'' or ''Myth Adventures'' is a fantasy series created by Robert Lynn Asprin. After twelve novels by Asprin, published 1978 to 2002, he and Jody Lynn Nye continued the series with seven more books that they wrote together. After h ...

'' series of fantasy novels by

Robert Lynn Asprin Robert Lynn Asprin (June 28, 1946 – May 22, 2008) was an American science fiction and fantasy author and active fan, known best for his humorous series '' MythAdventures'' and '' Phule's Company''. Background Robert Asprin was born in St ...

, and he later adapted the first book, '' Another Fine Myth'', into an eight-issue comic-book series from

WaRP Graphics WaRP Graphics, later Warp Graphics, is an alternative comics publisher best known for creating and being the original publisher of the ''Elfquest'' comic book series. It was created and incorporated in 1977 by Wendy and Richard Pini. The compan ...

. The WaRP work eventually led to comic-book assignments from

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

(''

Angel and the Ape ''Angel and the Ape'' is a humor comic book created by E. Nelson Bridwell & Bob Oksner published by DC Comics. The characters first appeared in 1968 in comics, 1968 in ''Showcase (comic book), Showcase'' #77 then graduated to their own title, w ...

'', ''

Plastic Man Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brian) is a superhero featured in American comic books first appearing in ''Police Comics'' #1, originally published by Quality Comics and later acquired by DC Comics. Created by cartoonist Jack Cole (artist), Jack Co ...

'' and ''

Stanley and His Monster Stanley and His Monster is an American comic-book humor feature and later series from DC Comics, about a boy who has a monster as his companion instead of a dog. Created by writer Arnold Drake and artist Winslow Mortimer as a backup feature in t ...

'' miniseries),

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 ...

, and

First Comics First Comics is an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991 and then from 2011 to present (stylized as 1First Comics), known for titles like '' American Flagg!'', '' Grimjack'', ''Nexus'', ''Badger'', '' Dreadstar'', and '' ...

(back-up stories in issues of ''

Grimjack Grimjack is the main character of a comic book originally published by the American company First Comics, and later by IDW Publishing. John Ostrander and Timothy Truman are credited as co-creators of the character, although Ostrander had been dev ...

'' and scripting over Doug Rice's plots in ''

Dynamo Joe ''Dynamo Joe'' was a comic book series published by First Comics from 1986 to 1988. Created, plotted and drawn by Doug Rice, it was scripted first by John Ostrander then by Phil Foglio. Ben Dunn sometimes filled in for Rice on the art. The serie ...

''). He also joined the Moebius theatre group, and he held regular meetings and poker parties for the local science fiction community. Foglio initiated his long-running character Buck Godot for the publication ''Just Imagine'', published by Denny Meisinger. Basing the humorous science-fiction detective on a real-life friend, John Buckley, Foglio "did a couple of those in the black-and-whites and then Donning said they wanted Buck Godot

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

s", two of which followed.

Later work

In the 1990s, Foglio met and married his wife, Kaja. The two contributed art to the

collectible card game A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards. The genre was introduced with ''Magic: The G ...

'' Magic: The Gathering'', from

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (WotC or Wizards) is an American game Publishing, publisher, most of which are based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science-fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail game stores. In 1999, toy ...

and resurrected the comic strip ''

'' for that company's '' Duelist'' magazine. During this decade, Foglio co-founded Palliard Press and published additional comics, including a new Buck Godot series and the whimsical

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, sculp ...

series '' XXXenophile''. The Foglios later founded Studio Foglio and began to produce the

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and Applied arts, aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century Industrial Revolution, industrial steam engine, steam-powered machinery. Steampun ...

-fantasy series ''

Girl Genius ''Girl Genius'' is an ongoing comic book series turned webcomic, written and drawn by Phil Foglio, Phil and Kaja Foglio and published by their company Studio Foglio LLC under the Imprint (trade name), imprint Airship Entertainment. The comic wo ...

''. In April 2005, the Foglios abandoned publishing periodical-style comic books and began publishing ''Girl Genius'' online as a free

webcomic 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 ...

, updated three times a week. Foglio told an interviewer that as of November 2005, " 've quadrupled our number of readers, and tripled our sales" of traditional comics and related merchandise.

Awards

In 1976, the

slide show A slide show, or slideshow, is a presentation of a series of still images ( slides) on a projection screen or electronic display device, typically in a prearranged sequence. The changes may be automatic and at regular intervals or they may b ...

''The Capture'', which

Robert Asprin Robert Lynn Asprin (June 28, 1946 – May 22, 2008) was an American science fiction and fantasy authors, fantasy author and science fiction fandom, active fan, known best for his humorous series ''MythAdventures'' and ''Phule's Company (series), ...

wrote and Foglio illustrated, was nominated for the

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

for Best Dramatic Presentation; in the same year, he was nominated for the

for the first time. Foglio won the Fan Artist Hugo twice, in 1977 and 1978. He was nominated for the

Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist The Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist is given each year for artists of works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. The award has been given annually under several names since 1955, with the except ...

in 2008. He, his wife (

Kaja Foglio Kaja Marie Foglio (born January 12, 1970) is a Seattle-based writer, artist, and publisher. Foglio co-won the first Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story in 2009 for '' Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones'', a series wh ...

), and their colorist (Cheyenne Wright) won the first graphic story Hugo for ''Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones'' in 2009. The three again won the award for subsequent volumes in 2010 and 2011. Having won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story in all three of its first three years, Kaja, Phil, and Cheyenne announced that, in order to show that the category was a "viable award" (with quality competitors besides themselves), they were refusing nomination for the following year (2012). Girl Genius was once again nominated for a Hugo in 2014, but did not win. In 1993, he was awarded the

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at Comic-Con Internati ...

. Foglio won a Reuben divisional award from the National Cartoonist Society for Best Online Comics: Long Form for 2022.

Works co-authored

* ''

'' (comic strip) in '' Dragon Magazine'' #49–84 (1980s) and '' Duelist'' (1990s), collected in three comic book volumes now available online * ''

'' (comic strip) in ''Dragon'' #266–311 & 359 (2000s) * comic book: ** ''D'Arc Tangent'' #1 of a planned 16-issue series (no other issues were ever released). Collaboration with Freff, Lucie Chin, and Melissa Ann Singer *

comic books: ** ''

'' #15, 23, 40 (Munden's Bar features) ** ''

'' #4–15, Special (script) *

comic books: ** ''

'' #1–4 (Feb.–May 1993), miniseries ** ''

'' miniseries (script) ** ''

'' miniseries * Buck Godot comic books: ** ''Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire'' graphic novel ** ''Buck Godot: Psmith'' graphic novel ** ''Buck Godot: The Gallimaufry'' series #1–8 * ''

'' comic book series #1– (ongoing) * Agatha H Girl Genius prose novels: ** ''Agatha H and the Airship City'' 2011, Night Shade Books ** ''Agatha H and the Clockwork Princess'' 2012, Night Shade Books ** ''Agatha H and the Voice of the Castle'' 2014, Night Shade Books ** ''Agatha H. and the Siege of Mechanicsburg'' 2020, Night Shade Books * '' XXXenophile'' comic books #1–10, collected volumes 1–6 * Novel ''

Illegal Aliens Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

'' with

Nick Pollotta Nick Pollotta (August 26, 1954 – April 13, 2013 in Chicago) was an American author. He is best known for his humorous novels, including the science-fiction novel, ''Illegal Aliens'' (with Phil Foglio) and the fantasy novels ''Bureau 13'' and '' ...

* ''That Darn Squid God!'', fantasy/humor novel, as James Clay with

* Co-author of ''Dealer's Choice: The Complete Handbook of Saturday Night Poker'', with

James Ernest James Ernest (born October, 1968) is an American game designer and juggler, best known as the owner and lead designer of Cheapass Games. Career Prior to founding Cheapass Games, Ernest worked as a juggler at various venues, including Camlann Me ...

and

Mike Selinker Mike Selinker ( ) is an American game designer, puzzle maker, and the founder and president of Lone Shark Games. Credits Selinker's design credits include '' Pirates of the Spanish Main'' and '' Fightball'' with James Ernest, ''Axis & Allies Rev ...

* ''The Night Sheriff'', solo authored fantasy novel, Prince of Cats Literary Productions, 2021.

Works illustrated

* ''

'' series of novels by

(illustrations) (Donning/Starblaze editions only): ** '' Another Fine Myth'' ** '' Myth Conceptions'' ** '' Myth Directions'' ** '' Hit or Myth'' ** '' Myth-ing Persons'' ** '' Little Myth Marker'' ** '' M.Y.T.H. Inc. Link'' ** '' Myth-nomers and Im-perv-ections'' ** '' M.Y.T.H. Inc. in Action'' ** '' Sweet Myth-tery of Life'' ** '' Myth-taken Identity'' ** '' Class Dis-Mythed'' ** '' Myth-Gotten Gains'' * ''MythAdventures'' Omnibus editions ** ''

Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures Volume 1 The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

'' ** '' Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures Volume 2'' * '' MythFortunes'': the MythAdventures board game *

comic books: ** ''

!'' #1–8 (1980s) (after #8 Foglio left and the series was continued with other artists) *** Reprinted as two graphic novels, in color and with additional art * Over 50 cards from the collectible card game '' Magic: The Gathering'' * Metal miniatures and covers to the

board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...

'' Robo Rally'' * Illustrations for several games by

Spiderweb Software Spiderweb Software is an independent video game developer founded in 1994 by Jeff Vogel in Seattle, Washington. Its primary focus is on creating demoware games for the Mac, Microsoft Windows, Android and the iPad. The games emphasize storytelli ...

('' Nethergate'', '' Avernum'' 1–3) * Cover of '' Bureau 13: Stalking the Night Fantastic'' by

Tri Tac Games Tri Tac Games is a publisher of role-playing games based in Pontiac, Michigan. The company is built primarily on the work of Richard Tucholka, its founder and president. Company history Tri Tac Games was founded in 1978 as "Tacky Tack Games". T ...

* Illustrated

GURPS Illuminati University ''GURPS Illuminati University'' (1995) (), also called ''GURPS IOU'', is a 128-page softbound campaign setting sourcebook for the ''GURPS'' role-playing game. Page 11 is notably the first printed appearance of Agatha Heterodyne, the star of the ...

(aka GURPS IOU) with

. The dark to humorous

Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on 1 ...

University setting for

Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...

GURPS The ''Generic Universal Role Playing System'', or ''GURPS'', is a tabletop role-playing game system published by Steve Jackson Games. The system is designed to run any genre using the same core mechanics. The core rules were first written by St ...

Role Playing Game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, eith ...

system. * Illustrated cards for ''Space Pirate Amazon Ninja Catgirls'', Fade Manley's game published by

* Illustrated CD album cover for

Beatnik Turtle Beatnik Turtle is an indie rock band from Chicago formed in 1998. Beatnik Turtle plays alternative and pop-rock "with a sense of humor." Their sound is rooted in the song-based pop-rock sound of They Might Be Giants, Fountains of Wayne, The Saw Do ...

's '' The Cheapass Album'' for

Cheapass Games Cheapass Games is a game company founded and run by game designer James Ernest, based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. Cheapass Games operates on the philosophy that most game owners have plenty of dice, counters, play money, and othe ...

* Illustrated several cards in various publications of the

Munchkin A Munchkin is a native of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. Although a common fixture in Germanic fairy tales, they are introduced to modern audiences with the first appearance in the classic c ...

series of card games * Cover to ''The Antikythera Mechanism'', music album by Nathaniel Johnstone, 2014

References

External links

*
The Phil Foglio Gallimaufry
(fan-site checklist)
Independent Propaganda: "INTERVIEW: From Print To The Web with Phil Foglio of GIRL GENIUS Web Comic" (June 18, 2006)

An illustrated list of Magic the Gathering cards by Phil Foglio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foglio, Phil 1956 births American webcomic creators Comic book publishers (people) American comic strip cartoonists DePaul University alumni American game artists Hugo Award–winning artists Living people Artists from Chicago Writers from Mount Vernon, New York Artists from Seattle School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Steampunk writers People from Hartsdale, New York Inkpot Award winners