Chester Brown
937184
220286977
2008-06-19T03:25:28Z
Ash Loomis
905830
{{Infobox Comics creator
| image = Chester Brown.jpg
| imagesize = 150px
| caption = Chester Brown. Photo: [http://www.flickr.com/people/93824428@N00 Joel Friesen]
| birthname =
| birthdate = [[May 16]], [[1960]]
| location =
| deathdate =
| deathplace =
| nationality = Canadian
| area = Writer/Artist
| alias =
| notable works = ''[[Ed the Happy Clown]]'',<br> ''Gospel of Mark'',<br> ''The Playboy'',<br> ''I Never Liked You'',<br> ''[[Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography]]''
| awards =
}}
'''Chester Brown''' (born [[May 16]], [[1960]]) is a [[Canada|Canadian]] independent [[cartoonist]]. His underground work was initially self-published, then released by the independent publishing company Vortex. Most of his output is now published by [[Drawn and Quarterly]].
==Early years==
He made his debut in comics with a self-published [[mini-comic]] called ''[[Yummy Fur (comic)|Yummy Fur]]'', later published as a full size comic from Vortex Comics, initially reprinting the contents of the earlier mini. Its contents included the [[Surrealism|surreal]] [[black comedy]] strip ''[[Ed the Happy Clown]]'', collected in [[graphic novel]] form by Vortex in [[1989]] and later in a somewhat different edition by Drawn & Quarterly. The bizarre misfortunes of the title character include being chased by [[cannibal]]istic [[pygmy|pygmies]] and having the tip of his penis replaced by the head of a miniature [[Ronald Reagan]] from another universe.
Brown explained later that "the Ed story came automatically, without any thought." Throughout his early years as a cartoonist he mostly experimented with drawing on the darker side of his subconscious, basing his comedy on free-form association (much like the [[surrealist]] technique [[Surrealist automatism|Automatism]]). An example of such methods in Brown's work can be found in short one-pagers where he randomly selects comic panels from other sources and then mixes them up, often altering the dialogue. This produced a very experimental [[absurdist]] effect in his early strips.
==Autobiographical nature==
In later Vortex editions of ''Yummy Fur'', Brown experimented with [[autobiography]], and in [[1990]] produced highly structured narratives about his childhood in serialized form. These stories were later collected as [[graphic novels]], ''The Playboy'' (Drawn and Quarterly, [[1992]]) and ''I Never Liked You'' (Drawn and Quarterly, [[1994]]). The former deals with the his obsessive preoccupation with [[Playboy magazine]]s in his youth, and is promoted as "[a]n autobiographical look at how [[pornography]] has affected my life" by the author. ''I Never Liked You'' (originally titled ''Fuck'') is an often grim coming-of-age tale, which depicts the author as an introvert who is constantly picked on by his schoolmates and cannot relate to the opposite sex. It also deals with his mother's bout with [[schizophrenia]].
Brown discusses his mother more academically in his strip "My Mother Was A Schizophrenic". In it, he puts forward the [[anti-psychiatry|anti-psychiatric]] idea that what we call "schizophrenia" isn't a real [[disease]] at all, but instead a tool our [[society]] uses to deal with people who display socially unacceptable beliefs and behaviour. Inspired by the evangelical tracts of [[Jack T. Chick]], Brown left Xeroxes of these strips at bus stops and stations around Montreal so its message would reach a wider audience. This strip was eventually reproduced in a journal of [[psychiatry]]; it first appeared as a backup feature in ''Underwater'', and is also reprinted in the collection ''The Little Man''.
Brown had a long-term relationship with the musician, actress and media personality [[Sook-Yin Lee]], who is depicted in several of his comics. He also drew the cover for her 1996 [[solo album]] ''[[Wigs 'n' Guns]]''.
==Thematic subjects==
''Underwater'', Brown's first series after ''Yummy Fur'', is an experimental work that attempts to portray life from the point of view of an infant, starting with entirely incomprehensible events and dialogue and gradually developing a coherent narrative as the child matures. The series was not well received by critics and sold poorly, and Brown abandoned it in an unfinished state.
Brown's longest-running work is a series of adaptations of the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[gospel]]s: he finished the [[Gospel of Mark]] as a backup feature in ''Yummy Fur'', and the still unfinished [[Gospel of Matthew]] appeared in ''Yummy Fur'' and ''Underwater''. These adaptations adhere closely to Biblical events but use colloquial language and often grotesque caricature; Brown's portrayal of Jesus not only is idiosyncratic and often harsh, but varies considerably between the two books, reflecting the differences in emphasis between [[gospels]]. The gospel strips have not been reprinted; Brown says he intends to finish them. Recently Chester was asked by [[Cerebus]] comic book creator [[Dave Sim]] if he'd be interested in letting him publish the unpublished material as part of his proposed possible publication or free print-on-demand from off of the internet of his [[commentaries]] of the gospels and The [[Book of Revelation]] out of [[Brooke Foss Westcott]] and [[Fenton John Anthony Hort]]'s 1881 [[interlinear]] [[Greek language|Greek]] to [[English language|English]] [[translation]] of The [[New Testament]]. At last mention Chester hadn't said yes or no.
==Recent work==
Brown's most recent work is a biography in graphic novel form of [[Louis Riel]], published by Drawn and Quarterly in both serialized and collected (''[[Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography]]'') form. Brown's interest in the subject of Riel was inspired by the alleged mental instability of Riel (though this was not a focus of the comic), and Brown's own [[anarchism|anarchist]] politics, and began his research for the book in 1998. However, over the course of researching for the book, he shifted his politics over the course of several years until he was a [[Libertarianism|libertarian]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archives.cbc.ca/arts_entertainment/visual_arts/clips/9905/ |title=Chester Brown |accessdate=2008-06-18 |last=Matheson |first=Emmet |year=2004 |work=Riel: a comic-book hero |publisher=CBC Digital Archives |quote=I was an anarchist when I began the strip and I knew the story would make the government look bad. [...] But in doing all the research for this book [''[[Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography]]''], I learned a lot about general political theory. I came to realize that anarchy is completely unworkable, which I sort of suspected all along.}}</ref>
The book was selected as one of the best comics of [[2003]] by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' columnist Andrew D. Arnold, and was nominated for a [[2004]] [[Eisner Award]]. Brown has begun to re-print the original, un-altered versions of the ''Ed'' stories with the publisher Drawn & Quarterly. They plan to eventually publish a revised, third and definitive book length version of the saga.
==Comic book series==
* ''Yummy Fur'' (mini-comic)
* ''[[Yummy Fur (comic)|Yummy Fur]]'' (Vortex Books)
* ''Underwater''
* ''[[Louis Riel]]''
* ''Ed the Happy Clown''
==Graphic novels and collections==
* ''Ed the Happy Clown''
* ''[[The Playboy: A Comic Book]]''
* ''[[I Never Liked You]]''
* ''The Little Man: Short Strips 1980-1995''
* ''[[Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography]]''
==Awards==
Brown has received recognition for his work in comics several times, including a nomination for the Harvey Special Award for Humor in [[1990]].
==External links==
*[http://www.time.com/time/columnist/arnold/article/0,9565,609686,00.html Time.com interview with Chester Brown]
*[http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/edclown.html CBC Arts Online article about Chester Brown's Ed The Happy Clown series]
*[http://www.cbc.ca/arts/walkoffame/chesterbrown.html Chester Brown induction into CBC Arts Online's Alternative Canadian Walk of Fame]
*[http://www.twohandedman.com/Interviews/Chester/Index.html Interview with Chester Brown on twohandedman.com]
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[[Category:1960 births]]
[[Category:Anti-psychiatry]]
[[Category:Canadian Christians]]
[[Category:Canadian graphic novelists]]
[[Category:Comic strip cartoonists]]
[[Category:Former anarchists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Underground cartoonists]]
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