{"id":20200,"date":"2021-08-27T12:16:31","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T16:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=20200"},"modified":"2021-08-27T12:21:17","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T16:21:17","slug":"chicago-comics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2021\/08\/27\/chicago-comics\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Chicago Comics\u2019 Showcases Windy City Comics From The Past Six Decades"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cChicago Comics: 1960s to Now\u201d<\/a> at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art from June 19 to Oct. 3, 2021, is intended as \u201ca celebration of Chicago\u2019s pivotal role as a national and innovative center for comics and cartooning.\u201d Organized by New York-based comic historian and curator-at-large for Dan Nadel from an idea by former MCA Chief Curator Michael Darling, it surveys comics produced in the Windy City over the past six decades.<\/p>\n

The show is primarily a parade of individuals, from Chester Gould and Dale Messick to Jay Lynch and Skip Williamson to Chris Ware and Lynda Barry to Nick Drnaso and Bianca Xunise. A highlight is how the exhibition foregrounds a number of Black artists who\u2019ve often been ignored by the white comics and art worlds\u2014like Tom Floyd, Seitu Hayden, Charles Johnson, Turtel Onli.<\/p>\n

\"Chester<\/a>
Chester Gould, \u201cDick Tracy,\u201d 1962, ink on board. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cChicago Comics\u201d begins in the 1960s, with the iconic \u201cDick Tracy\u201d by Chester Gould and \u201cBrenda Starr\u201d by Dale Messick. They had been published in the Chicago Tribune for decades by that point, but serve as foundational influences because of their prominence and graphic style. Meanwhile Black newspapers Chicago Defender and Pittsburgh Courier continued to publish adventure comics and slices of life by Jackie Ormes and Jay Jackson, \u201cwhose heydays of racial critique were the 1940s and \u201850s.\u201d<\/p>\n

The civil rights movement and other social changes of the decade sparked new approaches\u2014and underground press comics that spoke of sex, drugs, race and class.<\/p>\n

\"Charles<\/a>
Charles Johnson, “It\u2019s Life as I See It,” 1970. (Courtesy of Charles Johnson Photo: Nathan Keay, \u00a9 MCA Chicago)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cChuck, they don\u2019t let Black people do that. You need to do something else,\u201d Charles Johnson recalled his father telling him when he expressed his desire to become a gag cartoonist. But he persisted, and his first book, \u201cBlack Humor\u201d from 1970, offered blistering jokes about race.<\/p>\n

Tom Floyd\u2019s 1969 book \u201cIntegration is a Bitch!\u201d satirized his experience of being a Black man entering the white-collar workforce at Inland Steel. Sample gag: A white man tells a Black man \u201cIt will be a while before the neighbors get used to you\u201d as a brick smashes through the window. Floyd\u2019s 1972 comic \u201cBlackman\u201d featured a \u201cProud, Strong, and Black!\u201d superhero who was the \u201csoul wonder of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Skip<\/a>
Skip Williamson, \u201cClass War Comix,\u201d page 1, c. 1970, ink over blue pencil and Wipe-Out on illustration board. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meanwhile white artists Jay Lynch and Skip Williamson founded and published \u201cChicago Mirror\u201d in 1967, with Lynch transformed into \u201cBijou Funnies\u201d in 1968. Centered on drugs, sex and the activism of the era, it featured Robert Crumb and Lynch\u2019s boyhood friend Art Spiegelman, among others. The temper of the times is also represented in a 1970 cover of the \u201cChicago Seed\u201d newspaper that depicts a Chicago policeman as a pig and then Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley\u2019s notorious malapropism defense of Chicago police attacking protesters during the 1968 Democratic convention in the city: \u201cThe policeman is not there to create disorder, the policeman is there to preserve disorder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such underground publications fostered DIY self-publishing that continued to flourish in the 1980s and \u201890s as \u201calternative\u201d or \u201cindependent\u201d comics and newspapers.<\/p>\n

\"Turtel<\/a>
Turtel Onli, “Nog” comic book page, 1980. (\u00a9 1981 Turtel Onli Courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI wanted to make sci-fi that\u2019s based Black culture, and I made it Nubian,\u201d said Turtel Onli, whose comic \u201cNOG, Protector of the Pyramides\u201d began as a strip in the Chicago Defender in 1979 and became a self-published comic book in 1981. \u201cLet\u2019s not talk about Egypt because we always want to take Egypt out of Africa and put it in the mideast. So let\u2019s put it in Africa, Black Africa, and better yet, let\u2019s give them a planet. And so now it\u2019s a Nubian worldview, under attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photocopied<\/a>
Photocopied mini comics collaborations by Terry LaBan, Gary Lieb, Daniel Clowes, Chris Ware and Archer Prewitt, 1991 and \u201992. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lifelong Chicagoan Daniel Clowes and Gary Leib were the hub of a group of white cartoonists\u2014including Chris Ware, Archer Prewitt and Terry LaBan\u2014who would meet up at the cafe and book and music shop Earwax in Wicker Park in the late \u201880s and early \u201890s. Meanwhile Lynda Barry and John Porcellino launched sensitive comics about daily life. This period forms the hub and turning point of the show\u2014centering around Ware and Barry, among the most influential artists of their generation.<\/p>\n

\"Chris<\/a>
Chris Ware’s \u201cBuilding Stories\u201d comics in foreground with enlarged John Porcellino panel in background. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ware arrived in Chicago for grad school at the School of the Art Institute, and his astonishing comics began appearing in weekly in local alternative papers. They were mediations on the often painful experiences of life rendered with rigorous style and elaborate compositions\u2014rooted in both the ornate decoration of the turn of the 20th century as well as streamlined modernism. A whole gallery is devoted to his art\u2014including three-dimensional models of his characters that he\u2019s been making since the early days, sometimes including elaborate mechanical contraptions.<\/p>\n

\"Lynda<\/a>
Lynda Barry, “100 Demons: Dancing,” 2000-02. (Courtesy Adam Baumgold Fine Art)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lynda Barry and Nicole Hollander share a gallery, representing, I guess, 1980s and \u201890s feminist artists. Hollander\u2019s nationally-syndicated strip \u201cSylvia,\u201d which ran from 1980 to 2012, mixed ordinary life with critiques of sexism and hypocrisy. Barry\u2019s tender comics about the love and pain of growing up\u2014were inspired by growing up the child of Irish and Filipino parents. They appeared nationally in alternative newspapers when she was living in Chicago in the 1980s and \u201890s. She should have a gallery here to herself, as she\u2019s become hugely influential through her comics, her teaching workshops and how-to books inspired by her teaching.<\/p>\n

Celebrated fine-art painter Kerry James Marshall gets a room featuring his little known \u201cRhythm Mastr\u201d comics, which he\u2019s been drawing since 1998.<\/p>\n

\"Kerry<\/a>
Kerry James Marshall \u201cRhythm Mastr” comics and doll models. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, 2021. (Photo: Nathan Keay, \u00a9 MCA Chicago)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The past two decades are represented by Jessica Campbell, Lilli Carr\u00e9, Ezra Clayton Daniels, Anya Davidson, Edie Fake, Margot Ferrick, Eric J. Garcia, and Gina Wynbrandt. Here are pages from Nick Drnaso\u2019s 2018 book \u201cSabrina,\u201d which was long listed for that year\u2019s Booker Prize. It\u2019s a bleak tale drawn in a minimalist style about a woman\u2019s murder and the conspiracy theories it spawns.<\/p>\n

Recent comics also showcase political and social criticism. \u201cChicago comics are about taking a satirical look at the harsh reality of our world,\u201d said Eric J. Garcia, whose 2020 \u201cEl Machete Illustrated\u201d series was a scathing critique of American government and business. \u201c\u2026I want viewers to come away with a more critical look at our government and the global impact it has.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/a>
Eric J. Garcia, \u201cNew God\u201d from \u201cEl Machete Illustrated\u201d series, 2020, ink on paper. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the last galleries features an enlargement of a July 2020 panel from Black artist Bianca Xunise from the collaborative strip \u201cSix Chix,\u201d which is syndicated in more than 120 newspapers nationally. A Black woman wearing an \u201cI Can\u2019t Breathe\u201d shirt in reference to Minneapolis police\u2019s murder of George Floyd and a coronavirus mask is being told by a white woman: \u201cIf you can\u2019t breathe, them take that silly mask off.\u201d<\/p>\n

The comic \u201cinspired hundreds of responses from readers and resulted a handful of newspapers dropping \u2018Six Chix\u2019 and issuing apologies for the comic,\u201d according to the exhibition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am being silenced over white feelings from a gag comic,\u201d Xunise said at the time. \u201cThis is a complete step back in the wrong direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gallery<\/a>
Gallery with enlargement of Bianca Xunise\u2019s 2020 \u201cSix Chix\u201d strip. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

If this is the kind of coverage of arts, nature, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please support Wonderland by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, (hopefully) weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting. (All content \u00a9Greg Cook 2021 or the respective creators.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\"Jay<\/a>
Jay Jackson, \u201cBungleton Green\u201d as printed in Chicago Defender, 1944-45. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Jay<\/a>
Jay Jackson, \u201cHome Folks: A Glib Fib,\u201d 1954, ink on board. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u201cIt<\/a>
\u201cIt will be a while before the neighbors get used to you\u201d (brick smashing through window) and other gag comics from Tom Floyd\u2019s \u201cIntegration is a Bitch!\u201d 1969; Daniel Clyne\u2019s \u201cHungry Chuck Biscuits,\u201d 1971; Tom Floyd\u2019s \u201cBlackman,\u201d 1971; Richard \u201cGrass\u201d Green\u2019s \u201cSuper Soul Comix #1,\u201d 1972. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Charles<\/a>
Charles Johnson, \u201cBrace yourself, mother is visiting again\u201d from \u201cBlack Humor,\u201d 1970, ink on paper redrawn 2020. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u201cChicago<\/a>
\u201cChicago Seed,\u201d Vol. 2, no. 13, 1970. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Charles<\/a>
Charles Johnson, from \u201cBeautiful Black Humor for Everyone,\u201d 1971, ink on paper. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\u201cChicago<\/a>
\u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, 2021. (Photo: Nathan Keay, \u00a9 MCA Chicago)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Skip<\/a>
Skip Williamson, \u201cAn\u2019 When Yer Smashing\u2019 Th\u2019 State, Kids,\u201d 1971, ink on paper. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Skip<\/a>
Skip Williamson, \u201cMother Nature\u2019s Way of Saying Hi,\u201d 1971. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Seitu<\/a>
Seitu Hayden, “Waliku (Woliku),” 1973-74. (Seitu Hayden Archives)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Gallery<\/a>
Gallery with enlargement of Jay Lynch\u2019s cover for \u201cArcade No. 5,\u201d 1976. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Nicole<\/a>
Nicole Hollander comics from the 1980s, ink on paper. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Heather<\/a>
Heather McAdams comics from 1990s, ink on board. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Chris<\/a>
Chris Ware gallery in \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sparky<\/a>
Sparky Cat automaton by Chris Ware. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, 2021.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Quimby<\/a>
Quimby and Sparky dolls by Chris Ware. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, 2021.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\""Building<\/a>
“Building Stories” by Chris Ware. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Chis<\/a>
Chis Ware, \u201cRusty Brown\u201d dolls, 2002-15; lunchbox, 2006; pasteup book, 2001-2019; heads, 2001-19; and book, 2019. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Chris<\/a>
Chris Ware, \u201cJoanne Cole,\u201d 2012-18, ink, pencil and white gouache on Bristol board. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lynda<\/a>
Lynda Barry, \u201cToday\u2019s Demon: Aswang,\u201d 2000-02, ink and watercolor on board. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lynda<\/a>
Lynda Barry, \u201cSummer Night,\u201d 2001, ink on paper. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Archer<\/a>
Archer Prewitt, \u201cSof\u2019 Boy merchandise,\u201d c. 1990-2020. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Archer<\/a>
Archer Prewitt, \u201cSof\u2019 Boy: Sof\u2019 Boy and Friends\u201d #1, cover, 1996, ink and Wite-Out on board. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Gallery<\/a>
Gallery with enlargement of the cover of Daniel Clowes\u2019s \u201cLout Rampage!\u201d 1991. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Daniel<\/a>
Daniel Clowes comics, including the paperback cover of \u201cLike a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron,\u201d 2017, gouache on board. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ivan<\/a>
Ivan Brunetti, sketchbook, 2000s. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, 2021. (Photo: Nathan Keay, \u00a9 MCA Chicago)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ivan<\/a>
Ivan Brunetti, sketchbook, 2000s. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Kerry<\/a>
Kerry James Marshall \u201cRhythm Mastr,\u201d 2020-21, ink on board. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Anders<\/a>
Anders Nilsen, “Anatomy of a Vacant Lot,” 2010-11. (Image courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Nick<\/a>
Nick Drnaso, \u201c15 Characters\u201d (left) and \u201cSarah,\u201d 2017, acrylic on glass. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Jessica<\/a>
Jessica Campbell, “Dilettante,” page 114: “People You Pretend,” 2019. (Courtesy of the artist and Western Exhibitions, Chicago)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Anya<\/a>
Anya Davidson, \u201cSmoky Places,\u201d 2020-21, ink and gouache on board. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Edie<\/a>
Edie Fake, \u201cGaylord Phoenix,\u201d 2000s, ink on paper and zines. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Molly<\/a>
Molly Colleen O\u2019Connell, \u201cExtra Extra Extra,\u201d 2020-21, multimedia installation. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, July 3, 2021. (\u00a9Greg Cook photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Gallery<\/a>
Gallery with enlargement of Bianca Xunise\u2019s 2020 \u201cSix Chix\u201d strip. In \u201cChicago Comics\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art, 2021. (Photo: Nathan Keay, \u00a9 MCA Chicago)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

If this is the kind of coverage of arts, nature, cultures and activisms you appreciate, please support Wonderland by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, (hopefully) weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting. (All content \u00a9Greg Cook 2021 or the respective creators.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u201cChicago Comics: 1960s to Now\u201d at Chicago\u2019s Museum of Contemporary Art from June 19 to Oct. 3, 2021, is intended as \u201ca celebration of Chicago\u2019s pivotal role as a national and innovative center for comics and cartooning.\u201d Organized by New York-based comic historian and curator-at-large for Dan Nadel from an idea by former MCA Chief […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100,107],"tags":[198,191,927],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20200"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20200"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20261,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20200\/revisions\/20261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}