David Mazzucchelli

David John Mazzucchelli^[1] (/ˌmæzuːˈkɛli/;^[2] born September 21, 1960)^[3] is an American comics artist and writer, known for his work on seminal superhero comic book storylines Daredevil: Born Again and Batman: Year One, as well as for graphic novels in other genres, such as Asterios Polyp and City of Glass: The Graphic Novel. He is also an instructor who teaches comic book storytelling at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.

David Mazzucchelli
Mazzucchelli at a June 28, 2012 book signing at Midtown Comics in Manhattan
Born	David John Mazzucchelli (1960-09-21) September 21, 1960 (age 63) Providence, Rhode Island
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Cartoonist, Writer, Penciller, Inker
Notable works	Asterios Polyp Daredevil Batman: Year One Rubber Blanket City of Glass: The Graphic Novel
Awards	Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon New Jersey State Council on the Arts Fellowship Japan/U.S. Friendship Commission Creative Artists Fellowship Los Angeles Times Book Prize

Career

Mazzucchelli received his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design,^[4][5] and started working in comics in the early 1980s, first at Marvel Comics where, after a few fill-in jobs, he became the regular artist on Daredevil.^[6] He worked with writer Denny O'Neil and culminated his work on this title with the Daredevil: Born Again (Feb-Aug 1986) story arc, written by Frank Miller.^[7]

Miller and Mazzucchelli collaborated again on the graphic novel Batman: Year One, serialized in issues #404–407 (Feb-May 1987) of DC Comics' monthly Batman title, and published in a single volume shortly afterwards. Batman: Year One is considered one of the best Batman stories ever produced.^[8] Mazzucchelli had previously drawn Batman in a five page backup story in World's Finest Comics #302 (April 1984).^[9]

After Batman: Year One, Mazzucchelli drew an Angel story in Marvel Fanfare #40 (Oct. 1988).^[10] He then moved on to focus on more personal projects.^[11] He published three issues of his own independent anthology, Rubber Blanket, co-edited by his wife, painter Richmond Lewis, in which he began finding his voice as a writer in addition to exploring new avenues of visual expression. His evocative and haunting stories in Rubber Blanket, notably "Near Miss," "Dead Dog," "Discovering America," and "Big Man," set the stage for his work to come. Mazzucchelli's work in Rubber Blanket, and especially his use of two-color printing to create his artwork, influenced a number of young indie-comics artists through the 1990s and 2000s, including Darwyn Cooke, Frank Santoro, and Dash Shaw.^[12] With writer/artist Paul Karasik, he co-wrote and illustrated an adaptation of Paul Auster's City of Glass,^[13] published first by Avon Books in 1994, then by Picador in 2004 as City of Glass: The Graphic Novel. Auster's later book The Brooklyn Follies features a character with the name Nancy Mazzucchelli, an homage to David. He continued to write and draw short comics for various publishers until 2000. Mazzucchelli was one of the artists on the Superman and Batman: World's Funnest one-shot written by Evan Dorkin.^[14]

In 2009, Pantheon Books published Mazzucchelli's graphic novel, Asterios Polyp.^[15] The book was named a New York Times Notable Book for that year,^[16] and won the 2010 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for graphic novels.^[4][17]

Mazzucchelli has done illustrations for various publications, including interior pieces and covers for The New Yorker^[3] In 2011, an animated adaptation of Batman: Year One was released by Warner Home Video.^[18]

Mazzucchelli has taught a cartooning course for BFA students at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.^[4]

Awards

• 2009 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Graphic Novel Award^[4][17]
• 2010 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, Best Graphic Album—New; Best Writer/Artist; Best Lettering (for Asterios Polyp)^[19]
• 2010 Harvey Awards, Best Original Graphic Album; Best Single Issue or Story; Best Letterer (for Asterios Polyp)^[20]
• Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Creative Artist Fellowship^[4]
• Morning Manga Fellowship^[4]
• New Jersey State Council on the Arts^[4]
• Erwin Swann Award, Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon^[4]
• 2012 HQ Mix Award for Foreign Artist (for Asterios Polyp)^[21]
• 2012 HQ Mix Award for Foreign Writer (for Asterios Polyp)^[21]

Bibliography

 

Mazzucchelli's cover to Batman #407 (May 1987), the fourth chapter of Batman: Year One.

 

A page from Asterios Polyp (2009)

• Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu #121: "Passing Strangers!" (with Steven Grant, Marvel, 1983)
• The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones #14: "Demons" (with David Michelinie, Marvel, 1984)
• World's Finest Comics #302: "No Rest for Heroes!" (with David Anthony Kraft, DC Comics, 1984)
• Daredevil (Marvel):
  • "Every Good and Perfect Gift..." (with Dennis O'Neil, in #206, 1984)
  • "The Deadliest Night of My Life!" (with Harlan Ellison and Arthur Byron Cover, in #208, 1984)
  • "Blast from the Past" (with Arthur Byron Cover, in #209, 1984)
  • "The War on Micah Synn" (with Dennis O'Neil, in #210–214, 1984–1985)
  • "Prophecy" (with Dennis O'Neil, in #215, 1985)
  • "The Second Secret" (with Dennis O'Neil, in #216–217, 1985)
  • "Fog" (with Dennis O'Neil, in #220–221, 1985)
  • "Fear in a Handful of Dust..." (with Dennis O'Neil, in #222, 1985)
  • "The Price" (with Dennis O'Neil and Jim Shooter, in #223, 1985)
  • "...And Then You Die!" (with Dennis O'Neil, in #225, 1985)
  • "Warriors" (with Dennis O'Neil and Frank Miller, in #226, 1986)
  • "Born Again" (with Frank Miller, in #227–233, 1986)
• Star Wars #84: "Seoul Searching" (with Roy Richardson, Marvel, 1984)
• Marvel Team-Up Annual #7: "No Place to Run" (with Bob DeNatale, co-feature, Marvel, 1984)
• Batman #404–407: "Year One" (with Frank Miller, DC Comics, 1987)
• X-Factor #16: "Playing with Fire!" (with Louise Simonson, Marvel, 1987)
• Marvel Fanfare #40: "Chiaroscuro" (with Ann Nocenti, anthology, Marvel, 1988)
• Rubber Blanket #1–3 (script and art, self-published anthology, 1991–1993)
• Nozone #3, 5–6 (script and art, anthology, 1991–1995)
• Drawn & Quarterly (script and art, anthology):
  • "It's a Beautiful Day in the Epsilon-Neighborhood" (in vol. 1 #9, 1992)
  • "Rates of Exchange" (in vol. 2 #2, 1994)
• Bill & Ted's Excellent Comic Book #2 (with Stephen DeStefano – inks on Evan Dorkin, Marvel, 1992)
• Snake Eyes #3: "Phobia" (script and art, anthology, Fantagraphics Books, 1993)
• Paul Auster's City of Glass (with Paul Karasik, graphic novel, Avon Books, 1994)
• Zero Zero #2, 11, 27 (script and art, anthology, Fantagraphics Books, 1995–2000)
• Jingle Belle #1: "Miserable on 34th Street" (inks on Stephen DeStefano, written by Paul Dini, Oni Press, 1999)
• Superman and Batman: World's Funnest: "Last Imp Standing!" (with Evan Dorkin, among other artists, one-shot, DC Comics, 2000)
• Little Lit: Folklore & Fairy Tale Funnies: "The Fisherman and the Sea Princess" (script and art, anthology graphic novel, HarperCollins, 2000)
• The Comics Journal Special #1: "The Boy Who Loved Comics" (script and art, co-feature, Fantagraphics Books, 2001)
• Asterios Polyp (script and art, graphic novel, Pantheon Books, 2009)
• Fairy Tale Comics: "Give Me the Shudders" (script and art, anthology graphic novel, First Second, 2013)

Covers only

• Rom Spaceknight #61 (Marvel, 1984)
• Marvel Age #36 (Marvel, 1986)
• Amazing Heroes #102 (Fantagraphics Books, 1986)
• Snake Eyes #1–2 (Fantagraphics Books, 1990–1992)
• Cheval Noir #40 (Dark Horse, 1993)
• The Comics Journal #188, 194 (Fantagraphics Books, 1996–1997)

Interviews and other work

• Marvel Age #36: "Miller and Mazzucchelli on Daredevil" (interview, Marvel, 1986)
• Amazing Heroes #102: "David Mazzucchelli on Daredevil, Batman: Year One" (interview, Fantagraphics Books, 1986)
• Detective Comics #598, 600: "Tribute: People of Note Pay Homage to the Batman" (pin-ups, DC Comics, 1989)
• The Comics Journal #152, 194, 300^[22] (interviews, Fantagraphics Books, 1992–2009)
• Negative Burn (anthology, Caliber Comics):
  • "Spotlight: Rubber Blanket" (in #10, 1994)
  • "Sketchbook" (in #17, 1994)
• Comic Culture vol. 2 #4: "Rubber Blanket: Voices from the Small Press" (interview, 1995)
• Panel Discussions: Design in Sequential Art Storytelling (interview, TwoMorrows, 2002)
• Comic Book Artist vol. 2 #6: "Paying Homage: Tribute to the Great Will Eisner" (Top Shelf, 2005)

Newspapers and magazines

• "Castles in the Sand" (cover of The New Yorker, July 26, 1993)
• "The Fine Art of Hanging Ryman" (in The New Yorker, October 4, 1993)
• "May Day" (cover of The New Yorker, May 2, 1994)
• "Post Mort on Columbus Circle" (in The New Yorker, May 16, 1994)
• "Monday in the Park with Marlon" (in The New Yorker, September 19, 1994)
• "Fall" (cover of The New Yorker, October 24, 1994)
• "New String" (in The Village Voice, 1994)

References

1. Lus Arana, Luis Miguel (February 7, 2008). "David Mazzucchelli: El Naturalismo expresionista" (in Spanish). Homines.com. from the original on March 2, 2012. English language translation
2. "'Storytelling for Comics' by David Mazzucchelli - FanFaire NYC 2020". NerdNewsToday. February 8, 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. Retrieved April 13, 2021 – via YouTube.
3. "David Mazzucchelli". Lambiek Comiclopedia. January 25, 2013. from the original on August 22, 2013.
4. "Our Faculty: David Mazzuchelli". School of Visual Arts. from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
5. . International Who is Who in Cartooning. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012.
6. David Mazzucchelli at the Grand Comics Database
7. DeFalco, Tom; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1980s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 226. ISBN 978-0756641238. 'Born Again' was a seven-issue story arc that appeared in Daredevil from issue #227 to #233 (Feb.–Aug. 1986) by writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
8. Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, ed. (2010). "1980s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 227. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. Melding Miller's noir sensibilities, realistic characterization, and gritty action with Mazzucchelli's brilliant iconic imagery, "Year One" thrilled readers and critics alike...as well as being one of the influences for the 2005 film Batman Begins. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
9. Manning, Matthew K.; Dougall, Alastair, ed. (2014). "1980s". Batman: A Visual History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 150. ISBN 978-1465424563. A rare early example of Mazzucchelli's Batman before his ground-breaking 'Batman: Year One' story in February 1987, this tale featured Superman and Batman doing something quite out of the ordinary for the duo: having a drink at a local bar. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
10. Trumbull, John (June 2017). "'Marvel Fanfare #40: Fallen Angels and Stormy Weather". Back Issue! (96). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 64–65.
11. Young, Frank (August 1992). "Comics Used to be about Telling Stories: David Mazzucchelli Discusses his Transition from Mainstream to Independence". The Comics Journal (152). Seattle, Washington: Fantagraphics Books: 114–199.
12. Nadel, Dan. "Space Odyssey". Bookforum. Mazzucchelli's use of two colors and his employment of color as a tool for emotional layering would influence countless cartoonists throughout the '90s and 2000s, including Darwyn Cooke, Frank Santoro, and Dash Shaw.
13. Kartalopoulos, Bill (Spring 2004). "Three Questions for David Mazzucchelli". Indy Magazine. from the original on June 14, 2013.
14. Yarbrough, Beau (March 18, 1999). "Evan Dorkin Debuts World's Funnest". Comic Book Resources. from the original on September 5, 2015.
15. Wolk, Douglas (July 23, 2009). "Shades of Meaning". The New York Times. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
16. "100 Notable Books of 2009". The New York Times.
17. Garrison, Jessica (April 24, 2010). "Rafael Yglesias' A Happy Marriage wins Times Book Prize for fiction". Los Angeles Times. from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
18. Kit, Borys (April 20, 2011). "Batman: Year One Lines Up Voice Cast, Sets Comic-Con Premiere". The Hollywood Reporter. from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
19. Melrose, Kevin (24 July 2010). "SDCC '10 Winners announced for 22nd annual Eisner Awards". CBR.com. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
20. MacDonald, Heidi (30 August 2010). "2010 Harvey Award winners". The Beat. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
21. Naliato, Samir (June 19, 2012). (in Portuguese). Universo HQ. Archived from the original on August 4, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
22. Shaw, Dash (December 16, 2009). "TCJ 300 Conversations: David Mazzucchelli & Dash Shaw". The Comics Journal. Seattle, Washington: Fantagraphics Books. from the original on October 21, 2013.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Mazzucchelli.

• at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
• David Mazzucchelli at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
• David Mazzucchelli at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creatore

Preceded by William Johnson	Daredevil artist 1984–1986	Succeeded by Steve Ditko
Preceded by Denys Cowan	Batman artist 1987	Succeeded by Chris Warner