Ivan Brunetti

Ivan Brunetti
Brunetti at "Lines on Paper" panel, Chicago 2012
Born (1967-10-03) October 3, 1967 (age 57)
Mondavio,[1] Italy
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Cartoonist
Notable works
Schizo
Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice
AwardsIgnatz Award, 2006
Eisner Award, 2012

Ivan Brunetti (born October 3, 1967) is an Italian and American[1] cartoonist and comics scholar based in Chicago.

Career

Noted for combining blackly humorous taboo-laden subject matter with simplified and exaggerated cartoon drawing styles, Brunetti was strongly influenced by Charles M. Schulz and Peanuts. His best known comic work is his largely autobiographical series Schizo, of which four issues appeared between 1994 and 2006, the first 3 of which have been collected as Misery Loves Comedy.[2] Schizo #4 received the 2006 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Comic of the Year.[3]

He has also produced two collections of gag cartoons, Haw! (2001) and Hee! (2005). He has worked as an illustrator, including cover designs for The New Yorker since 2007.[4] His early work includes also the strip Misery Loves Comedy which he created for the University of Chicago newspaper The Maroon while a student there. The strip bears no relation to the 2007 Fantagraphics Books collection of the same name, which collects the first three issues of Schizo in their entirety, along with additional material contributed to various other publications during the same time period.

In 2005, Brunetti curated The Cartoonist's Eye, an exhibit of 75 artists' work, for the A+D Gallery of Columbia College Chicago.[5][6] He then edited An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories (2006, Yale University Press), which was declared a bestseller by Publishers Weekly in January 2007.[7] The second and final volume of the anthology was released in October 2008. Brunetti also illustrated the cover of comedian Patton Oswalt's album, My Weakness Is Strong.[8]

Brunetti's nonfiction book Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice (2011, Yale University Press) won a 2012 Eisner Award. Also in 2012, Brunetti contributed to The Guardian's "Cartoonists on the world we live in" series.[9]

His second nonfiction book, Aesthetics: A Memoir, appeared in 2013 to positive reviews.

He is currently on the faculty of Columbia College Chicago, where he teaches classes on comics, drawing and design.[10]

Bibliography

Comics

  • Schizo #1–4 (Antarctic Press, 1994–2006)
  • Haw! Horrible, Horrible Cartoons by Ivan Brunetti (Fantagraphics, 2001)
  • 32 Drunks (Self-published mini-comic, 2001)
  • Hee! Yet More Horrible Cartoons (Fantagraphics, 2005)

Collected editions

  • Misery Loves Comedy (Fantagraphics, 2007)
  • Ho! (Fantagraphics, 2007)

Nonfiction

  • Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice (Yale University Press, 2011)
  • Aesthetics: A Memoir (Yale University Press, 2013)

Children's books

  • Wordplay (TOON Books, 2017)
  • 3x4 (TOON Books, 2018)
  • Comics: Easy As ABC (TOON Books, 2019)

Anthologies (as editor)

  • An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, & True Stories (Yale University Press, 2006)
  • An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, & True Stories, Volume 2 (Yale University Press, 2008)

New Yorker covers

  • January 8, 2007
  • May 7, 2007
  • March 2, 2009
  • September 7, 2009
  • January 4, 2010
  • February 15 & 22, 2010
  • November 1, 2010
  • May 31, 2010
  • March 19, 2012
  • July 1, 2013[11]
  • September 23, 2013
  • November 4, 2013
  • April 21, 2014
  • December 15, 2014
  • November 2, 2015
  • September 12, 2016

Illustrator

  • David Wilton (2008). Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195375572.
  • Cover art for Tomahawk's album Oddfellows.[12]
  • Cover art for Patton Oswalt's album My Weakness Is Strong.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b "Ivan Brunetti - Interviewed by Gary Groth". Issue 264. The Comics Journal. November–December 2004. Archived from the original on May 5, 2006.
  2. ^ Brian Heater (24 July 2007). "Misery Loves Comedy by Ivan Brunetti". The Daily Cross Hatch.
  3. ^ "2006 Ignatz Award Recipients". Small Press Expo.
  4. ^ Mina Kaneko; Françoise Mouly (12 March 2012). "Cover Story: Life as a Comic Strip". The New Yorker.
  5. ^ Susannah J. Felts (2 September 2005). "Ivan Brunetti Gets Happy" (PDF). Chicago Reader. pp. 18–19.
  6. ^ "Ivan Brunetti". Creative Nonfiction Week, 2007. Columbia College Chicago. Archived from the original on 2013-06-11. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  7. ^ "Comics Bestsellers," in Publishers Weekly, January 8, 2007, pg. 18.
  8. ^ a b Nathan Worcester (21 February 2013). "Interview: Ivan Brunetti". The Chicago Weekly. Archived from the original on 25 February 2013.
  9. ^ "Cartoonists on the world we live in: Ivan Brunetti". The Guardian. 20 July 2012.
  10. ^ "Ivan Brunetti - Assistant Professor, Graphic Design". Columbia College Chicago. Archived from the original on 2013-06-10.
  11. ^ Mina Kaneko; Francoise Mouly (24 June 2013). "Cover Story: Ivan Brunetti's "Box Garden"". The New Yorker.
  12. ^ Adam Gold (26 June 2012). "Tomahawk's Duane Denison Talks New Album". Rolling Stone.