Seth's unique cartooning sensibility, characterized by his moody and atmospheric clear-line drawings and insightful storytelling, has been a welcome change in the often gritty medium of comics. His artistic formation can be traced to The New Yorker of the 1940's and 50's, where great cartoonists like Peter Arno and Charles Addams, through their wit and wry artistic line, have left there indelible mark on Seth's comic book work. In his first book, It's A Good Life, If You Don't Weaken (1996), Seth pays homage to these early influences, where he writes about his search for meaning in the life and work of Kalo, an old, obscure New Yorker cartoonist.
Seth was born in 1962 in a rural Ontario town, and after moving to Toronto as an adult, he became an illustrator and his work was featured in such noted publications as The Washington Post, Details, Spin, The New York Times, and Saturday Night. In 1990, his comic strips began appearing in the pages of Drawn & Quarterly, and the following year saw the debut of Palooka-Ville, Seth's noted continuing comic book series. Beginning with issue 10 of Palooka-Ville, Seth takes us into the "Clyde Fans" storefront in Toronto and documents the lives of two brothers who ran the once-successful fan company. The story is structured in two parts between the present-day reminisces of the surviving brother and their lives as young men in the 1950's. "Clyde Fans" will be a 15-issue, 350-page story, running until about Palooka-Ville #24.
In his spare time, Seth has filled five complete sketchbooks with breathtaking drawings, and D&Q will publish a selection of this work in a deluxe edition in late 2001.
Notable Dates:
1962: Born on September 16th, in Clinton, Ontario, Canada.
1972: "Peanuts", by Charles Schulz, makes big impression on ten-year old Seth.
1975: Interest in Jack Kirby grows with the release of Kirby's "Eternals" comic by DC.
1980: Attends the Ontario College of Art in Toronto for the next four years.
1981: Discovers the work of R. Crumb.
1982: Discovers the work of Edward Gorey.
1983: Buys "Love & Rockets" #3 by the Hernandez Brothers. "They changed all my thinking about comics", says Seth.
1985: Begins brief stint drawing "Mister X", published by Vortex comics.Interest grows in the work of Herge and Yves Chaland. "More than anything", says Seth, "Herge put me on the "clear line" path I'm still following today."
1986: Discovers the book, "The Office Party", by Whitney Darrow Jr. and this leads him to search for the work of other New Yorker cartoonists, including Charles Addams, Cobean, and Syd Hoff. "The one that has made the most lasting impression on me", says Seth, "is Peter Arno".
1988: First illustration is published in the Toronto-based magazine, The Idler, for $ 25.00.Discovers John Stanley's "Little Lulu". "This may be the last thing I can truly list as a formative influence", says Seth. "I'm still evaluating the impact these comics had on me".
1990: First autobiographical story, "Why?", is published in Drawn & Quarterly # 4.
1991: Palooka-Ville # 1 is published by Drawn & Quarterly.
1993: Begins serialization of "It's A Good Life, If You Don't Weaken" in Palooka-Ville # 4.
1996: "It's A Good Life, If You Don't Weaken" is published by Drawn & Quarterly.Artwork featured in D&Q exhibition at Haarlem Comics Festival in Holland.
1997: Begins serialization of "Clyde Fans".Wins two Ignatz Awards for Best Artist and Best Graphic Album.
1998: Artwork featured in D&Q exhibition at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles.Artwork featured in D&Q exhibition at Helsinki Comics Festival in Finland.
1999: Begins a series of tabloid-size quarterly one page strips for The National Post, a Canadian daily newspaper with a circulation of 250,000 copies.Seth's French book, La Vie Est Belle, Malgré Tout, is nominated for "Best Foreign Edition" at the Angouleme Festival in France.
Seth's unique cartooning sensibility, characterized by his moody and atmospheric clear-line drawings and insightful storytelling, has been a welcome change in the often gritty medium of comics. His artistic formation can be traced to The New Yorker of the 1940's and 50's, where great cartoonists like Peter Arno and Charles Addams, through their wit and wry artistic line, have left there indelible mark on Seth's comic book work. In his first book, It's A Good Life, If You Don't Weaken (1996), Seth pays homage to these early influences, where he writes about his search for meaning in the life and work of Kalo, an old, obscure New Yorker cartoonist. 