Evan Dorkin (born April 20, 1965) is an American cartoonist and comic book artist. His best known works are the comic books Milk and Cheese and Dork, the latter of which features his comic Eltingville. His comics often poke fun at fandom, even while making it clear that Dorkin is a fan himself. Dorkin also served as a writer on the Adult Swim animated series Space Ghost Coast to Coast from 1994 to 1999, and created a pilot for an Eltingville animated series for Adult Swim in 2002.

Life and career

Dorkin was born in Brooklyn, New York, and moved with his family to Staten Island when he was 13 years old. He grew up reading superhero comics (being loyal to Marvel over DC), Mad magazine, and humor titles by Archie Comics and Harvey Comics. He became even more obsessed with comics when comic book retailer Jim Hanley opened a store location near his high school; Dorkin later ended up working there.

Dorkin aspired to attend the School of Visual Arts in the animation department, but was not accepted. (He had taken some animation classes at SVA while he was in high school.) He wrote and produced an animated television pilot for Adult Swim titled Welcome to Eltingville, based on his own characters. He and Dyer wrote some episodes of the Superman: The Animated Series including the episode "Live Wire", which introduced a new character of the same name. Dorkin wrote the Superman and Batman: World's Funnest one-shot in 2000 which was drawn by various artists. Dorkin and Dyer worked as freelance writers on the 2006 English-language version of the anime Crayon Shin-chan, where they wrote material for the show's first six episodes. Dorkin co-created Beasts of Burden with Jill Thompson. Dyer has frequently colored Dorkin's art.

Awards

  • 2015 Eisner Awards: Won Best Single Issue (or One-Shot) (for Beasts of Burden: Hunters and Gatherers, with Jill Thompson)
  • 2010 Eisner Awards: Won Best Publication for Teens (for Beasts of Burden, with Jill Thompson)
  • 2005 Eisner Awards: Won Best Short Story (for "Unfamiliar", with Jill Thompson)
  • 2002 Eisner Award for Best Short Story (for "The Eltingville Club in 'The Intervention'" in Dork #9, Slave Labor Graphics)
  • 2002 Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist—Humor (for Dork)
  • 1998 Eisner Award for Best Short Story (for "The Eltingville Club in 'The Marathon Men'" in Dork #4, Slave Labor Graphics)
  • 1996 Eisner Award for Best Short Story (for "The Eltingville Club in 'Bring Me the Head of Boba Fett'" in Instant Piano #3, Dark Horse Comics)

Nominations

  • 2011 Anthony Awards: Nominated for Best Graphic Novel
  • 2002 Eisner Award for Best Humor Publication (for Dork #9)

Bibliography

Comics

  • Rom: Spaceknight — (first published art in the letters page of #37) Marvel Comics, 1982
  • Jim Higgins Fantastic Fanzine — Jim Higgins, 1984
  • Phigments — Amazing; Pied Piper Comics, 1987
  • Pirate Corp$ / Hectic Planet – Eternity Comics / Slave Labor Graphics, 1987–1989
  • The Real Ghostbusters – NOW Comics, 1988
  • Wild Knights – Eternity Comics, 1989
  • Milk and Cheese – Slave Labor Graphics, 1991–1997
  • Predator: Big Game – Dark Horse Comics, 1991
  • Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (comic book adaptation) – Marvel Comics, 1991
  • Bill & Ted's Excellent Comic Book – Marvel Comics, 1992–1993
  • Predator: Bad Blood – Dark Horse Comics 1993
  • Fight-Man One Shot – Marvel Comics, 1993
  • Dork! – Slave Labor Graphics, 1993–present
  • Instant Piano – Dark Horse Comics, 1994
  • Generation ECCH! The Backlash Starts Here – Jason Cohen & Michael Krugman, Fireside Books, 1994
  • Justice League America Annual #8 – DC Comics, 1994
  • The Mask: The Hunt for Green October – Dark Horse Comics, 1995
  • Superman Adventures #21 – DC Comics, 1998
  • Superman Adventures #39 – DC Comics, 2000
  • Superman and Batman: World's Funnest – DC Comics, 2000
  • Bizarro Comics – DC Comics, 2001
  • Captain America vol. 3 #50 – Marvel Comics, 2002
  • Superman Adventures #65–66 – DC Comics, 2002
  • Captain America: Red, White & Blue HC (two pages) – Marvel Comics, 2002
  • The Thing: Night Falls on Yancy Street, four-issue miniseries with artist Dean Haspiel – Marvel Comics, 2003
  • Bizarro World – DC Comics, 2005
  • Dose – Bankshot Comics, 2007
  • The Dark Horse Book of Hauntings (story "Stray") by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson.
  • The Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft (story "The Unfamiliar") by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson.
  • The Dark Horse Book of The Dead (story "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie") by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson.
  • The Dark Horse Book of Monsters (story "A Dog and His Boy") by Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, and Jill Thompson.
  • Beasts of Burden (four-issue mini-series) by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson.
  • Hellboy/Beasts of Burden: Sacrifice (one-shot) by Evan Dorkin, Mike Mignola, and Jill Thompson.
  • Dark Horse Presents vol. 2 #4 (story "Food Run") by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson.
  • Dark Horse Presents vol. 2 #6 (story "Story Time") by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson.
  • Dark Horse Presents vol. 2 #8 (story "The View From The Hill") by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson.
  • Beasts of Burden: Neighborhood Watch (three stories from Dark Horse Presents) by Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson.
  • The Eltingville Club – Dark Horse Comics, 2014
  • Blackwood (four-issue mini-series) by Evan Dorkin, Veronica Fish and Andy Fish – Dark Horse Comics, 2018
  • Blackwood: The Mourning After (four-issue mini-series) by Evan Dorkin, Veronica Fish and Andy Fish – Dark Horse Comics, 2020
  • Nerd Inferno; The Essential Evan Dorkin (Trade Paperback) – Dark Horse Comics, 2026

Role-playing games

  • GURPS Fantasy Folk
  • GURPS Middle Ages I

Television

  • Space Ghost Coast to Coast (TV series), 1994–1999
  • "Gum, Disease"
  • "Girlie Show"
  • "Jerk"
  • "$20.01"
  • "Sharrock"
  • "Switcheroo"
  • "Cookout"
  • "Art Show"
  • "Woody Allen's Fall Project" ("Girlie Show")
  • "Anniversary"
  • "Pilot"
  • "Zorak"
  • "Hipster"
  • "Telethon"
  • "Lawsuit"
  • "Sequel"
  • Superman: The Animated Series (1997–98)
  • "Livewire"
  • "Monkey Fun"
  • "Little Girl Lost" (parts 1 & 2)
  • Welcome to Eltingville (TV pilot), 2002
  • Yo Gabba Gabba! (various episodes), 2007–2013
  • Ben 10
  • "Xingo"

References

  • Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer's House of Fun
  • Big Mouth Types Again – Dorkin's LiveJournal
  • Evan Dorkin at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators
  • Complete list of Dorkin's work for MAD magazine
  • Interview on the Super Live Adventure Podcast Part 1 and Part 2