Archer Prewitt
Encyclopedia
Archer Prewitt is an American
musician and cartoonist
associated with the independent music scene in Chicago
, Illinois
.
and began drumming in the band Tunnel Dogs and then Mudhead
. Archer also played bass in Kansas City local favorites the Bangtails. He then co-founded The Coctails, who moved from Kansas City to Chicago after their first album (1989) and went on to release six albums in all by the time they played their last show on New Year's Eve 1995/96. By then Prewitt had also been involved with a new project, The Sea and Cake
, who have released several critically acclaimed albums. Concomitant with his work in The Sea and Cake, Prewitt produced several solo releases.
. His first professional illustrations were for the Kansas City Star while he still lived there. In 1992, he started drawing and self-publishing his Sof' Boy mini-comic, while also working as a colorist for Marvel Comics
. Sof' Boy has subsequently been published by Kitchen Sink Press
and Fantagraphics Books
. Another Prewitt character is Funny Bunny, who has made several appearances in diverse publications. Prewitt's work has appeared in Zero Zero
, Drawn and Quarterly
, Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern
, and BLAB!.
Prewitt was nominated for a 1997 Eisner Award
for Best Colorist (for Sof' Boy and Friends).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician and cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
associated with the independent music scene in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
Music
Prewitt enrolled in the Kansas City Art InstituteKansas City Art Institute
The Kansas City Art Institute is a private, independent, four-year college of fine arts and design founded in 1885 in Kansas City, Missouri....
and began drumming in the band Tunnel Dogs and then Mudhead
Mudhead
Mudhead may refer to:*"Mudhead," a song by Combustible Edison from their 1996 album Schizophonic!*"Mudhead," a song by The Supersuckers from their 1994 album La Mano Cornuda*snake mudhead, a type of fish...
. Archer also played bass in Kansas City local favorites the Bangtails. He then co-founded The Coctails, who moved from Kansas City to Chicago after their first album (1989) and went on to release six albums in all by the time they played their last show on New Year's Eve 1995/96. By then Prewitt had also been involved with a new project, The Sea and Cake
The Sea and Cake
The Sea and Cake is an indie rock band with a pronounced jazz influence, which formed in the mid-1990s in Chicago out of the ashes of local bands The Coctails and Shrimp Boat. The group's name came from a willful reinterpretation of "The C in Cake", a song by Gastr del Sol...
, who have released several critically acclaimed albums. Concomitant with his work in The Sea and Cake, Prewitt produced several solo releases.
Comics and illustration
In addition to his music, Prewitt is a freelance illustrator, cartoonist, and comic book coloristColorist
In comics, a colorist is responsible for adding color to black-and-white line art. For most of the 20th century this was done using brushes and dyes which were then used as guides to produce the printing plates...
. His first professional illustrations were for the Kansas City Star while he still lived there. In 1992, he started drawing and self-publishing his Sof' Boy mini-comic, while also working as a colorist for Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. Sof' Boy has subsequently been published by Kitchen Sink Press
Kitchen Sink Press
Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen owned and operated Kitchen Sink Press until 1999. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in...
and Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, magazines, graphic novels, and the adult-oriented Eros Comix imprint...
. Another Prewitt character is Funny Bunny, who has made several appearances in diverse publications. Prewitt's work has appeared in Zero Zero
Zero Zero (comic)
Zero Zero is an alternative comics anthology that was published by Fantagraphics Books from 1995 to 2000. It was notable among comics anthologies for the number of serialized works that appeared in its pages, including Richard Sala's "The Chuckling Whatsit", Dave Cooper's "Crumple", Mack White's...
, Drawn and Quarterly
Drawn and Quarterly
Drawn and Quarterly is a Canadian comic book publishing company, headed by Chris Oliveros, and based in Montreal, Quebec. Its focus is on graphic novels and underground or alternative comics. Drawn and Quarterly was also the title of the company's flagship quarterly anthology during the 1990s...
, Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern
Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern
Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern is a literary journal, first published in 1998, edited by Dave Eggers. The first issue featured only works rejected by other magazines, but thereafter the journal began to include pieces written with McSweeney's in mind. McSweeney’s has since published works by...
, and BLAB!.
Prewitt was nominated for a 1997 Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for Best Colorist (for Sof' Boy and Friends).
Discography
- In the Sun (Carrot Top RecordsCarrot Top RecordsCarrot Top Records is a Chicago-based independent record label owned and operated by Patrick Monaghan.-Artist roster:* Antietam* The Bitter Tears* The Coctails* Darling Downs* Disco Inferno* Duplex Planet Radio Hour* The Handsome Family* KatJonBand...
/ Hi-Ball Records, 1997) - White Sky (Carrot Top RecordsCarrot Top RecordsCarrot Top Records is a Chicago-based independent record label owned and operated by Patrick Monaghan.-Artist roster:* Antietam* The Bitter Tears* The Coctails* Darling Downs* Disco Inferno* Duplex Planet Radio Hour* The Handsome Family* KatJonBand...
, 1999) - Gerroa Songs EP (Carrot Top RecordsCarrot Top RecordsCarrot Top Records is a Chicago-based independent record label owned and operated by Patrick Monaghan.-Artist roster:* Antietam* The Bitter Tears* The Coctails* Darling Downs* Disco Inferno* Duplex Planet Radio Hour* The Handsome Family* KatJonBand...
, 2000) - Three (Thrill JockeyThrill JockeyThrill Jockey Records is an American independent record label established in 1992 in New York City by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards.-History:...
, 2002) - Wilderness (Thrill Jockey, 2005)