Shit House Poet
Encyclopedia
Shit House Poet is the creation of writer and comic book artist Sandy Jimenez
. Featured in World War 3 Illustrated
consistently throughout the 1990s, these stories chronicle the lives of a nameless narrator and his friends in New York city.
, a special issue of comic book stories devoted to the first Iraq war in 1991. The episodes are marked by a "testimonial" style, and are always narrated in first person as if they were actual recollections of events. In 2010 Shit House Poet will mark its 20th year of publication in World War 3 Illustrated
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The stories take place across the life of a nameless Hispanic/Latino-American narrator in the South Bronx. The narratives stretch across the lives of the individual characters and throughout different time periods. Some stories take place in their early childhood, (e.g. “Skips,” “Partners Four”) some take place contemporaneously (“Partner’s 5ive,”) and still others move in and out of time (“Robert Is Superman.”)
Sandy Jimenez
Sandy Jimenez is an American comic book artist, writer and director, most commonly associated with the New York city independent comic book scene of the 1990s, with work appearing in magazines such as Inner City Press and World War 3 Illustrated.-Biography:He was born in Manhattan, but raised by a...
. Featured in World War 3 Illustrated
World War 3 Illustrated
World War 3 Illustrated is an American comics anthology magazine with a left-wing political focus, founded in 1980 by New York comic book artists Peter Kuper and Seth Tobocman, and painter Christof Kohlhofer, and subsequently produced by a collective with a rotating editorship...
consistently throughout the 1990s, these stories chronicle the lives of a nameless narrator and his friends in New York city.
Storylines and themes
The stories range from the Geo-political (often following the theme of a particular World War 3 Illustrated issue in which they appear), to the intensely personal in scope. The very first episode debuted in issue #14 of World War 3 IllustratedWorld War 3 Illustrated
World War 3 Illustrated is an American comics anthology magazine with a left-wing political focus, founded in 1980 by New York comic book artists Peter Kuper and Seth Tobocman, and painter Christof Kohlhofer, and subsequently produced by a collective with a rotating editorship...
, a special issue of comic book stories devoted to the first Iraq war in 1991. The episodes are marked by a "testimonial" style, and are always narrated in first person as if they were actual recollections of events. In 2010 Shit House Poet will mark its 20th year of publication in World War 3 Illustrated
World War 3 Illustrated
World War 3 Illustrated is an American comics anthology magazine with a left-wing political focus, founded in 1980 by New York comic book artists Peter Kuper and Seth Tobocman, and painter Christof Kohlhofer, and subsequently produced by a collective with a rotating editorship...
.
Art & Style
The Shit House Poet stories are distinguished by their visual influences: late 1970s graffiti and street art aesthetics, particularly the aerosol murals on New York City’s subway trains in the period. Exclusively in black and white since its 1991 debut, the comic strip utilizes graffiti-inspired splash pages for its episode titles and covers as well as “graf-style” lettering.The stories take place across the life of a nameless Hispanic/Latino-American narrator in the South Bronx. The narratives stretch across the lives of the individual characters and throughout different time periods. Some stories take place in their early childhood, (e.g. “Skips,” “Partners Four”) some take place contemporaneously (“Partner’s 5ive,”) and still others move in and out of time (“Robert Is Superman.”)