Terry LaBan
Encyclopedia
Terry LaBan is an alternative/underground cartoonist
and newspaper comic strip artist. He is probably best known for his comic book series Cud, and his syndicated strip Edge City.
LaBan is known for his sympathetic and believable characters, real-life dialogue, solid illustrative style, and skilled, straightforward storytelling. True to his career output, Laban's cites both Archie Comics
and Gilbert Shelton
as major influences.
. He's been staff illustrator and political cartoonist for the progressive political magazine In These Times
since 1990.
LaBan's first foray into comics was his series Unsupervised Existence, published by Fantagraphics beginning in 1989. Loosely based on LaBan's own life at the time, Unsupervised Existence was a semi-humorous comic book soap opera which followed the adventures of Suzy and Danny, a young, bohemian couple living in Cleveland. Suzy, an underemployed intellectual, spends a lot of time hanging around with her friends and trying to figure out what to do with her life. Danny, her boyfriend, supports them both by driving a cab, but his true vocation is poetry, which he self-publishes, along with the work of his fellow cabbies. Unsupervised Existence garnered LaBan Harvey Award
nominations for Best New Artist and Best New Series in 1990. The series was collected in its entirety in two paperbacks, Love's Not a Three-Dollar Fare (the main Suzy and Danny story) and International Bob.
International Bob focused on the series' most outrageous character, rock musician/performance artist Bob Binkum. In the book, hulking, morose Bob comes into his own after he leaves the United States in the wake of breaking up with his flighty girlfriend Annadette, who decided she was more into women than men. Fleeing the soap opera, Bob treks from Greece to India in search of exotic escape. LaBan vividly evoked the nothing-to-lose, anything-can-happen world of the unfettered, impecunious vagabond as Bob tries everything from selling junk jewelry on the street to getting ripped off after a romantic encounter.
Unsupervised Existence was followed by another series, Cud (also published by Fantagraphics), in 1992. Patterned after books like Dan Clowes' Eightball and R. Crumb's Zap, Cud featured a continuing story called "You Can't Spank the Monkey If It's On Your Back", which followed the rise and fall of a performance artist named Bob Cudd. Cudd was lifted more-or-less wholesale from Unsupervised Existence, but he was a different character in the new series. The rest of each issue featured random stories, several of which went on to appear in other places at other times. "Muktuk Wolfsbreath, Hard-Boiled Shaman", for instance, became a DC Comics miniseries. Cud lasted eight issues.
In 1995 LaBan moved over to Dark Horse Comics
, where his third series Cud Comics ran another eight issues, until 1998. Though Cud Comics had almost the same name as the Fantagraphics series, it was otherwise very different. Every issue featured several stories about Eno and Plum, a "slacker" couple living in the city. Eno was a lazy Generation X
stereotype interested chiefly in watching cable television, while his girlfriend Plum was more of an active go-getter. Other major characters included Plum's dad, Seymour Riverpeace, a wealthy aging, pot-smoking hippy; Catherine, Plum's unhappily-single girlfriend; and Edgar Reamington, a yuppie
who was always trying to steal away Plum. Most of the stories in the first four issues were collected in a 1997 paperback.
In 2001, King Features Syndicate
syndicated Edge City
, a daily comic strip drawn by LaBan and co-written with his wife, Patty LaBan. Edge City (e.g., a community outside the boundaries of what people traditionally think of as the city and its suburb) looks at modern family life through the eyes of the fictional Ardin family. In the strip, Len and Abby Ardin are a Jewish-American couple dwelling in the far reaches of suburbia, in a life very different from the one they lived growing up. Between managing their careers and taking care of their kids, Len and Abby barely have time to wave to each other as they hurry off to yet another meeting, carpool, or errand. And while their neighborhood is incredibly diverse, it seems like everyone, no matter where they're originally from, lives pretty much the same way. Edge City continues to run in papers throughout the country, and a paperback collection was published in 2007.
and the European behemoth Egmont
, which publishes books featuring Disney characters. He wrote the Grendel Tales miniseries "The Devil May Care," and a number of miniseries for Vertigo, including the opening story arc of The Dreaming.
Of late, Laban has been running an original, full length graphic novel about Muktuk Wolfsbreath, a Hard-Boiled Siberian Shaman living in an unspecified past. Gods, spirits and demons are the usual case load for this Philip Marlowe of the Tundra. New episodes are posted Mondays and Thursdays at http://www.hardboiledshaman.com.
.
Alternative comics
Alternative comics defines a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to "mainstream" superhero comics which in the past have dominated the US comic book industry...
and newspaper comic strip artist. He is probably best known for his comic book series Cud, and his syndicated strip Edge City.
LaBan is known for his sympathetic and believable characters, real-life dialogue, solid illustrative style, and skilled, straightforward storytelling. True to his career output, Laban's cites both Archie Comics
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
and Gilbert Shelton
Gilbert Shelton
Gilbert Shelton is an American cartoonist and underground comix artist. He is the creator of The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Fat Freddy's Cat, Wonder Wart-Hog, Philbert Desanex, Not Quite Dead, and the cover art to The Grateful Dead's 1978 album Shakedown Street.He graduated from Lamar High...
as major influences.
Political cartoons
LaBan began his career in 1986, freelancing political cartoons for the Ann Arbor NewsAnn Arbor News
The Ann Arbor News was a newspaper serving Washtenaw and Livingston counties in Michigan. Published in Ann Arbor, under various names from 1835 to 2009, The News was part of Booth Newspapers, owned by Advance Publications Inc. The News was published in the afternoons Monday through Friday and in...
. He's been staff illustrator and political cartoonist for the progressive political magazine In These Times
In These Times
In These Times is a politically progressive monthly magazine of news and opinion published by the Institute for Public Affairs in Chicago...
since 1990.
Unsupervised Existence and Cud
Harvey Award
The Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
nominations for Best New Artist and Best New Series in 1990. The series was collected in its entirety in two paperbacks, Love's Not a Three-Dollar Fare (the main Suzy and Danny story) and International Bob.
International Bob focused on the series' most outrageous character, rock musician/performance artist Bob Binkum. In the book, hulking, morose Bob comes into his own after he leaves the United States in the wake of breaking up with his flighty girlfriend Annadette, who decided she was more into women than men. Fleeing the soap opera, Bob treks from Greece to India in search of exotic escape. LaBan vividly evoked the nothing-to-lose, anything-can-happen world of the unfettered, impecunious vagabond as Bob tries everything from selling junk jewelry on the street to getting ripped off after a romantic encounter.
Unsupervised Existence was followed by another series, Cud (also published by Fantagraphics), in 1992. Patterned after books like Dan Clowes' Eightball and R. Crumb's Zap, Cud featured a continuing story called "You Can't Spank the Monkey If It's On Your Back", which followed the rise and fall of a performance artist named Bob Cudd. Cudd was lifted more-or-less wholesale from Unsupervised Existence, but he was a different character in the new series. The rest of each issue featured random stories, several of which went on to appear in other places at other times. "Muktuk Wolfsbreath, Hard-Boiled Shaman", for instance, became a DC Comics miniseries. Cud lasted eight issues.
In 1995 LaBan moved over to Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
, where his third series Cud Comics ran another eight issues, until 1998. Though Cud Comics had almost the same name as the Fantagraphics series, it was otherwise very different. Every issue featured several stories about Eno and Plum, a "slacker" couple living in the city. Eno was a lazy Generation X
Generation X
Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the Western post–World War II baby boom ended. While there is no universally agreed upon time frame, the term generally includes people born from the early 1960's through the early 1980's, usually no later than 1981 or...
stereotype interested chiefly in watching cable television, while his girlfriend Plum was more of an active go-getter. Other major characters included Plum's dad, Seymour Riverpeace, a wealthy aging, pot-smoking hippy; Catherine, Plum's unhappily-single girlfriend; and Edgar Reamington, a yuppie
Yuppie
Yuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
who was always trying to steal away Plum. Most of the stories in the first four issues were collected in a 1997 paperback.
Edge City
King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, a print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers worldwide...
syndicated Edge City
Edge City
"Edge City" is an American newspaper comic strip created by the husband and wife team of Terry LaBan and Patty LaBan. The scripts are written by both of them, with the art being created by Terry LaBan. The strip debuted in 2000 and is syndicated by King Features Syndicate.The main characters in...
, a daily comic strip drawn by LaBan and co-written with his wife, Patty LaBan. Edge City (e.g., a community outside the boundaries of what people traditionally think of as the city and its suburb) looks at modern family life through the eyes of the fictional Ardin family. In the strip, Len and Abby Ardin are a Jewish-American couple dwelling in the far reaches of suburbia, in a life very different from the one they lived growing up. Between managing their careers and taking care of their kids, Len and Abby barely have time to wave to each other as they hurry off to yet another meeting, carpool, or errand. And while their neighborhood is incredibly diverse, it seems like everyone, no matter where they're originally from, lives pretty much the same way. Edge City continues to run in papers throughout the country, and a paperback collection was published in 2007.
Other work
LaBan's comics, cartoons, and humorous illustrations have appeared in a vast number of magazines and anthologies over the years, including Blab, Mad magazine, Nickelodeon Magazine, and Details. He also works as a freelance illustrator and writer for various comic book companies, most notably DC ComicsDC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
and the European behemoth Egmont
Egmont Publishing
The Egmont Group is a media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark. The business area of Egmont has traditionally been magazine publishing but has over the years evolved to comprise media generally....
, which publishes books featuring Disney characters. He wrote the Grendel Tales miniseries "The Devil May Care," and a number of miniseries for Vertigo, including the opening story arc of The Dreaming.
Of late, Laban has been running an original, full length graphic novel about Muktuk Wolfsbreath, a Hard-Boiled Siberian Shaman living in an unspecified past. Gods, spirits and demons are the usual case load for this Philip Marlowe of the Tundra. New episodes are posted Mondays and Thursdays at http://www.hardboiledshaman.com.
Personal life
LaBan grew up in Michigan, spent much of the 1990s in Chicago, and now lives in Philadelphia with his wife and children. He is a dues-paying member of the National Cartoonists SocietyNational Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
.
Selected bibliography
- International Bob. Fantagraphics, 1994. ISBN 978-1560971351
- Love's Not a Three-Dollar Fare: More Stories from Unsupervised Existence. Fantagraphics, 1995. ISBN 978-1560971658
- Eno and Plum: A Cud Comics Collection. Dark Horse, 1997. ISBN 978-1569712658
- Edge City: A Comic Strip Collection by Terry and Patty LaBan. Andrews McMeel, 2007. ISBN 978-0740763564