72 BRUBAKER, ED
where he worked a day job and drew comics in his spare time. His fi rst paid job was at the
age of 12 when a local newspaper ran one of his humor strips. After having tried in vain to
get Marvel , DC or the RAW anthology interested in his work, he began self- publishing
a mini-comic in 1983 named Yummy Fur. One of the stories in it was Ed the Happy
Clown , a surreal strip that put its protagonist in all kinds of weird situations featuring
notable characters like the man who could not stop (defecating) and rat-eating pygmies.
Surprisingly enough, Yummy Fur also included adaptations of the Christian Gospels.
Canadian publisher Vortex got interested and published a Yummy Fur edition in
1986 and an Ed the Happy Clown graphic novel in 1989—later re-issued by Drawn
and Quarterly, the current publisher of Brown’s work. Brown followed Yummy Fur with
Underwater , another autobiographical series narrated from the point of view of an in-
fant. It was not a critical or commercial success, but Brown has had great success with
autobiographical work such as Th e Playboy (1992)— an intimate recollection of his
relationship with Playboy paper pin-ups— and I Never Liked You (1994), in which he,
in small sequences, tells stories from his childhood about the diffi culty of being around
girls, growing up, and the death of his schizophrenic mother when he was 16. Brown
has found inspiration and advice on the execution of these self-narratives through his
friendship with fellow Canadian artist Seth and American Joe Matt , who lived in
Canada for a 14-year period. Th ey frequently appear in each others’ comics.
Moving to biography, Brown told the story of a Canadian anarchist in Louis Riel
(2003), using his characteristic thin line and black-and-white drawings to meticulously
recount the adventures of the French and English settlers in the Red River settlement
in the late 19th century. Riel becomes focus of attention for the Canadian fi ght for
independence as an English-speaking French Canadian who leads the people of the
settlement to rebellion against British interests in the area. Th e book contains numer-
ous maps and a long appendix that testifi es to the thoroughness of Brown’s research
into this particular aspect of Canadian history.
A collection of Brown’s early works appeared in Th e Little Man’short strips, 1980–
1995 (2006) and shows examples of funny animal comics or fantastic material where
Brown fantasizes about toilet paper taking over the world or aliens with a gourmet
interest in snot. It also includes everyday recollections of Brown’s own life along with
a strip where Brown discusses his work in depth with both his then girlfriend Kriss,
Seth, and various others, following their advice and changing the comics accordingly.
An enlightening look behind the scenes illustrates how Brown draws every panel on an
individual piece of paper, thus enabling him to change the sequences around and edit
out panels that do not work with the rest.
Rikke Platz Cortsen
BRUBAKER, ED (1966–). Born at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda,
Maryland, Ed Brubaker began working in comics as a cartoonist, drawing and writing
titles such as Pajama Chronicles (1987) and Purgatory USA (1987) for independent pub-
lishers Blackthorne Comics and Slave Labor Graphics. However, he is primarily known
