Comics of Chicago

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 5, 2006 9:29PM

Chicagoist loves us some comics. So we were particularly pleased to see one of Chicago’s most famous practitioners of the art form, Chris Ware, receive a $50,000 grant for his work along with local artist Nick Cave (not that one) and 11 other visual artists.

Technically a resident of Oak Park, Ware is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and received acclaim for his Acme Novelty Library, that’s not quite a comic book and not quite a toy. The Museum of Contemporary Art exhibited some of his work this summer. Cave was born in Jefferson City, Missouri and is currently a faculty member at SAIC. He has an extensive bio here, along with pictures of his work, portions of which looks like your Grandma’s curtains crossed with the Knights Who Say “Nee.” In addition to visual art and fashion design, he also works in dance form. Both received unrestricted grants, which means they can blow it on beer and donuts if the spirit moves them.

In other Chicago comic art news, Devil’s Due Publishing is bringing back Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. The locally-based outfit will re-launch the title starting it March with a 99 cent preview issue. Originally brought to life by Golden Age veterans Jerry Iger and Will Eisner, the Sheena title will be re-imagined for the modern era by Paul Aratow and Steven E. de Souza.

Devil’s Due is also behind Pillboxonline.com, a site that allows you to download certain comics titles for “just” 99 cents. While the price is about a third of what most comic books costs nowadays, we’re not sure the thrill will be the same. There’s just something about the act of turning the page that informs the whole act of reading comic books and makes it more than just staring at pictures of men and women in tights doing amazing things.