Derek McCulloch (comics)

Last updated
Derek McCulloch
DP Photo Cropped.jpg
Born1964 (age 5758)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Nationality Canadian
Area(s)Writer
Notable works
Stagger Lee
DerekMcCulloch.com

Derek McCulloch (born 1964) is a writer, known for graphic novels such as Stagger Lee, Gone to Amerikay, Pug, and Displaced Persons. He was born in Ottawa, Ontario, raised in Grande Prairie, Alberta, [1] and lives in Oakland, California.

Contents

Biography

Throughout the mid-1980s and early 1990s, he was the publisher of Strawberry Jam Comics, and wrote To Be Announced and night life. He was also co-founder of The Comic Legends Legal Defense Fund in Canada and co-edited the organization's two True North anthologies. His stories have appeared in comics series including Open Season , Shred!, and Cerebus High Society. [2] He works as a technical editor at an engineering company. [3]

He wrote Stagger Lee, a graphic novel based on the story of Stagger Lee and drawn by Shepherd Hendrix, which was published by Image Comics in May 2006. [4] It has been nominated for several awards, including the Eisner Awards 2007 [5] and the Eagle Awards 2006, [6] and won several Glyph Comics Awards in 2007, [7] including Story of the Year and Best Writer.

McCulloch wrote Gone to Amerikay, an original graphic novel drawn by Colleen Doran and released in 2012 to numerous positive notices from The Wall Street Journal , Boing Boing , Irish Echo , The Miami Herald , Irish Central, and The Sunday Times , Dublin edition. [8] An excerpt from the book was included in the anthology The Best American Comics 2013 under the title "The Story of Gráinne Ní Mháille."

In 2009, he released his first book for children, T. Runt!, illustrated by Jimmie Robinson.

In 2010, he self-published a print on demand anthology of short stories, Stories of a Callow Youth. [9]

Pug, his 2010 graphic novel with artist Greg Espinoza, was nominated for the 2011 Spinetingler Award, in the category of Best Crime Comic/Graphic Novel. [10]

In December 2011, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis announced that its 2012 new theatre series, Ignite! would feature a reading of a stage musical adaptation of Stagger Lee with a book by McCulloch and music and lyrics by Stew and Heidi Rodewald. [11] When the reading took place on March 15, 2012, it was with not just book but also lyrics by McCulloch. It was directed by Amanda Dehnert and had a cast including Ken Page, Rebecca Naomi Jones, and Javier Munoz. [12] [13]

In August 2014, Image Comics published Displaced Persons, [14] an original graphic novel by McCulloch and Anthony Peruzzo, described as a "tale of murder, love, crime, friendship, betrayal, and just the slightest bit of time travel," taking place in San Francisco in the years 1939, 1969, and 1999. Displaced Persons was previously announced (and solicited) in 2008 as a project for McCulloch and Rantz Hoseley. [15] but Hoseley was not connected with the final version of the book.

In February 2016, 59E59 Theaters, an off-Broadway theater announced a stage musical adaptation of Damon Runyon's Madame La Gimp , [16] with a book by McCulloch and Giles Havergal, lyrics by McCulloch, music by Kyle Athayde, and arrangements and orchestrations by Peter and Will Anderson. The production was scheduled for October 2016, and was to be directed by Amanda Dehnert.

In December 2018, the first of several collaborations with musician Richard Stuverud appeared, when Green Monkey Records included their song "Empty Branches" (lyrics by McCulloch, music written and performed by Stuverud) on their 2018 Christmas compilation, "A Green Monkey Christmas for Martians Up on Mars." [17] The following year, two different versions of their song "Snowing in Frisco" appeared on Green Monkey's "Hail the Jolly Christmas Monkey!" [18]

In May 2020, Stuverud released his first solo album, "Memories in Kodachrome," with 10 of its 11 songs featuring lyrics by McCulloch. [19]

Bibliography

Original graphic novels

Books for Children

Prose

Strawberry Jam Comics

Other

Mini-Comics

Discography

Singles

Albums


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References

  1. Keast, James (1 September 2006). "A Bad Man By Any Name: Stagger Lee's Fascinating Journey Into Myth". Exclaim! Canada's Music Authority. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
  2. "Meet the Authors of STAGGER LEE!". Archived from the original on 2007-08-21. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
  3. "Edson Leader, Edson, AB". Archived from the original on 2007-10-14. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
  4. "Santa Cruz Sentinel – Home". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
  5. The 2007 Eisner Awards: 2007 Master Nominations List Archived August 8, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. "THE BEAT » Blog Archive » Eagle Award Nominations up!". Archived from the original on 2012-07-20. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
  7. The 2007 Glyph Comics Award winners » PopCultureShock [Usurped!] [Usurped!]
  8. NYCC Gone to Amerikay Artwork » Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources
  9. Doran, Colleen. "I Love Derek McCulloch". Official Website of A Distant Soil. Archived from the original on 2013-09-19. Retrieved 2019-11-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  10. Lindenmuth, Brian. "2011 Spinetingler Award: Best Crime Comic/Graphic Novel – Nominees". Spinetingler Magazine. Archived from the original on 2011-04-07. Retrieved 2019-11-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. "Ignite! The Rep's New Play Festival". Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2019-11-21.
  12. Hetrick, Adam (16 March 2012). "Ken Page, Rebecca Jones and Javier Muñoz Participate in Stew and Heidi Rodewald's Stagger Lee Reading". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2012-03-17. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
  13. Rep’s series for new plays catches on quickly » stltoday
  14. DISPLACED PERSONS inspired by City-by-the-Bay » Imagecomics.com
  15. Flippin’ through Previews – April 2008 » Comic Book Resources
  16. 59E59 Theaters Announces New Season » Playbill.com
  17. Richard Stuverud - Empty Branches » bandcamp
  18. Dec. 2019: Hail The Jolly Christmas Monkey! » Green Monkey Records
  19. Richard Stuverud - Memories in Kodachrome » bandcamp