| Gary Groth | |
|---|---|
 Groth in 2007 | |
| Born | September 18, 1954 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Editor, Publisher |
Notable works | The Comics Journal Fantagraphics Books |
| Awards | Inkpot Award (1988) [1] |
Gary Groth (born September 18, 1954) is an American comic book editor, publisher and critic. He is editor-in-chief of The Comics Journal , a co-founder of Fantagraphics Books, and founder of the Harvey Awards.
Groth is the son of a U.S. Navy contractor and was raised in Springfield, Virginia, [2] in the Washington, D.C. area. [3] He read his first comic book in a pediatrician's office. [2]
Inspired by film critics like Andrew Sarris and Pauline Kael, and gonzo journalists like Hunter S. Thompson, [3] the teenage Groth published Fantastic Fanzine, a comics fanzine (whose name referenced the Marvel Comics title Fantastic Four ).
In 1970, 1971, [2] and 1973 [4] [5] he organized Metro Con, a comics convention held in the Washington, D.C. area. [2]
Later, after turning down an editorial assistant position at Marvel Comics in 1973, [6] Groth worked briefly as a production and layout assistant at the movie and comics magazine Mediascene, [7] which was edited by Jim Steranko. [3]
After dropping out of his fourth college in 1974, Groth and his financial partner Michael Catron put on a rock and roll convention that ended in financial failure. Nonetheless, he and Catron dabbled in music publishing with the short-lived magazine Sounds Fine. [3]
In 1976 Groth founded Fantagraphics Books, Inc. with Catron and Kim Thompson, and took over an adzine named The Nostalgia Journal—quickly renaming it The Comics Journal . [8] Groth's Comics Journal applied rigorous critical standards to comic books. It disparaged formulaic superhero books and work for hire publishers and favored artists like R. Crumb and Art Spiegelman and creator ownership of copyrights. [9] It featured lengthy, freewheeling interviews with comics professionals, often conducted by Groth himself.
Groth's first editorial in The Nostalgia Journal [10] began a lengthy feud [11] with Alan Light, founder, and at that time, publisher of The Buyer's Guide for Comics Fandom.
Groth and Light were friends before Light published Groth's final issue of Fantastic Fanzine; Light's expedient business methods met with Groth's disapproval. [12] Fandom: Confidential, Ron Frantz's history of the WE Seal of approval program (WSA), [13] outlines Groth's confrontations with Light at conventions and via late night collect calls. Light in turn cashed a check for a Comics Journal advertisement that he refused to print. Groth acquired a copy of the WSA mailing list, and without authorization, used it to solicit subscriptions; Groth later apologized for what he claimed was a misunderstanding, [14] and soon after broke ties with WSA. In 1983 when Light sold TBG, a Groth editorial denounced Light. [15] Light's subsequent libel suit against Groth was eventually dismissed. [16]
Groth's 1991 Comics Journal editorial "Lies We Cherish: The Canonization of Carol Kalish", [17] which criticized what he saw as the unwarranted hagiographies for then-recently deceased former Marvel Comics Vice President of New Product Development, whom Groth characterized as "selling cretinous junk to impressionable children", [18] caused controversy within the industry, [19] including outrage by Kalish's friend and colleague, writer Peter David. [20] [21]
He was nominated for Best Editor in the Eisner Awards in 1993.
I helped with the third Metro Con in 1973. The first two, organized by Gary Groth, had been in '70 and '71 respectively. For the one to be held in 1973, my friend, Warren Bernard was working with Groth.... Despite the major talent we had, attendance was low and the Con lost money.
Fantagraphics is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the erotic Eros Comix imprint.
The Comics Journal, often abbreviated TCJ, is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing reviews of the products of the mainstream comics industry, the magazine promotes the view that comics are a fine art, meriting broader cultural respect, and thus should be evaluated with higher critical standards.
Comics Buyer's Guide, established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publication ceased with the March 2013 issue. The magazine was headquartered in Iola, Wisconsin, after originally being published in the Quad Cities region.
Amazing Heroes was a magazine about the comic book medium published by American company Fantagraphics Books from 1981 to 1992. Unlike its companion title, The Comics Journal, Amazing Heroes was a hobbyist magazine rather than an analytical journal.
The Alley Award was an American annual series of comic book fan awards, first presented in 1962 for comics published in 1961. Officially organized under the aegis of the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences, the award shared close ties with the fanzine Alter Ego magazine. The Alley is the first known comic book fan award.
Jerry Gwin Bails was an American popular culturist. Known as the "Father of Comic Book Fandom," he was one of the first to approach the comic book field as a subject worthy of academic study, and was a primary force in establishing 1960s comics fandom.
William Carl Schelly was an Eisner Award-winning author who chronicled the history of comic books and comic book fandom, and wrote biographies of comic book creators, including Otto Binder, L.B. Cole, Joe Kubert, Harvey Kurtzman, John Stanley, and James Warren as well as silent film comedian Harry Langdon.
WE Seal of Approval Program (WSA) was a consumer protection/anti mail fraud program that assisted collectors of nostalgia between 1970 and 1984 who had been victimized by fraudulent advertisers in hobbyist magazines. It aided collectors of comic books, Star Trek, movie memorabilia, pulp magazines, and baseball cards. Comic fandom historian Sean Kleefeld has dubbed it "an ersatz Better Business Bureau for the comic fandom industry while it was moving from amateur to professional capabilities."
Michael Catron is an American comic book editor and publisher. He is former publisher of Apple Comics and co-founder of Fantagraphics.
Carol Kalish was an American writer, editor, comic book retailer, and sales manager. She worked as Direct Sales Manager and Vice President of New Product Development at Marvel Comics from 1981 to 1991. She is credited with pioneering the American comics direct market when it was in its adolescence, in part through a program wherein Marvel helped pay for comic book stores to acquire cash registers.
Kim Thompson was an American comic book editor, translator, and publisher, best known as vice president and co-publisher of Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books. Along with co-publisher Gary Groth, Thompson used his position to further the cause of alternative comics in the American market. In addition, Thompson made it his business to bring the work of European cartoonists to American readers.
New Media Distribution/Irjax Enterprises was a comic book distributor and publisher active from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. In 1978, the company's legal actions against the dominant distributor of the era, Sea Gate Distributors, widened the field for the direct market to expand. In 1982, when Irjax's distribution arm went out of business, its processing centers and warehouses formed the basis for Diamond Comics Distributors, the now-dominant comics distributor.
Graphic Story Magazine was an American magazine edited and published by Bill Spicer in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Attempting to find a new direction for narrative art and a point of departure from commercial comic book stories, this journal of criticism and artwork evolved from Spicer's previous magazine, Fantasy Illustrated.
The Comic Reader (TCR) was a comics news-fanzine published from 1961 to 1984. Debuting in the pre-direct market era, TCR was the first regularly published comics industry news fanzine, and was able to secure many contacts from within the ranks of the larger publishers. As TCR increased in popularity and influence, it was able to attract professional artist to illustrate the covers. TCR also proved to be a launching pad for aspiring comic book creators, many of whom published work in the fanzine as amateurs. Contributors from the world of fandom included founding editor Jerry Bails, key editor Paul Levitz, Paul Kupperberg, Tony Isabella, Byron Preiss, Neal Pozner, Don Rosa, Carl Gafford, and Doug Hazlewood.
Rocket's Blast Comicollector (RBCC) was a comics advertising fanzine published from 1964 to 1983. The result of a merger with a similar publication, RBCC's purpose was to bring fans together for the purpose of adding to their comic book collections. It also proved to be a launching pad for aspiring comic book creators, many of whom corresponded and exchanged their work through RBCC, and published work in the fanzine as amateurs.
James Van Hise is an American popular culture historian and comic book author. He had a long connection with the popular fanzine Rocket's Blast Comicollector (RBCC), and was its editor/publisher from 1974 to 1983. He also had a lengthy association with Hal Schuster, owner of New Media Publishing and Pioneer Books. Van Hise is the author of more than ten books, many of them published by Pioneer Books.
Comics Feature was an American magazine of news, criticism, and commentary pertaining to comic books, comic strips, and animation. Published by New Media Publishing, it produced 57 issues between 1980 and 1987.
Alan L. Light is a publisher involved in comics and pop culture fandom. He is best known as the founder of The Buyer's Guide for Comic Fandom, which was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry.
Mark Hanerfeld was an American writer and editor in the comic book industry. Starting out in the world of comics fandom, Hanerfeld is most well known for co-creating Abel, the "host" of the DC Comics horror comics anthology House of Secrets, as well as being the model for the character's appearance.
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