Doug Allen (cartoonist)

Doug Allen (born February 22, 1956)^[1] is an American underground cartoonist, illustrator, and musician. Best known for his long-running comic strip Steven, Allen has over the years collaborated with long-time friend Gary Leib on music, animation, fine art, and comics, including the two-man Fantagraphics anthology Idiotland.

Doug Allen
Born	(1956-02-22) February 22, 1956 (age 69)
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Cartoonist, Illustrator, Musician
Notable works	Steven Idiotland
http://www.dougallencomics.com

Work

After attending Brown University for a time,^[2] Allen graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) 1978 with an illustration degree.^[3] He met Gary Leib at RISD.

In addition to the weekly feature Steven, which ran in college and alternative newspapers from 1977 to 1994,^[2] Allen's comics, gag cartoons, and illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker, BLAB!, Zero Zero, Weirdo, Pictopia, and Duplex Planet Illustrated. In addition to Idiotland, Allen and Leib collaborated on a number of stories in the fund-raising anthology comic Legal Action Comics volume 1, published in 2001.

Allen's non-comics work includes Plexiglas paintings based on pinball machine art, most of which he produced in the late 1970s; and a more recent series of "fake" marine art paintings, which he sells on his website.

Along with Leib, Allen was a founding member of the Grammy-nominated band Rubber Rodeo from 1978 to 1982. Allen has played bass for many other bands as well.^[3]

Allen and his wife and two children live in Rockland County, New York.^[3]

Awards

• Harvey Award nominee 1994
  • Best New Series (Idiotland)
  • Best Syndicated Strip (Steven)

Bibliography

• Steven (8 issues, Kitchen Sink Press, 1989–1996); followed by The Best of "Steven" (Kitchen Sink Press, 1998)
• Idiotland (7 issues, Fantagraphics, 1993–1994)