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Dash Shaw (born April 6, 1983) is an American comic book writer/artist and animator. He is the author of the Cosplayers, Doctors, New School, and Bottomless Belly Button, published by Fantagraphics. Additionally, Shaw has written Love Eats Brains published by Odd God Press, GardenHead published by Meathaus, The Mother's Mouth published by Alternative Comics, and BodyWorld published by Pantheon Books.
Shaw's comic short stories have appeared in many different anthologies, newspapers and magazines. His square-sized short stories were collected in the 2005 book GoddessHead published by Hidden Agenda Press. His comics are known for their emphasis on emotional, lyrical logic and innovative design. He was named one of the top ten artists to check out at the 2002 "Small Press Expo" when he was 19 years old. He also writes lyrics and plays with James Blanca in the weirdo pop band Love Eats Brains! and has co-written and acted in various short film projects.
Shaw is the director of the animated features My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea (2016) and Cryptozoo (2021).
Shaw's Bottomless Belly Button was published by Fantagraphics in June 2008. Bottomless Belly Button at Fantagraphics His BodyWorld webcomic was bought by Pantheon Books and published in a single printed volume in April 2010. Dash Shaw, Pantheon Ink Deal, Publishers Weekly, August 19, 2008
Bottomless, an exhibition of Shaw's original drawings, storyboards, color background overlays and a new video animation, was on display at Duke University's John Hope Franklin Center from September 25 through October 31, 2008.
In the years following Bottomless Belly Button, Shaw published numerous short stories in comics form, and serialized the science-fiction story BodyWorld on dashshaw.com. It received an Eisner Award nomination for Best Digital Comic in 2009.
Late 2009 saw the release by Fantagraphics of The Unclothed Man In the 35th Century A.D., a collection of short stories that Shaw had previously published in MOME, along with several pages of storyboards and other ephemera from his animated shorts for IFC.
In 2010, Pantheon Books released the collected chapters of BodyWorld in the form of a graphic novel,
In 2013, releases from Shaw included the zine-style mini-comic New Jobs (Uncivilized Books), the comic-book length shorts collection 3 New Stories (Fantagraphics), and Shaw's next graphic novel, New School (Fantagraphics). New School takes place on an island preparing for an influx of English-speaking tourists upon the completion of a massive theme park depicting periods throughout history. It follows two brothers, one who has taken a job teaching English to island locals and another who has come to retrieve his sibling. In the course of the book, both brothers experience alienation from their surroundings and conflicts with the locals. NPR called New School "striking and enigmatic," while Publishers Weekly described the book as "an unusual combination of bildungsroman, travelogue, and intellectual thriller."
Shaw produced the three-part miniseries for IDW Publishing in 2019.
Shaw explains that his key motive is combining what he likes about hand drawing with the processes available in Photoshop. He has stated that he does not own a drawing tablet, and that his actual knowledge of Photoshop is limited, compared to most mainstream colorists who rely on it exclusively, explaining, "that coloring leaves me cold."
Shaw's first animated feature film My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea Cartoonist and animator Dash Shaw on expanding how you do what you do — The Creative Independent had its world premiere at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2016 and was also shown at the New York Film Festival (NYFF). It features the voices of Jason Schwartzman, Lena Dunham, Reggie Watts, Maya Rudolph and Susan Sarandon.
He was also responsible for the "comic book" scenes in John Cameron Mitchell's 2010 film Rabbit Hole and the animated dream sequence on an episode of the controversial Netflix series 13 Reasons Why alongside Jane Samborski. 13 Reasons Why season 2: we need to talk about episode 7's unique opening scene - Radio Times Artist helps fill the hole in 'Rabbit' - Variety
Animation
His animation influences include Winsor McCay, Osamu Tezuka (in particular his work on Astroboy), and other 60s anime shows like Speed Racer, Dash Shaw Talks 'Cryptozoo,' Animation influences and Dream Politics (Sundance Interview) - The Playlist the 1973 cult films Belladonna of Sadness and Fantastic Planet, limited animation (including A Charlie Brown Christmas), Out of This World: Dash Shaw on Fantastic Planet|Current|The Criterion Collection The Frame|Audio: Dash Shaw's animated feature is a mash-up of art film and disaster flick|89.3 KPCC Ralph Bakshi Artfourm International and Suzan Pitt. "Spreadsheets Are the Best Things in the World": Dash Shaw and Jane Samborski on Animating Cryptozoo|Filmmaker Magazine
Cryptozoo
His next feature Cryptozoo, about 1960s San Francisco zookeepers trying to capture a mysterious creature, 10 exciting arthouse movies coming in 2021 - i-D was released in early 2021 at the Sundance Film Festival where it won the NEXT Innovator Award. Cryptozoo Trailer: Dash Shaw's Animated Sundance Winner for Adults|IndieWire It was also nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at the 37th Independent Spirit Awards. Cryptozoo (2021)|MUBI
Works
Graphic novels
Comics and story collections
Covers only
Short animations
Films
Other work
As illustrator
See also
Further reading
Criticism and interpretation
External links
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