Ron Regé Jr.


Ron Regé Jr. is an American alternative cartoonist and musician.
He has published a number of graphic novels and was a regular contributor to the Kramers Ergot anthology; his work has also been published by McSweeney's and in other languages by numerous European imprints. His illustrations have appeared in The New York Times and the National Post. As a musician, he has recorded and performed with such bands as Swirlies and Lavender Diamond.

Biography

Early life and education

Regé grew up in Quincy and Plymouth, Massachusetts, and attended the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. According to Lambiek Comiclopedia, "after... working in a copy shop for several years, he relocated to Northern California."

Comics

Regé first began publishing his work in minicomics form in 1988 while attending college. In the early 1990s, Regé drew a comic every day, many of which he published in his annual periodical Yeast Hoist. During this period, he also contributed illustrations to DIY publications, and designed posters for events, as well as various forms of apparel. Many of these pieces, as well as some of Regé's more commercial work, are anthologized in the collection Against Pain.
By the late 1990s Regé's work was picked up by Tom Devlin of Highwater Books, and when that publisher folded, moved with Devlin to Drawn & Quarterly. Regé's first graphic novel, Skibber Bee Bye, a surreal "...dreamscape in which a shy and lovesick elephant furtively pursues the company of two reclusive mice," was praised by Chris Ware: "Ron Regé is one of a handful of cartoonists in the history of the medium not only to reinvent comics to suit his own idiosyncratic impulses and inspirations as an artist, but also to imbue it with his own peculiar, ever-changing emotional energy. To me, he is unquestionably one of 'the greats.'"
Regé and Joan Reidy's story "Boys" was included in The Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories edited by Ivan Brunetti and published by Yale University Press in 2006.
After publishing a number of comics/graphic novels with Drawn & Quarterly, in 2008, Regé's focus changed. As he described his journey:
What resulted was The Cartoon Utopia, published by Fantagraphics in 2012:

Music

Regé played drums and trombone in his high school band. He continued to tinker with music in college and built a variety of instruments for a course in art school. Bits of Regé's 4-track home recordings appeared on releases by the Boston indie rock band Swirlies, and more extensively in various related lo-fi projects with friends. Regé appears on releases by the Yes Girls and the Mystical Unionists; he later played drums in the Los Angeles-based group Lavender Diamond.

Themes and art style

Regé's work is frequently engaged with themes of spiritualism and "ancient wisdom."
His artwork, which is dense and deliberately childlike, has often been classified as "cute brut". According to publisher Drawn & Quarterly, "Regé creates his own visual poetry that sets him apart from other cartoonists as one of the most original artists to enter the medium in the past decade. His storytelling is neither linear nor altogether accessible; however, his recognizable thin line and cute characters draw you into a dreamlike, sensitive fantasy world that, as odd as it seems, is entirely realistic." In a 2017 interview, Regé described his artistic influences and style this way: "I was probably influenced by my friends. I guess if you put Marc Bell and John Porcellino together it equals me."

Personal life

According to his publisher Fantagraphics, Regé lives in Echo Park, Los Angeles.

Exhibitions

Regé's story "Silent Introduction" was published in Reprodukt's anthology Orang #7 - Das Ende der Welt, which in 2009 was given an ICOM Independent Comic Preis for Sonderpreis der Jury für eine bemerkenswerte Comicpublikation.
His work was also included in Drawn & Quarterly: Twenty-Five Years of Contemporary Cartooning, Comics, and Graphic Novels, which won the 2016 Eisner Award for Best Anthology.

Nominations

  • 1998 Ignatz Award for Promising New Talent
  • 2000 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Comic
  • 2002 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Story
  • 2009 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Anthology or Collection
  • 2022 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Artist