Sean Simmans

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Sean Simmans (born 1970) is a Canadian artist, cartoonist, and writer, best known for his work on Rizzo, a syndicated American comic strip co-authored by Chris Riseley.

Contents 1 Early Days 2 The Super-Serious Work 3 Other Works 4 Miscellanea 5 Influences 6 Links 7 References

[edit] Early Days

Simmans was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and grew up in a mining town, probably Leaf Rapids, in the northern part of the province. He began cartooning as a child and sold his first caricature portrait when he was twelve. Local advertising assignments followed. When he was sixteen, he penned the comic strip Tweed for his hometown newspaper.

He worked as a miner, underground, from 1990 until 1998, when a spinal injury forced him into early retirement. At this point, he began doing artwork for online e-zines, mostly of the erotic variety. He also designed book covers for up and coming publishers like Dead End Street.

In 2000, Simmans began writing short fiction as W. Bill Czolgosz. He placed his first story, 32 Cherries, in the anthology Viscera, from Venus or Vixen Press (edited by Cara Bruce.) His full-length novel, Eat at Zero's, was published by Coscom Entertainment in 2005.

Also in 2005, Simmans collaborated with Chris Riseley to create the daily comic strip Rizzo. After caricaturing Riseley into the title role, Simmans turned his alter ego, Czolgosz, into the strip's second lead character, Bill-- a crotchety cynic in a blue lizard suit. (Rizzo also features the old Tweed character in a small supporting role.)

By early 2006, Rizzo was appearing in twenty publications.

[edit] The Super-Serious Work

Simmans' paintings, those that sell in The Doghide Gallery and appear on magazine covers, are essentially oversized mixed-media cartoons.

After an in-house dispute at a Pittsburgh magazine, contemporary artist Nick Johns called Sean Simmans "unstable" and "crazy." Dancer Staci Flores, a friend of the artist, remarked that Simmans is "a conspiracy theorist and a gun lover. He will disappear in his studio for days and not sleep."

Writing partner Chris Riseley stated, "He is a mad genius. Completely off his nut. He has his finger on the pulse of the darkness. But he might be the fastest artist alive."

Typically, Simmans churns out a fully-inked Rizzo strip in fifteen minutes and will complete fully-rendered book cover assignments overnight.

Due to his spinal condition, however, he has been known to go on medical sabbaticals without notice. At an auction in March, 2006, he met with fledgling documentarian/Rizzo fan Ram Patu and admitted, "Sometimes I think I'm a bastard. If I were somebody else, I would probably choose not to work with me."

[edit] Other Works

Sean Simmans is also involved with the comic projects Eau de Larry, Freedom Ball, Ezta of Uranus, and the educational feature 48 Seconds of History. He recently sat on the creative board of the short-lived horror magazine Kopfhalter! and introduced the world to the tragically un-super hero known as Owlman.

[edit] Miscellanea

- Recorded What If Utah Had No Roads with The Andy Garcias (Byron Davidson, Haylee Simmans.)

- Is an ordained minister, tattooist and First Responder.

- Has painted over fifty book and magazine covers.

- Sells his original works exclusively at the Doghide Gallery in Tisdale, Saskatchewan; a small farm town that he's only visited briefly.

- Has never met collaborator Chris Riseley in person.

[edit] Influences

Simmans cites Gilbert Shelton, S. Gross, Berke Breathed, and MAD Magazine as his earliest influences. Also, "Richard Corben might be the world's greatest living artist." (quoted in the Writer's Post Journal.)

[edit] Links

http://www.rizzocomics.com http://www.rizzodaily.com

[edit] References

The Melfort Journal-- Melfort, SK. The Writer's Post Journal-- LBF Books. Kopfhalter! Magazine-- Coscom Entertainment Various Internet sources including http://www.cleansheets.com http://www.scarletletters.com http://www.liespeopletell.com