Marc Bell

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This article is for the cartoonist. For the drummer of the Ramones, see his stage name, Marky Ramone.

Artist at work; A photo of Marc Bell taken at the Monthly Montreal Comix Jam of Feb/25/2004

Marc Bell (born 1971 in London, Ontario) is a Canadian cartoonist. His work often bemuses and baffles his audiences in equal measure. His comix could be found in small local shops, counter culture fairs, and small galleries across Canada and the U.S. His combined talent, constant presence, and disarming personality are helping to build up a substantial following in counter culture circles.

An active participant in DIY culture and frequent collaborator, his cartoons, zines, and art were often personally distributed by Bell himself as he traveled and from his early and ongoing attendance at the Montreal Comic Jams hosted by cartoonists Rupert Bottenberg and Salgood Sam.

Bell collaborated on Small Press Publications such as Musician's Cornfest with Peter Thompson, Stand Tall Guru with Jason McLean, P.M.F. with Mark Connery, Shut-up World with Amy Lockhart, and Turf Godz with Dominique Galarneau. Bell has long been committed to a playful, collaborative and improvisational approach to his comix and art. Bell has also produced a significant body of solo work, including Knoze Clippah, Construct, There Is Nothing + MORE!, "The Stacks" and Worn Tuff Elbow. In addition he has been published in numerous anthologies (Kramer's Ergot, The Ganzfeld) and Highwater Books published a large collection of his monthly comic strips titled Shrimpy and Paul in 2003. Picture Box Inc has published a tabloid newspaper edition of Bell's 2005 collaboration with Peter Thompson, "The Hobbit". In 2006 he edited "Nog a Dod: Prehistoric Canadian Psychedoolia", including works by Bell, Jason Mclean, Owen Plummer, Amy Lockhart, Peter Thompson, S.P. Ehman, "Dirty Debbie", and many more - published by Conundrum Press and released in the U.S. in association with Picture Box Inc.

In recent years Bell has gained considerable mainstream recognition for his work as well, having been reviewed in Time magazine and the New York Times, having shown his work in prominent New York City galleries amongst other notable accomplishments. Bell is sometimes favourably compared to his foremost cartooning role model, Robert Crumb.

Bell, who is affectionately known as "The Marco" by his closest friends, is a strong proponent of "outsider art". He has been known to publicly denounce the vacuous efforts of professional artists in favour of the unpolished works of part-time doodlers and scribblers. Most notable among these amateurs is "Dirty Debbie", a veteran of absuridist humour and a mysterious collaborator who is largely responsible for the creation of "Birthday Moustache", one of Bell's most underrated works to date (see Nog a Dod for examples). Dirty Debbie, or "Debs" is a man, not a woman as some have assumed. He is also known to have been raised in London, Ontario, though it is unclear whether he and Bell knew each other well as youths. Some have suggested the shadowy Debs is a half-wit, though this rumour is largely put forward by establishment artistes who fail to grasp his comic genius. Bell and Debs remain close friends and associates, however rumours of a rift have emerged of late. Some have suggested that, contrary to Bell's insistence, Debs would not sign some official papers or contracts of some sort. The disagreement is said to have reached such a heated pitch that Bell mounted a pressure campaign. Traveling around the city with his papers jammed in a tattered briefcase, a delirious and aggressive Bell forced hundreds of random strangers (bank managers, hoteliers, and even homeless persons) to sign his papers in order that Debs might feel compelled to do the same. Despite Bell's efforts, Debs has still not signed.

Bell currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he divides his time between comics and fine art. He also devotes much of his time to the production of a feature motion picture titled "Spendor and the Boogaloo Lesbos," loosely based on the life and times of Vancouver keyboardist Jeremy Mendes.