Dame Darcy

Dame Darcy
Born Caldwell, Idaho
Area(s) Cartoonist, fine artist, musician, performer, animator, filmmaker
Notable works
 Meat Cake
http://www.damedarcy.com

Dame Darcy [1] (born June 19, 1971, in Caldwell, Idaho),[2] known by her pen name is an alternative cartoonist,[3] fine artist, musician, cabaret performer, and animator/filmmaker. She is a feminist, witch, vegetarian, environmentalist, coronated Mermaid Queen and Sea Captain. Her "Neo-Victorian"[4] comic book series Meat Cake is published by Fantagraphics Books in a 32 page pamphlet style from 1993–2008.

Meat Cake Bible (Fantagraphics Books, July 2016) Is currently nominated for an Eisner Award at the San Diego Comic Convention 2017— every story from all 17 issues of Meat Cake (1993-2008), as well as new stories from the unpublished 18th issue; over 400 pages of comics, including all covers, and authors photos. Dame Darcy is currently working on a serial graphic novel entitled Meat Cake The Voyage of Temptress. A sequencial nautical adventure starring the cast of Meat Cake, with similar titled screenplay.

Her graphic novels include Handbook for Hot Witches, The Illustrated Jane Eyre,[5] Frightful Fairytales, Gasoline, Dollerium.[5] and more.

Dame Darcy worked with writer Alan Moore and for such publishers as America's Best Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics, Kitchen Sink Press, Starhead Comix,[6] Penguin Putnam, PressPop Tokyo, Merrell, Henry Holt and Company, and Seven Stories Press. Dame Darcy has published about 100 books internationally, with her comics being translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, among others. Her films and animation have won awards and been shown internationally. Her fine art and dolls have been exhibited and sold in art galleries globally for more than 20 years.

Biography

Dame Darcy was raised on an Appaloosa Horse Ranch near a Native American Reservation in Idaho by cowboy poets, and acquired her initial skill set while still a child and teen working as an apprentice to her father in his sign painting studio, Green Tree Graphics.

She began her own career at age 17 when she won a scholarship to the San Francisco Art Institute.[1] During this time, she majored in animation, and studied film making and performance art while acting in films by George Kuchar.[7] Also publishing Meat Cake as a zine series.

She made her first publishing deal at the age of 21 when her comic book series Meat Cake was picked up by Fantagraphics Books.[1] She originally considered using the pen name "Richard Dirt" but her father suggested adding a title to her own first name instead.[8] So Richard became the cartoon character representing Darcy in her series.

She performed during this time with Lisa Crystal Carver and Jean-Louis Costes's underground cabaret Suckdog Circus.[9] and in Caroliner Rainbow, where she played banjo on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th albums. Also touring with these bands and putting out her own experimental freak folk singles with Nuff Said records (reviewed by Spin and Forced Exposure) and The Cocktails.

After moving to New York City at age 22 Dame Darcy began her freelance illustration career for the Village Voice, NY Press, Paper Mag and others. She illustrated for fashion designers Anna Sui and Gothic Lolita designers CWC, Baby Doll, Ku, Coi Girl Magic and Jared Gold[10] while working as a runway model for CK and other designers.

During this time she continued playing banjo sea shanties and other performance art and music.

Performing in cabarets and rock venues around NYC, acting in experimental short movies and art films, and touring with her music to promote her comics, multiple times around the US, Europe, and Canada. She met and befriended many of her idols during this time, and played as the opening act for Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Michael Gira and Jarboe of Swans (band), Genesis P-Orridge of Psychic TV, Kembra Pfahler, Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Wikipedia, Courtney Love, Amanda Palmer, Rasputina , Elliott Smith, and performed at Joe Coleman (painter) wedding to Whitney Ward.

From 1996-2000 Darcy collaborated on a TV series for public access with Lisa Hammer entitled Turn Of The Century https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E3dz, this series produced over 100 episodes, and had a post modern black and white silent film look influenced by German Expressionism, Dada , and Grand Guignol. Some comics from Meat Cake were made into experimental movies at this time.

She finished and optioned her first feature film script, Planet Blue while doing animated comics of Planet Blue for Paper Magazine Online.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNvP8mpsEEc Meat Cake The Play, was produced by Dame Darcy's Patron Sean Hennesy in 2000, and production coordinated by https://www.facebook.com/darcey.leonard Darcey Leonard where it toured a dozen cities in New York and New England. This play was dedicated to the memory of Edward Gorey who Dame Darcy had befriended previously at his home in Cape Cod.

After Dame Darcy witnessed 911 she moved to Los Angeles.

It was during this time the graphic novels, (Ten Speed Press, 2002 ), The Illustrated Jane Eyre (Penguin, 2006), Gasoline (Merrell, 2008) and the Dollerium series and DVD (Tokyo Pop 2007) were published .

When Darcy first moved to L.A. her fine art became represented by The Heller Gallery at Burgamot Station in Santa Monica https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/189967396/. She started doing fine art solo exhibits featuring original art from her books, illustration, and paintings. While in LA from 2001-2007 Darcy continued to do fine art exhibitions at Melt Down Comics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S48edTWC-aI, Wacko, Burt Green Gallery, Claire Obscura Gallery, and more.

After meeting Tokyo Pop at the San Diego Comic con, Dame Darcy toured Tokyo and Kyoto Japan in 2001 and in 2002.

She then began designing fashion for Japanese Lolita clothing and doll designers Coi‐Girl Magic, CWC, KU/Baby and LaForet http://loligoth-dbs.livejournal.com/856.html. Darcy also toured Sydney and Melbourne Australia at this time to promote Frightful Fairytales and Meat Cake. And in 2003 toured with Skippy Spiral in their band Death By Doll at the City OF Women http://www.cityofwomen.org/en/content/events?page=2 Touring in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Romania.

During this time Dame Darcy wrote the graphic novel and screenplay Gasoline https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=10749377965&cm_sp=collections-_-7fugkrLDNBgjWJUOPzxEp0_item_1_57-_-bdp, (which was optioned) and recorded the album Gasoline (Death By Doll, released on Emperor Penguin Records https://www.amazon.com/Gasoline-Dame-Darcys-Death-Doll/dp/B000ICM3M8) at the same time Merrell published the graphic novel.

Dame Darcy also became friends with Neil Gaiman who wrote the introduction for Comic Book Tattoo in which Darcy included a comic illustrating a song by Tori Amos (and signed at San Diego Comic Con) Pandora's Aquarium https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxFt_WWHvYk, about a mermaid .

Because You Tube wasn't really a thing yet, and Dame Darcy's director Lisa hammer was still in New York, instead of making an experimental TV show in L.A., Darcy instead began auditioning to appear and promote Meat Cake comics through situationist Dada performance art.

Using Hollywood's cheezy Dating Shows as a performance art medium, Dame Darcy appeared on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT6MV_Oa5Y4 Blind Date, Elimidate, and others multiple times, wearing a mermaid costume in the hot tub as a swimsuit, threatening to cut the other contestants, and general mayhem. In 2008 Dame Darcy got voted top ten on Flavor of Love 3 and Fantagraphics helped promote the votes behind the scenes, confusing the Hollywood producers and everyone who was not familiar with Darcy's work as to why she was winning.

Darcy returned to NYC, where her fine art became represented by SLOAN FINE ART https://www.google.com/search?q=Alix+Sloan+Gallery&oq=Alix+Sloan+Gallery&aqs=chrome..69i57.1759j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 in LES from 2007-2012 when the gallery was closed due to Hurricane Sandy

While in NYC Dame Darcy co-hosted Naughty Nautical Nite cabaret https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wftf_yo3Crk&t=308s with musical comedian, Jessica Delfino at the Slipper Room https://www.facebook.com/slipperroomnyc/in SOHO. During this time Dame Darcy was featured in the documentary Mermaids Of New York http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2057436/.

In 2012 Darcy moved to Savannah GA, where she released her feminist empowerment graphic novel advice guide for teens, Hand Book For Hot Witches on Holt. https://www.etsy.com/listing/179199533/hand-book-for-hot-witches-metaphisical At the New York Comic con that year she shared the same signing table as Anne Rice, at an event at Forbidden Planet http://guestofaguest.com/new-york/calendar/2012/october/dame-darcy-book-release-party-handbook-for-hot-witches

And did a promotion event in Atlanta in which long time DD Patron Amy Carter attended.

While in Savannah, Dame Darcy began to crew for sailboats on the intracostal water way and sailed to Charleston and Florida, then went to Sea School to get a Captains License.

Dame Darcy moved to Savannah, "The Most haunted City In America" to buy a house to make into a Meat Cake Themed Hotel which has plans in the works to be a blend of Dollywood and Disneyland's Haunted Mansion. This hotel will be a music and art venue as well.

In the 1990s, Dame Darcy made a doll for Courtney Love which included hair from the late Kurt Cobain. The doll was a gift to Love's daughter Frances Bean Cobain.[11] Dame Darcy planned to auction some of Kurt Cobain's leftover hair in 2015[12] but withdrew it following a complaint from Love.[13]

Her teaching experience varies among all ages and contexts. Dame Darcy taught an independent comics publishing course at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, as well as lecturing and workshops at Columbia University, and in Europe and Japan.

Her latest books in 2016 are Lady Killers (Harper Collins), The Jaywalker, with Lisa Carver, Lucky, and other compilations. Dame Darcy's autobiography, Hi Jax & Hi Jinx, is due out from Feral House in 2018, and has a feature film screenplay, with identical name attached. Her self-published Mermaid tarot card decks are independently distributed through www.damedarcy.com on Etsy.[14][15]

Bibliography

Comics/graphic novels

Illustrations

  • The Penalty of Hope: Poems, by Vincent D. Dominion (2010)
  • Blythe (CWC, 2006) — doll book produced by Hasbro, featuring the fashion doll Blythe
  • Dancing Queen, by Lisa Carver (Henry Holt, 1998)
  • Rollerderby: the Book, by Lisa Carver (Feral House, 1996)
  • Doll House Book (Finnegan, 2000) — doll designs
  • Funeral Party I and Funeral Party II, by Shade Rupe (1995-1999)
  • Broken Noses and Metempsychoses, by Michael Carter (1998)
  • Hasbro My Little Pony Doll Design
  • Jane Magazine Illustrations for Astrology Section
  • Meat Cake, self‐published comic series #1‐3
  • Meat Cake, issue #0, Iconographics Publications
  • Star Head Mini Comix
  • Index Mag, Dame Darcy does palm reading for Cindy Sherman, Carol Channing, and others
  • Rollerderby, Regular Contributor
  • New York Press
  • Village Voice
  • Purr, published in U.K.
  • Bananafish mag
  • Pretty Decorating mag
  • Hermenaut mag
  • C.M.J. Catalogue
  • Her mag Staff Artist
  • Last Gasp catalog, cover
  • The Stranger
  • Bust mag
  • Bitch mag
  • Venus mag
  • Stim, online publication
  • Tango Palace,
  • record cover
  • Kittywinder record cover
  • Boss Hog record cover
  • Paper Mag comics and Guestroom with a view Planet Blue animation
  • Word Online Publication,
  • Toozeday Comics Regular Contributor
  • C.H.E.W. Lollapalooza catalog,
  • illustration for Courtney Love tour promotion
  • Pulse mag
  • Dolls mag
  • Vice mag
  • Wired mag
  • Hate comic Peter Bagge Regular Contributor
  • Seattle Weekly
  • Alice mag UK
  • L.A. Weekly Pulpit full‐page color comics
  • Visionaire Fashion Magazine, 2001‐2002,
  • Fashion Illustration, (N.Y.‐based)
  • Jelouse Fashion Magazine, 2002, (French based)
  • MOCA LA Designs for Christmas cards

Clothes design / Fashion illustration

Animation

Acting and performance

Dame Darcy has recently (2016-on) entered creative collaboration with noted Fine Artist, Designer, Independent Film maker, http://pleasantpaintings.com/ Jalal Pleasant, also known as, 'Pleasant'. Dame Darcy and Isabelle Doll will star as characters, 'Molly Passion' and 'The Supreme Doll' in the upcoming feature length independent film production titled, The UNKNOWN, Battle Against Mediocrity. www.imdb.com/title/tt5803330/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1  Written and directed by Jalal Pleasant.

Discography

Record cover design

Fine Art Exibitions

Interior design, murals, and sign painting

Further reading

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sullivan, Darcy (September 1994). "The Dame Darcy Interview". The Comics Journal. Seattle, Washington: Fantagraphics Books (171). Archived from the original on September 20, 2016.
  2. ↑ Weaver, Damien (April 2004). "An Interview with Dame Darcy". Bookslut. Archived from the original on November 29, 2016.
  3. ↑ Hundley, Jessica (November 21, 2002). "Artist's vision lives; Dame Darcy turns a new page with her stylized graphic novel, Frightful Fairytales". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  4. ↑ Kirchner, Lisa. "Books: Meatcake". Bust. New York, New York. Archived from the original on October 17, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Weiland, Jonah (August 15, 2006). "Dame Darcy on The Illustrated Jane Eyre". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016.
  6. ↑ Dame Darcy at the Grand Comics Database
  7. ↑ "Dame Darcy". Lambiek Comiclopedia. December 13, 2006. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Darcy seriously began pursuing a life in art when she won a scholarship to the San Francisco Art Institute in 1989. She majored in film and studied animation...At the same time, she pursued a career as an actress with parts in local independent films by director George Kuchar
  8. ↑ Collins, Sean T. (August 11, 2016). "Let Us Play: Comics Artist Dame Darcy on Her Mind-Blowing Meat Cake Bible". New York Observer. Archived from the original on August 13, 2016. When I first started self-publishing comics I wanted to experiment with having my pen name be Richard Dirt...My Dad advised against it, saying that if I add a title to my first name, like Queen Latifah or Dr. Seuss, I would not have to deal with the hassle of actually changing my last name. I came up with Dame because it is alliterative with my first name and is a ladies’ title.
  9. ↑ Calhoun, Ada (August 11, 2000). "Prophet for Our Times". The Austin Chronicle. Austin, Texas. Archived from the original on December 19, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Artist Bio – Dame Darcy". Fantagraphics Books. n.d. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016.
  11. ↑ Escobedo Shepherd, Julianne (November 3, 2015). "Frances Bean Has a Creepy Doll Made With Locks of Kurt Cobain's Hair". Jezebel. Archived from the original on May 15, 2016.
  12. ↑ Grebey, James (November 2, 2015). "Lock of Kurt Cobain’s Hair to Be Sold at Auction Because People are Creepy Weirdos". Spin. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Courtney Love commissioned doll maker and comic artist Dame Darcy to make a doll for her daughter using some of Cobain’s blonde hair. The leftover hair is now on sale starting at $4,000.
  13. ↑ Scott, Shannon (May 11, 2016). "My Interview With The Inimitable Dame Darcy". Shannonscott.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2016. She legitimately had in her possession some of Kurt Cobain’s hair and nearly sold it for a significant sum of money before the auction was pulled because of Courtney Love’s protest.
  14. ↑ "Dame Darcy's Mermaid Tarot Review". Seventh Element. March 14, 2015. Archived from the original on May 9, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Dame Darcy’s Mermaid Tarot Review". Cosmictarot.co.uk. October 16, 2015. Archived from the original on April 27, 2016.
  16. ↑ Conner, Shawn (December 14, 2010). "Interview - Dame Darcy". Thesnipenews.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2016. Yeah, it's for the second issue of a comic called Women of Marvel. It's out now. It's a fairy tale with Invisible Girl [from the Fantastic Four], "Inviserella". The brother's gay, he gives her a beautiful new hairdo.
  17. ↑ Michaels, Sean (April 18, 2008). "Tori Amos's comic reinvention". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016.
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