Emmy and Ringo Award-winning writer and cartoonist Dean Haspiel is best known for creating Billy Dogma, The Red Hook, Covid Cop, and Chest Face, illustrating for HBO's "Bored To Death" and founding the pioneering webcomics collective ACT-I-VATE, as well as being a playwright, filmmaker, Yaddo fellow and Master Artist at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. Dean’s comics work includes many titles for Marvel, DC, Image, Archie, IDW, Dark Horse, Heavy Metal, and Webtoon, including The Fox, The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, X-men, Deadpool, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Conan, Godzilla, Mars Attacks, SpongeBob SquarePants, Popeye, and semi-autobio collaborations with Harvey Pekar (“The Quitter,” “American Splendor”), Jonathan Ames (“The Alcoholic”), Inverna Lockpez, Jonathan Lethem, Stoya, Stan Lee, and Whitney Matheson.
NIGHTWORK Studio is a Brooklyn-based multimedia collaboration project between Dean Haspiel & Whitney Matheson: https://www.nightwork.studio/
PRELUDE TO THE WAR OF WOO, a short film written by Dean Haspiel and directed by Shannon Goldman, co-starring Seth Gilliam & Philip Cruise: https://vimeo.com/395580445
Re: TEACHING: Present fundamental ways to spark ideas and craft creativity with the aim to foment fearless expression.
Re: COMIX: Exploit the narrative real-estate of the blank page while yielding to the collaborative virtues of words and pictures where image is text, too. And design your characters in a way that allows you to know who each one is -- close and afar. Could be as simple as a costume or someone with a big nose or a cleft chin or an eyepatch (etc./etc.).
Honors: -Emmy Award winner for title design work on HBO's "Bored To Death." -Eisner Award nominee for "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition" and "Outstanding Webcomic." -Ringo Award winner for "Best Webcomic 2017" for THE RED HOOK -Yaddo fellow -Master Artist at The Atlantic Center for the Arts 2012, 2023
Dave Cowen interviewed me for his Substack "SerioComics," about my recent Kickstarter, ANTIMATTER, and other things.
Excerpts:
"I think most artists struggling to pay bills wish they could barter their art for food and services. I’ve been bold enough to broker some deals. I’ve created custom made art for health care. It’s like giving blood only, as an artist, you’re giving a part of your soul for a root canal and/or surgery for a beloved cat. I’ve drawn on bar napkins for drinks. It’s not a regular thing but having that kind of experience inspired New Brooklyn’s fantasy economy. Where value is dictated by the artist and determined by the buyer. A borough-sized flea market of haggling."
"Working with Harvey Pekar taught me to keep an open ear. I was so used to ogling the people I drew, I sometimes forgot to hear what they had to say. How they talk. Harvey was great at imparting real life stories because he knew how to listen.
Jonathan Ames is a master story teller in any given medium. He knows how to engage a reader and excite a collaborator. Whatever he wrote for me I wanted to draw. His economy of words and breadth for story is sublime. He’s written perfect sentences that bring joy. As much as I’m entertained by his work, it also teaches me how to convey story. And he always made sure to make himself the butt of the joke. Never intending to harm anyone or anybody else for the sake of sensationalism.
Both Pekar and Ames probably trusted me to visualize their tales because I, too, am vulnerable and I champion them sans moral judgment."
Hello everyone and welcome to another special episode of Indie Comics Relay featuring your hosts Keith Gleason (Mighty Mascots) Johnny C. (Surrounded by Death) & Harry Gerostergios (Time Lord of Tangents).
In this episode we are getting together with a bunch of creators who have running Kickstarters. We'll be shooting the breeze and popping out promos over the course of the stream. The List of Creators on the panel who have active campaigns!
Keith Gleason - Kid switch Issues 1 & 2 Dean Haspiel - Antimatter Anthology Nandor Fox Shaffer - Seasons Vol 1&2 Elliott Mondry - You Never Know #1 Alicia Madden - You Never Know #1
Whitney Matheson and I talked to Gil Roth about ANTIMATTER and THE FEELING (my current comix Kickstarter and her recent short story publication) on The Virtual Memories Show!
The Comics Beat shows some love for ANTIMATTER! Big ups to Heidi and Diego!
"Dean Haspiel’s Antimatter is a Kickstarter worth backing because it embodies the spirit of true creator-owned comics. Bold, personal, and unapologetically original. Known for The Red Hook and Billy Dogma, Haspiel brings his dynamic blend of superhero myth, emotional honesty, and satirical edge to this one-man anthology, inspired by the likes of Eightball and Optic Nerve. The debut story, Covid Cop Insurrection, plunges readers into a wild, thought-provoking world where heroism collides with humanity’s last stand, while other tales spotlight fan-favorite characters and new creations alike.
With striking art, sharp storytelling, and a passion for independent expression, Antimatter shows Haspiel’s mastery of the medium. Its amazing, as far as indie projects go, this is one to look forward to."
In this New York Comic Con Artist Alley interview, Jace Milam chats with writer-artist Dean Haspiel about his latest Kickstarter project, Anti-Matter, a one-man anthology inspired by indie classics like Eightball and Optic Nerve. Dean discusses how the book blends his original creations—such as Red Hook, Chest Face, Billy Dogma, and COVID Cop—into a magazine-style collection of self-contained stories, all exploring love and humanity through his trademark mix of humor and heart. He also shares insights into his creative process, his shift toward independent publishing, and his ongoing ventures in theater and film, while reminding fans that crowdfunding is the best way to directly support his work.
In this episode of Word Balloon, cartoonist Dean Haspiel joins John Siuntres to talk about his new Kickstarter anthology series, Antimatter — a collection spotlighting his signature creator-owned characters including Billy Dogma, The Red Hook, and Chest Face. Haspiel explains how Antimatter brings together stories from across his indie universe, blending love, heroism, and surreal New York energy. The conversation also detours into today’s entertainment landscape, as John and Dean swap thoughts on recent hits and misses in movie theaters and on TV, and what makes storytelling resonate in any medium.
In Spring of 2023, I launched a self-publishing concern focusing on a series of crowdfunded "Deep Cuts" from my personal pantheon of creator-owned characters, featuring COVID COP, BILLY DOGMA + JANE LEGIT, THE RED HOOK, and CHEST FACE. In Spring of 2026, I will be launching a one-man anthology called “Dean Haspiel's ANTIMATTER.” From superhero to semi-autobio, ANTIMATTER flexes a sublime synergy of sequential art for mature readers.
The debut of ANTIMATTER will feature “Covid Cop Insurrection.” While battling Admiral Amok's horrific hybrids of America's most coveted icons in Times Square, Lincoln Bio and Fate Majeure recruit what's left of humanity, including the only two people immune to the deadly virus, to storm the United States Capitol to end President Pestilence's evil reign, in hopes of starting a new society only to discover the world's weirdest escape plan.
ANTIMATTER will also showcase the rise of AI Joe, the street beat of The Red Hook - and more!
New York City: The City That Never Sleeps has been the setting for countless stories. Dean Haspiel (The Red Hook), Rachel Coad (New York City Glow), Peter Kuper (The System), and Josh Neufeld (“Supply Chain Superhero”) all have their own interpretations of the city, and moderator Faith Cox will go into detail with them. Panelists: Dean Haspiel, Rachel Coad, Peter Kuper, Josh Neufeld, Faith Cox
Check out my mentor, Howard Chaykinand John Siuntres of the Word Balloon podcast, let loose at Terrificon 2025, captured for eternity by the kind folks at Splash Pages. And if you stick around long enough, you’ll get a vocal cameo or two from me and hear Howard say:
“Dean Haspiel is one of the most iconoclastic members of his generation, a raging pain in the ass, smart and clever, and the winner of an Emmy — which I believe will be engraved on his tombstone and then pissed on within days.” --Howard Chaykin @Terrificon 2025
I had a great conversation with indie-comix legends, Jim Mahfood and Shawn Crystal on the Inkpulp Podcast #258 — where we told tales out of old school, and I reveal some loose details of my next comix Kickstarter launching VERY SOON.
Check out the fun fellas of the Indie Comics Relay podcast as they share a sweet video of their time at Small Press Expo (SPX) 2025. Watch it to the end where a hilarious thing happens between me, Johnny C., and a magic marker.
Most people I meet have a popular story I don’t have — what it was like to come to New York City for the very first time. No matter how light or dark, simple or complicated the tale, I’m always fascinated by the different ways people meet and greet NYC. My 58+ years as a native New Yorker, I’ve never known what it’s like to come to New York City for the first time.
I was born in New York Hospital and I grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I’ve also lived in the center of Soho, and on 14th street between avenues B & C, until I made Brooklyn my home the last 28+ years. With the exception of three years at SUNY Purchase, I’ve only had four home addresses.
In many ways, I’ve taken NYC for granted my entire life. A melting pot of diverse cultures, art, food and languages. From Wo Hop in Chinatown to The Empire State Building to Times Square and Harlem.
Ever feel like you could use a new head? Need an upgrade? Change your perspective? We have 164 new heads to choose from in this breathtaking feat of artistic excess.
"Skull Rock at Treasure Island" brings together artists from California to Iceland, New York to Spain, Chicago to Mexico, together for a deep dive into the age-old art trope of the head, with or without flesh. Each artist in this show is giving us a look inside of their thought process, an MRI with all the neurons exposed. It's a census of composition. Perspective per capita.
Maybe you need to change your mind?
Memento opera artis emere
Please join us this Saturday, October 4th from 4-7pm for the opening of "Skull Island at Treasure Island"
