View source for Joe Zabel

{{Short description|American webcomic author}}
{{Infobox comics creator
| image         = 
| imagesize     = 
| caption       = 
| birth_date    = {{birth year and age|1953}}
| birth_name    = Joseph Zabel
| birth_place   = Ohio, U.S.
| death_date    = 
| death_place   = 
| cartoonist    = y
| write         = y
| pencil        = y
| ink           = 
| letter        =
| color         =
| alias         = 
| signature     = <!-- very optional -->
| notable works = ''[[American Splendor]]''<br />''Trespassers''<br />''Fear Mongers''
| awards        = 
| website       = [http://joezabel.com JoeZabel.com]
}}
'''Joe Zabel''' (born July 7, 1953)<ref name="WhosWho">[http://www.bailsprojects.com/%28S%28wcpme3m4jx1ljhrl4ng0rkr5%29%29/bio.aspx?Name=ZABEL%2c+JOE Zabel entry], Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999.</ref> is a [[comic book]] writer and artist living in [[Cleveland Heights]]. He is best known for his work illustrating ''[[American Splendor]]'', by fellow Clevelander [[Harvey Pekar]].<ref name="philadelphia">Rea, Steven (2006-08-17). "From the comic book to the screen". ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]''. p. H1</ref><ref name="sfc">Winn, Steven (2003-08-21). "Every picture tells a thousand stories". ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''. p. E1</ref> Under the company names '''Known Associates Press''' and '''Amazing Montage Press''', Zabel has also published his own series of mystery comics, ''The Trespassers''.

Zabel grew up in [[Chesterland, Ohio]], and attended [[Youngstown State University]]. He broke into comics in 1977, helping to draw a promo ad in an issue of [[Power Comics (publisher)|Power Comics]]' ''Cobalt Blue''.<ref name="WhosWho" /> Shortly after moving to Cleveland, he began illustrating for ''American Splendor'' in 1985, usually inked by [[Gary Dumm]],<ref name="philadelphia" /> and was a regular contributor to Pekar's comics until 1997, illustrating many covers along the way. Zabel also had his work published in anthologies like ''[[Duplex Planet Illustrated]]'', ''[[Negative Burn]]'', and ''[[Real Stuff]]''.

Beginning in the 2000s, Zabel turned away from printed comics and begun making [[Webcomics|online digital comic strips]].  Zabel's ''Fear Mongers'' [[horror comics|horror webcomics]] was used, along with ''[[Penny Arcade (webcomic)|Penny Arcade]]'', ''[[Fetus-X]]'' and ''[[American Elf]]'', as an example of using the web to create "an explosion of diverse genres and styles" in [[Scott McCloud]]'s 2006 book ''[[Making Comics]]''.<ref name="makingcomics">McCloud, Scott (2006). ''[[Making Comics]]'', New York: Harper Collins Publishers. {{ISBN|0-06-078094-0}}, p. 227.</ref>

Zabel is also a comics reviewer, having been published in such venues as ''[[The Comics Journal]]'', ''Subliminal Tattoos'', ''Indy'' magazine, and iComics.com.<ref>[http://www.lambiek.net/artists/z/zabel.htm Zabel entry], Lambiek Comiclopedia.</ref> He was the editor-in-chief of ''The Webcomics Examiner'', an online magazine of [[webcomics]] reviews and interviews.

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
* {{comicbookdb|type=creator|id=6424|title=Joe Zabel}}
* [http://www.joshcomix.com/pekar-artists/ Harvey Pekar's Artists]

==External links==
* {{official|http://joezabel.com}}
* [http://amazingmontage.tripod.com/trespassers Trespassers website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081012092822/http://comixtalk.com/a_conversation_with_joe_zabel_0 Joe Zabel interview], ComixTALK (Jan. 2006)

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zabel, Joe}}
[[Category:American webcomic creators]]
[[Category:Comics critics]]
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American comics artists]]
{{webcomic-author-stub}}
{{US-comics-creator-stub}}