Tom Spurgeon Explained

Birth Date:16 December 1968
Birth Place:Muncie, Indiana, U.S.
Death Place:Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Nationality:American
Area:Writer, journalist, historian
Notable Works:The Comics Reporter
Awards:Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism, Eisner Award (2010, 2012, 2013)

Thomas Martin Spurgeon[1] [2] (December 16, 1968 – November 13, 2019) was an American writer, historian, critic, and editor in the field of comics,[3] notable for his five-year run as editor of The Comics Journal and his blog The Comics Reporter.

Early life

Spurgeon was born on December 16, 1968, in Muncie, Indiana. He was one of three sons of Sandra "Sunny" McFarren and Wiley W. Spurgeon Jr. His mother was a senior manager in the health care industry, and his father was the executive editor of the sister newspapers The Muncie Star and The Muncie Evening Press, a role that included curating the newspapers' comics pages.

Spurgeon was his class president in high school, and attended college at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, where he was a lineman on the football team,[4] and graduated with a BA in History and Politics in 1991. He spent the next two years in Evanston, Illinois, studying at the Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary before leaving in 1993.

Career

Spurgeon was the managing editor, and later executive editor, of The Comics Journal, a comics trade magazine and critical journal published by Fantagraphics, from 1994 to 1999.[5] Under his tenure, the magazine expanded the scope of its coverage to more regularly include European comics, introducing an English-language readership to the new wave of publishing from France led by the group of cartoonists centered around L'Association. As well, Spurgeon's Journal was notable for the coverage it gave to burgeoning scenes of American comics makers like the Fort Thunder collective.[6]

After leaving The Comics Journal, Spurgeon wrote the comic strip Wildwood with his childhood friend Dan Wright. The strip, initially launched as Bobo's Progress, was syndicated by King Features from 1999 to 2002 and ran in about 80 newspapers.[7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

With Jordan Raphael, Spurgeon co-wrote the biography Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book (Chicago Review Press, 2003).[12] He was also the coauthor of The Romita Legacy (Dynamite, 2011).

In 2004, with site designer Jordan Raphael, Spurgeon launched The Comics Reporter.

Spurgeon co-authored a history of his former employer, Fantagraphics. Written with Jacob Covey, Comics as Art: We Told You So was initially scheduled for release in 2006. However, a defamation lawsuit launched by Harlan Ellison against Fantagraphics, claiming they had defamed him in the book, saw publication delayed.[13] The book was released, with references to Ellison omitted, in 2017.[14] [15]

In 2014, Spurgeon became the Executive Director of Cartoon Crossroads Columbus, an annual free four-day celebration of cartooning and graphic novels in Columbus, Ohio.[16]

Personal life

Spurgeon described himself as "a big, fat guy", standing at six feet three inches tall and weighing at times over 400 pounds.[17] In 2011, he underwent emergency surgery that placed The Comics Reporter website on hiatus.[18] [19] [20] He wrote an essay about the experience. A year later, he posted a second essay detailing his change in perspective, lifestyle modifications, and significant weight loss following his surgery. In it, he explains, "I wasn't sick because I was overweight. The weight was a factor in my recovery...My desire to lose weight greatly intensified because of the new health realities I faced."[21]

Spurgeon died on November 13, 2019, at age 50, in Columbus, Ohio.[22]

Awards

Spurgeon and The Comics Reporter won the Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism in 2010, 2012,[23] and 2013.[24] The site was also awarded the UTNE Independent Press Award for arts and literature coverage in 2002.[25] Spurgeon sat on the 2019 Ringo Awards Professional Jury.[26]

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tom Spurgeon, Who Surveyed the Comic Book World, Dies at 50. Gustines. George Gene. The New York Times. November 21, 2019. November 22, 2019.
  2. Spurgeon, Thomas. "Mickey Mouse." World Book Advanced, World Book, 2018
  3. News: Are comics for kids or adults? . August 15, 2005 . . O'Brien . Kathleen . March 24, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20081007091741/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2002439056_comicsaudience15.html . dead . October 7, 2008.
  4. Web site: Tom Spurgeon, 1968-2019. Wolk. Douglas. 10 November 2019. The Comics Journal. 1 December 2019.
  5. News: Obituary: Tom Spurgeon, Comics Journalist, Editor, Blogger, Dead at 50. Reid. Calvin. 15 November 2019. Publishers Weekly. 1 December 2019. Editor & Publisher.
  6. News: The Brian Chippendale Interview. Fantagraphics Books Inc..
  7. Web site: R. C. Harvey. R. C. Harvey. Jay Kennedy. May 24, 2007. self-published. March 24, 2009. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20090531153259/http://gocomics.typepad.com/rcharvey/2007/05/index.html. May 31, 2009. March 24, 2009.
  8. Web site: The Online Comics Gap. June 11, 2002. Tim. Cavanaugh. Online Journalism Review. March 24, 2009. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20090225032103/http://www.ojr.org/ojr/business/1023834984.php. February 25, 2009. March 24, 2009.
  9. Web site: Artworks to Spotlight Cartoonist and Illustrator Dan Wright. MuncieDowntown.com. November 17, 2008. March 24, 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110714133013/http://munciedowntown.com/2008/11/artworks-to-spotlight-cartoonist-and.php. July 14, 2011. March 24, 2009.
  10. Web site: Comic Strip Takes a Leap of Faith. October 25, 2001. self. March 24, 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100130223042/http://kingfeatures.com/pressrm/rel_25_28_2_2001.htm. January 30, 2010. March 24, 2009.
  11. Web site: Bobo's Progress to Wildwood: Dan Wright and Tom Spurgeon. Sequential Tart . March 2001 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924100534/http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/mar01/wrightspurgeon.shtml . September 24, 2015. live.
  12. Web site: Review: Putting Stan Lee in his place. October 8, 2003. Meagher, L. D.. CNN. March 24, 2009. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20100328133445/http://edition.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/books/10/08/review.stan.lee/. March 28, 2010. March 24, 2009.
  13. Spurgeon, Tom, and Jacob Covey. Comics as Art: We Told You So. Seattle, Washington: Fantagraphics, 2006.
  14. Web site: You Boys Play Nice Now. August 20, 2007. dead. https://archive.today/20120715222130/http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2007/08/16/you-boys-play-nice-now/. July 15, 2012.
  15. Web site: Comics as Art: We Told You So. Fantagraphics Books. March 25, 2009. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20110613161325/http://www.fantagraphics.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=380&category_id=71&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=62&vmcchk=1&Itemid=62. June 13, 2011. from the original on March 25, 2009.
  16. Web site: Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC). November 14, 2019.
  17. Web site: Surgeon. Tom. The Comics Reporter. Comics made Me Fat. December 31, 1999 . June 28, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110628200949/http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/1865/. live.
  18. Web site: CR On Hiatus. The Comics Reporter. July 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120421223106/http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/cr_on_hiatus19/ . April 21, 2012. live.
  19. Web site: Get Well Soon, Tom Spurgeon…. . August 15, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120421223422/http://forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2011/get-well-soon-tom-spurgeon/. April 21, 2012. live.
  20. Web site: Sean T. . Collins . 'I don't remember the coma': Tom Spurgeon on his life, and near-death, in comics . Robot 6 (column), Comic Book Resources. August 15, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120421222824/http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2011/08/i-dont-remember-the-coma-tom-spurgeon-on-his-life-and-near-death-in-comics/. April 21, 2012 . live.
  21. Web site: Comics Made Me Somewhat Less Fat. Spurgeon. Thomas. 19 July 2012. The Comics Reporter. 1 December 2019.
  22. News: RIP Tom Spurgeon. Comics Beat. November 13, 2019. MacDonald. Heidi.
  23. http://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-award-recipients-2010-present 2010-2012 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Winners
  24. http://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisners-current-info 2013 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Winners
  25. Web site: TCJ WINS UTNE INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD. 6 January 2003. ICv2. 1 December 2019.
  26. Johnston, Rich. "Comic Book Folk Remember Tom Spurgeon," Bleeding Cool (November 14, 2019).

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