Rick Parker (artist)

Parker grew up in Savannah, Georgia.{{cite web |last=Tobin |first=Nancy |title=West of Chelsea: Rick Parker |url=http://maplewood.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/rick-parker/ |newspaper=The New York Times |date=November 30, 2009}} He did not own many comic books as a child — instead, his artistic influences include Little Golden Books and the comic strips Mutt and Jeff and Little Orphan Annie.{{cite news |last=Guiterrez |first=Peter |title=Local Locals: Rick Parker's Macabre (but Funny) Mind |url=http://maplewood.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/rick-parker/ |newspaper=The New York Times |accessdate=9 January 2012}} He also lists Will Elder, Wally Wood, Carl Barks, Harvey Kurtzman, Roy Crane, and Jack Davis as influences. Parker earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Georgia, and his Master of Fine Arts at the Pratt Institute.

In February 1966 Parker was drafted into the United States Army, completing basic training at Fort Stewart, GA and becoming a tank driver. Parker applied for Officer Candidate School and completed Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Jackson, SC, subsequently completing Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill. After becoming an officer, Parker was involved in the testing of Pershing Missiles in the deserts of New Mexico and Utah. He was also an acting Battery Commander at Fort Sill and briefly was the Officer-in-Charge of military funerals for Northern Texas, Oklahoma and Western Arkansas.

Parker got his start in the comics industry as a letterer for Marvel Comics, starting in the late 1970s. Spider-Man editor Jim Salicrup recalled, "Not only did I like having him letter all the titles just so I can pretend to be J. Jonah Jameson and scream 'Parker!' at him all the time, but he lived not far from me at the time, and quite often I would visit his home and hang out with him while he lettered pages, and then we'd drop 'em off at the FedEx office together. This easily saved days on the schedule, and got the books done much faster."{{cite journal|last=Aushenker|first=Michael|date=October 2010|title=Not Amazing, but Spectacular|journal=Back Issue!|issue=44| page=61|publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing}} Parker was one of the four original artists of The Pekar Project (SMITH Magazine, 2009–2010),{{cite web |url=http://www.smithmag.net/pekarproject/ |title=The Pekar Project |publisher=Smithmag.net |date= |accessdate=2012-05-23}} which brought the writing of the American autobiographical comics pioneer Harvey Pekar to the web.

He also drew the introductory pages of Tales from the Crypt for Papercutz from 2007 to 2009.{{cite web |url=http://www.papercutz.com/paperslices/slices_author.html |title=Papercutz Slices Author Page |publisher=Papercutz.com |date= |accessdate=2012-05-23}} Parker has illustrated a series of graphic novel parodies (written by Stefan Petrucha) for Papercutz Slices (Papercutz) — titles include Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid (2009),{{cite web |last=Mann |first=Mary |url=http://maplewood.patch.com/articles/diary-of-a-stinky-dead-kid-helps-bring-an-old-comic-series-back-to-life |title='Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid' Helps Bring an Old Comic Series Back to Life – Maplewood, NJ Patch |publisher=Maplewood.patch.com |date=2009-11-10 |accessdate=2012-05-23 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091116073959/http://maplewood.patch.com/articles/diary-of-a-stinky-dead-kid-helps-bring-an-old-comic-series-back-to-life |archivedate=2009-11-16 }} Harry Potty and The Deathly Boring (2010), Breaking Down (2011) (a parody of the Twilight series), Percy Jerkson and The Ovolactovegetarians (2011), and The Hunger Pains (2012).

Parker's fine art consists of paintings, drawings, collage, assemblages, sculpture, lithographs, photographs, performance, and conceptual art. He was the founder of the Barking Dog Museum in New York City (1975–1987). His artwork has been shown at the Hundred Acres Gallery in New York, the NYU Art Gallery, The Georgia Museum of Art, the Pratt Institute Art Gallery, Franklin Furnace Book Archives, the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, and the DUMBO Arts Center.

Parker's comic art and fine art is in private collections and several institutions.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}

• C.A.P.S. Grant, 1978
• Village Voice Photo Contest, 1985
• Comics Buyer's Guide Award, Favorite Letterer, 1989/90

• As Illustrator: Everything I Really Need To Know I Learned from Television (Applause Theatre Books, 1992) — written by Barry Dutter
• As author: Deadboy (self-published, 2011)

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• {{Blogspot|rickparkercartoons|Official page}}

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Category:1946 births

Category:Living people

Category:American cartoonists

Category:American male writers