Mike Dawson (cartoonist)

For the professional football player, see Mike Dawson (American football).

Mike Dawson (cartoonist)
Dawson at the 2009 Brooklyn Book Festival.
Born	1975 Scotland
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Artist, Writer
Notable works	Freddie & Me Ace-Face Gabagool!
Official website

Mike Dawson (born 1975) is a British-American cartoonist, known for his work on books such as Freddie & Me,Ace-Face and Gabagool!

Early life

Dawson was born in Scotland, but his family moved to Leighton Buzzard, England when he was still an infant. They then emigrated to the United States in 1986, where his family settled in Red Bank, New Jersey. He studied painting at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.

Career

Between 1995 and 1998 Dawson wrote and drew a daily comic strip for his college newspaper The Daily Targum. He worked with multiple collaborators, and the strip went through a number of incarnations: Dave & Pissa, Dave & Co, and Dave’s Family.

From 2002 – 2004 he self-published the humor series Gabagool!, with co-writer Chris Radtke.

His first graphic novel, Freddie & Me: A Coming-of-Age (Bohemian) Rhapsody, was published in 2008. In it, Dawson presents a memoir of his younger days as an obsessive fan of the rock group Queen and of the band's flamboyant, charismatic, and vocally gifted lead singer, Freddie Mercury. Dawson explores how the music of Queen corresponds to significant events and meaningful time periods in his life, particularly in his youth.

A collection of short stories entitled Ace-Face: The Mod With the Metal Arms was published in 2009 by AdHouse Books.

His second graphic novel, Troop 142, was published in 2011 by Secret Acres.

Dawson is also the co-host of The Ink Panthers Show!, a weekly podcast with Alex Robinson. Guests have included Tony Consiglio,Josh Flanagan, Andy Runton, Dylan Horrocks, and Matt Fraction.

Dawson hosts a second podcast, TCJ Talkies, which appears on The Comics Journal website biweekly.

Bibliography

Graphic novels

• Troop 142 (2011) Secret Acres
• Ace Face: The Mod with the Metal Arms (2009) AdHouse Books
• Freddie & Me: A Coming of Age (Bohemian) Rhapsody (2008) Bloomsbury USA

Anthologies

• The ACT-I-VATE Primer (2010) IDW
• Awesome 2: Awesomer (2009) Top Shelf Productions
• PopGun #3 (2009) Image Comics
• House of Twelve #4 (2007) House of Twelve
• Superior Showcase #1 (2006), with Dean Trippe, Nick Bertozzi, & Hope Larson. AdHouse Books
• True Porn Vol. 2 (2005) Alternative Comics
• You Ain’t No Dancer (2005) New Reliable Press
• Project: Superior (2005) AdHouse Books
• SPX Anthology (2003) Published by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Awards

• Ignatz Award Winner for Outstanding Online Comic (2010)
• Ignatz Award Nomination for Outstanding Artist, Outstanding Series, Outstanding Minicomic (2010)
• Day Prize Nomination for "Guitar Solo" mini-comic (2006)
• Ignatz Award Nomination for Promising New Talent (2002)

References

• Mike Dawson at the Grand Comics Database

External links

• Official website
• Mike Dawson at the Comic Book DB
• The Ink Panthers Show

Interviews

• The Comics Journal 2011 interview
• Indie Spinner Rack 2008 audio interview with Indie Spinner Rack
• PopCandy 2008 audio interview at PopCandy, with Whitney Matheson
• Comics Reporter 2008 interview at The Comics Reporter
• BlogCritics 2008 conversation with Mike at BlogCritics Magazine
• Pop Thought Interview conducted by Alex Ness
• The Pulse Interview conducted by Jen Contino
• Your Indy Weekly Gabagool! reviewed at Newsarama

Persondata
Name	Dawson, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1975
Place of birth	Scotland
Date of death
Place of death