View source for Joe Matt

{{Short description|American cartoonist (1963–2023)}}
{{more citations needed|date=November 2012}}
{{Infobox comics creator
| image = 
| imagesize = 
| caption = 
| birth_date = {{birth date|1963|9|3}}
| birth_place = [[Lansdale, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|9|18|1963|9|3}}
| death_place =
| cartoonist=y
| area = {{Flatlist|
* Cartoonist
* writer
* artist
* colorist}}
| notable works = ''[[Peepshow (comics)|Peepshow]]''
}}

'''Joe Matt''' (September 3, 1963 – September 18, 2023) was an American cartoonist, best known for his [[Autobiographical comics|autobiographical]] work, ''[[Peepshow (comics)|Peepshow]]''.<ref name="CBR2023">{{cite web |url=https://www.cbr.com/joe-matt-acclaimed-peepshow-creator-obituary/ |title=Joe Matt, Acclaimed Creator of Peepshow, Passes Away at Age 60 |last=Cronin |first=Brian |date=2023-09-19 |website=Comic Book Resources |publisher= |access-date=2023-09-19}}</ref>

==Early life==
Joe Matt was born and raised in [[Lansdale, Pennsylvania]], a middle-class suburb of [[Philadelphia]]. He had three siblings. His mother was a housewife. His father held a variety of different jobs, including owner of a carpet store and a longtime stint working for [[Amtrak]]; in Matt's words, "he seemed to drift from job to job a lot." Matt credited his childhood lack of money with forming his later habit of cheapness. He attended Catholic school until 12th grade.<ref name="TCJ183">{{cite magazine |last=Brayshaw |first=Christopher |date=January 1996 |title=Joe Matt |url=https://www.tcj.com/the-joe-matt-interview/ |magazine=[[The Comics Journal]] |volume= |issue=183 |location= |publisher= |access-date= 2023-09-19 |pages=47–75}}</ref>

Matt developed drawing skills by age five, and later said he considered himself an artist all his life. His mother encouraged him  in this pursuit, having herself attended the [[Philadelphia College of Art]] before dropping out to raise her family. His earliest influences were [[Charles M. Schulz|Charles Schulz]]'s ''[[Peanuts]]'' and [[Al Capp]]'s ''[[Li'l Abner]]'', which he would collect by clipping the strip out of the daily newspaper.<ref name="TCJ183"/>

Matt earned a degree from the [[Philadelphia College of Art]], majoring in illustration. After graduating, he attempted to gain a foothold in magazine illustration in New York, but failed. He started drawing comics in 1987 after getting a job at Philadelphia comic-book store [[Fat Jack's Comicrypt]] and doing assistant work for his friend and college classmate [[Matt Wagner]], the creator of ''[[Grendel (comics)|Grendel]]'' and ''[[Mage (comics)|Mage]]''.<ref name="TCJ183"/>

==Career==
In his autobiographical comic ''[[Peepshow (comic book)|Peepshow]]'', Joe Matt examines his inadequate [[social skills]], his addiction to [[pornography]], his cantankerous and sometimes physically abusive relationship with his then-girlfriend Trish, and the lingering effects of his [[Catholicism|Catholic]] upbringing.

Matt began creating ''Peepshow'' in 1987. In 1992, his ''Peepshow'' strips were serialized by [[Kitchen Sink Press]] under the title ''Peepshow: The Cartoon Diary of Joe Matt''. His work was later published by Canadian publishing house [[Drawn & Quarterly]].

Joe Matt's work on ''Peepshow'' is part of the [[autobiographical comics]] genre, kick-started by the confessional stories of [[Harvey Pekar]] and [[Robert Crumb]]. Along with these artists, his work frequently involves [[Soliloquy|soliloquies]] "to camera". ''Peepshow'' is part of a self-referential universe that includes Matt's contemporaries [[Chester Brown]] and [[Gregory Gallant|Seth]], all of whom have included each other in their books.

In 2004, [[HBO]] began developing an animated series based on ''The Poor Bastard'', a collection of stories from ''Peepshow'' #1 to #6, produced by Matt and [[David X. Cohen]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2004-04-27 |title=HBO Developing Joe Matt's "The Poor Bastard" |url=https://icv2.com/articles/comics/view/4783/hbo-developing-joe-matts-the-poor-bastard}}</ref> However, Joe Matt later stated that "they came to their senses and changed their mind".

The last issue of ''Peepshow'', #14, went on sale in 2006, and a collection of ''Peepshow'' #11–14 titled ''Spent'' was released in 2007. Seventeen years after the release of the final issue, a posthumous issue #15 was released in July 2024; inking of the four unfinished pages was provided by Chester Brown.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-23 |title=Peepshow #15, published by Fantagraphics |url=https://www.fantagraphics.com/products/peepshow-15}}</ref>

Matt worked as a [[colorist]] for other comics to make ends meet, most notably on [[superhero comics]], a genre he disliked. Among his credits as a colorist are the ''[[Batman]]/[[Grendel (comics)|Grendel]] limited series'', ''[[Fish Police]]'' and ''[[Jonny Quest]]''.

==Personal life and death==
Matt lived illegally{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} in [[Canada]] from 1988 to 2002. He later lived in the [[Los Feliz]] neighborhood of [[Los Angeles, California]].<ref>Matt, J. (2007). ''Spent''. Drawn & Quarterly.</ref>

Joe Matt died on September 18, 2023, of a heart attack, while working at his drawing desk. He was 60.<ref name="CBR2023"/><ref name="bc">{{Cite web |url=https://bleedingcool.com/comics/joe-matt-creator-of-peepshow-died-at-60-at-his-drawing-board/ |title=Joe Matt, Creator Of Peepshow, Died Aged 60 At His Drawing Board. RIP |last=Johnson |first=Rich |authorlink=Rich Johnston |website=[[Bleeding Cool]] |date=19 September 2023 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Awards ==
For ''Peepshow'', Matt was nominated for four [[Harvey Awards]]: for Best New Talent in 1990 and for the Award for Humor in 1991, 1992, and 1993.

Matt was nominated for a 1989 Harvey Award for his coloring work on the Batman/Grendel series.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1989 Harvey Award Nominees and Winners |url=http://users.rcn.com/aardy/comics/awards/harvey89.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311125927/http://users.rcn.com/aardy/comics/awards/harvey89.shtml |archive-date=2007-03-11 |access-date=2022-11-27}}</ref>

== Bibliography ==
*''Peepshow'' #1–14 ([[Drawn & Quarterly]], February 1992{{spaced ndash}}October 2006)

Four collections of Joe Matt's comics have been published as books, as well as a "jam" sketchbook:

*''Peepshow – The Cartoon Diary  of Joe Matt'', 1992 (Kitchen Sink)/1999 (Drawn & Quarterly), a collection of mostly one-page strips, usually dealing with a single subject, originally published between 1987 and 1991.{{sfn|Booker|2010|p=396}}
*''The Poor Bastard'', 1996 (Drawn & Quarterly), which collects stories published in ''Peepshow'' #1–6. This book chronicles Matt's relationship and breakup with then-girlfriend Trish.{{sfn|Booker|2010|p=397}}
*''Joe Matt's "Jam" Sketchbook '', 1998, Collaborations with [[Chris Ware]], [[Seth (cartoonist)|Seth]], [[Chester Brown]], [[Julie Doucet]], [[Adrian Tomine]], Max, [[Jason Lutes]], [[Dave Sim]], [[Will Eisner]], [[Marc Bell (cartoonist)|Marc Bell]], [[James Kochalka]], [[Ivan Brunetti]], Steven Weisman, etc., limited print.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}
*''Fair Weather'', 2002 (Drawn & Quarterly), which collects ''Peepshow'' #7–10. In this book Matt chronicles an episode from his childhood in 1970s suburbia.{{sfn|Booker|2010|p=397}}
*''Spent'', 2007 (Drawn & Quarterly), which collects ''Peepshow'' #11–14. In this book, Matt chronicles a story arc that documents his obsessive "editing" of porn videos.{{sfn|Booker|2010|p=397}}

== References ==
<references/>

===Works cited===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book
|last      = Booker
|first     = M. Keith
|title     = Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels: [Two Volumes]
|chapter-url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=YbkJ0QJrEZ8C&pg=PA396
|year      = 2010
|publisher = [[ABC-CLIO]]
|isbn      = 978-0-313-35747-3
|pages     = 396–397
|chapter   = Matt, Joe}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.drawnandquarterly.com/artBio.php?artist=a3e4e9bab51f0d Biography at Drawn & Quarterly]
* {{discogs artist|Joe Matt (2)}}

{{Drawn & Quarterly}}
{{Chester Brown}}
{{Underground comix cartoonists|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matt, Joe}}
[[Category:1963 births]]
[[Category:2023 deaths]]
[[Category:Alternative cartoonists]]
[[Category:Underground cartoonists]]
[[Category:American comics artists]]
[[Category:American graphic novelists]]
[[Category:American humorists]]
[[Category:Comics colorists]]
[[Category:Artists from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:People from Los Feliz, Los Angeles]]