Ruben Bolling
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Rueben Bolling is a pseudonym for Ken Fisher, a cartoonist, the author of Tom the Dancing Bug.
Rueben studied economics as an undergraduate and later attended Harvard Law School. After graduation he practiced law for several years before resigning to pursue comic writing full-time. When that didn't work out he took a job in banking and continued comic writing on the side.
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Biography
Bolling, who has no formal art training, read many comics when he was a child, and his fascination (sometimes obsession) with different drawing styles is characteristic of his work. However, he didn't aspire to be a full-time cartoonist; instead he studyied economics as an undergraduate and later attended Harvard Law School. It was at Harvard in the mid-'80s that Bolling suddenly found himself in possession of two gifts: the ability to draw exceptionally well, and the power to make smart people laugh.
Bolling came up with the idea for "Tom the Dancing Bug" in law school and has been drawing under that name ever since. "Ruben Bolling" is a pseudonym the catoonist likes to keep his identity secret from his co-workers.
He currently lives and works in New York, and this clearly influences his outlook.
Political Outlook
Fisher is a classical liberal. He is concerned about the power of large corporations, and satirises the way government has been corrupted by money.
He was passionately opposed to war, and this was reflected in his work. He also challenges the way government manipulates the media and attempt to define its own version of events, especially surrounding the Iraq war. He is also scathing of celebrity culture, particularly in strips such as "Funny, Funny Celebs".
Controversy
Books
Three book-form collections have been published:
1992: Tom the Dancing Bug ISBN 0060969490
1997: All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned From My Golf-Playing Cats ISBN 1561631833
2004: Thrilling Tom the Dancing Bug Stories (oversized treasury) ISBN 0740747371
External links
- Biography (http://images.ucomics.com/images/uclick/pdfs/tombug_factsheet.pdf) (PDF)
- The Comics Journal #247 (http://www.tcj.com/247/) (contains an interview)
- Interview at Salon; may be viewed via 'free pass' (http://www.salon.com/books/int/2005/01/14/bolling/)
- Metro interview (page 13) (http://copex.metro.st/ftp/20041223_1000006.pdf)Template:US-bio-stub