Derf Backderf: The Baron of Prospect Ave.

FRIDAY, NOV 4 5-9PM

Artist Talk @ 7 pm
Kill the Hippies @ 8 pm on the Tower Stage

Wouldn’t Grandma appreciate a holiday photo of the kids rocking out in front of this Derf Backderf illustration?

Or maybe the whole family? Come to Derf’s opening reception and Walk All Over Waterloo on Nov 4th to snap a pic at our photo-booth. Best Joey Ramone look-a-like wins a signed copy of Punk Rock and Trailer Parks with a special illustration inside just for you!

Waterloo Arts is excited to host an exhibit of the award winning, international bestselling author and rock star comix creator, Derf Backderf. As a Creative Workforce Fellow, Derf has been working on a new project, THE BARON OF PROSPECT AVE. The story is a continuation of his first graphic novel, PUNK ROCK AND TRAILER PARKS, which captures the 80’s punk rock scene of Akron, OH. The opening reception is a chance to talk to Derf and see his whole process from reference photos to pencil drawings to the final pen and ink pages that will read like a book across the gallery walls. These signed drawings, books and posters are all for sale and would make great holiday gifts.

Derf’s other graphic novels are TRASHED and the international bestseller, MY FRIEND DAHMER, which tells the story of his teenage friendship with serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. A movie adaptation of MY FRIEND DAHMER will be released next yaer.

Derf’s comic strip, THE CITY, appeared in over 140 publications during it’s 20-plus years, including The Village Voice, Chicago Reader and The Los Angeles Reader. THE CITY was retired in 2013 so Derf could concentrate on books.

Derf’s images have also graced t-shirts, posters and cd & record covers. His manic illustrations have appeared in all manner of publications, ranging from Guitar Player magazine to the Wall St. Journal.

His work has been displayed in museums and galleries worldwide. He has been nominated for two Eisner Awards (the Oscars of comix), as well as Harvey, Ignatz and Rueben Awards. He was the recipient of a pretigious Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for political cartoons in 2006 and an Angoulême Prize for My Friend Dahmer in 2014. The Derf Collection, comprized of three decades of original art and papers, is part of the Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum at Ohio State University.