| Gary Leib | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 29, 1955 |
| Died | March 19, 2021(2021-03-19) (aged 65) |
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Notable works | Rubber Rodeo Idiotland Twinkle |
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Gary David Leib[1] (October 29, 1955 – March 19, 2021) was an Americanundergroundcartoonist,animator, andmusician. Best known for thecomic bookIdiotland (a two-man anthology produced with Leib's long-time collaborator,Doug Allen), Leib's work also appeared inThe New Yorker,The New York Times,Musician Magazine,The New York Observer,RAW,BLAB! and as weekly features inNew York Press for many years. His animation work was featured in films likeAmerican Ultra,American Splendor, andHappiness.[2][3] Leib was a founding member of theGrammy Award-nominated bandRubber Rodeo, which recorded twoalbums forMercury Records. He created original music for independent and feature films, including the critically acclaimedIronweed.
Leib was born inChicago, Illinois, the eldest of four children, and grew up inLincolnwood.[1] His influences growing up includedEC Comics,MAD, andZap Comix.[4] He went toNiles North High School and theRhode Island School of Design (RISD),[5] graduating in 1977.[1]
Leib was a founding member ofRubber Rodeo in 1980 with RISD friendsDoug Allen,[2] Bob Holmes, Barc Holmes, and Trish Milliken. Leib played keyboards.
Leib and Allen'sIdiotland, which ran for seven issues in 1993–1994, was nominated for a 1994Harvey Award for Best New Series. In addition toIdiotland, Leib and Allen collaborated on a number of stories in the fund-raising anthology comicLegal Action Comics volume 1, published in 2001. Leib also contributed toDavid Greenberger'sDuplex Planet Illustrated[2] and the 1995 award-winningcomic jam,The Narrative Corpse.
Leib created his animation studioTwinkle in 1993;[6] Twinkle has produced animation and titles for film, TV series, music videos, and websites.[5] From 1993 until his death, Leib created a series of short animations, accompanied byjazz, aboutNew York City, which were hosted on theNew York Times website, a network ID forMTV, and a documentary forPBS. He created the animated sequences in the filmAmerican Splendor,[2][7] often working in collaboration with his old partnerDoug Allen.[8] (American Splendor won the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Film at the2003 Sundance Film Festival.)[9] Leib made the animated end closing credits for the filmAmerican Ultra.[10]
Leib also designed a popular line of promotional toys forThe Hershey Company.[11]
Leib taught in the graduate computer animation program at theSchool of Visual Arts and theParsons School of Design[12] inManhattan. He was the 2016–2017 artist-in-residence atFairmont State University.[13]
Former Rubber Rodeo bandmates Leib and Bob Holmes performed in a new music project named SUSS, which has been referred to as "ambient country" music.[14] SUSS released three albums, the most recent in December 2020.[6]
Leib died of aheart attack[2] on March 19, 2021, aged 65.[15] He was survived by his wife, the painterJudy Glantzman, their daughter Lila,[2] and his three siblings Beth, Alan, and Joel.[7]
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