| Dave Sheridan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sheridan in 1975 | |
| Born | (1943-06-07)June 7, 1943 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 28, 1982(1982-03-28) (aged 38) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Area(s) | Cartoonist, Writer,Penciller |
| Pseudonym(s) | Overland Vegetable Stagecoach (withFred Schrier) |
Notable works | Dealer McDope Tales from the Leather Nun The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers |
| Collaborators | Fred Schrier Gilbert Shelton |
| Awards | Inkpot Award, 1978 |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 1 |
Dave Sheridan (June 7, 1943 – March 28, 1982)[1] was an Americancartoonist andunderground comix artist. He was the creator ofDealer McDope and collaborated withGilbert Shelton andPaul Mavrides onThe Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. As creative partner with fellow underground creatorFred Schrier, using the name "Overland Vegetable Stagecoach," they worked onMother's Oats Funnies, published byRip Off Press from 1970 to 1976.
Born in 1943 and raised in theCleveland, Ohio area, Sheridan arrived inSan Francisco, California in 1969 after having graduated from theCleveland Institute of Art and serving time in the military inEthiopia. In California, he collaborated with fellowmidwesternerFred Schrier as the "Overland Vegetable Stagecoach" on three issues ofMother's Oats Comix, two ofMeef Comix, and aone-shot title calledThe Balloon Vendor, published byRip Off Press and ThePrint Mint.[2]
Sheridan was the art editor for three issues ofThe Rip Off Review of Western Culture in 1972, a magazine published by theRip Off Press. His solo comix work can be seen inSlow Death, Skull Comix, Hydrogen Bomb and Biochemical Warfare Funnies #1, San Francisco Comic Book #1,Tales from the Leather Nun,Rip Off Comix, andHigh Times, and in cartoons he made for theBerkeley Barb andPlayboy. He also did the art forWeed and Wine, the first mini-album produced by Cleveland area folk singer/songwriterJohn Bassette, as well as album covers forCarl Oglesby,John Lee Hooker,David Steinberg, andImpulse! Records.The "Black Death Malt Liquor" shirt regularly worn byHoward Hesseman onWKRP in Cincinnati in his role asDr. Johnny Fever was designed and drawn by Sheridan.[citation needed] His illustrations appeared inRamparts, and he produced a series of cannabis labels for the fictitious California Homegrowers Association (with cartoonistPat Ryan).
Sheridan eventually settled inSan Anselmo, California. There he became a member of the Artista collective, anartist collective with its own jackets andsoftball team. During the1972 Major League Baseball strike, he appointed himself the head of the "Scab League", offering to have his team take the strikers' places for $100 per week and all the beer they could drink.[3] He also befriended and worked closely with comedianDon Novello, drawing the album cover for Novello'sFather Guido SarducciLive at St. Douglas Convent comedy album. A characterization of Sarducci appeared in a Dealer McDope adventure, "20,000 Kilos Beneath the Sea" inMother's Oats #3.[4]
In 1974, Sheridan began collaborating onGilbert Shelton'sThe Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers strips. These weresyndicated by Rip Off Press to alternative and college weeklies nationwide, and later collected into comix and anthologies.[5] His first issue ofThe Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers was #4, with a many-page story-arc entitledThe Seventh Voyage of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers: escaping the landlady and her demands for rent, the hirsute trio go to Mexico where they encounter far worse perils, including aCarlos Castanedaparody. Sheridan's detailed graphic style lent itself well to the fantastic imagery needed tolampoon Castaneda'sdrug-relatedCentral American-cum-New Agesorcery. He then continued to collaborate on theFreak Brothers comix series[6] through issues 5, 6 and 7; the team was joined byPaul Mavrides in 1978 for issue #6. In all, Sheridan contributed to 45 Freak Brothers tales.
Sheridan was diagnosed withcancer on March 3, 1982, eight months after his July 4, 1981, marriage to Dava Stone. Sheridan died from a brain hemorrhage on March 28, 1982. He had been in a coma for four days at Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco. He was buried at sea at a memorial service the following Friday.[citation needed]
His wife Dava gave birth to their daughter Dori on April 4, 1982, a week after Sheridan died.[3]
A biography —Dave Sheridan: Life with Dealer McDope, the Leather Nun, and the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers — which reproduces most of his comix and graphics work, was published byFantagraphics Books in 2018.
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