Tweet There is a slew of broken hearts in Joe Ollmann’s comics collection Happy Stories About Well-Adjusted People. These stories — some previously released, two created specifically for this book — span the day-the-day for Ollmann’s misfits, anxiety cases, alcoholics, or just regular folks pinned down in sad, familiar predicaments. The Montreal-based artist’s pages elicit both […]
DOMINIC UMILE
Writer & Editor | Brooklyn, NY
ABOUT MY WORK
Background / Contact
I write critically about comics, graphic novels, and more. My byline has recently appeared in The Chicago Reader, The Comics Journal, and at Hyperallergic. Before my focus turned to comics, I wrote about music for years. My criticism and features ran in Orlando Weekly, The Brooklyn Rail, Miami New Times, Rockpile, Phoenix New Times, XLR8R, and elsewhere. I was a freelance editor for Chord magazine and a researcher on 1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die (Workman, 2008), a book from former Philadelphia Inquirer music editor Tom Moon. I covered new records and wrote about music production for Remix magazine until they ceased publication in 2009, and at PopMatters, I was a staff writer beginning in 2004 before being named contributing editor in 2012. My comics writing has been cited online at The Millions, Volume 1 Brooklyn, The New Yorker, Boing Boing, and elsewhere, and I was alarmed and honored to find that I'd recently been named one of Comics Bulletin’s favorite critics. I'm originally from a Philadelphia suburb but I now live in Brooklyn, New York. On a full-time consulting basis, I work in publishing as a senior editor.
CONTACT: dominic.umile@gmail.com | READ: Portfolio | FOLLOW: @dominicumile | CONNECT: LinkedIn
BLOG
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The NYT runs Instagrams on its front page, doesn't tell its "contributors," and doesn't include handles http://t.co/BlxEs3OddF
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@itsthatlady @AveryHillPubl Congrats on this Alison -- wish I could hop a plane for it.
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This examination of "the idea of the city through the art of the graphic novel" looks wonderful http://t.co/n1Ggc4Oukx ^@AveryHillPubl
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Categories
JAN 22
2015
Joe Ollmann’s Happy Stories
posted by
Dominic
| label : cartoonists , comics , conundrum press , graphic novels , Joe Ollmann , short stories
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JAN 07
2015
Inside Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s Studio
posted by
Dominic
| label : Abrams , art books , books , captain america , comic art , comics , comics history , comics process , Jack Kirby , Jim Simon , Joe Simon , Mark Evanier , Marvel Comics
Tweet Curated and edited by writer and comics historian Mark Evanier, The Art of the Simon and Kirby Studio is a massive coffee table comics treasury, a volume that celebrates lavishly the process of comics production, and over more than 350 pages spans lesser-known (and sometimes unpublished) work of industry pioneers Joe Simon and Jack […]
DEC 29
2014
My 2014 Writing
posted by
Dominic
| label : books , comics , criticism , graphic novels , Hyperallergic , The Chicago Reader , The Comics Journal , writing
Tweet Here is a look back at the writing, criticism, etc. I did on comics and graphic novels in 2014. My work appeared at Hyperallergic, the Comics Journal, in the Chicago Reader, and here, at my site. We moved this year, so some things were put on hold, etc., but I think I produced a […]
DEC 08
2014
Emily Carroll, Dan Berry
posted by
Dominic
| label : comic books , comics , Dan Berry , Emily Carroll , horror comics , Lakes International Comic Art Festival , webcomics , Youth in Decline
Tweet Framed in some places as the sort of “tall tale” typically spun fireside to frighten drunk friends, Emily Carroll’s entry in Youth In Decline’s Frontier anthology series is chilling, and crafted masterfully. The 32-page comic (available here), titled “Ann by the Bed,” tells the story of a ghastly 1930s-era murder of a woman named […]
DEC 02
2014
Clickable
posted by
Dominic
| label : Chris Ware , comics , Duke Ellington , Ferguson , graphic novels , Jazz , Jeet Heer , Jennifer Gonnerman , journalism , Longreads , magazines , Michael Brown , New Orleans , reporting , Rikers Island , The New Yorker , The Paris Review
Tweet Here is a look at some of the things that have kept me busy as a reader, listener of late. My “Clickable” posts are usually a load of hyperlinks, but I’m trying something a bit different this time around — there is hopefully more context or an appraisal where I felt I could add […]
NOV 12
2014
Richard McGuire: Here
posted by
Dominic
| label : Art Spiegelman , books , comics , Francoise Mouly , graphic novels , Pantheon Books , RAW magazine , Richard McGuire , underground comix
Tweet Artists-editors Françoise Mouly and Art Spiegelman launched an avant garde anthology magazine called RAW in 1980 that focused largely on comics, but featured other visual art, all the work of globally sourced contributors.
OCT 30
2014
Tim Lane’s The Lonesome Go
posted by
Dominic
| label : books , comics , Fantagraphics , graphic design , graphic novels , Hyperallergic , illustration , noir , Tim Lane
Tweet In The Lonesome Go, comics artist and graphic illustrator Tim Lane profiles familiar, typically unshaven folk: bar flies, train-hopping drifters, biker types. His subjects aren’t often shackled to homes or jobs, and in turn, Lane doesn’t weigh them down with backstories or peripheral details. Travel and highways are frequent motifs — everybody’s moving. There are buses, boats, rail […]
OCT 23
2014
Clickable
posted by
Dominic
| label : articles , books , cartoonists , comic books , comics , comics journalism , film , graphic novels , horror comics , magazines , music
Tweet Here are some links to what I’m reading, writing about, thinking about between snacks. Find more links in the Clickable archive, and more of my recent work is here.
OCT 20
2014
The Wrenchies, COPRA
posted by
Dominic
| label : Bergen Street Press , books , comics , Farel Dalrymple , First Second , graphic novels , Locust Moon , Michel Fiffe , webcomics
Tweet Hand-drawn, -inked, and -watercolored, Farel Dalrymple’s The Wrenchies is quite a sight.
SEP 21
2014
Clickable
posted by
Dominic
| label : books , comic books , comics , graphic novels , illustration , links , long reads , reporting
Tweet Lots of stuff going on — writing long things, not really welcoming fall weather, and oh yeah, we moved. And it’s great. Still in Brooklyn. If you regularly send me books, my address has changed so get in touch (dominic.umile@gmail.com). In the meantime, some things worth reading.
RESUME
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
- HOME
- RESUME
AN OVERVIEW OF MY
EDITORIAL SKILLS
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CREATIVE WRITING
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EDITING
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CRITICAL THINKING
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RESEARCH
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COPYWRITING
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WEB EDITING
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CONTENT MANAGEMENT
FREELANCE EXPERIENCE
WRITING
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2003-2013CONTRIBUTING EDITORPopMatters
Writing features, blog posts, and critical essays on comic books, graphic novels, music, and more. (My archived work)
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2013-CONTRIBUTING WRITERThe Comics Journal (Fantagraphics)
Writing long-form critical essays on comic books and graphic novels for TCJ's online component.
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2008-CONTRIBUTING WRITERScholastic Parent & Child Magazine
Writing feature articles and capsule recommendations on toys, pet care, children’s DVDs, and children’s music for Web, tablet device content, and print.
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2005-2009CONTRIBUTING WRITERRemix Magazine
Contributed production-focused music criticism and in-depth artist feature stories. Wrote profiles and reported stories that offered discussions on studio methodology and songwriting with artists, DJs, and producers.
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2005-2008CONTRIBUTING WRITEROrlando Weekly
Contributed long-form music criticism and capsules, wrote concert previews and artist feature pieces.
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2000-CONTRIBUTING WRITERVarious
Writing criticism, features, artist profiles (music, books, popular culture): Blurt magazine, The Brooklyn Rail, The Chicago Reader, Hyperallergic, Dallas Observer, Miami New Times, New Times Broward-Palm Beach, New York Press, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Phoenix New Times, Rockpile magazine, XLR8R magazine, more.
FULL-TIME / FREELANCE EXPERIENCE
EDITING & RESEARCH
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2013-SENIOR PROJECT EDITORScholastic
Collaborating with project management, editorial, and graphic design staff in the development of custom K-12 education/marketing programs on a consultant basis. Advising program coordinators on copywriting and adherence to house style guidelines. Providing project management support. Writing and editing promotional print and digital content (ad and tout copy, email blasts, HTML, Web editing) for ongoing multiple projects.
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2007-2013ASSOCIATE EDITORScholastic
Researched, wrote, and edited lesson plans, Web content, and promotional email blasts for multiple K–12 education programs. Developed and edited digital ad and tout copy. Ensured adherence to editorial policy/house style guidelines. Posted new content and updated microsites (HTML, digital copywriting, Web editing). Collaborated with art directors and graphic artists for production and trafficking of print layouts and Web design. Project management support and client relationship maintenance.
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2007-2007CONSULTING EDITOR/RESEARCHERThomson Financial
Copyedited interview transcripts, administered database updates, and provided research support.
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2007-2007FREELANCE ASSISTANT EDITORChord Magazine
Edited features and record reviews. Fact-checked and proofread articles. Wrote artist/producer profiles.
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2006-2007RESEARCH ASSISTANTThomson Reuters
Conducted research for business analysts, provided Excel-driven data maintenance, and edited data for accuracy, grammar usage, and spelling.
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2005-2006COPY EDITORMoody's Economy.com
Edited content for clarity and accuracy for daily and weekly deadlines. Fact-checked commentary and integrated text changes to blogs and long-form analysis (print and Web editing).
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2005-2005RESEARCHERWorkman Publishing
Conducted research for music journalist Tom Moon (NPR, The Philadelphia Inquirer) on 2008 book '1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.'