Catch up: new stuff I’ve read about, written about, am listening to, etc. COMICS, GRAPHIC NOVELS Ed Brubaker’s Velvet counters spy films’ “secretaries, ornamental Bond girls, sexualized villains” stereotypes. ARTFORUM surveyed comics and animation in their summer issue. They didn’t bother to cover many new ideas/books, and tracking down women to write for the issue was evidently […]
DOMINIC UMILE
Writer & Editor | Brooklyn, NY
ABOUT MY WORK
Background / Contact
Dominic Umile writes critically about comics, graphic novels, and more. His byline has recently appeared in The Chicago Reader, The Comics Journal, and at Hyperallergic. At PopMatters, he was named contributing editor in 2012. Dominic covered new music for years at Remix magazine, Orlando Weekly, The Brooklyn Rail, Miami New Times, Rockpile, Phoenix New Times, XLR8R, and more. He 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/NPR contributor Tom Moon. In 2013, Dominic was alarmed and honored to find he’d been named one of Comics Bulletin’s favorite critics, and his work has been cited online at The Millions, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, The New Yorker, Boing Boing, and elsewhere. He hails from a Philadelphia suburb but now lives in Brooklyn, New York.
CONTACT: dominic.umile@gmail.com | READ: Portfolio | FOLLOW: @dominicumile | CONNECT: LinkedIn
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"This is not what de Blasio promised when he campaigned on restoring tattered trust in police-wary neighborhoods" http://t.co/8Ku3bZMUpI
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Emily Carroll: "I never quite figured out where my specific drawing style, or writing style, really fit in" http://t.co/1uuZCOSLZ6
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Press release for Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986) http://t.co/XiNUcKzXRF via @seanhowe
28 mins
Categories
JUL 16
2014
JUL 10
2014
ARTFORUM’s Summer Issue
posted by
Dominic
| label : alternative comics , art history , Art Spiegelman , Artforum , Carla Speed McNeil , comic books , comics , graphic novels , illustration , magazines
The editors of ARTFORUM magazine welcomed fifteen comics and animation professionals to contribute their perspectives on the modern condition of both mediums, and, according to the summer issue’s introductory article, to “delve into the history of comics and the graphic novel and their fraught relation to contemporary art and literature….” — an ambitious endeavor that, even […]
JUL 07
2014
Mark Waid’s ‘Potter’s Field’ (and mysterious NYC burial sites)
posted by
Dominic
| label : Boom! Studios , comic books , comics , crime comics , graphic novels , horror comics , mark waid , new york city , nick filardi , noir , paul azaceta , potter's field
When I saw The Beat’s news item on Mark Waid’s returning to BOOM! Studios in order to produce more work, I thought I might dig up a post I wrote about his 2011 mini-series for the comics and graphic novel publisher — and the book’s distinctive subject matter. For an evocative piece of local reporting that […]
JUN 30
2014
Clickable
posted by
Dominic
| label : books , comic books , comics , film , graphic novels , illustration , news
Links to things I’ve written, read, or really, really, mean to read soon. COMICS, ART, GRAPHIC NOVELS I wrote recently about two crime comics that have held my interest of late — a graphic novel called The Package and a new Image series called Southern Bastards. “Eagerly hand-selling it: This is a lovely book” – […]
JUN 24
2014
‘The Package,’ ‘Southern Bastards’
posted by
Dominic
| label : alexis ziritt , comics , comixology , crime comics , digital comics , elliot blake , graphic novels , image comics , jason aaron , jason latour , noir comics
Sketchy line work and frenetic brush strokes nearly obscure the action early-on in new digital-only graphic novel The Package. Co-creator Alexis Ziritt’s blotty backdrops make it difficult to distinguish when a hotel’s table fan and desk chair begin and end in the first few pages, where two miserable hitmen — who are working together in […]
JUN 12
2014
Box Brown’s ‘Andre the Giant: Life and Legend’
posted by
Dominic
| label : andre the giant , books , box brown , comics , graphic novels , The Chicago Reader
Following up his wrestling-centric comic Number 1, published early this year, Brown’s Andre the Giant: Life and Legend tells the story of the pro wrestling icon and actor Andre Roussimoff, who was born with acromegaly, a condition that produces an excess of human growth hormone, causing protruding features, above-average height, and swelling of the internal […]
JUN 10
2014
I.N.J. Culbard’s ‘Celeste’
posted by
Dominic
| label : books , comics , graphic novels , Ian Culbard , INJ Culbard , science fiction , SelfMadeHero
Even as fully grabbing onto the narrative proves difficult, I was really knocked out by the manner in which I.N.J. Culbard depicts uncomfortable closeness as well as the passage of time in his debut original graphic novel Celeste (SelfMadeHero/Abrams, 2014). The book — a meditative and cinematic science fiction story a la Stanley Kubrick, or perhaps 2009′s […]
MAY 26
2014
Clickable
Links: comics, books, music, etc. COMICS At The Millions: “He became Spider-Man, an amazing addition to the New York skyline. A hyphen separated the two parts of his name.” I wrote about Photobooth, a new graphic memoir/extensive history of vintage photobooths (Meags Fitzgerald, Conundrum Press). The Comics Journal surveys the Decadence comics collective & self-published […]
MAY 12
2014
Meags Fitzgerald’s ‘Photobooth: A Biography’
posted by
Dominic
| label : books , comics , conundrum press , graphic novels , meags fitzgerald , nonfiction , photo booths , photography
After ten or so years of exploring and experimenting with automated photography, Canadian writer and illustrator Meags Fitzgerald found herself crowd-funding travel and reporting expenses in 2012 for what would become Photobooth: A Biography, a nonfiction graphic work that’s one-half diary comics-styled storytelling and one-half comprehensive history of vintage photo booths. Fitzgerald can’t help it — she’s long […]
MAY 08
2014
Clickable
posted by
Dominic
| label : books , comic books , comics , comics journalism , film , graphic novels , links , music
Loads of links to critical pieces on comics, film, etc., as well as some investigative reporting I thought was worth linking out to. Get readin’. COMICS/GRAPHIC NOVELS Cultural Weekly on Art Spiegelman’s “other” masterpiece. The Absence from Martin Stiff looks horrifying. Jason Sacks reviews it at Comics Bulletin. [I tried to get a hold of […]
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-CONTRIBUTING 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.
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.'