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WORK TITLE: Futchi Perf
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S): Czapiewski, Kevin
BIRTHDATE: 1985
WEBSITE: http://kevinczap.com/
CITY: Providence
STATE: RI
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
http://www.czapbooks.com/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1985, in Ann Arbor, MI.
EDUCATION:Cleveland Institute of Art, B.F.A., 2008.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and visual artist. Comix Cube, cofounder; Czap Books, founder and publisher, 2012–. Genghis Con Cleveland, co-organizer, 2013-15; Center for Cartoon Studies fellow, 2017-18.
AWARDS:Best Webcomic SPACE Prize, 2011; CXC Emerging Talent Award, 2016.
WRITINGS
Contributor to several anthologies.
SIDELIGHTS
Kevin Czap is an American writer and visual artist. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1985, he completed a B.F.A. in visual arts and technology from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2008. Czap is the recipient of numerous awards for his work, including the 2016 CXC Emerging Talent Award. He attended Providence, Rhode Island’s Mothers News Residency and held the Center for Cartoon Studies Fellowship in 2017. He has contributed to several anthologies and self-published numerous comics. Czap cofounded Comix Cube in 2011 and served as co-organizer of Genghis Con Cleveland from 2013 until 2015. Czap has also served as founder and publisher of Czap Books since 2012.
Initially Czap self-published Fütchi Perf in 2015. This was later published by Uncivilized Books in 2017. Set in a utopian Cleveland, the story centers on the think tank Kid Mind, which combines the collective power of children’s minds to create societal harmony and inclusivity. There are no consequences for individuals sharing their creativity openly, the arts are well-funded, and infrastructure is designed to unite everyone equally. Czap uses short vignettes to illustrate not a fantasy but a possible future where utopian ideals are pursued without bias. The book employs illustrated street art with limited colors to present this new view for humanity.
Writing in Xpress Reviews, Douglas Rednour claimed that “this bold tour de force of illustrative, imaginative chutzpah will be enjoyed by a variety of readers.” A contributor to Publishers Weekly found Czap’s view of the future to be both “optimistic” and “loving.” The same reviewer noted that Czap writes “with introspective ruminations on self-actualization and the beauty of radical love.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, October 30, 2017, review of Fütchi Perf, p. 66.
Xpress Reviews, October 13, 2017, Douglas Rednour, review of Fütchi Perf.
ONLINE
Kevin Czap Website, http://kevinczap.com (March 18, 2018).
1
128 Congress Avenue, Providence, RI 02907440-242-5298kevinczap@gmail.comKEVINCZAP.COMKevinCzappage 1b. 1985 Ann Arbor, MIEDUCATIONBachelor of Fine Art, Visual Arts and Technology, Cleveland Institute of Art —2003-2008HONORS & AWARDSCXC Emerging Talent Award —2016Most Remarkable Micro-Press, The Tiny Report Micro-Press Yearbook —2015Best Webcomic SPACE Prize —2011Eastman ‘12-Bolton Memorial Prize —2006RESIDENCIESCenter for Cartoon Studies Fellowship, White River Junction, VT —2017-2018Mothers News Residency, Providence, RI—2017PUBLICATIONSBOOKS, LONG FORM WORK & COLLECTIONSFütchi Perf,Uncivilized Books —2017Fütchi Perf,Czap Books —2015Project: Ballad, w/ Michael Peterson, self-published —2012-2014A Lesson in Survival,Czap Books —2013Birthday Surprise,Czap Books —2012Spoilers, self-published —2006-2010 SHORT FORM“The Letting Go,” Ley Lines no. 8, Czap Books/Grindstone Comics —2016“The New Cast,” Hazlitt —2016“Lyrics Sheet” self-published —2014“Fütchie Perf” self-published —2013“Pace 1 Dies With Both Eyes on the Jackpot” self-published —2013“He Fought Like a Tiger in a Trap,” w/ Cathy G. Johnson, self-published —2013Trigger 1-12 self-published —2012“Need More” self-published —2012“Waffle” self-published —2011
128 Congress Avenue, Providence, RI 02907440-242-5298kevinczap@gmail.comKEVINCZAP.COMKevinCzappage 2ANTHOLOGIES“The Last Time You Saw Cleveland,” Cleveland SCENE vol 44, issue 28 —2015“Neon Genesis Evangelion,” I Was a Teenage Anime —2013“Kid Mind,” Future Shock 4, Astro Plus Press —2013“Perf House,” Cleveland SCENE vol 43, issue 28 —2013“Opposite People,” Lodaçal 7, Ruru Comix —2012“Nude Heaven,” PUPPYTEETH 3,Czap Books —2012“Urban Legend,” w/ Chad Lambert,District Comics: An Unconventional History of Washington DC, Fulcrum —2012“Flipped Out Word,” PUPPYTEETH 2,Czap Books —2011JURIED CONVENTIONSQueer/Trans Zinefest, Providence, RI —2017Vancouver Comic Arts Festival, Vancouver, British Columbia —2017Toronto Comic Arts Festival, Toronto, Ontario —2011-2017Queer Between the Covers, Montreal, Quebec —2016-2017Chicago Alternative Comics Expo, Chicago, IL —2012-2017Small Press Expo, Bethesda, MD (invitation) —2015-2017Comic Arts Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA —2015-2017Comics Crossroads Columbus, Columbus, OH —2015-2017Rhode Island Independent Publishing Expo, Providence, RI —2014-2016(‘16 Special Guest)Comic Arts Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY —2014, 2016, 2017Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo, Cambridge, MA —2016-2017Linework NW, Portland, OR —2016Paper Jam V, Brooklyn NY —2016Autoptic, Minneapolis, MN —2013, 2015PANELS“Genderfluidity, Technology and Futurism,”SPX, Bethesda, MD —2017“Spotlight on Liz Suburbia (moderator),”Comic Con, San Diego, CA —2017“Industry Day”The Center for Cartoon Studies, White River Junction, VT —2017“Expanding Comics’ Conversations (moderator),”Paper Jazz, Brooklyn, NY —2017“Possible Futures,”RIPE, Providence, RI —2016“Share and Tell: A Discussion on Curation,”RIPE, Providence, RI —2016“Indie Publishing: Make the Comics You Want to See,”SPX, Bethesda, MD —2016
Czap, Kevin. Futchi Perf
Douglas Rednour
Xpress Reviews.
(Oct. 13, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Library Journals, LLC
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews-first_look_at_new.html.csp
Full Text:
Czap, Kevin. Futchi Perf. Uncivilized. Oct. 2017. 88p. ISBN 9781941250211. pap. $15.95. F
[DEBUT] A community in Cleveland transforms as the mysterious collective known as Kid Mind
refashions ordinary reality into a fully inclusive, beautiful society. Like-minded individuals meet on a
physical and aesthetic level, embracing who they are without shame and without negative repercussions
while being made more complete than they were before, uniting as a group that retains and even enhances
individual identity. Concurrently, futuristic infrastructure springs to life as social media take on a form not
unlike magic, influencing the lives and loves of ragtag youth as they come together through all available
ports. Czap's debut is an artistic feat, daring to showcase brief vignettes of an ideal world that is not a mere
sham concept but instead an examination of the conditions under which utopia would be possible. The
impressionistic-style cartooning mixed with a street-art vibe is perfectly complemented by limited palette
choices and excellent color printing to convey a new beginning for humanity.
Verdict Brief but memorable, this bold tour de force of illustrative, imaginative chutzpah will be enjoyed by
a variety of readers. [See "Comics Cross Over," LJ 6/15/17.--Ed.].--Douglas Rednour, Georgia State Univ.
Libs., Atlanta
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Rednour, Douglas. "Czap, Kevin. Futchi Perf." Xpress Reviews, 13 Oct. 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A514158191/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=29ad1435.
Accessed 4 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A514158191
3/4/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1520201963977 2/2
Futchi Perf
Publishers Weekly.
264.44 (Oct. 30, 2017): p66.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* Futchi Perf
Kevin Czap. Uncivilized (Consortium, dist.), $15.95 trade paper (88p) ISBN 978-1-94125021-1
Czap presents a loving, optimistic look at the future through the lens of a near-utopian Cleveland and a
brave new type of popular culture. The slim volume . offers up a series of vignettes, each zeroing in on a
part of Czap's world, in which the massively influential think tank Kid Mind links youth of all
demographics together in an egalitarian melting pot of music, language, and communal growth. Czap's
Cleveland has plenty of infrastructure and arts funding; thriving, colorful neighborhoods; accessible local
elections. Making all this work requires a bit of future-tech handwaving, but plausibility isn't what Czap is
going for--it's the idea of a different kind of world, expressionistically rendered in soft curves and luminous,
two-toned hues. With introspective ruminations on self-actualization and the beauty of radical love, Czap
begs the reader to imagine another kind of existence in which capitalist power structures have given way to
something more emotionally and tangibly just. The final line is an exhortation: "Get here." One can only
hope. (Oct.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Futchi Perf." Publishers Weekly, 30 Oct. 2017, p. 66. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A514357778/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b7957eac.
Accessed 4 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A514357778