E. S. Glenn

Everett Samuel Glenn (born 1985 in Cleveland, Ohio), known professionally as E. S. Glenn, is an American comic artist, painter, and performer. His work blends comics, painting, and performance to craft deeply personal narratives that explore themes of memory, masculinity, and the power of storytelling.

Early Life and Education

Everett Glenn was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1985, and grew up in a low-income neighborhood. His family experienced significant financial hardship, and Glenn's upbringing was marked by poverty. Despite these challenges, Glenn showed a natural aptitude for drawing from an early age. His teachers recognized his talent and encouraged him, providing a creative outlet for a boy who described himself as impetuous and restless. His early creative efforts included making comics.

Glenn’s mother passed away when he was sixteen, after which he was placed in a boys' home. He attended the Cleveland School of the Arts, a high school with an artistic focus, where his talent continued to develop. When he was eighteen, he was briefly adopted into the family of the school’s principal.

After graduating, Glenn joined the United States Navy. During his training, he was diagnosed with Visual Snow, a neurological disorder that causes a constant overlay of static-like visual noise. He also began experiencing psychological symptoms of the disorder, which affected his health. Despite these challenges, Glenn completed his training and was honorably discharged shortly afterward.

Career

Early Career: Video Gallery and Underground Comics

After his time in the Navy, Glenn moved to New York City, where he spent several years immersed in the underground and indie comics scene. During this period, he worked at a video store called Video Gallery in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Glenn described this job as a joyful experience, one that deeply influenced his artistic sensibilities. While working at the store, he drew placards and posters for the films they had in stock, sharpening his design and illustration skills.

The films he encountered at Video Gallery left a lasting imprint on his creativity. Glenn developed a deep appreciation for the 1980s and 1990s Hong Kong action cinema genre known as Heroic Bloodshed, as well as action comedies of the 1990s, particularly those directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and Jackie Chan. He was equally inspired by indie and art house films of the 1990s, particularly the works of directors like Percy Adlon, Spike Lee, and especially Jim Jarmusch. These cinematic influences became a vital part of his artistic lexicon, shaping the dynamic, cinematic quality of his comics and storytelling.

Mentorship and Artistic Influences

Glenn eventually relocated to Leipzig, Germany, where he was mentored by comic artist Ralph Niese, who passed away in 2020. Niese played a significant role in Glenn’s artistic development.

Stylistically, Glenn’s work shows a heavy influence of the ligne claire (clear line) aesthetic of Franco-Belgian comics from the 1980s. His inspirations also include:

• Ralph Bakshi’s animated adult cartoons of the 1970s.

• French-Japanese woodblock print artist Paul Jacoulet.

• Cartoonists such as Aaron McGruder, Chris Ware, Garry Trudeau, A.D. Condo, Peter Arno, Chantal De Spiegeleer, and Seth.

• Writers including Hunter S. Thompson, W. Somerset Maugham, Charles Bukowski, and Paul Auster.

Glenn’s cinematic influences, coupled with his love for comics, give his work a dynamic, action-packed quality while maintaining a deeply introspective tone. His graphic novels often use action scenes to mask personal experiences, creating a dialogue between vulnerability and resilience.

Work with Textiles and Wearable Art

During his time in Vienna, Glenn collaborated with performance artist Bernhard Rappold, whose fabric-focused practice sparked Glenn’s fascination with textiles. He developed an appreciation for the artistry of fabric, seeing parallels between textile design and printmaking. While balancing life as a painter and low-level fashion model, Glenn became captivated by the history and craftsmanship of textiles, which inspired him to pursue formal studies in fashion design.

He spent two years preparing for the entrance exam for the prestigious University of Applied Arts Vienna (die Angewandte), immersing himself in textile design, garment construction, and the technical aspects of fabric development. Though he was accepted into the program, financial constraints ultimately prevented him from enrolling.

After relocating to Berlin, Glenn briefly collaborated with tailor Maximilian Mogg, designing silk pocket squares and other garments. While short-lived, this partnership allowed him to see some of his ideas realized. He later returned to Vienna to care for his first wife as her health declined.

Glenn’s appreciation for textiles, particularly historic fabrics, continues to inspire his artistic practice and enrich his storytelling.

Performance and Process

The "performance" aspect of Glenn's work primarily involves his use of himself as a creative reference for his drawings. He stages and photographs himself in various poses and scenarios as part of his artistic process. These performances serve as a foundation for his compositions, allowing him to capture detailed and dynamic visual elements for his comics and paintings.

Major Works

Glenn's debut graphic novel, Unsmooth #1 (2020), introduces his alter ego, an aspiring artist grappling with self-doubt and ambivalence about the art world. The protagonist becomes entangled with a gang of small-time criminals, Resulting in a compelling action-drama that delves into themes of self-discovery, connection, and the act of making art. The Comics Journal described the work as "a complex meditation on masculinity, class, the art world, and the act of cartooning, dressed up to look like a stylish thriller, and drawn with heaps of confidence and skill."

The follow-up, Unsmooth #2: BUM (2021), serves as a prequel to the first volume. It adopts a formally experimental and multi-layered approach to explore existential fear.

Since 2020, Glenn has been a regular cartoonist for The New Yorker, where he continues to produce creative and original work, often collaborating with his writing partner, Colin Nissan. In 2024, he began producing New Tricks, a weekly syndicated comic strip through King Features Syndicate. While New Tricks started as a collection of remixed and revamped New Yorker cartoon rejects, it has since grown into a more personal and imaginative project. 

Teaching and Later Career

Glenn has held teaching positions at Princeton University and the Hochschule Hannover in Germany. His career reflects an ongoing evolution, with a focus on interrogating memory and the power of storytelling.

Personal Life

Glenn was previously married and spent several years dividing his time between Vienna and Berlin due to his first wife’s professional commitments. In later years, Glenn returned to Austria to care for her as her health declined. She passed away in 2021, a loss that marked the end of this chapter in his life.

He now resides in Berlin, where he maintains a low-profile life devoted to his second wife and son, as well as his creative endeavors.