Burr, Dan 1951–

views updated

Burr, Dan 1951–

PERSONAL: Born November 14, 1951, in Red Oak, IA; son of Merrill and Dorothy (Bills) Burr; married Debra Freiberg, June 11, 1988. Education: Attended University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, 1975–80.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—2440 North Weil St., Milwaukee, WI 53212.

CAREER: Illustrator. Holoubek Studios, Butler, WI, screen printer, 1975–76, art production manager, 1976–77; Skylarking in Milwaukee (magazine), Milwaukee, WI, staff artist, 1980; Country Graphics, Greendale, WI, production artist, 1981–82; freelance illustrator, 1982–.

AWARDS, HONORS: Will Eisner awards for best new series and best new single issue, and Harvey award for best new series, all 1989, all for Kings in Disguise.

WRITINGS:

ILLUSTRATOR:

(With James Vance) Kings in Disguise (originally published in comic-book format; includes new material), Kitchen Sink Press (Princeton, WI), 1990.

L.E. Williams, Cheyenne Rose, Magic Attic Press (Portland, ME), 1997.

Zoe Lewis, Keisha Discovers Harlem, Magic Attic Press (Portland, ME), 1998.

Nina Alexander, Megan and the Borealis Butterfly, Magic Attic Press (Portland, ME), 1999.

Illustrator of miniseries Kings in Disguise and individual volumes of Classics Illustrated comic books.

SIDELIGHTS: Dan Burr was fascinated with drawing from an early age. He copied his favorite characters from books and television programs and emulated the styles of his favorite comic-strip and comic-book artists. After graduating from high school, he held a number of non-art-related jobs and freelanced as a cartoonist. He studied drawing and painting at the University of Wisconsin, which led to positions in the field. Eventually, Burr was working in illustration in general, and comic books in particular.

In 1986, he read the script of a projected comic-book series titled Kings in Disguise. He was instantly drawn to the story of a young boy, Freddie Bloch, who is searching for his father, an alcoholic widower who abandoned the boy during the Great Depression. Burr and writer James Vance turned out six issues which were collected in one volume with new material in 1990.

In reviewing the book, an American Heritage contributor commented that Burr "gets the period cars, haircuts, magazines, and slouchy hobo clothes dead right." Freddie learns hobo signs, begs food, and jumps freight trains with his traveling companion, a sickly, older boy named Sammy, who is known as the King of Spain. Together, they survive labor riots and other dangers as their friendship becomes strong and deeply felt. Along the way, they meet many interesting characters, including a female labor leader and another hobo who claims to be Jesse James. As the story begins, Freddie is thirteen, and as it progresses, his maturity and awareness of the world through which he travels becomes apparent.

Penny Kaganoff wrote in Publishers Weekly that "Burr's black-and-white drawings are crispy rendered and abound in historical details."

In a review for Comic Book Life online, Matthew Surridge described Kings in Disguise as "realism at its best." Surridge called Burr's art "effective and clear" and his characters "simply haunting. The nature of the Depression means that a lot of the people Burr draws are at the end of their rope, physically and spiritually, and that comes across time and time again in his art." Surridge wrote that, "by the end of the book, Freddie and the reader both have a better understanding of how life is shaped by tragedy and fellowship."

Burr once commented that, "with Kings in Disguise, attention to historical accuracy was very important, so I would usually seek out the necessary reference photos or art…. I also found it helpful to watch old movies from the period. As someone who came into being in the 1950s, I can only make my best attempt to depict an era that predates my birth by twenty years. Recapturing history I have no direct contact with is a real challenge. One thing that helps is believing that there are common threads that run through the history of human experience. Things like poverty, loneliness, pride, anger, homelessness, and helplessness are universal and timeless."