At nineteen he moved to Toronto where, in 1983, he began self-publishing his work in photocopied mini-comics under the title Yummy Fur. The book was endorsed by significant figures in the sex worker rights movement, including Tracy Quan, Annie Sprinkle, and Maggie McNeill, bolstering its standing as a polemic that addresses important issues regarding sex work.īrown was born in Montreal, Canada, on May 16, 1960, and grew up in the nearby suburb of Chateauguay. An autobiographical recounting of Brown's experiences paying prostitutes for sex, it won both praise and condemnation. The book won Harvey Awards for Best Writer and Best Graphic Album and was featured on Quill and Quire's list of the five best Canadian non-fiction books of the year and on The Globe and Mail's list of the 100 best books of the year.īrown's next graphic novel, the controversial Paying for It, was also cited by The Globe and Mail as one of the best books of the year. The former won widespread critical acclaim for its compelling, meticulously researched portrayal of Riel, the charismatic nineteenth century Métis leader, a crucial figure in Canadian history. Brown believes that this autobiographical work about his adolescence is his best book.īrown was persuaded in 1998 to assemble a book collecting his shorter pieces: The Little Man: Short Strips, 1980-1995.Īlso in 1998, Brown began work on Louis Riel: A Comic Strip Biography which was finally completed in mid-2003 and collected as a critically acclaimed graphic novel later that year.Chester Brown is best known for his two recent non-fiction graphic novels, Louis Riel: A Comic-Strip Biography (2003) and Paying for It: A Comic-Strip Memoir About Being a John (2011). In 1994, Drawn & Quarterly published I Never Liked You. Brownï¿½s The Playboy was released in 1992 and was the first graphic novel published by D+Q. In 1991, Chris Oliveros managed to convince Brown to sign on with Oliverosï¿½s new comic book company, Drawn & Quarterly.

In the pages of Yummy Fur, Brown serialized a bleakly humorous story called Ed the Happy Clown which was published as a graphic novel in 1989 and went on to win several awards. The first Vortex issue of Yummy Fur sold well, and Brown quit his day job and began working full-time as a cartoonist. These pamphlets attracted attention in comic book industry publications, and in 1986 the Toronto-based comic book publisher Vortex Comics approached Brown. In 1983, he began to self-publish his work in photocopied ï¿½mini comicsï¿½ under the title Yummy Fur. Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.Īt 19, he moved to Toronto and got a day job while he worked on his skills as a cartoonist at night and on weekends. Lawrence Sun, published one of his comic strips. His career path was set at the age of 12 when the local newspaper, The St. Chester Brown was born in Montreal, Canada on and grew up in the nearby suburb of Chateauquay.

Louis riel by chester brown