Jules Feiffer, Pulitzer-Prize Winning Writer and Cartoonist

Order Now! Backing Into Forward: A Memoir

The award-winning cartoonist, playwright, and author delivers a witty, illustrated rendition of his life, from his childhood as a wimpy kid in the Bronx to his legendary career in the arts.

Read the New York Times review.

Read Michiko Kakutani's New York Times review.

Read an Excerpt

Appearances

July 31 at 4pm: Jacob's Pillow, Blake's Barn, Becket, Mass.
Late May/Early June: CBC Radio, Canada

Praise

Publishers Weekly: *starred review*
Writing with wit, angst, honesty, and self-insights, Feiffer shares a vast and complex interior emotional landscape. Intimate and entertaining, his autobiography is a revelatory evocation of fear, ambition, dread, failure, rage, and, eventually, success.

Chris Ware: A thoughtful, introspective cartoonist who can also write beautifully? Yes, it is possible. Backing into Forward is vivid, buoyant, and even a little discomfiting in its candor. I couldn't put down.

Jonathan Lethem: Jules Feiffer, prolific hand and eye behind so many brilliant comics, screenplays, novels, illustrations and now this fine, humane autobiography, remains one of the signature voices of a long era of American satire and dissent, the bridge from Lenny Bruce to The Simpsons.

Art Spiegelman: Jules Feiffer's original and neurotic voice--expressing the whiny child in every adult and the world-weary sophisticate inside every kid--reinvented comics in the 1950s and made possible what's now called the 'graphic novel.' His engaging new memoir is told in that same witty and perceptive New York cadence, now mellowed and laced with wisdom. He's an inspiration.

Michael Chabon: Backing into Forward is dark and charming, touching and barbed and crackling with wit. An important book by a critical artist that sheds light on his fascinating life and the most vibrant period in the life of American culture.

Peter Matthiessen: Self-lacerating and hilarious, well written, smart--in short, unfailing Feiffer.

Honor Moore: For those of us for whom Sick Sick Sick was the first glimmer of cool, who fled to the Village Voice for forty years to get Feiffer's take on our American disasters, and who learned the dark truth about men from Carnal Knowledge, this is the book that finally explains how one guy did all that. Backing into Forward is not only a hilarious memoir by the dazzling, discomfiting comet that is Jules Feiffer, but a rambunctious and vivid cultural history by an American master.

Seymour Hersh: Jules Feiffer has done the unthinkable--he's written a completely honest, tell-it-like-it-is let-it-all-hang-out memoir. But it's totally in character. He's been nailing the bad guys with his pen for decades.

Anthony Lewis: Can you smile and grit your teeth at the same time? That's what Jules Feiffer's hilarious, savage memoir makes you want to do. Don't miss it.

Jules Feiffer

Cartoonist, playwright, screenwriter and children’s book author & illustrator Jules Feiffer has had a remarkable creative career turning contemporary urban anxiety into witty and revealing commentary for over fifty years. From his Village Voice editorial cartoons (see Explainers: The Complete Village Voice Strips, 1956-1966) to his plays and screenplays including Little Murders and Carnal Knowledge, Feiffer’s satirical outlook has helped define us politically, sexually and socially.

The first cartoonist commissioned by The New York Times to create comic strips for their Op-Ed page, Feiffer has since shifted his focus towards writing and illustrating books for children and young adults including The Man in the Ceiling, A Room with a Zoo and Bark, George!

He won a Pulitzer Prize and a George Polk Award for his cartoons; an Obie for his plays; an Academy Award for the animation of his cartoon satire, Munro; and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Writers Guild of America and the National Cartoonist Society. Feiffer has taught at the Yale School of Drama, Northwestern University, Dartmouth, and presently at Stony Brook Southampton College. He has been honored with major retrospectives at the New York Historical Society, the Library of Congress and The School of Visual Arts.

In these challenging political times, Feiffer’s presentations mix personal anecdotes, current events and satirical commentary. His memoir, Backing into Forward (Doubleday), relates how persistent failure inspired him to reinvent himself as an artist over and over.

Books for Kids: Click on any title below to purchase.

Bark, George

"Bark, George," says George's mother, and George goes: "Meow," which definitely isn't right, because George is a dog. And so is his mother, who repeats, "Bark, George." And George goes, "Quack, quack." What's going on with George? Find out in this hilarious new picture book from Jules Feiffer. 2000 ALA Notable Children's Book, 2000 Notable Children's Books(ALA), and 2000 Charlotte Zolotow Award Honor Book. 2001 Buckeye Children's Book Award, 00-01 Keystone to Reading Book Award Masterlist, and 00 2X2 Reading List (TLA)

The Man in the Ceiling

He's bad at sports and not much better at school, but Jimmy sure can draw terrific cartoons. And his dream, like that of his Uncle Lester, who writes flop Broadway musicals, is to be recognized for what he loves doing most.

A Room with a Zoo

Julie wants a dog more than anything in the world, but her parents won't let her have one until she's old enough to walk it by herself. Julie does manage to collect some other pets while she waits, though: a sick cat, a hamster, a big, ugly fish, six smaller fish to keep the big fish company, a turtle, a strong-minded kitten, an unresponsive hermit crab, and a borrowed classroom rabbit that seems to be dying. All in one bedroom. Is enough ever enough for this critter connoisseur?

I Lost My Bear

It's not under the bed, or on the chair, or beneath the couch, or behind the curtains.It's GONE! What do you do when your favorite toy disappears, and you can't find it where you left it? What if your family is NO help at all? A determined little detective heads up the search, and discovers more than she ever expected! 00-01 Young Reader's Choice Award Program Masterlist.

A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears

"Prince Roger sets out eagerly on a quest and finds a few adventures, a lot of friends, a damsel or two in distress (not!) and himself, in the end. A 'carrier of joy' whose mere presence causes everyone to laugh uncontrollably, Roger finds cruelty and kindness equally amusing, and expects his quest to be a lark. It's anything but: As Roger passes through the Forever Forest, nearly starves at the Dastardly Divide, sees people at their worst in the Valley of Vengeance, and temporarily despairs in the Mountains of Malice, he sobers up, learns to care for others, becomes an expert peacemaker, does Good Deeds, and falls in love with Lady Sadie, who says what she thinks as she repeatedly saves his bacon."-K. "Feiffer's worldly-wise, confiding tone and sense of the absurd are highly congenial, and the drawings are a vintage Feiffer delight."-Publishers Weekly. 100 Books for Reading and Sharing 1995 (NY Public Library)

The House Across the Street

The boy in the house across the street leads a fantastic life! He can sleep as late as he wants and doesn't have to go to school if it's raining. He's got a swimming pool in his bedroom and a piranha for a pet. So the little boy who watches his every move from the smaller house across the way wants desperately to be his friend. But how is this possible? With imagination, everything is possible.

I'm Not Bobby!

"Someone's calling Bobby. I'm not Bobby. I'm a lion." Bobby's parents are trying to get his attention, but Bobby is something else. For example, he's a monster, an airplane, a dinosaur. Anything but Bobby. It's not long before Bobby turns himself into an eagle soaring away with Mom, Dad, and every other grown-up in his life chasing after him. But after a daring escape into outer space, Bobby gets hungry and returns to Earth to claim his dinner. This hilarious escape story rings true to every child's struggle for independence--not to mention a full tummy.

The Daddy Mountain

Before your very eyes, this little redhead is about to do something extremely daring. And scary. And she'll show you-she'll actually document, step-by-step-exactly how she does it. First, she takes her Daddy and makes him stand very still. Then, balancing herself on his shoe, she wraps her arms tightly around a leg and starts her perilous ascent to the summit. Thrills and chills, guaranteed. LOOK OUT BELOW!!

Meanwhile...

'Raymond, I want you!' Just when Raymond is in the middle of a comic book, his mother calls him. Not once but five times. 'It's not fair!' Raymond thinks. Then he thinks: 'What if I had my own MEANWHILE...' Comic books always use MEANWHILE... to change the scene. So Raymond tries writing it on the wall behind his bed. To his astonishment, Raymond discovers that he can MEANWHILE...from one perilous adventure to another, from pirates on the high seas, to Martians in outer space, to a posse and a mountain lion out West. Then, at the worst possible moment, Raymond's MEANWHILE... fails him, leaving him in a spot that spells certain doom! Unless . . .

Henry, The Dog with No Tail

Henry
wanted
one thing
in life.
He wanted
a tail.
All the other dogs
he knew had tails.
Grady, a black Labrador,
had a great big black tail.
Pip, a pug, could do
tricks with her tail.
Larry had a big
puffy ball tail...

WHAT WAS
HENRY TO DO?

Some Things are Scary

Know someone who's starting school? Getting a new job? Going to the in-laws' for the first time? For anyone on the brink of something scary, this gift edition of a hilarious classic is the perfect antidote.
You're skating downhill, but you don't know how to stop. You're having your hair cut, and you suddenly realize . . . they're cutting it too short. There's no question about it: some things are scary. And never have common bugaboos been exposed with more comic urgency than in this masterful mix of things horrible and humiliating, monstrous or merely unsettling. Now in a compact edition with a new cover - and a bookplate that lets gift-givers specify the occasion - Florence Parry Heide's witty text and Jules Feiffer's over-the-top illustrations will get even the most anxious recipients laughing, while reassuring them (no matter how old they are) that they're not alone in their fears.

The Phantom Tollbooth

This ingenious fantasy centeres around Milo, a bored ten-year-old who comes home to find a large toy tollbooth sitting in his room. Joining forces with a watchdog named Tock, Milo drives through the tollbooth's gates and begins a memorable journey. He meets such characters as the foolish, yet lovable Humbug, the Mathemagician, and the not-so-wicked "Which," Faintly Macabre, who gives Milo the "impossible" mission of returning two princesses to the Kingdom of Wisdom...

By the Side of the Road

"'If you don't behave,' my father said, 'I'm gonna pull over right here, and you can wait by the side of the road till we come and get you.'"" Little brother Rudy decides to cooperate, while older brother Richard chooses to wait by the side of the road: "An hour later I was kind of used to it. Two hours later it was where I wanted to live." Three hours later, his family comes back for him, but he's not ready to go.

A Bad Friend

Books for Adults: Click on any title below to purchase.

Backing Into Forward: A Memoir

The award-winning cartoonist, playwright, and author delivers a witty, illustrated rendition of his life, from his childhood as a wimpy kid in the Bronx to his legendary career in the arts.

Go back to News & Appearances for more info on Backing Into Forward.

Read an Excerpt

A gifted storyteller who has delighted readers and theater audiences for decades, Jules Feiffer now turns his talents to the tale of his own life.

Plagued by learning problems, a domineering mother, and a debilitating sense of fear, Feiffer embarked on his first cartoon apprenticeship at the age of seventeen, emboldened only by a passion for success and a fortitude for failure. He vividly recalls those transformative years working under the legendary Will Eisner, and later, after he was drafted into the army, his transformation from ?smart-ass kid into an enraged satirist.? Backing into Forward also traces Feiffer's love life, from a doomed hitchhiking trip to reclaim his high-school sweetheart to losing his virginity in Greenwich Village and his road to marriage and fatherhood.

At the center of this journey is Feiffer's prolific creativity. In dazzling detail, he recounts the birth of his subversive graphic novella Munro, his entrée into New York's literary salons in the 1960s, collaborations with film greats Mike Nichols, Robert Altman, and Jack Nicholson, and other major turning points. Brimming with wry punch lines, slices of Americana, and pithy social commentary, Backing into Forward charts Feiffer's rise to fame from unlikely beginnings.

Explainers: The Complete Village Voice Strips (1956-1966)

The first of four volumes collecting Feiffer's landmark Village Voice strips.

"My aim was to take the Robert Benchley hero and launch him into the Age of Freud." -Jules Feiffer

In 1956, a relatively unknown cartoonist by the name of Jules Feiffer started contributing a strip to the only alternative weekly published in the US, a small radical newspaper called The Village Voice. It was originally titled Sick Sick Sick, but Feiffer changed the name to, simply, Feiffer, because he got tired of explaining that the title referred to the society he was commenting on, not the nature of his humor, which, he insisted, was not sick.

Politically, the '50s was dominated by the insipid Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower; the backwash of Joe McCarthy; and the Cold War, which was in full swing. Culturally, the Beats were revolutionizing literature, Marlon Brando was changing the face of acting, and Elvis Presley was altering the public's perception of pop music. The post-war suburban bliss of the country was being challenged by sociologists and economists in books like The Lonely Crowd, The Other America, and The Afflulent Society. The civil rights movement was gaining momentum. Camelot was just around the corner, and would be shattered by the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and MLK. The Vietnam War would polarize the country. It was into this scrambled political-cultural climate that Jules Feiffer flung himself full throttle for the next ten years.

His strip tackled just about every issue, private and public, that affected the sentient American: relationships, sexuality, love, family, parents, children, psychoanalysis, neuroses, presidents, politicians, media, race, class, labor, religion, foreign policy, war, and one or two other existential questions. It was the first time that the American public had been subjected to a weekly dose of comics that so uncompromisingly and wittily confronted individuals' private fears and society's public transgressions. Explainers is the first of four volumes collecting Feiffer's entire run of weekly strips from The Village Voice. This edition contains approximately 500 strips originally published between 1956 and 1966 in a brick-like landscape hardcover format.

The Long Chalkboard

Here are three delightful, bittersweet, especially-for-our-time adult stories of modern life as lived by men and women of a certain age: the baby boomer. Jenny Allen's brilliant and witty narratives and Jules Feiffer's playfully expressive drawings coax to the surface the hidden anxieties, familiar frustrations, and downright fury that we try to convince ourselves we don't really feel. The characters in these stories are reckoning with life?s little surprises. But what they don't expect sometimes turns out to be all right anyway: a little redemption bubbling up in the kitchen where 'Judy's Wonder Chili' is made. . . or hiding in the folds of an origami crane, waiting to be found by the children's book writer in 'Something Happened'. . . or revealing itself on the surface of the well-used chalkboard of the title tale.

In their humor, simplicity, and subtlety, these stories--brought to life perfectly through Feiffer's drawings--speak to our deepest adult-yet-childlike selves. There?s not a grown-up among us who won't be completely charmed.

Feiffer: The Collected Works, Vol. 1

Feiffer: The Collected Works, Vol. 2: 'Munro'

Feiffer: The Collected Works, Vol. 3: 'Sick, Sick, Sick'

Feiffer: The Collected Works, Vol. 4: 'Passionella and Other Stories'

The Great Comic Book Heros

Jules Feiffer's historic essay, available again in a compact and affordable size. Fantagraphics is proud to publish Jules Feiffer's long out-of-print and seminal essay of comics criticism, The Great Comic Book Heroes, in a compact and affordable size. In 1965, Feiffer wrote what is arguably the first critical history of the comic book superheroes of the late 1930s and early 1940s, including Plastic Man, Batman, Superman, The Spirit and others. In the book, Feiffer writes about the unique the place of comics in the space between high and low art and the power which this space offers both the creator and reader.

The Great Comic Book Heroes is widely acknowledged to be the first book to analyze the juvenile medium of superhero comics in a critical manner, but without denying the iconic hold such works have over readers of all ages. Out of print for over 30 years, Feiffer's book discusses the role that the patriotic superhero played during World War II in shaping the public spirit of civilians and soldiers, as well as the escapist power these stories held over the zeitgeist of America.

With wit and insight Feiffer discusses what the great comic book heroes meant to him as a child and later as an artist; along with his trenchant and wryly-written commentary, the book includes numerous illustrated examples of strips and characters discussed.

Production Rights

To obtain rights to produce any of Jules's plays, please contact his Agent, Peter Hagan, at peter.hagan at abramsartny.com, or (646) 486-4600, ext. 283.

Plays by Jules Feiffer:

Grown Ups

Comedy
2m, 4f, 1f child
2 Ints.

An acerbic comedy by the famed cartoonist and author of KNOCK KNOCK and LITTLE MURDERS. It's about a middle-aged journalist who has, at last, grown up - only to find he's trapped in a world of emotional infants. "A laceratingly funny play about the strangest of human syndromes - the love that kills rather than comforts. Feiffer's vision seems merciless, but its mercy is the fierce comic clarity with which he exposes every conceivable permutation of smooth-tongued cruelty ... Feiffer constructs a fiendishly complex machine of reciprocal irritation in which Jake (the journalist), his parents, his wife and his sister carp, cavil, harass, hector and finally attack one another with relentless trivia and dedonate deeply buried resentments like emotional land mines ... This farce is Feiffer's exclusive specialty, and it's never been more harrowingly hilarious." - Newsweek. "Savagely funny." - N. Y. Times. "A compelling, devastating evening of theatre ... the first adult play of the season." - Women's Wear Daily.

Slightly Restricted.

Hold Me!

An Entertainment
2m, 3f

Knock Knock

Full Length, Farce
3m, 1f
Comp. Int.

In a cabin in the woods, bickering old Jewish recluses, Abe and Cohn get a visit from Joan of Arc. It seems she's been sent to recruit two of every species for the ultimate trip: to heaven on a spaceship! Part metaphysics, part Groucho Marx, this knockabout farce is by the author of Hold Me! and Grownups.

"A wild spree of jokes...helium light laughter."-N.Y. Times

"A kooky, laugh saturated miracle play in the absurdist tradition."-Time

Little Murders

Full Length, Dark Comedy
6m, 2f
Int.

Depressed New Yorker Alfred Chamberlain is engaged to perky, can-do Patsy Newquist. As their wedding day grows near, Alfred finds himself embroiled in an urban nightmare not the least of which is his fiance's family, the possiblity of marriage without Faith, muggings and a sniper's bullet.

"Jules Feiffer, a satirical sharpshooter with a deadly aim, stares balefully at the meaningless violence in American life, and opens fire on it in Little Murders.... Devastatingly lethal in some of its coldly savage comic assaults." -N.Y. Post

"Fantastically funny." -N.Y. Times

The White House Murder Case

Dark Comedy
9m, 1f
2 ints. w. inset

Incisive satire is aimed at the war posture of the United States of the future. This year's war is in Brazil where an American poison gas attack backfires. On the eve of an election, the President is worried about how to explain the presence of the gas in the U.S. peace arsenal. While a staunch old general, blinded and crippled by war, demonstrates by his stoicism the idiocy of outmoded codes and the cabinet concocts a cock and bull story for the people, the President's wife is murdered. "Brilliant." N.Y. Times . "Tremendously funny. A witty, wonderful comedy." WCBS TV .

Section coming soon.

Art Shop

Scroll down to see prints, as well as original cartoons, drawings, and book illustrations for sale. Prices are subject to change; please contact the Jean Albano Gallery.

Prints for Purchase

The Iris Prints below are available for purchase from Jean Albano Gallery. Click a painting to link to the gallery.

Blue Tango, 2004 Iris print on paper, 20 by 16 inches, edition of 40, $1,000 framed, $1,200 unframed. Walking My Baby Back Home, 2004 Iris print on paper, 20 by 16 inches, edition of 40, $1,000 framed, $1,200 unframed.

Dance to Spring, 2004 Iris print on paper, 10 by 16 inches, edition of 40, $1,000 framed, $1,200 unframed. Way to Go, 2004 Iris print on paper, 20 by 16 inches, edition of 40, $1,000 framed, $1,200 unframed. Obama/Ourbama, 2008 Iris print on paper, 16 by 13.5 inches, edition of 250, $100.00 unsigned / $200.00 signed

Original Art for Purchase

This is just a sample of the original artwork available from the Jean Albano Gallery. Click the link below each subheading to see all available pieces.

Cartoons

See all original cartoons available for purchase. Contact Jean Albano Gallery to purchase.

You Can't Change Human Nature Ink on paper, 10.75 by 14.5 inches, 1972, $5,500. Appropriations Ink on paper, 9.5 by 14.5 inches, 1981, $5,500. Nixon as Impersonator Ink & watercolor on paper, 11.5 by 14.5 inches, 1971, $5,500. Comic Strip Dancer Ink on Paper, 8.5 by 14 inches, 2000, $5,500. I Am Married Ink on paper, 13.5 by 20 inches framed, 1972, $5,500.

Nixon: POWs Ink on paper, 11.5 by 14.5 inches, 1971, $8,000. Nixon: Constitution Ink on paper, 11 by 14.5 inches, 1973, $5,500. Sensitive Vulnerable Men Ink on paper, 11.5 by 14.5 inches, 1994, $5,500. Walk the Walk Ink on paper, 11 by 14 inches, 1995, $5,500. CEOliloquy Ink & watercolor on paper, 14 by 11 inches, $5,500.

Book Art

See all original book art available for purchase. Contact Jean Albano Gallery to purchase.

Front Cover Study for a Room With a Zoo Ink & watercolor on paper, 14 by 11 inches, 2005, $6,000.

The House Across the Street Ink & watercolor on paper, 10 by 22 inches framed, $5,000.

Dancers

See all original dancers for purchase: couples, men, and women. Contact Jean Albano Gallery to purchase.

The Man Who Knew Too Much Ink & watercolor on paper, 24 by 18 inches, 2004, $3,500. Sweet Dreams Ink & watercolor on paper, 24 by 18 inches, 2004, $3,750. Architecture Ink & watercolor on paper, 16 by 12 inches, 2002, $3,500. Untitled Ink and watercolor on paper, 17 by 14 inches, 1998, $3,500. Me, Me, Me Ink & watercolor on paper, 22 by 17 inches, 2005, $3,250. Untitled Ink on paper, 14.5 by 17 inches, $2,200. A Dance to Truculence Ink & watercolor on paper, 2005, 17 by 22 inches, $3,500

Couple, Untitled Charcoal & watercolor on paper, 2005, 15 by 10 inches, $2,200 Nightwalk Ink & watercolor on paper, 28.5 by 22.5 inches, 2000, $3,750 Self-Absortion Ink & watercolor on paper, 20 by 16 inches, 2005, $3,500 The Farewell Ink & watercolor on paper, 15 by 11 inches, 2004, $2,200 Last Round Ink & watercolor on paper, 23 by 20 inches framed, 2002, $3,500 Belting Out Ink & watercolor on paper, 16 by 12 inches framed, 2002, $3,500

Other Artwork

See all other original artwork available for purchase. Contact Jean Albano Gallery to purchase.

Theories of Humor Ink & watercolor on paper, 16 x 12 inches, $6,000. Best Books Ink & watercolor on paper, 2002, 14 x 10 inches framed, $6,000. Appeared in the New York Times Holiday Book Review. Untitled Ink & watercolor on paper, 14 x 11 inches framed, $6,000.

The Gentleman Painter Ink & watercolor on paper, 2002, 21 by 16 inches, $6,000. Appeared in the New York Times Holiday Book Review. Gardening Ink & watercolor on paper, 2002, 14 x 10 inches framed, $6,000. Appeared in the New York Times Holiday Book Review.

Jean Albano Gallery

Chicago, Illinois

230 original drawings and paintings, as well as prints from book art, cartoons, and the NY Times can be found for purchase at Jean Albano Gallery.

Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10am - 5pm, Saturday 11am - 5 pm
and by appointment

Jean Albano Gallery
215 W. Superior
Chicago, IL 60610
p 312 440 0770
f 312 440 3103
Jean Albano Gallery

Jacob's Pillow

Becket, Mass.

The ground-breaking exhibition of dance imagery which debuted last summer receives a richly-deserved encore in this collection of original watercolors and drawings. Feiffer's memorable solo dancer in a black leotard returns along with new works.

Hours: Tues-Sun, noon until after the show

July 31 at 4pm: Jacob's Pillow Pillow Talk Event, Blake's Barn

Jacob's Pillow
Blake's Barn
358 George Carter Road
Becket, MA 01223
p 413 243 0745

Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

In 1996, Jules donated his papers and several hundred original cartoon drawings and book illustrations to the Library of Congress.