Daniel Schaffer

Dan Schaffer (born 3 February 1969) is a British writer/artist working primarily in comics and film. He is best known as the writer and illustrator of cult comic book series, Dogwitch. He is also the co-creator/artist of Indigo Vertigo, a collaboration with Queenadreena / Daisy Chainsaw singer Katiejane Garside, and writer/artist of the original graphic novel The Scribbler.

Schaffer's art career started with the UK Teachers Union, NASUWT, and from 1995 to 2000 he worked as a political cartoonist for the Career Teacher national newspaper. In 2000 he moved to the music industry where he designed record sleeves, most notably working alongside London drum and bass outfit Jerona Fruits Recordings as their graphic designer. Schaffer then worked as a graphic artist at NUCLEUS FILMS UK.

In 2007, Schaffer's comedy/horror screenplay Doghouse was optioned by Carnaby International, to be directed by Jake West.

Dogwitch
In 2002 Schaffer made his comics debut with Dogwitch, an indie comic book series published by Sirius Entertainment. DOGWITCH was critically acclaimed for its detailed black and white line art and off-the-wall storytelling, and the series became an instant cult hit. Schaffer produced DOGWITCH for three years, releasing eighteen bi-monthly issues. The entire series is collected in three trade paperbacks:

Volume 1: Direct To Video (collects Dogwitch #1-6, 144 pages, ISBN 1-57989-062-8)

Volume 2: Twisted (collects Dogwitch #7-12, 144 pages, 2005, ISBN 1-57989-075-X)

Volume 3: Mood Swings (collects Dogwitch #13-18, 144 pages, 2006, not yet released)

As well as the regular comic book, Schaffer also released one-shots and portfolios such as Dogwitch: Special Features which collected Dogwitch-related original pin-up art, sketches and 'deleted scenes'.

There is also a variety of Dogwitch merchandise, including tee-shirts, posters and barware.

Schaffer ended the series in 2005 to work on other projects.

Indigo Vertigo
Indigo Vertigo is a 48-page graphic novella published by Image Comics in 2005, a collaboration between Dan Schaffer and British indie-rock icon, Katiejane Garside. For this project, Schaffer and Garside developed a new approach to comic book construction in what they describe as an "intuitive, creative process". Schaffer's art style changed considerably as he dropped the detailed, realistic line art in favor of fully painted, digital art, translating Garside's fragmented writing into a series of hallucinatory sequential images.

The book itself appears to run two stories in parallel, one told with words and the other told with art, both weaving in and out of each other as story progresses. Warren Ellis describes the book as "like Sylvia Plath fucking David Lynch". Apart from a few hints in Schaffer's press releases and online journal, both Garside and Schaffer have kept quiet about what this book is actually about.

The Scribbler
The Scribbler is a 96-page original graphic novel, written and illustrated by Schaffer. It was published by Image Comics in November 2006. The story concerns a young woman confronting her destructive multiple personalities using an experimental new procedure known as "The Siamese Burn."

Killdarlings
Schaffer's website reveals his latest project to be a comic book pilot called Killdarlings which he will write and illustrate.

Filmography

 * The Scribbler (2014) - Writer