Mike Diana is an underground comics legend. Starting out in the underground mail order zine scene in the 80’s, Mike rose to worldwide prominence in the mid 1990’s thanks, in no part, to being convicted and gaoled for obscenity for his art – the first and so far only comic artist to befall such a fate!
Since then he has moved to New York and continued creating – exploring painting, developing his art and collaborating with people such as Kembra Pfahler, Bruce La Bruce, Richard Kern, Mike Kuchar and many others.
Interestingly, Mike references Dali, an early proponent of outrage and artistic freedom as a major inspiration. With Mike remembering childhood trips to the Dali museum in Florida as pivotal artistic moments:
“I enjoyed the nightmare like paintings, strange jewelry and even a hologram Dali made of singer Alice Cooper. I felt it inspired me to continue with my art, take it to new levels.”
(Picture below of some art by Mike)
With Mike constantly working, and with a documentary about him in the works, now is the perfect time to get to know the man + his world, by reading the Art Talk below…