Then one day, seemingly out of the blue, he receives a Canadian Bureau Arts Grant for a gallery show of “thought-provoking and erotic fine art.” He can hardly remember applying for the government grant but is determined to make the most of the unexpected opportunity. Unfortunately, there no longer seems to be a market for stories of that kind, and so Martin has been forced to churn out formulaic kiddie comics in order to make ends meet, an endeavor that has left him “consistently empty of original thought.” Sad, funny, and often uncomfortably titillating, Ripple is a remarkably introspective graphic novel, rendered with kinetic realism in a pen technique that calls to mind a more controlled Edward Sorel and Jules Feiffer.įor as long as he can remember, Martin has wanted to earn a living telling stories with words and pictures: stories as wonderful as the ones he grew up with. Throughout it all, Ripple is a complex love story poked and prodded from all angles, from Martin and Tina's physical and emotional feelings toward each other, Martin's dishonesty to himself, Tina's self-loathing, and everything in between. Meanwhile, Tina's own motives behind working for Martin are slowly turned upside down as well, building the book towards its inevitably explosive end. Martin's initial repulsion for Tina slowly turns to attraction and eventually lust, causing him to re-evaluate his own notions of beauty and sexuality.

Over time, Martin and Tina's relationship evolves from a tenuous working relationship to a confused sexual one. He hires a homely model, Tina, to pose for a series of 'erotic' paintings that he hopes will be his breakthrough into the gallery world.

Martin is a floundering painter desperately attempting to pursue his fine art inclinations rather than toil in the world of commercial art. Unlike those works, Ripple is a highly realistic story in terms of subject matter and drawing style. He lives in Ottawa with his wife Julie.Ripple is a breakthrough graphic novel for Dave Cooper, creator of the wildly surreal and critically-acclaimed graphic novels Crumple and Suckle. He has also worked with Matt Groening doing designs for Futurama. He has created a children’s book, Sponge’s Lucky Hat, and did an animation called BirdBugGoat for the Cartoon Network. In addition to comics, Cooper is an illustrator, writer, and painter. His works include Pressed Tongue, a 3-issue mini comic, Cynthia Petal’s Really Fantastic Alien Sex Frenzy (a single issue porn romp), and the graphic novels Crumple, Suckle, and Ripple: A Predilection for Tina. His unique style is instantly recognizable due to the organic lines and surrealistic backgrounds he creates. ARTIST LINK | MORE ARTISTS | COMICS-RELATED TOPICSĭave Cooper is an intensely prolific artist working within and surrounding the field of cartooning, often intergrating it with the world of fine art.

Ripple a predilection for tina