Matt Howarth, 1954-2026

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Matt Howarth passed away two weeks ago, on or before October 5, 2026. He died in obscurity. He deserved much better. 

Matt was an underground/indie/alternative cartoonist. Back in the seventies, he was a wild man, a geyser of strange ideas, and an admirer of Hunter S. Thompson. His business plan was to make as much art as humanly possible, absorb as many drugs and experiences as he could, and die before he turned thirty.

He and his best friend Tony Sciarra founded Howski Studios, which published a flood of comix (as they were called back then) and related strangeness. They led a crew of like-minded merry pranksters whose lives often intersected with science fiction events, back when SF skewed young and countercultural. Matt created the two concepts for which he would become best known: Bugtown, an other-dimensional slum city which restored itself every time it was destroyed, and the Post Brothers, immortal psychopaths and conveyors of extreme violence. At the time, as bleeding-edge as it got.

 Briefly, everything was going as planned.

Then, in the early eighties, Tony died, far too young. Matt turned thirty. And life went on. Matt created the gonzo comics for which he was famed--Savage Henry and Those Annoying Post Brothers most notably--and many science fiction comics, remarkable for his devotion to hard-science concepts  andfor how alien his alien races were. He also created comics for and about progressive rock bands. Being the kind of guy who would fling about names like Brian Eno and Robert Fripp before anyone else had ever heard of them, this gave him great joy.

Matt Howarth was entirely self-taught and as a result had an instantly-recognizable style entirely unlike anyone else's. He also had an enthusiastic fan base. He became internationally known. But, because he had little or no business sense, he could never turn those facts into real money.

Or maybe he was just unlucky. Once, he suggested that he and I collaborate on a weekly comic for a major website. It sounded like fun, so I started work on a script that would progress in single-page chapters. Alas, the website wanted it to be work-for-hire, which neither of us found acceptable. Matt spent a great deal of time and energy trying to talk them around, but to no avail. In the aftermath, he walked away with nothing, while my story, "Slow Life," brought home a Hugo Award.

Those reading this with a taste for stylishly gonzo violence are encouraged to seek out the Post Brothers comics. Those who view gonzo with distaste should try to find The Downsized, a gentle tale of a group of long-time friends approaching their fifties (at one time I could have named all of their originals), gathering for a reunion at a time when it seems that the only worthwhile thing life has given them is each other. It's a moving story with a beautiful conclusion. It would have made an excellent indie film.

Matt loved comics, music, and science fiction. He gave them his life and received little in return. But he got to spend that life creating work he believed in. Perhaps that's enough.

Top: Matt's self-portrait is copied from Bleeding Cool, where Rich Johnston has written a memorial to him. You can read it here.

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AUTUMN'S END (Part 20 of 31)

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Above: Every year, to celebrate the season, I write a Halloween story which Marianne and I then copy out, one word at a time, on fallen leaves. The leaves are photographed and then left where they were found. The story is serialized online here, one sentence per day. The final sentence will be posted on All Hallows Eve.

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AUTUMN'S END (Part 19 of 31)

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Above: Every year, to celebrate the season, I write a Halloween story which Marianne and I then copy out, one word at a time, on fallen leaves. The leaves are photographed and then left where they were found. The story is serialized online here, one sentence per day. The final sentence will be posted on All Hallows Eve.

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AUTUMN'S END (Part 18 of 31)

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Above: Every year, to celebrate the season, I write a Halloween story which Marianne and I then copy out, one word at a time, on fallen leaves. The leaves are photographed and then left where they were found. The story is serialized online here, one sentence per day. The final sentence will be posted on All Hallows Eve.

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AUTUMN'S END (Part 17 of 31)

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Above: Every year, to celebrate the season, I write a Halloween story which Marianne and I then copy out, one word at a time, on fallen leaves. The leaves are photographed and then left where they were found. The story is serialized online here, one sentence per day. The final sentence will be posted on All Hallows Eve.

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AUTUMN'S End (Part 16 of 31)

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Above: Every year, to celebrate the season, I write a Halloween story which Marianne and I then copy out, one word at a time, on fallen leaves. The leaves are photographed and then left where they were found. The story is serialized online here, one sentence per day. The final sentence will be posted on All Hallows Eve.

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Jess Kingswell's "Tomas the Castaway" Cover and Why It's So Brilliant

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Just recently, my story, "Tomas the Castaway," popped up on Reactor.  Above is the illustration made for it by artist Jess Kingswell. Which is, at a minimum, both lovely and appropriate for the story itself. 

Here's the nifty thing, though. The story begins with the following snippet of conversation...

            "This is far too beautiful," she said.

            "I was disappointed," he replied. "It fails to do you justice."

...followed immediately by a scene set in contemporary Venice. The reader who wants to understand that exchange must wait until the final words of the story. Skipping ahead won't do it--the emotional background that understanding requires happens somewhere in the middle.

Similarly, you won't know what the illustration is all about until you've read the story's final scene.

This is what happens when you hire an artist who's willing to read the story and draw their own conclusions and then art. There is possibility that something exceptional might occur.

Thank you, Jess Kingswell. I'm grateful to you for creating something exceptional.

If you're curious, you can read the story here.

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