Bio

Although Ted Naifeh has been working in comics and related fields since 1990, it took more than seven years of working on obscure, self-published and unpublished projects before he earned a significant following with Gloomcookie in 1998. His first work was for Innovation Comics, drawing an adaptation of the respected fantasy/Sci-Fi novel Shadow of the Torturer, which was cancelled after three of its planned six issues. In the mid-90s, Ted and his friend Eric Burnham self-published three issues of a cyberpunk comic called Nicki Shadow that, sadly, failed to capture fans' attention. Among Ted's more successful early projects was The Machine from Dark Horse Comics' now defunct supehero line, and a short story entitled The Grease Trap, written by legendary horror author Joe R. Landsdale, which has appeared in several collections since its initial inclusion in the Mojo Press' Atomic Chili anthology in 1996.

When the comic book market began its well-documented deflation in the early-late-90s, it became clear to Ted that his career in comics was going nowhere, and he needed a change. He got work at Accolade in Silicon Valley doing both 2D and 3D art for videogames. He worked on Slave Zero, an creepy giant robot game with a lot of character and promise. Due to poor management and lackluster marketing, it flopped upon its release in 1999. Ted was ultimately disappointed by the limitations of the medium and the wierdness of its supporting industry, and found himself in need of a better outlet for his creativity. But his three-year stint in games was not entirely without benefit. He learned the computer skills that allowed him to digitally letter and color his comics. This was a key element in the creation of the independent goth romance comic Gloomcookie.

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