Brian Ralph, Cave-In p. 2, 1999, 9" x 7.75"
Brian Ralph (born 1973) was a member of the art collective Fort Thunder, which existed in an enormous loft space near the campus of the Rhode Island School of Design from 1995 to 2001. Cave-In (1999, Highwater Books) was Ralph's first graphic novel. Entirely wordless, it followed the underground adventures of a small humanoid who somewhat resembles one of the henchmen of the Moleman, a villain created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee for The Fantastic Four. This kind of engagement with pop-culture was characteristic of the work of the Fort Thunder artists.
Since then, Ralph has created Climbing Out (2002, Highwater Books) and Daybreak (2011, Drawn & Quarterly) as well as numerous short pieces and illustrations. He currently teaches Sequential Art at the Savannah College for Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia.