Rubber Blanket

Rubber Blanket
Rubber Blanket #3 cover by David Mazzucchelli showcasing the story "Big Man"
Publication information
Publisher	Rubber Blanket Press
Schedule	yearly
Format	Deluxe oversized 9"x12"
Genre	Alternative comics
Publication date(s)	1991 – 1993
No. of issues	3
Editor(s)	David Mazzucchelli

Rubber Blanket was an alternative comics anthology magazine edited by the husband/wife team of cartoonist David Mazzucchelli and painter/colorist Richmond Lewis. It was self-published under the banner of Rubber Blanket Press in a deluxe, oversized format from 1991 to 1993 (three issues).

While an anthology of different artists, Rubber Blanket is mostly a showcase for Mazzucchelli's work. In it, he largely turns his back on the superhero work that had made him a fan-favorite, and moved towards a personal storytelling style with bold and more expressionistic artwork. These stories earned Mazzucchelli the 72nd position on The Comics Journal's list of the best comics of the 20th century.

Mazzucchelli had achieved success working on a number of popular titles, including Batman: Year One for DC Comics and Daredevil for Marvel, when he abruptly left the world of superheroes (supposedly giving up an offer to draw the popular X-Men series) to make more personal works. He didn't produce any commercial work for a year, and studied underground comix and children's books, and took printmaking classes.

In 1991 he published the first issue of the anthology Rubber Blanket in a deluxe, oversized format. Each issue was 9"x12", and was self-published by Mazzucchelli and Lewis under the imprint of Rubber Blanket Press, based in Hoboken, New Jersey. The name was taken from the rubber blanket used to transfer ink from the printing plates to the printing surface in offset printing. The title was meant to indicate that the printing process was integral to the work published therein.