Arts
Read More ›
A Local Graphic Designer’s Art Celebrates Native American Heritage
A teen geek grows up to become a super graphic artist
This article originally appeared in the September 2015 issue of Seattle magazine.
Growing up on the Port Gamble S’Klallam Reservation, Jeffrey Veregge spent a lot of time on his own, drawing and reading pulp novels and comics. The stories that spoke to him were wildly uncool to his peers. “Being a geek in the ’80s was not fun,” Veregge says.
One can imagine the reception when, for example, he came to junior high wearing Vulcan ears. “And no, it wasn’t Halloween.” Decades passed before Veregge—now a 41-year-old husband, father and graphic designer—realized that he could love his cultural self and not feel like that awkward eighth-grade kid.
He began to create artwork translating iconic comics superheroes into a Coastal Salish visual language. Some find a larger message in this mash-up, but not Veregge. “There’s no hidden meaning in it; I’m not that kind of guy,” he says. “I want to have fun.”
These days, the Bremerton-based artist’s calendar is packed with shows and conventions, and he’s working on a bevy of dream-come-true projects. He’s met and befriended some of his childhood heroes, including Tim Sale, who worked on the Batman, Superman and Spider-Man franchises. Just as these artists inspired him, he hopes to inspire young people today—especially young Native Americans. “I want them to know they can celebrate their traditions and, at the same time, hold on to that sense of fun.”
Need to Know
1. This month an exclusive G.I. Joe cover by Veregge will be featured at Rose City Comic Con (Portland, Rose City Comic Con, 9/19–9/20; rosecitycomiccon.com).
2. Meet Veregge at PAX Prime (Seattle, 8/28–8/31; prime.paxsite.com), Yakima’s Central City Comic Con (Yakima’s first-ever comic con, 10/23–10/25; centralcitycomiccon.com) and Jet City Comic Show (Tacoma, 10/31–11/1; jetcitycomicshow.com).
3. Veregge is creating visuals for Promised Land, a documentary (currently in post-production) about the Duwamish and Chinook tribes’ effort to be granted sovereignty by the federal government.
4. Veregge hopes to officially reveal his own comic book, with a Native American protagonist who exceeds the “long hair and traditional garb” stereotype, next spring at Emerald City Comicon (4/7–4/10, 2016; emeraldcitycomicon.com)
Follow Us
Rearview Mirror: Spinasse at Home, a New Spa Experience, and Seattle Mag’s Reader’s Choice Awards
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
YOUR VOTE MATTERS Everyone has a favorite restaurant, coffee shop, or local boutique. Call me old-school, but I will die on the hill that Caffe Vita has the best coffee in town. Disagree with me? Now’s your moment to speak up. Each year, we survey Seattle magazine readers, asking them to weigh in on everything…
Studio Sessions: Ling Chun
The Seattle-based artist brings playful color to ceramics and neon while exploring memory, transformation, and life between cultures.
For Ling Chun, creating begins with something sensed before it can be named. Working with clay, glass, light, and sometimes synthetic hair, the Hong Kong-born artist gives physical form to things that words cannot always hold. “For me, the magnitude of making goes far beyond the object that is eventually produced,” Chun says. “The object…
The Magic of PAX Is Stronger Than Ever
PAX West draws more than 100,000 people to Seattle each year. Co-founder Jerry Holkins reflects on what the gaming convention set out to change, how its community has grown and why gathering face to face still matters.
Access to game news as it was happening was difficult back in the day. Even with the advent of the internet, communication between game publishers and journalists was still a very elite affair. I used to fake credentials—via fax machine!—to attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo, mostly just known as E3. It was simultaneously as loud…
Your Guide to Bumbershoot 2026
Navigate Seattle’s wildest end-of-summer weekend with 20 picks spanning Death Cab for Cutie, Blood Orange, wrestling, skateboarding and—obviously—movies made in 48 hours.
Four years after Bumbershoot returned with its quirkiness revivified, Seattleites broadly acknowledge the two-day multimedia extravaganza as a welcome finale to the summer festival season. Fests like Bumbershoot are designed around a choose-your-own-adventure model, but if you’re the kind of person who looked at this year’s sprawling lineup—featuring multiple bands, artists, and exhibits happening at…