'The Invasion' (Zone 5300, 2013).
Chris Berg was a Dutch-American painter, illustrator and cartoonist. In the mid-1990s, he contributed illustrations and comics to several Dutch small press comics magazines. His most notable series was the humor comic 'Harry the Intergalactic Milkman' (1994-1997). Later, Berg joined the Chicago art scene as a creator of abstract and psychedelic oil paintings.
Early life
Christian Berg was born in 1969 in Rochester, New York. His father - actually his stepfather, as Berg learned later in life - was a German "private eye", with whom he had a troubled relationship. At age four, he moved with his Dutch mother and sister to The Netherlands, where he lived for the next 25 years. After attending the Art Academy of Kampen, he studied at the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts, nowadays known as the Willem de Kooning Academy. Among his fellow students were the future comic artists Luuk Bode, Michiel de Jong and Milan Hulsing, as well as comic colorist Marloes Dekkers.
'Harry the Intergalactic Milman' (Incognito #9, May 1996).
Dutch comics
Graduated in 1994, Berg was already making his mark in the Dutch small press comics scene, experimenting with all sorts of graphic and narrative techniques. For each comic story, Berg tried to apply a different graphic approach, from EC Comics-style to Japanese manga, although he mentioned artists like Bernie Wrightson, Tanino Liberatore, Robert Crumb, Peter Pontiac and Hanco Kolk as important graphic influences. In mid-1993, he and fellow creator Bram Spits had opened their Pinnoccio Revival Centre studio, where he began working on his comic productions.
In 1993, Berg made his debut in the alternative comic magazine Posse. Together with several of his fellow art school students, Berg was a regular contributor to Robin Schouten's indie comic magazine Incognito, starting in issue #2 with a satirical and gory parody of the Dutch "Sinterklaas" holiday tradition. In later issues, he worked with Fred de Heij as writer (the EC-style 'Check Your Head' in issue #4, June 1994), and created his own humor strip 'Harry the Intergalactic Milkman' (1994-1997). He was also one of the participating artists in Incognito's chain comic 'Het Lieve Leven'.
Besides Incognito, Berg's art also appeared in the early issues of Zone 5300, the alternative pop culture magazine from Rotterdam, edited by Tonio van Vugt. After providing the cover illustration for the very first issue (October 1994), he continued to provide illustrations and short stories, including collaborations with Bram Spits and Pieter van Oudheusden. One notable story was the 12-page 'Vade Retro' (Zone 5300 #9, September 1996), based on a script by Pieter van Oudheusden (1957-2013), about a painter who slowly loses his mind. It was intended as the start of a series of psychological stories about painters, but the project stranded with this first installment.
In 1995, Berg self-published his comic book 'From Beyond The Fridge', which also included work by Bram Spits, Luuk Bode, Michiel de Jong and Milan Hulsing. In addition to comics, Berg did occasional commercial art assignments, for instance for Burger King, and was active with fellow cartoonist Luuk Bode as live caricaturists under the name "Terror Twins". In the years prior to his move to the USA, Berg also drew short strips for the magazines Pré ('Gerrit Jan en de Marine', 1996) and Toekomst Magazine (1997), as well as illustrations for Nieuwe Revu.
Cover illustration for the first issue of Zone 5300 (October 1994) and an advertisement for Amsterdam comic shop Lambiek in Incognito #9 (1996)..
Chicago painter
In late 1997, Berg returned to the United States, joining the art community of Chicago, Illinois as a painter and illustrator. For a period of time, he lived at the Flat Iron Building artist colony in Chicago's Wicker Park district. With ups and downs, he, in his own words, was promoted from "foreign bohemian gypsy artist" to professional. Remaining a free spirit and independent artist, Berg specialized in abstract oil paintings, but he has also worked in other techniques. His work has been characterized by its illustrative imagery, impressionistic sceneries and psychedelic outbursts, with occasional political messages. Later in life, he took inspiration from classical European painters like Pieter Bruegel the Elder and classic paintings with religious themes, which he approached with an atheist streak.
Among his commissioned pieces were a series of painted risk boards, and a couple of anti-car illustrations for the Critical Mass bicycle promotion movement. Several of his works are part of private collections. In 2001, he also provided the illustrations for the book 'Cop Tales!' by Thomas J. Cline.
2006 painting by Chris Berg.
Later comics
In 2007, Berg created the new seven-page comic story 'Graveyard Blues' for a Halloween comic book by Scott Jackson. Several other comics he made in Chicago have remained unpublished, such as a long story with his 'Harry the Intergalactic Milkman' character and a 50-page book called 'It Was God's Own Fault, The Snake Was Semi OK'. In 2012, he launched a semi-autobiographical webcomic on the Google+ platform, 'G+Junky'. In 2013, he had his story 'The Invasion' published in Zone 5300 magazine.
Final years and death
In late 2023, Chris Berg's health deteriorated. After having spent all of his money on medical care without any effect or correct diagnosis, he returned to the Netherlands in March 2024. As he was now terminally ill with cancer, his Rotterdam art friends took care of him by launching the "Army of Chris lovers" crowdfunding initiative, securing him with temporary shelter, food and drinks, a residence permit and possible access to care. After spending his final weeks with friends and family in the Netherlands, Chris Berg passed away on 29 July 2024, ten days after his 55th birthday.
Self-portrait from the 'G+Junkie' webcomic (2012).
Interview with Chris Berg by Robin Schouten on the Incognito blog