Upstart Associates

Upstart Associates, sometimes known as Upstart Studios, was the name of an artists' studio at 231 West 29th Street in New York City formed in late 1978 by four comic book creators. Those artists were Howard Chaykin, Walt Simonson, Val Mayerik, and Jim Starlin. The membership of the studio changed over time, eventually adding James Sherman, Frank Miller, and Gary Hallgren as previous members left. (There were never more than four studio members at any one time.) In addition, future comics professionals Peter Kuper and Dean Haspiel worked as assistants at Upstart before they began doing professional work.

Some of the most notable comics of the early 1980s were produced at Upstart, including Chaykin's American Flagg!, Simonson's run on Thor, and Miller's run on Daredevil. In addition, while at Upstart, Chaykin and Simonson created a series of humorous one-pagers for Heavy Metal magazine called Shakespeare for Americans.

Upstart disbanded in the late 1980s.