Reynolds read comics from an early age, and remembers being fascinated by a stack of
Superman comics he saw when he was young. Reynolds was moving towards a career in
journalism when he was in university in
California and was managing editor and cartoonist for his university newspaper. In the spring of 1993, he realized that
Fantagraphics published almost all of his favorite comics. He contacted them looking for a job. He got a job a month later, and stayed in Seattle for three months before returning to university. After finishing his degree a semester later, he returned to Fantagraphics and has remained there ever since. Reynolds worked as news editor for
The Comics Journal from 1993, covering such events as the rise of
Image Comics, the
Mike Diana controversies and the general downturn in the comic book industry, before moving to marketing and promotion in 1996. As a cartoonist, Reynolds counts
Chester Brown and
Daniel Clowes as his strongest formative influences, especially Brown's
Ed the Happy Clown. He also counts friends and Seattle residents
Peter Bagge, Jim Blanchard,
Jeremy Eaton,
Pat Moriarity,
Al Columbia,
Jim Woodring and others amongst his contemporary influences. His name was given to a character who worked for a comic book publisher in an episode of
The Simpsons in 2000 by writer and producer Dana Gould. In 2018 he was the recipient of an
Inkpot Award from
Comic-Con International. ==Publishing history==