Chaykin and Simonson had known each other since the early 1970s, at one point living in the same
Queens apartment building (along with
Allen Milgrom and
Bernie Wrightson.) The two friends, along with Mayerik and Starlin, rented the 1000-square foot studio near the beginning of the fall of 1978; the name "Upstart" was suggested by either Chaykin's wife or Starlin. Mayerik left New York in 1980 (moving to Ohio); he was replaced at Upstart by
James Sherman. (According to Simonson, he and Chaykin knew Sherman from their shared past association with
Neal Adams'
Continuity Studios.) Chaykin's former assistant Peter Kuper created a
Shakespeare for American strip for
Heavy Metal's July 1982 issue. The membership stayed stable until 1984, when Miller left. The studio was visited at various times by a number of other comics professionals as well as those who would later work in the industry, including
Arthur Adams,
Kyle Baker,
Bret Blevins,
Richard Case,
Denys Cowan,
Michael Davis,
Peter B. Gillis,
Joe Chiodo,
Jackson Guice,
Joe Jusko,
José Marzan Jr.,
Mike Mignola,
Josh Neufeld,
Peter Sanderson,
David Scroggy,
Bill Sienkiewicz,
Dwayne Turner,
Lynn Varley, and
Bill Wray. Howard Chaykin left for the West Coast in late 1985. The two remaining members, Simonson and Sherman, then brought in
Gary Hallgren. Simonson left Upstart in 1987. Hallgren stayed for a while longer and then moved his studio to Long Island. Sherman stayed on, using more of the space for larger projects. He eventually converted the space into a residence, thus officially drawing the Upstart Associates era to a close. As of 2003, Sherman still occupied the space. == Studio environment ==