Bill Amend
Encyclopedia
William J. C. "Bill" Amend III (icon; born September 20 in Northampton
, Massachusetts
) is an America
n cartoonist
, best known for his comic strip
FoxTrot.
, California
where he was a cartoonist on his school newspaper
. Amend is an Eagle Scout
in the Boy Scouts of America
. He attended Amherst College
, where he drew comics for the college paper. He majored in physics and graduated in 1984. In 1982 Amend took first place among sophomores in a mathematics prize examination at Amherst.
. FoxTrot first appeared on April 10, 1988.
On December 5, 2006, Universal Press Syndicate issued a press release stating that Amend's strip, FoxTrot, would turn into a Sunday-only strip. Amend stated that he wants to continue doing the strip, but at a less hurried pace. This news was followed by several weeks of the characters discussing a "cartoonist" semi-retiring to Sundays only, and what methods he would use to phase out the daily strips. The last daily Foxtrot cartoon was printed on December 30, 2006.
On May 26, 2007, Amend was presented with the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.
On May 21, 1999, Amherst College awarded him an honorary degree
as Doctor of Humane Letters.
with his wife and two children.
Amend made a television
appearance on The Screen Savers
, which aired October 20, 2003 on the former TechTV
. Amend is also an avid World of Warcraft
player, but refuses to reveal his character's name, although he did mention in an interview with Allakhazam
(a World of Warcraft fan site) that he played on the server 'Bronzebeard' (Jason is often shown or referred to playing "World of Warquest" in the strip).
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
) is an America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
, best known for his comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
FoxTrot.
Early life
Amend attended high school in BurlingameBurlingame, California
Burlingame is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame. It is renowned for its many surviving examples of Victorian architecture, its affluence, and...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
where he was a cartoonist on his school newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
. Amend is an Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
in the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
. He attended Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
, where he drew comics for the college paper. He majored in physics and graduated in 1984. In 1982 Amend took first place among sophomores in a mathematics prize examination at Amherst.
Career
After a short time in the animation business, Amend decided to pursue a cartooning career and signed on with Universal Press SyndicateUniversal Press Syndicate
Universal Press Syndicate, a subsidiary of Andrews McMeel Universal, is the world's largest independent press syndicate. It distributes lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and other content. Popular columns include Dear Abby, Ann Coulter, Roger Ebert and News of the Weird...
. FoxTrot first appeared on April 10, 1988.
On December 5, 2006, Universal Press Syndicate issued a press release stating that Amend's strip, FoxTrot, would turn into a Sunday-only strip. Amend stated that he wants to continue doing the strip, but at a less hurried pace. This news was followed by several weeks of the characters discussing a "cartoonist" semi-retiring to Sundays only, and what methods he would use to phase out the daily strips. The last daily Foxtrot cartoon was printed on December 30, 2006.
On May 26, 2007, Amend was presented with the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year.
On May 21, 1999, Amherst College awarded him an honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
as Doctor of Humane Letters.
Personal life
Amend currently lives in Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
with his wife and two children.
Amend made a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
appearance on The Screen Savers
The Screen Savers
The Screen Savers was a live American TV show on TechTV. The show launched concurrently with the channel ZDTV on May 11, 1998. The Screen Savers originally centered around computers, new technologies, and their adaptations in the world...
, which aired October 20, 2003 on the former TechTV
TechTV
TechTV was a 24-hour cable and satellite channel based in San Francisco featuring news and shows about computers, technology, and the Internet. In 2004, it merged with the G4 gaming channel which ultimately dissolved TechTV programming...
. Amend is also an avid World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
player, but refuses to reveal his character's name, although he did mention in an interview with Allakhazam
Allakhazam
Allakhazam's Magical Realm, part of the Zam Network, is a website providing forums, a wikibase and lookup services for several online RPGs, including Aion, Dark Age of Camelot, EVE Online, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Final Fantasy XI, Free Realms, Lord of the Rings Online, Runes of Magic, Star Wars...
(a World of Warcraft fan site) that he played on the server 'Bronzebeard' (Jason is often shown or referred to playing "World of Warquest" in the strip).
External links
- FoxTrot official site, with Bill Amend's current blog
- Bill Amend's old Home Page, no updates since June 2007
- Short bio at The National Cartoonists SocietyNational Cartoonists SocietyThe National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
(with picture) - Bill Amend's interview at Allakhazam.com