Patrick McDonnell
Encyclopedia
Patrick McDonnell is the creator of the daily comic strip
Mutts
. He has also illustrated Russell Baker
's Sunday Observer column in The New York Times
magazine and created the monthly comic strip Bad Baby for Parents magazine
. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated
, Reader's Digest
, Forbes
, Time
and many others, and has co-authored the book Krazy Kat
: the Comic Art of George Herriman
.
McDonnell was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey
and grew up in Edison, New Jersey
. After graduating from Edison High School in New Jersey
in 1974, McDonnell attended the School of Visual Arts
. McDonnell began a career as a magazine illustrator and would frequently include a dog in the background of his illustrations. Moving to Hoboken, New Jersey
, he met a group of underground cartoonists such as Peter Bagge
and Kazimieras G. Prapuolenis (Kaz), and had some of his earliest drawings appearing as Jerseyana in New Jersey Monthly
magazine.
A book of his life and work, Mutts: The Comic Art of Patrick McDonnell, was published in 2003 by Abrams Publishing.
McDonnell is also a member of the Board of Directors of The Humane Society of the United States.
McDonnell and his wife Karen reside in Edison, New Jersey
, with their dog Peanut, and their cat, MeeMow. Their Jack Russell, Earl, who was the inspiration and constant muse for the Mutts
character of the same name, died in November 2007 after living with Patrick for over 18 years.
He recently collaborated with author Eckhart Tolle
to create Guardians of Being
, a philosophical picture book.
In 2011, McDonnell's children's book Me...Jane was published. It is a story about naturalist Jane Goodall
growing up and her awakening curiosity about the lives of animals around her.
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....
Mutts
Mutts
Mutts is a daily comic strip created by Patrick McDonnell in 1994 based on the day-to-day adventures of two house pets: a dog named Earl and a cat named Mooch. Earl and Mooch interact with each other, their human owners and a large cast of neighborhood animals.Charles M...
. He has also illustrated Russell Baker
Russell Baker
Russell Wayne Baker is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning writer known for his satirical commentary and self-critical prose, as well as for his autobiography, Growing Up.-His career:...
's Sunday Observer column in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
magazine and created the monthly comic strip Bad Baby for Parents magazine
Parents (magazine)
Parents, published by Meredith Corporation, is the oldest parenting publication in the U.S. It was first published in October 1926.Its editorial focus is on the daily needs and concerns of mothers with young children. The glossy monthly features information about child health, safety, behavior,...
. He has contributed to Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
and many others, and has co-authored the book Krazy Kat
Krazy Kat
Krazy Kat is an American comic strip created by cartoonist George Herriman, published daily in newspapers between 1913 and 1944. It first appeared in the New York Evening Journal, whose owner, William Randolph Hearst, was a major booster for the strip throughout its run...
: the Comic Art of George Herriman
George Herriman
George Joseph Herriman was an American cartoonist, best known for his classic comic strip Krazy Kat.-Early life:...
.
McDonnell was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...
and grew up in Edison, New Jersey
Edison, New Jersey
Edison Township is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey. What is now Edison Township was originally incorporated as Raritan Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1870, from portions of both Piscataway Township and Woodbridge Township...
. After graduating from Edison High School in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in 1974, McDonnell attended the School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
. McDonnell began a career as a magazine illustrator and would frequently include a dog in the background of his illustrations. Moving to Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
, he met a group of underground cartoonists such as Peter Bagge
Peter Bagge
Peter Bagge is an American cartoonist. He is the creator of Buddy Bradley, Hate, Neat Stuff, Martini Baton, and Sweatshop, Apocalypse Nerd and Other Lives. His stories often use black humor and exaggerated cartooning to dramatize the reduced expectations of middle-class American youth...
and Kazimieras G. Prapuolenis (Kaz), and had some of his earliest drawings appearing as Jerseyana in New Jersey Monthly
New Jersey Monthly
New Jersey Monthly is a monthly glossy publication featuring issues of possible interest to residents of the United States state of New Jersey...
magazine.
A book of his life and work, Mutts: The Comic Art of Patrick McDonnell, was published in 2003 by Abrams Publishing.
McDonnell is also a member of the Board of Directors of The Humane Society of the United States.
McDonnell and his wife Karen reside in Edison, New Jersey
Edison, New Jersey
Edison Township is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey. What is now Edison Township was originally incorporated as Raritan Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1870, from portions of both Piscataway Township and Woodbridge Township...
, with their dog Peanut, and their cat, MeeMow. Their Jack Russell, Earl, who was the inspiration and constant muse for the Mutts
Mutts
Mutts is a daily comic strip created by Patrick McDonnell in 1994 based on the day-to-day adventures of two house pets: a dog named Earl and a cat named Mooch. Earl and Mooch interact with each other, their human owners and a large cast of neighborhood animals.Charles M...
character of the same name, died in November 2007 after living with Patrick for over 18 years.
He recently collaborated with author Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle
Eckhart Tolle is a German-born Canadian resident, best known as the author of the The Power of Now and A New Earth, which were written in English. In 2011, he was listed by the Watkins Review as the most spiritually influential person in the world...
to create Guardians of Being
Guardians of Being
Guardians of Being is a picture book written by Eckhart Tolle, and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell.-Content:Eckhart's official website describes the book as conveying "a profound love of nature, of animals, of humans, of all life-forms [and] celebrates and reminds us of .....
, a philosophical picture book.
In 2011, McDonnell's children's book Me...Jane was published. It is a story about naturalist Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall
Dame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National...
growing up and her awakening curiosity about the lives of animals around her.
Awards
- Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award, 2011, given at the Eisner Awards
- National Cartoonist Society’s Reuben for Cartoonist of the Year 1999
- National Cartoonist Society’s Award for Comic Strip of the Year 1996
- National Cartoonist Society's Reuben Award (nominee) 1997 and 1998
- Germany’s Max and Moritz Award for Best International Comic Strip 1998
- Swedish Academy of Comic Art’s Adamson Statuette 1997
- Harvey Award for Best Comic Strip 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003
- Ark Trust Genesis Award 1997, 1999
- PETA Humanitarian Award 2001
- National Cartoonist Society Award for Greeting Cards 1991
- National Cartoonist Society Award for Magazine and Book Illustration 1991
MUTTS Strip collections
- MUTTS (1996)
- Cats & Dogs (1997)
- More Shtuff (1998)
- Yesh! (1999)
- Our MUTTS (2000)
- A Little Look-See (2001)
- What Now (2002)
- I Want To Be The Kitty! (2003)
- Dog-Eared (2004)
- Who Let The Cat Out? (2005)
- Everyday MUTTS: A Comic Strip Treasury (2006) (Sundays in color)
- Animal Friendly: A MUTTS Treasury (2007) (Sundays in color)
- Call of The Wild: A MUTTS Treasury (2008) (Sundays in color)
- Stop and Smell the Roses: A MUTTS Treasury (2009) (Sundays in color)
- Earl & Mooch: A MUTTS Treasury (2010) (Sundays in color)
- Our little Kat King: A MUTTS Treasury (2011) (Sundays in color)
MUTTS Sunday Collections (large format, in color)
- MUTTS Sundays (1999)
- Sunday Mornings (2001)
- Sunday Afternoons (2004)
- Sunday Evenings (2005)
Other
- Bad Baby (1988) (collection of Bad Baby strips from Parent Magazine)
- MUTTS Little Big Book (1998)
- MUTTS: The Comic Art of Patrick McDonnell (2003) (retrospectiveRetrospectiveRetrospective generally means to take a look back at events that already have taken place. For example, the term is used in medicine, describing a look back at a patient's medical history or lifestyle.-Music:...
) - The Best of MUTTS (2007) (retrospectiveRetrospectiveRetrospective generally means to take a look back at events that already have taken place. For example, the term is used in medicine, describing a look back at a patient's medical history or lifestyle.-Music:...
) - MUTTS: Shelter Stories: Love. Guaranteed. ([2008]) Collection of over 100 Shelter Stories strips accompanied by photos and vignettes of adopted pets
- Guardians of BeingGuardians of BeingGuardians of Being is a picture book written by Eckhart Tolle, and illustrated by Patrick McDonnell.-Content:Eckhart's official website describes the book as conveying "a profound love of nature, of animals, of humans, of all life-forms [and] celebrates and reminds us of .....
(2009) (Words by Eckhart TolleEckhart TolleEckhart Tolle is a German-born Canadian resident, best known as the author of the The Power of Now and A New Earth, which were written in English. In 2011, he was listed by the Watkins Review as the most spiritually influential person in the world...
)
Children's books
- The Gift of Nothing (2005), New York Times Bestseller (original MUTTS book)
- Art (2006)(original book)
- Just Like Heaven (2006) (original MUTTS book)
- Hug Time (2007), New York Times Bestseller (original MUTTS book)
- South (2008)
- Wag! (2009) (original MUTTS book)
- Me...Jane (2011)