Shannon Wheeler
Encyclopedia
Shannon Wheeler is an American cartoonist best known for creating the satirical
superhero
Too Much Coffee Man
, and as a cartoonist for The New Yorker
.
. He moved to in Austin
, Texas
, and created the satirical
superhero
Too Much Coffee Man
as the star of a weekly comic strip
in 1990. He eventually published the character in a series of self-published zines, comic books, magazines, and webcomics for a number of years, culminating in 2006 with the Too Much Coffee Man Opera (in one act), followed by Too Much Coffee Man Opera, The Refill (in two acts) in 2008.
From 2004 until 2008, Wheeler contributed to many of the Idiot's Guide books. His weekly strip Postage Stamp Funnies appeared in the satirical newspaper The Onion
until 2009, when he began contributing to The New Yorker
magazine. In 2010, Wheeler published a collection of his cartoons rejected by The New Yorker called I Thought You Would Be Funnier.
As of March 2010, Wheeler lived in Portland, Oregon, with his twin sons.
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
Too Much Coffee Man
Too Much Coffee Man
Too Much Coffee Man is an American satirical superhero created by cartoonist Shannon Wheeler, and which has appeared in comic strips, minicomics, webcomics, comic books, magazines, books, and operas....
, and as a cartoonist for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
.
Career
He started cartooning while at UC Berkeley, publishing his daily gag cartoons "Calaboose" and then "Tooth and Justice" in The Daily CalifornianThe Daily Californian
The Daily Californian is an independent, student-run newspaper that serves the University of California, Berkeley campus and its surrounding community. It is published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and twice a week during the summer...
. He moved to in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and created the satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
Too Much Coffee Man
Too Much Coffee Man
Too Much Coffee Man is an American satirical superhero created by cartoonist Shannon Wheeler, and which has appeared in comic strips, minicomics, webcomics, comic books, magazines, books, and operas....
as the star of a weekly 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....
in 1990. He eventually published the character in a series of self-published zines, comic books, magazines, and webcomics for a number of years, culminating in 2006 with the Too Much Coffee Man Opera (in one act), followed by Too Much Coffee Man Opera, The Refill (in two acts) in 2008.
From 2004 until 2008, Wheeler contributed to many of the Idiot's Guide books. His weekly strip Postage Stamp Funnies appeared in the satirical newspaper The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
until 2009, when he began contributing to The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
magazine. In 2010, Wheeler published a collection of his cartoons rejected by The New Yorker called I Thought You Would Be Funnier.
As of March 2010, Wheeler lived in Portland, Oregon, with his twin sons.
Awards
- Hatch Broadcasting Award (for a Converse shoe commercial featuring Too Much Coffee Man)
- 1995 Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for Best New Series: Too Much Coffee Man, by Shannon Wheeler (publisher: Adhesive) - 2011 Eisner Award for Best Humor Publication: I Thought You Would Be Funnier, by Shannon Wheeler (BOOM!Boom! StudiosBOOM! Studios is an American comic book company headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. The "BOOM!" in BOOM! Studios is always capitalized by the company.-History:BOOM! was founded June 22, 2005 with Zombie Tales #1....
) - 2011 nomination, Harvey AwardHarvey AwardThe Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
, Special Award for Humor in Comics: I Thought You Would Be Funnier, by Shannon Wheeler (BOOM!) nomination.
Stage
- Too Much Coffee Man Opera (creator, co-librettist, producer)
- Too Much Coffee Man Opera, The Refill (creator, co-librettist, producer)
Self-publications
- Waiting for Justice columns by Carolyn Jones, cartoons by Shannon Wheeler (Berkeley, California, 1987)
- Children with Glue by Shannon Wheeler (Berkeley California, 1989)
- Too Much Coffee Man Mini Comics by Shannon Wheeler (Austin, TX, 1992)
- Too Much Coffee Man Webcomic by Shannon Wheeler (beginning in Austin, TX, 1992, ongoing)
- Too Much Coffee Man Comic Book by Shannon Wheeler (Austin, TX, 1993–2001)
- Jab
- Too Much Coffee Man Magazine published by Shannon Wheeler (Portland, OR, 2002–2006)
External links
- Shannon Wheeler (official site)