Shary Flenniken
Encyclopedia
Shary Flenniken is an American
editor-writer-illustrator and underground
cartoonist
. After joining the burgeoning underground comics movement in the early 1970s, she became a prominent contributor to National Lampoon and was one of the editors of the magazine for two years. Her best-known creation is Trots and Bonnie, a light-hearted satire of the adult world through the eyes of a precocious girl and her talking dog.
collective. She was a marginal contributor to the Air Pirates, and the only member not to be sued for their Disney
parodies.
She was later widely recognized as an influential figure in the integration of feminist
concerns into underground comics. Air Pirates co-founder Bobby London
was married to Flenniken for several years.
Her second marriage was with the late Bruce Jay Paskow of the band Washington Squares
. After the couple wed in 1987, they moved two years later from Manhattan to Seattle, where they were together for six years until Paskow's death in 1995.
Flenniken edited Seattle Laughs: Comic Stories about Seattle (Homestead, 1994), and she continues to freelance from Seattle. In addition to contributions to DC Comics
' Paradox Press anthologies, her work has appeared in Mad
, Premiere, Details, The American Lawyer
and other magazines. In recent years she contributed to the Graphic Classics series, praised by School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly
for its adaptations of Mark Twain
, O. Henry
and other authors.
Illustrations in books by others:
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
editor-writer-illustrator and underground
Underground comix
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books which are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, including explicit drug use, sexuality and violence...
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...
. After joining the burgeoning underground comics movement in the early 1970s, she became a prominent contributor to National Lampoon and was one of the editors of the magazine for two years. Her best-known creation is Trots and Bonnie, a light-hearted satire of the adult world through the eyes of a precocious girl and her talking dog.
Air Pirates
Shary Flenniken grew up in Alaska, Panama and Seattle, where she studied at a commercial art school. She began working on small-press comics in Seattle and moved in 1971 to San Francisco, where she joined the Air PiratesAir Pirates
The Air Pirates were a group of cartoonists who created two issues of an underground comic called Air Pirates Funnies in 1971, leading to a famous lawsuit by The Walt Disney Company...
collective. She was a marginal contributor to the Air Pirates, and the only member not to be sued for their Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
parodies.
She was later widely recognized as an influential figure in the integration of feminist
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
concerns into underground comics. Air Pirates co-founder Bobby London
Bobby London
Bobby London is an American underground comix and mainstream comics artist.-Biography:London created his underground newspaper comic strip Merton, in his native New York in 1969 and the raunchy Dirty Duck strip in 1971...
was married to Flenniken for several years.
National Lampoon
Flenniken and London were recruited by National Lampoon for regular comics features; Trots and Bonnie appeared there from 1972 to 1990. Flenniken was an editor of National Lampoon from 1979 to 1981, recruited many of the magazine's best-known cartoonists during that time, and co-wrote the screenplay of National Lampoon Goes to the Movies.Her second marriage was with the late Bruce Jay Paskow of the band Washington Squares
Washington Squares
The Washington Squares were a 1980s neo-beatnik folk revival music group. Modeled after early 1960s groups like The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary, the group was named after New York City's Washington Square Park, emblematic of Greenwich Village...
. After the couple wed in 1987, they moved two years later from Manhattan to Seattle, where they were together for six years until Paskow's death in 1995.
Flenniken edited Seattle Laughs: Comic Stories about Seattle (Homestead, 1994), and she continues to freelance from Seattle. In addition to contributions to DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
' Paradox Press anthologies, her work has appeared in Mad
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
, Premiere, Details, The American Lawyer
The American Lawyer
The American Lawyer is a monthly law magazine published by ALM. It was founded in 1979 by Steven Brill. Features include the annual AmLaw 100 Survey and AmLaw 200 Survey , "The View From the Top", their annual poll of law firm chairpersons, and their "Corporate Scorecard"...
and other magazines. In recent years she contributed to the Graphic Classics series, praised by School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
for its adaptations of Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
, O. Henry
O. Henry
O. Henry was the pen name of the American writer William Sydney Porter . O. Henry's short stories are well known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings.-Early life:...
and other authors.
Books
- Trots and Bonnie
- Drought Chic (1977)
- Sexe & Armour
- Seattle Laughs
Illustrations in books by others:
- When a Man Loves a Walnut
- Eastside Eats
- Nice Guys Sleep Alone
- Blood-Lust Chickens & Renegade Sheep
- How to Live Without Electricity--and Like It (1998)
- Graphic Classics: O. Henry (2005)
- Graphic Classics: Mark Twain (2007)